JP2006344115A - Server, and information processing method and program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent increase in download time caused by access concentration to a server. <P>SOLUTION: The server 1 is provided with a registration detection means 14 for registering programs or data to be downloaded to a client, and a download instruction means 17 for instructing download to the client automatically or manually. The program on the client or each setting information settable on the client is updated in response to the instruction from the server 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a server, a server information processing method, and a program related to updating of a program and data on a client in a system including a server and a client.

  Conventionally, as this type of system, for example, a client acquires control information including distributed information in advance and downloads a printer driver (see Patent Document 1).

  If the distribution as in Patent Document 1 is not provided, the client accesses the server at the same time, the load on the server increases, and the traffic on the network connected to the server also increases. Will cause trouble for users who use the client.

  FIG. 6 is a system schematic configuration diagram of a conventional client-server system described in Patent Document 1.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the management system 104 accesses the server 101 and downloads update data such as a printer driver. If the client 103 wants to update data such as a printer driver, the client 103 sends a request to the management system 104 to download the latest data.

  If the management system 104 accesses the server 101 when the load on the server is large, it may take a very long time to download update data such as a printer driver, or the acquisition may fail.

  Therefore, the management system 104 accesses the server 101 while avoiding a time when the load on the server 101 is high.

  Specifically, the management system 104 acquires control information from the server 101, analyzes the contents, and changes the operation setting information if there is access distribution information. The management system 104 periodically accesses the server 101 based on the time of the operation setting information including the access distribution information.

The access distribution information is information for shifting access at a timing at which the load on the server 101 tends to increase due to concentration of access to the server 101 to other timings. The load on the server 101 is time-sequential. Since it is possible to investigate, it is possible to predict the timing when the load tends to increase.
JP 2002-304363 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, when there are a plurality of management systems, if the access time is not set for each management system, even if the load on the server is low, if there is simultaneous access from a plurality of management systems, the load is concentrated on the server and the network. End up.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems. When performing periodic processing with a client, the server side does not trigger access from the client by setting an access distribution value on the client side. It is to trigger access.

  In addition, to maximize the performance of the server, the number of simultaneous connections of the client is specified to reduce the load on the system and to shorten the time until all clients complete the download efficiently. And

  If the server data is to be distributed simultaneously to all clients by efficiently downloading, the time difference is less than when the distributed value is previously held on the client side.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a server according to the present invention is a server that can be connected to a plurality of clients via a network, registration means for registering a program or data to be downloaded by the client, and downloading to the client. A server comprising download instruction means for giving an instruction, wherein a program or data on the client can be updated by an instruction from the server.

  Since the server, the server information processing method and the program according to the present invention can be instructed to download to the client on the server side, it is possible to achieve system load distribution that is simultaneously accessed from the client. There is little time difference for completion, and all clients can complete the download efficiently.

  In particular, when the server processing performance is not high or the network performance is low, the present invention is extremely effective.

  In a first aspect of the present invention, a server connectable to a plurality of clients via a network includes registration means for registering a program or data to be downloaded by the client, and download instruction means for instructing the client to download, The server is characterized in that the program or data on the client can be updated by an instruction from the server.

  Since the program or data can be downloaded to the client in accordance with an instruction from the server, simultaneous access from the client is not concentrated, and the system load can be distributed.

  In particular, in the server of the first invention, the second invention is a download completion judging means for issuing a download instruction to another client after one or more clients issuing instructions from the server have completed downloading the program or data. It is equipped with.

  The time required for downloading per client can be shortened and performed efficiently.

  In the third invention, in particular, in the server according to the second invention, the number of clients that simultaneously issue a download instruction from the server is provided, so that the time required for downloading per client can be reduced. Short and more efficient.

  The fourth invention is particularly characterized in that, in the server of the third invention, the setting value set by the simultaneous connection number setting means is set by the data size to be downloaded by the client. It can be efficiently downloaded to each client according to the situation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in particular, in the server of any one of the second to fourth aspects, a timer means is provided, and at least one client that has issued a download instruction from the server, a specified time for downloading a program or data If the download is not completed, the download instruction is sent to another client. The network or client determines that the download was not successful due to an overload or failure, and the next client The inefficient state in which the download completion waiting state continues can be avoided.

  The sixth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the server of the fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, a download instruction is again issued to a client that has not been able to complete downloading of a program or data by the timer means. You can recover for clients that could not be downloaded.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, a data size acquisition procedure for acquiring a data size to be downloaded by a client, a simultaneous connection number setting procedure for calculating the number of clients for issuing a download instruction simultaneously to the client from the data size, and an instruction for downloading are performed. Download instruction procedure, one or more clients that issued the instructions, a timer procedure that gives instructions to another client if the program or data download is not completed within the specified time, and a timer procedure completes the program or data download This is an information processing method for a server, which includes a re-instruction procedure for instructing another client to download again.

  Since the program or data can be downloaded to the client in accordance with an instruction from the server, simultaneous access from the client is not concentrated, and the system load can be distributed.

  Further, it is possible to efficiently download to each client according to the data size.

  Even if the network or client cannot be downloaded normally due to an overload condition or a failure, an inefficient state in which the download completion waiting state continues can be avoided because an instruction is issued to the next client. Further, since the instruction is issued again to the client that could not be downloaded, the client can be recovered.

  The eighth invention is a program for causing a computer to realize at least a part of the server means of any one of the first to sixth inventions. Since it is a program, it is possible to easily realize at least a part of the server of the present invention by cooperating hardware resources such as electrical / information equipment and a computer. Also, program distribution and installation can be simplified by recording on a recording medium or distributing a program using a communication line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a client and server system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the server according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a server 1 can communicate with a plurality of clients 3 (3a, 3b, 3c) via an Internet network 2. In FIG. 1, one client 3 (3a, 3b, 3c) is arranged for each house (4a, 4b, 4c), but the number of installed houses is not limited.

  Here, it is assumed that the client 3 is an information terminal device capable of display and is always connected to the Internet, but may be a display device such as a personal computer.

  As main services, the user operates the client 3 to browse service information such as news, weather forecast, regional information, and food information prepared in the server 1, and the program and setting information of the client 3 from the server 1. Can be updated.

  Although not shown, the server 1 and the client 3 are connected to a higher-level communication device (ADSL router, CATV modem, optical fiber line terminator, media converter, home PNA device, gateway, router, switching hub, etc.). Then, it connects to the Internet network 2.

  In FIG. 2, the operation management terminal 11 can access the server 1 via the Internet 2 and upload service information, update programs and data for the client 3, and register customers as contract customers. In order to access the server 1, security is ensured through authentication by inputting an administrator ID and password from the screen of the operation management terminal 11, or authentication by registering an IP address.

  In the server 1, a communication network function is realized by the transmission / reception unit 12. The control means 20 performs arithmetic processing on the received input information and data, and generates and sends out control signals and data. Information registered from the operation management terminal 11 via the registration means 21 is managed in the database 13. Is done. The registration unit 21 can store updated data and programs to be downloaded to the client 13 in the database 13 by an operation from the operation management terminal 11.

  The registration detection unit 14 detects that the database 13 has been updated by the operation management terminal 11 and confirms a list of customer information and a start time for downloading a program or data to the client 3. When the start time comes, the data size acquisition unit 15 checks the data size of the program or data to be downloaded, and according to the data size, the connection number setting unit 16 calculates the number of simultaneous connections for which a download instruction is issued simultaneously, The connection number setting means 16 issues a download instruction to the download instruction means 17. Details will be described later.

  Upon receiving the download instruction, the download instruction means 17 outputs a signal to the timer means 18, and sends a download request to the number of clients connected in the number of simultaneous connections calculated by the connection number setting means 16 to the customer registered in the database 13. put out.

Upon receiving the download request, the client 3 downloads the program and data registered in the database 13. The download completion determination means 19 determines whether or not all clients that have issued download requests by the connection number setting means 16 and the download instruction means 17 have completed the download. When all the downloads are not completed, the timer means 18 can forcibly determine completion.

  In the above configuration, the operation when downloading the program with 100 clients as a specific example will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation when a program or data is downloaded from the server to the client, FIG. 4 is a management table in which the data size is associated with the number of simultaneous connections, and FIG. 5 is a management table for managing the download completion status. FIG.

  In FIG. 3, for example, it is assumed that an update program having a data size of 800 kB is registered in the database 13 of the server 1 from the operation management terminal 11.

  When it is detected by the registration detection means 14 that it is registered in the database 13 (S51), the registered information is confirmed (S52). In this confirmation, what the registered information is and if the client needs to be distributed, it is checked when the start time to start the distribution is.

  As a result of the check, the program needs to be distributed to the client. When the distribution start time comes (S53), the data size acquisition unit 15 acquires the data size of the program (S54).

  Subsequently, the connection number setting means 16 calculates the number of simultaneous connections for which a download instruction is issued simultaneously from the acquired data size (S55). As a calculation method, for example, extraction is performed in association with a table list as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, since the data size is 800 kB, the number of simultaneous connections is five. Of course, the number of simultaneous connections may be calculated using an expression such as “data size × number of simultaneous connections = constant value”. That is, the point is that the number of simultaneous connections can be changed according to the data size.

  Note that the number of simultaneous connections for which a download instruction is issued at the same time is often realized by a single line for output to the Internet network 2, so strictly speaking, a download instruction is issued to each client with a very short time lag. become.

  Next, the download instruction means 17 issues a download instruction to five clients having the same number of simultaneous connections (S56), and a timer is started to measure the timeout T1 until the download is completed (S57). Note that T1 varies depending on the data size, and is calculated by “data size × K (coefficient) = T1”.

  In this embodiment, K (coefficient) is set to 0.075, and 60 sec is set for 800 kB download. Note that K (coefficient) is determined in consideration of server performance and network performance. Of course, this value is an example and does not limit the present invention.

  The five clients, for example, extract customer IDs that can identify each client from the database 13, select them in ascending order from the list shown in FIG. 5 corresponding to the IP addresses of the clients, and issue a download instruction. Go. Specifically, first, a download instruction is issued to clients with customer IDs 00000001 to 00000005.

  When each client completes downloading the desired data (S58), a completion check is put in the download completion column of FIG.

  When all five units have been downloaded, the timer is cleared (S59), and a download instruction is issued to the five units with customer IDs of 00000006 to 00000010 (S61).

  Before (S61), it is also checked whether all (for example, 100 in FIG. 5) download has been completed (S60).

  By repeating this operation, all the 100 clients 3 are made to download desired data.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the customer ID 00000003 has not been downloaded within the predetermined time T1 (S62), the timer is cleared (S59), and a download instruction is issued to five of the customer IDs 00000006 to 00000010. (S61).

  If the customer ID 00000003 has not been downloaded, the download instruction is issued in order up to 00000100, and then the download instruction is issued again to attempt recovery.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a program or data can be downloaded to a client in accordance with an instruction from the server. Therefore, simultaneous access from the client is not concentrated, so that the load on the system can be distributed. .

  Furthermore, downloading can be performed efficiently by setting the number of simultaneous connections according to the data size.

  Furthermore, even if the network or client cannot be downloaded normally due to an overload condition or failure, an inefficient state in which the download completion waiting state continues is issued because an instruction is issued to the next client. Further, since the instruction is issued again to the client that could not be downloaded, the client can be recovered.

  In the management table for managing the download completion status in FIG. 5, the customer ID and the IP address are used. However, if there is identification information that can identify each client and a download request instruction can be issued, the management information is managed by the identification information. It doesn't matter.

  In addition, for clients that did not complete the download, a retry was made after issuing a download request to all clients, but the retry timing is not limited, such as retrying after a timeout. Can be set freely.

  Further, the timeout time T1 of the timer means 18 varies depending on the data size and is set to 60 sec in the case of 800 kB download, but may be a fixed value if an upper limit on the data size is provided.

  The present invention is effective when the server processing performance is not high or when the network performance is low.

Note that the means described in this embodiment causes hardware resources such as a CPU (or microcomputer), a RAM, a ROM, a storage / recording device, an electrical / information device including an I / O, a computer, a server, and the like to cooperate. You may implement with the form of a program. In the form of a program, new functions can be easily distributed / updated and installed by recording them on a recording medium such as magnetic media or optical media or distributing them using a communication line such as the Internet.

  As described above, the server, the information processing method for the server, and the program according to the present invention use the information terminal device for the client. However, even if the device is used for other purposes (for example, home appliances or equipment), Any system that can be connected and communicates can be implemented in the same manner.

System configuration diagram of client and server in the first embodiment of the present invention Block diagram of the server in the first embodiment of the present invention Flow chart showing the operation when downloading the program or data from the server to the client The figure which shows the management table which linked the data size and the number of simultaneous connections The figure which shows the management table which manages the download completion situation Schematic configuration diagram of a conventional client server system

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Server 2 Internet network 3a, 3b, 3c House 4a, 4b, 4c Client 5 Information terminal device 11 Operation management terminal 12 Transmission / reception means 13 Database 14 Registration detection means 15 Data size acquisition means 16 Connection number setting means (simultaneous connection number setting means )
17 download instruction means 18 timer means 19 download completion determination means 20 control means 21 registration means

Claims (8)

In a server that can be connected to a plurality of clients via a network, a registration means for registering a program or data to be downloaded to the client, and a download instruction means for instructing the client to download, according to an instruction from the server, A server capable of updating a program or data on the client. The server according to claim 1, further comprising a download completion determination unit that issues a download instruction to another client after one or more clients that have issued instructions from the server have completed downloading the program or data. 3. The server according to claim 2, further comprising a simultaneous connection number setting means for setting the number of clients that simultaneously issue download instructions from the server. 4. The server according to claim 3, wherein the setting value set by the simultaneous connection number setting means is set according to a data size to be downloaded by the client. One or more clients having a timer means and issuing a download instruction from the server, when a program or data download is not completed within a specified time, a download instruction is issued to another client The server according to any one of claims 2 to 4. 6. The server according to claim 5, wherein a download instruction is issued again to a client that could not complete downloading of a program or data by the timer means. Data size acquisition procedure for acquiring the data size to be downloaded to the client, simultaneous connection number setting procedure for calculating the number of clients that issue a download instruction to the client simultaneously from the data size, download instruction procedure for instructing the download, and instructions One or more clients that have issued a program or data download when the program or data download is not completed within the specified time, and a timer procedure that gives instructions to another client, and a client that failed to complete the program or data download using the timer procedure On the other hand, a server information processing method including a re-instruction procedure for issuing a download instruction again. The program for implement | achieving at least one part of the means of the server of any one of Claims 1-6 with a computer.

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