JP2009199394A - Software update management system, device, manager program and agent program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load applied to a network or a management device of a distribution source in a software update management system. <P>SOLUTION: When update of software occurs, manager software 110 lists up management object devices with the software to be updated installed thereto based on a management database 111 which was formed in advance. A logical network tree composed of the listed management object devices is formed. Distribution of update is performed from the root of the tree to the leaves thereof, and the management object device corresponding to each node is made to take over the role of relay, whereby the load of the network can be distributed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a software update management system, apparatus, manager program, and agent program, and more particularly to a technique for reducing the load required for software update.

  Examples of techniques for automatically distributing software include the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 3. In these techniques, the distribution source computer stores the distribution destination in advance, and distribution is performed to the distribution destination stored at the time of version upgrade.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 4 discloses a system for distributing content to all terminals connected to a network. With reference to paragraph 0072 of Patent Document 4, there is a description that a plurality of terminal devices are logically connected in multiple layers in a tree-like hierarchical structure and sequentially relayed to downstream terminal devices by a relay function.

Further, in Patent Document 5, referring to paragraphs 0007, 0008, etc., for the purpose of performing batch update of software of a plurality of terminals from a host computer, a terminal that needs to be updated is determined based on information in a terminal software management table. The technique characterized by this is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-286345 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-096159 JP 07-334436 A JP 2007-233652 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-359345

  However, the techniques related to the present invention (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3) have the following problems. The first problem is that the processing capacity of this computer becomes a bottleneck because the distribution source computer distributes all distribution destinations in order. The second problem is that all communication goes through a network connected to a distribution source computer, so that the load is concentrated on some networks.

  In order to solve these problems, a method has been considered in which a logical network tree is created in advance and data is relayed to a distribution destination computer (for example, Patent Document 4). However, in such a technique, when the software of a plurality of terminals is collectively updated from a host computer as described in Patent Document 5, the distribution is performed only to a part of the entire computer, and the computer However, there is a problem that the efficiency is reduced when it is biased to a part of the tree created in advance.

  Generally, when updating software on multiple devices via a network, the manager software on the management device sends the software to be updated to the agent software on the management target device, and instructs installation. It is realized by.

  However, when there are multiple managed devices, the manager software must distribute the software to be updated to the agent software on all managed devices, and the hardware resources of the managed devices and the network to which the managed devices are connected A heavy load is applied.

  Therefore, as described above, a method in which a logical tree-like network is configured in advance and the managed device plays a role of relay is conceivable. However, in this method, if the software installed on the managed device is different for each device and it is necessary to distribute the software only to the device at the end of the tree, use the device that does not need to be used for relaying. May cause an extra load on the network.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to reduce the load on a network or a distribution source management apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by the following configurations.

  A software update management system according to the present invention is a software update management system in which a software update management device and a management target device are connected via a network, and the software update management device is installed in the management target device. A management database that associates and stores the type and version of software that is stored, list-up means for listing management target devices that need to be updated based on the management database when the software is updated, and listed management targets A tree creation means for creating a logical network tree rooted at the software update management device, and a management target device directly below the created logical network tree. Against A distribution unit that distributes a file and tree information rooted in the managed device, and the managed device automatically distributes the update file when the updated file and the tree information are distributed. Software update means to be applied to the device, and distribution that refers to the tree information and distributes the update file and the tree information rooted in the managed device directly to the lower-level managed device And a relay means.

  The software update management device according to the present invention is a software update management device connected to a management target device via a network, and stores the type and version of installed software in association with the management target device. A management database, a list-up means for listing management target devices that need to be updated based on the management database when software is updated, a management target device listed, and the software update management device. , A tree creation means for creating a logical network tree rooted in the software update management device, and an update file and the management target device for the management target device directly in the created logical network tree. Distribution to distribute root tree information And having a means.

  In addition, the manager program according to the present invention includes a management database that stores information associated with a management target device via a network in association with the type and version of software installed in the management target device, and When software is updated, the software update management includes list-up means for listing up management target devices that need to be updated based on the management database, the listed management target devices, and the software update management device. Tree creation means for creating a logical network tree rooted in a device, and update information and tree information rooted in the managed device for a directly lower management target device in the created logical network tree And distribution means for distributing Wherein the function as wear update management apparatus.

  In addition, the agent program according to the present invention includes a software update file installed in a self-device and a logical network tree rooted in the self-device in an information processing device connected to the software update management device via a network. When the tree information has been distributed, software update means for applying the update file to the own device, and referring to the tree information, the update file It is made to function as a device having distribution relay means for distributing tree information rooted in the management target device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and the distribution source management device.

(First embodiment)
Next, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. A configuration example of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the management apparatus 100 and the management target apparatuses 201 to 209 are communicably connected via a network.

  In FIG. 1, the network may include routers 301 to 303, for example, and may span a plurality of LANs. The managed devices 201 to 209 (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as “managed device 200”) are respectively agent software 211 to 219 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “agent software” 210). Is installed.

  The management device 100 is installed with manager software 110 that manages the entire system of the present embodiment. The manager software 110 manages the management database 111. Although the management database 111 is configured to be arranged outside the management apparatus 100 in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and is realized by a combination of hardware and software included in the management apparatus 100. Also good.

  The manager software 110 manages the type and version information of software on the management target apparatus 200 in which the agent software 210 is installed in the database 111. Further, the manager software 110 sends an update file or the like to a part or all of the agent software 210 and instructs application when any of the software managed by the management database 111 is updated.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of information stored in the management database 111 in this configuration example. The management database 111 holds, for example, a matrix as shown in FIG. 2 as a database. In FIG. 2, for example, software A is installed in the management target apparatus 201, and the version of the software A is 1.0. The managed device 203 has software A and software B installed therein, the version of software A is 2.0, and the version of software B is 1.0.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the combination of the types of software installed in the management target device 200 may vary depending on the device. The manager software 110 has acquired in advance the type and version information of the software installed in each managed device 200 and has been registered in the database 111.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, the operation of the manager software 110 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the manager software 110.

  In FIG. 3, when the software 300 is updated, the manager software 110 lists management target devices that need to be sent update files or the like based on the management database 111 (step S101). In the following, it is assumed that managed devices 201 to 203 and 206 to 208 are listed as examples.

  Next, the manager software 110 creates a logical network tree having the manager software 110 as a root and the agent software on the listed management target device as a clause (step S102). The logical network tree is preferably a balanced binary tree. If the logical network tree is a balanced binary tree, the total number of hops of all branches is minimized, so that the network load can be reduced. In the following, it is assumed that a balanced binary tree is created as a logical network tree.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a balanced binary tree created in this example. As shown in FIG. 4, the manager software 110 creates a balanced binary tree having itself as roots and having agent software 211 to 213 and 216 to 218 as nodes.

  Next, the manager software 110 transmits the update file and the tree information rooted in each node to the nodes positioned below the logical network tree (step S103). This process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a view for explaining update file distribution processing according to this embodiment.

  In FIG. 5, the manager software 110 transmits an update file and tree information rooted in each node to agent software 211 and 216, which are nodes positioned below the manager software 110. For example, the agent software 211 receives the update file and tree information including subordinate sections (agent software 212 and 213) rooted in the agent software 211 itself. Similarly, the agent software 212 receives the update file and the tree information rooted in the agent software 212 itself, but the agent software 212 corresponds to the leaf that is the end of the tree, and therefore there is no subordinate clause. . The above is the outline of the update file distribution process in the present embodiment.

  Next, when the transmission is completed, the manager software 110 waits for a response of the application result from the lower section in the logical network tree (step S104). In this example, agent software 211 and 216 are subordinate sections of manager software 110. When the manager software 110 finishes receiving the application result that has been returned, the manager software 110 reflects the contents in the management database 111 and updates the management database 111 (step S105), thereby completing the process.

  Next, the operation of the agent software 210 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 and FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the agent software 210 of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an update file application result sending process in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 6, the agent software 200 that has received the data including the update file and the tree information from the upper node or root (hereinafter, the agent software 211 will be described as an example) (step S201) Is determined to be a leaf of the tree (step S202).

  The agent software 211 determines that the tree is not a leaf (step S202 / No), and sends an update file and tree information rooted in each device to the agent software 212 and 213, which are subordinate sections of the agent software 211 (step S202 / No). Step S203). Thereafter, the update file is applied to the management target device 201 (step S204). The update file may be applied between step S201 and step S202.

  Next, the agent software 211 determines once again whether or not it is a leaf of the tree (step S205). Since it is not a leaf of the tree, the agent software 211 waits for a response of the application result of the update file from the lower section (step S205). S206). In this example, the agent software 211 waits for responses of application results from the agent software 212 and 213.

  Next, when the agent software 211 has received the application results from the agent software 212 and 213, the agent software 211 combines the received contents with its application results by adding its application results to the received application result list (step S208), and transmits it to the manager software 110 (root in this example), which is the upper node (step S209).

  Further, in this example, processing operations of the agent software 212 and 213 corresponding to leaves will be described with reference to FIG. The agent software 212, 213 that has received the data (step S201) determines that it is a leaf from the received tree information (step S202 / Yes), and applies the update file (step S204).

  Since the agent software 212, 213 itself is a leaf in the logical network tree of this embodiment (step S205 / Yes), when the application is completed, an empty application result list is created (step S207). The application result list is registered with its own application result (step S208), and the application result list is transmitted to the upper node (step S209). In this example, the higher-level section is the agent software 211.

  Therefore, the agent software 210 according to the present embodiment performs processing as shown in FIG. 6, and transmits an application result list as shown in FIG. 7 to a node higher than itself in the network tree.

  Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the following effects can be achieved. The first effect is that the load on the management server can be reduced compared to a case where a logical network tree is not configured. The reason is that the management server only has to send the update file and receive the result only for the section or leaf that has itself as the upper node. In particular, when the logical network tree is configured as a balanced binary tree, it is more advantageous because the management server only needs to send update files and receive results to at least two devices.

  Paraphrasing the first effect. In this embodiment, when distributing update software, not all terminals are connected to the management server, but a tree-like configuration. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the local load of the network to which the management server is connected, and the processing time required for the entire update software distribution process depends on the calculation capability of the management server. Can be prevented.

  The second effect is that the load on the network can be reduced as compared with the case where a fixed tree is used. The reason is that unnecessary communication by relaying a device that does not need to send an update file can be suppressed. That is, in the present embodiment, the tree is configured only with terminals that need to send software, not with all terminals participating in the network. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the terminals that require updated software are used. Data will be sent to only. As a result, it is possible to suppress useless use of the network by relaying terminals that do not require software transmission.

  In this embodiment, the tree-like logical network is reconfigured every time update software is distributed. Therefore, according to this embodiment, transmission / reception of unnecessary data can be minimized. As a result, the load on the network can be suppressed and the load on the management server can be minimized, and the overall processing speed can be improved.

  The above description of the embodiment of the present invention will be summarized. In the present embodiment, when software update occurs, the manager software 110 lists the management target devices in which the software to be updated is installed, based on the management database 111 created in advance. Next, a logical network tree composed of the listed management target devices is created. By distributing updates from the root of this tree toward the leaves and having the managed device corresponding to each section play the role of relay, the load on the network can be distributed.

  In addition, since managed devices that do not require distribution of updates are not included in the tree, network specifications can be minimized as compared to the case of using a fixed tree. Furthermore, compared to the case where updates are distributed in order from one manager software to all agent software, the processing capability of the management device and the communication path between the management device and the network can be prevented from becoming a bottleneck. As a result, the overall processing speed can be expected to increase.

(Second Embodiment)
As another embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment in which managed devices are frequently disconnected from the network will be described. A schematic configuration of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the same agent software 210 as that in the first embodiment is installed in the management target apparatus 200. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the management target device 200 includes a laptop computer, and such a device is frequently disconnected from the network. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a device in which the management target device 203 is disconnected from the network.

  In the present embodiment, the manager software 110 creates a logical network tree for only the agent software capable of communication, and distributes the software as in the first embodiment. FIG. 9 shows an example of a created logical network tree in the present embodiment.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The present invention can be applied to a system that transmits and receives information from a single device to a plurality of different devices each time via a network. In addition, the control operation of each device in the above-described embodiment of the present invention can be executed using hardware, software, or a combined configuration of both.

  In the case of executing processing using software, it is possible to install and execute a program in which a processing sequence is recorded in a memory in a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Alternatively, the program can be installed and executed on a general-purpose computer capable of executing various processes.

  For example, the program can be recorded in advance on a hard disk or ROM (Read Only Memory) as a recording medium. Alternatively, the program can be stored (recorded) temporarily or permanently in a removable recording medium. Such a removable recording medium can be provided as so-called package software. The removable recording medium includes a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), an MO (Magneto optical) disk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like.

  The program is installed in the computer from the removable recording medium as described above. In addition, it is wirelessly transferred from the download site to the computer. In addition, it is transferred to the computer via a network by wire.

It is a figure which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the management database of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the manager software of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the logical network tree which the manager software of embodiment of this invention produces. It is a figure for demonstrating the distribution process of the update file in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the agent software of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the application result sending process of the update file in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the logical network tree which the manager software of other embodiment of this invention produces.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Management apparatus 110 Manager software 111 Management database 200-209 Management object apparatus 210-219 Agent software 301-303 Router

Claims (7)

A software update management system in which a software update management device and a management target device are connected via a network,
The software update management device includes:
A management database for storing the type and version of software installed in the management target device;
List-up means for listing up management target devices that need to be updated based on the management database when an update occurs in the software;
A tree creating unit configured to create a logical network tree rooted at the software update management device, the management target device being listed and the software update management device;
Distribution means for distributing an update file and tree information rooted in the managed device directly to a lower management target device in the created logical network tree;
The managed device is:
When the update file and the tree information have been distributed, software update means for applying the update file to its own device;
A distribution relay unit that refers to the tree information and distributes the update file and tree information rooted in the management target device to a management target device directly below the own device. Software update management system.   The software update management system according to claim 1, wherein the logical network tree is a balanced binary tree. The management target device refers to the tree information, and determines whether there is a management target device lower than the own device; and
3. An application result transmitting means for transmitting an application result of the update file to an upper apparatus to which the update file is distributed when there is no lower management target apparatus. Software update management system. A software update management device connected to a management target device via a network,
A management database for storing the type and version of software installed in the management target device;
List-up means for listing up management target devices that need to be updated based on the management database when an update occurs in the software;
A tree creating unit configured to create a logical network tree rooted at the software update management device, the management target device being listed and the software update management device;
A distribution means for distributing an update file and tree information rooted in the management target device directly to a lower level management target device in the created logical network tree;
A software update management apparatus characterized by comprising: To the information processing device connected to the management target device via the network,
A management database for storing the type and version of software installed in the management target device;
List-up means for listing up management target devices that need to be updated based on the management database when an update occurs in the software;
A tree creating unit configured to create a logical network tree rooted at the software update management device, the management target device being listed and the software update management device;
A distribution means for distributing an update file and tree information rooted in the management target device directly to a lower level management target device in the created logical network tree;
A manager program which functions as a software update management apparatus having To the information processing device connected to the software update management device via the network,
Software update means for applying the update file to the own device when the update file of the software installed in the own device and the tree information of the logical network tree rooted in the own device have been distributed;
A distribution relay unit that refers to the tree information and distributes the update file and tree information rooted in the management target device to a management target device directly below the own device;
An agent program characterized by causing it to function as a device comprising In addition to the information processing apparatus,
A determination unit that refers to the tree information and determines whether there is a lower management target device than the own device;
If there is no lower management target device, application result transmission means for transmitting the application result of the update file to the upper device that has distributed the update file;
The agent program according to claim 6, wherein the agent program is made to function as a device having the following.

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