JP3161526B2 - Application software copy guard method and system in client-server environment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a copy guard method and a copy guard system for application software in a client-server environment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Personal computers and workstations are used in a wide range of fields, and many practical application software (hereinafter, abbreviated as applications) used in them are sold by providers. Each program constituting such an application is provided in a form stored in a floppy disk or CD-ROM, and the user purchases the program, installs it on the hard disk of his or her computer, and uses it. In terms of intellectual property rights, the user is licensed from the provider for use on specific hardware, and a license agreement for the program has been concluded with the provider, so copy it to any hardware and use it Is illegal. However, in fact, floppy disks and CD-RO
The M program could be easily installed on any computer system, and usually had to rely on the morals of the user for unauthorized installation. However, methods for preventing such unauthorized use have also been studied, and workstations use host identifiers to identify hardware. For personal computers without host identifiers, for example, information unique to the hard disk is used as a key to prevent unauthorized use. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-325712 discloses a method in which a program is not executed on a computer system other than a computer system which has been used and licensed.

On the other hand, in an organization such as a company that uses a large number of computers, a client-server environment in which a plurality of computers and a server for controlling input / output of the system and resources are connected by a network such as a LAN is constructed, and distributed processing is performed. Where to do is increasing. In this case, if the owner purchases and uses a floppy disk or CD-ROM containing the application from the provider,
In many cases, the number of client personal computers and workstations that install and use applications in a client-server environment is contracted with a determined number of permitted licenses.

[0004]

In a method in which a program is not executed in a computer system other than a computer system licensed using the above-mentioned host identifier and information unique to a hard disk disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-325712 as a key for preventing fraud. This is effective when specifying individual computer systems, but when deciding the number of personal computers and workstations of clients to install and use applications in a client / server environment, the installation information must be included in the original medium. There is a problem that even if the number of installations can be managed by using such a method, illegal installation using a copy medium cannot be performed without resorting to the morals of the user.

An object of the present invention is to provide a copy guard method and a copy guard system for an application which prevent unauthorized installation of an application provided to a user used in a client / server environment.

[0006]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS]
The copy protection method for application software in a server-type environment is based on the application software used in a client-server type environment. Even if a copied medium is used, the number of client licenses that can be installed is reduced to a predetermined number of permitted licenses. A copy guard method for regulating, wherein the original installation medium stores the number of permitted licenses and the number of used licenses, the server stores the used license number,
Matching the number of licensed licenses to the number of used licenses prevents installation on clients that exceed the number of licensed licenses, and matching the number of used licenses to the number of used licenses to clients that exceed the number of licensed licenses on media copied Prevent installation of.

[0007] The installation medium stores a client on which the application software is installed with the license, and in response to an installation request from the licensed client, the application software is reinstalled, and an installation request from a new client is installed. In the case of, the number of permitted licenses stored in the installation medium is compared with the number of used licenses, and if the number of used licenses does not exceed the number of permitted licenses, it is determined that a license can be provided. If the same number as the used license number is not included in the used license number stored in the server, it is determined that the request is a legitimate installation request, a license is provided to the client, and the application software is installed. It is desirable to stall.

The number of licenses stored in the installation medium is preferably set to an initial value of “1” and incremented by +1 each time a license is provided to a new client. As for the used license number, it is preferable that the number of used licenses stored in the installation medium before the increment is registered as the used license number every time a license is provided to a new client.

Further, the used license number stored in the server uses the unique number of the installation medium as a parent number,
The license number is created as a branch number, and the comparison between the number of used licenses and the used license number may be performed on the used license number having the unique number of the installation medium as a parent number.

[0010] A copy guard system for application software in a client-server environment according to the present invention provides a client license that can be installed on application software used in a client-server environment even if a copied medium is used. This is a copy guard system for restricting the number to a predetermined number of permitted licenses.

The copy guard system includes a storage device for an installation medium, a storage device for a server, a storage device for a client, and a data processing device.

[0012] The storage device for the installation medium includes a computer name storage unit, a used license number storage unit, a permitted license number storage unit, a job storage unit, and an application storage unit. Each time the application software is installed on a new client, the computer name of the client is registered in the computer name storage unit, and the initial value “1” is stored in advance in the license usage storage unit, and the application software is stored in advance. Is incremented (+1) each time is installed, an arbitrary predetermined value corresponding to the number of permitted licenses is stored in advance in the permitted number of licenses storage unit, and the client storage unit of the client is installed in the job storage unit when the application software is installed in the client. A job for causing the installation processing means of the data processing apparatus to perform an installation operation is stored, and a program of application software to be installed is stored in the application storage unit.

The storage device of the server is provided with a used license number storage unit. The used license number storage unit stores an initial value “0” in advance, and installs an installation medium every time the application software is installed. The value of the number of used licenses before being incremented in the used license number storage unit is additionally stored as the used license number.

The storage device of the client includes a computer name storage unit for storing the computer name of the client and an application storage unit for storing application software.

[0015] The data processing device of the client includes an installation processing unit. The installation processing unit uses a job program installed from a job storage unit of the installation medium to execute first identification processing means, second identification processing means, and third identification processing means. And an installation processing means and a post-processing means.

In the first identification processing means, the computer name stored in the computer name storage section of the client is compared with the computer name stored in the computer name storage section of the installation medium. Is re-installed, the application software in the application storage unit of the installation medium is reinstalled in the application storage unit of the client, and if they do not match, it is determined to be installed on a new client.

In the second identification means, when the first identification means determines that the installation to a new client is to be performed, the number of used licenses and the number of permitted licenses stored in the used license number storage section of the installation medium are stored. If the number of used licenses does not exceed the number of permitted licenses, it is determined that a license can be granted to the client.

In the third identification means, if the second identification means determines that a license can be granted to the client, the license usage number stored in the usage license number storage unit of the installation medium and the server usage The used license number stored in the used license number storage unit is collated, and if they match, it is determined that installation on the installation medium is impossible and the installation is stopped. If they do not match, it is determined that installation is possible.

In the installation processing means, when the third identification means determines that the installation is possible, the application software is read from the application storage unit of the installation medium and the client is installed in the application storage unit. Is done.

In the post-processing means, the number of used licenses stored in the used license number storage section of the installation medium is stored as a used license number in the used license number storage section of the server, and stored in the computer name storage section of the client. The used computer name is stored in the computer name storage section of the installation medium, and the number of used licenses in the used license number storage section is incremented.

An initial value “1” is stored in advance in the number-of-use-licenses storage unit in the storage device of the installation medium, and is incremented (+1) each time the installation process is completed, and the installation is performed for any client. Indicates By comparing with the permitted license number storage unit, the number of installations per installation medium can be limited.

In addition, the value of the used license number storage unit before being incremented is stored as accumulated data in the used license number storage unit of the storage device in the server, and is subjected to matching, so that the previously copied medium is copied. Using,
Guarding can also be applied when attempting to perform installation processing on a client illegally exceeding the number of permitted licenses.

This system is improved so that installation on clients exceeding the permitted license can be guarded regardless of the operation method of the user.

[0024]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an application copy guard system in a client-server environment according to the first embodiment of this invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an application copy guard system in a client-server type environment according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a storage device 11 of an installation medium 1 such as an FD, and a server 3 constituting a client-server type environment. And a data processing device 22 of the client 2 such as a personal computer.

The storage device 11 of the installation medium 1 includes a computer name storage unit 111, a used license number storage unit 112, a permitted license number storage unit 113, a job storage unit 114, and an application storage unit 115.

The computer name storage unit 111 stores an initial value “NULL” in advance, and registers the computer name of the installed client every time an application is installed. The used license number storage unit 112 stores an initial value “1” in advance, and is incremented (+1) by the final processing of the post-processing unit 225 of the data processing device 22 of the client 2 every time an application is installed. Thus, if an error occurs during installation, the increment is not performed. The number-of-permitted-licenses storage unit 113 stores an arbitrary default value corresponding to the number of permitted licenses in advance. The job storage unit 114 stores a job for causing the installation processing unit 220 of the data processing device 220 of the client 2 to perform an installation operation when the application of the client 2 is installed. The application storage unit 115 stores an application program to be installed.

The used license number storage unit 311 in the storage device 31 of the server 3 stores an initial value “0” in advance, and every time an application is installed, the initial value “0” is stored after the data processing device 22 of the client 2. The processing unit 225 additionally stores, as the used license number, the numerical value of the used license number before the increment stored in the used license number storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1.

The storage device 21 of the client 2 includes a computer name storage unit 211 for storing the computer name of the client 2 and an application storage unit 212 for storing applications.

The installation processing unit 220 of the data processing device 22 of the client 2 executes the first identification processing means 221 and the second identification processing by the job program installed from the job storage unit 114 of the storage device 11 of the installation medium 1. Means 222 and third identification processing means 223
And installation processing means 224 and post-processing means 225.

The first identification processing means 221 searches the computer name storage section 111 of the installation medium 1 using the computer name stored in the computer name storage section 211 of the client 2 as a key. If a match is found,
Recognizing the re-installation to the registered same client, the application storage unit 11 of the installation medium 1
5, the application is read out and only reinstalled in the application storage unit 212 of the client 2. If not found, it is recognized as a new installation, and the process proceeds to the second identification means 222.

The second identification means 222 compares the number of used licenses stored in the number-of-used-licenses storage section 112 of the installation medium 1 with the number of permitted licenses stored in the number-of-permitted-licenses storage section 113 to determine the number of used licenses. If .ltoreq.the number of permitted licenses, the process proceeds to the third identification means 223. Otherwise, the number of used licenses exceeds the number of permitted licenses, so that it is determined that installation is not possible, and the process ends.

The third identification means 223 uses the number-of-used-licenses storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1 as a key,
The used license number storage unit 311 of the server 3 is searched. If a match is found, the installation medium 1 is determined to be an illegal medium and cannot be installed, and the process is terminated. If no match is found, installation processing means 2
Proceed to 24.

The installation processing means 224 reads the application from the application storage unit 115 of the installation medium 1 and installs the application in the application storage unit 212 of the client 2. After the installation processing is completed, the process proceeds to the post-processing means 225.

The post-processing means 225 stores the number of used licenses in the used license number storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1 in the used license number storage unit 311 of the storage device 31 of the server 3 as a used license number, and stores the computer name. The computer name stored in the unit 211 is stored in the computer name storage unit 111 of the installation medium 1, and the number of used licenses in the used license number storage unit 112 is incremented (+1).

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an application copy guard method in a client-server environment according to the first embodiment of this invention.

When the installation medium 1 is set on the computer of the client 2, the job program stored in the job storage unit 114 of the installation medium 1 is installed in the installation processing unit of the client 2, and the application copy guard system starts operating. (Step S201), the computer name stored in the computer name storage unit 211 of the client 2 is supplied to the installation processing unit 220 of the data processing device 22. In the installation processing means 220, the first identification means 221 executes the first identification processing, and the computer name 21
It is searched whether the same computer name as that of the first computer is stored in the computer name storage unit 111 of the installation medium 1 (S
202), if the same computer name as the computer name stored in the computer name storage unit 211 is stored in the computer name storage unit 111 (S203N),
It is determined that the client 1 is a registered client, and the application is reinstalled in the application storage unit 212 of the client 1 (S1).
212), and the process ends (S213). If it is not stored (Y in S203), it is determined that the installation is for a new client 1, and the process proceeds to the second identification means 222 to execute the second identification processing (S204 and S205).

The second identification means 222 is supplied with the number of used licenses stored in the number-of-used-licenses storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1 and the number of permitted licenses stored in the number-of-permitted-licenses storage unit 113. It is checked whether the number of licenses exceeds the permitted number (S204). If it has exceeded (S205N), it is determined that installation is not possible (S211), and the process is terminated (S213). If not exceeded (S205Y), the process proceeds to the third identification means 223 to execute the third identification processing (S206).

For example, the permitted license number storage unit 113
In the case where the default value of the number of permitted licenses stored in “1” is “5”, the number of used licenses stored in the used license number storage unit 112 is incremented (+1) from the initial value “1” for each installation. Therefore, in the case of the fifth client, the number of used licenses in the used license number storage unit 112 is “5” corresponding to the fourth and is installable, but is “6” in the case of the sixth client. Therefore, installation becomes impossible,
Installation is possible only for five clients.

The third identification means 223 determines whether or not the same numerical value as the number of used licenses stored in the used license number storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1 is stored in the used license number storage unit 311 of the server 3. Can be examined. Each time the installation process (S207) ends, the used license number stored in the used license number storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1 is sequentially stored in the used license number storage unit 311 (S208). At this time, if the operation is performed using only the original medium, the used license number storage unit 311 cannot include the same numerical value as the used license number stored in the used license number storage unit 112. In other words, in the case where the same numerical value is searched, the original medium is copied in advance,
It can be determined that it is used for installation together with the original medium. Therefore, in this case, (S206
N), installation is not possible (S211), and the process ends (S213).

For example, using the original medium 1, the first license is assigned to the computer A, the second license is assigned to the computer B,.
If the original medium is copied to another medium after the second license is installed, "3" is registered as the number of licenses used for the copied medium. Even if the user tries to install the installed medium on the sixth computer F, the already used license number storage unit 311 stores
Since the numerical values “1” to “5” are stored, and the same numeral is included, the installation process is not continued. After duplication, installation is possible if the original medium is installed on the duplicated medium before the next installation.However, installation on the next original medium will not be possible because the same number will be included and installation will not be possible. Since the copied medium is regarded as legitimate and the original medium is regarded as unauthorized, the number of licenses used does not exceed the number of permitted licenses even if the copied medium can be used.

If the same value is not found by the third identification means 223 (S206Y), an installation process 224 for the client is executed (S207), and the process proceeds to the post-processing means 225.

In the post-processing means 225, the installation medium 1
Is stored in the used license number storage section 311 of the server 3 (S208), and the computer name storage section 2
11 is stored in the computer name storage unit 111 of the installation medium 1 (S209), and the number of used licenses in the used license number storage unit 112 of the installation medium 1 is incremented (+1) (S210).
The process ends (S213).

In the embodiment of the present invention, an example in which the number of permitted licenses is five has been described, but the number of licenses is not limited.

Further, as a second embodiment of the present invention,
When adding a client that can be installed properly using the client addition FD, the used license number storage unit 311 of the storage device 31 of the server 3 stores the F
Operation is possible by having a D number as a parent number and a used license number as a branch number, and performing a third identification process using a used license number having the FD number of the set installation medium 1 as a parent number. is there.

[0046]

As described above, the effect of the present invention is as follows. When an application is installed on a client in a client-server environment, illegal installation on a client more than the number of licenses is performed when the medium is duplicated in advance. But it can be prevented.

The reason is that the server holds and identifies data on the number of times of installation on the client.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an application copy guard system in a client-server environment according to a first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an application copy guard method in a client-server environment according to the first embodiment of this invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 installation medium 2 client 3 server 11, 21, 31 storage device 22 data processing device 111, 211 computer name storage unit 112 used license number storage unit 113 permitted license number storage unit 114 job storage unit 115 application storage unit 212 application storage unit 220 Installation processing unit 221 First identification unit 222 Second identification unit 223 Third identification unit 224 Installation processing unit 225 Post-processing unit 311 Used license number storage unit S201 to S213 Step

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A copy guard method for restricting the number of client licenses that can be installed to a predetermined number of permitted licenses even when a copied medium is used for application software used in a client-server type environment. The original installation medium stores the number of permitted licenses and the number of used licenses, the server stores the number of used licenses, and a client that exceeds the number of permitted licenses by comparing the number of permitted licenses and the number of used licenses. In a client-server environment characterized by preventing installation on a client exceeding the number of permitted licenses by the medium copied by comparing the used license number with the used license number. Application Down software copy protection method. 2. The installation medium according to claim 1, wherein said installation medium stores a client on which the application software is installed with a license, and in response to an installation request from the client on which the license is provided, the application software is reinstalled. For an installation request for
The number of permitted licenses and the number of used licenses stored in the installation medium are compared, and if the number of used licenses does not exceed the number of permitted licenses, it is determined that a license can be provided. If the same number as the used license number is not included in the used license number stored in the server, the license is determined to be a legitimate installation request, and a license is provided to the client. The copy protection method for application software in a client-server environment according to claim 1, which is installed. 3. The client according to claim 2, wherein the number of use licenses stored in the installation medium is set to an initial value “1”, and is incremented by +1 each time a license is provided to a new client.・ A copy guard method for application software in a server environment. 4. The used license number stored in the server is registered each time a license is provided to a new client by the used license number stored in the installation medium before the increment as a used license number. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the application software is copy-guarded in a client-server environment. 5. The used license number stored in the server is created using a personal number of the installation medium as a parent number and a license number as a branch number. The copy guard method for application software in a client-server environment according to claim 2, wherein the collation is performed on a used license number having a unique number of the installation medium as a parent number. 6. A copy guard system for restricting the number of client licenses that can be installed to a predetermined number of permitted licenses even when a copied medium is used for application software used in a client-server environment. The copy guard system includes a storage device for an installation medium, a storage device for a server, a storage device for a client, and a data processing device. The storage device for the installation medium includes a computer name storage unit and the number of licenses used. A storage unit, a permitted license number storage unit, a job storage unit and an application storage unit, wherein the computer name storage unit has a computer name of the client installed every time the application software is installed on a new client. Is registered in advance, and an initial value “1” is stored in advance in the use license storage unit, and is incremented (+1) each time the application software is installed.
An arbitrary predetermined value corresponding to the number of permitted licenses is stored in advance in the number of permitted licenses storage unit, and an installation process of the data processing device of the client is performed when the application software is installed in the client in the job storage unit. A job for causing the means to perform an installation operation is stored; a program of application software to be installed is stored in the application storage unit; a storage device of the server includes a used license number storage unit; The initial value “0” is stored in the license number storage unit.
Is stored in advance, and each time the application software is installed, the number of licenses used before being incremented in the license storage unit of the installation medium is additionally stored as a used license number, and The storage device of the client includes a computer name storage unit that stores the computer name of the client and an application storage unit that stores application software. The data processing device of the client includes an installation processing unit, and the installation process A first identification processing unit, a second identification processing unit, a third identification processing unit, an installation processing unit, and a post-processing unit, based on a job program installed from the job storage unit of the installation medium; The said In the identification processing means, the computer name stored in the computer name storage section of the client is compared with the computer name stored in the computer name storage section of the installation medium. Recognized as reinstallation, the application software in the application storage unit of the installation medium is reinstalled in the application storage unit of the client, and if they do not match, it is determined to be installed on a new client, and the second identification is performed. When the first identification unit determines that the installation to a new client is to be performed, the number of used licenses stored in the used license number storage unit of the installation medium and the number of licenses stored in the permitted license number storage unit are determined. number If the number of used licenses does not exceed the number of permitted licenses, it is determined that licensing to the client is permitted. In the third identification means, the license is granted to the client by the second identification means. If it is determined that the license is acceptable, the number of used licenses stored in the used license number storage unit of the installation medium is compared with the used license number stored in the used license number storage unit of the server, and the two licenses are matched. Then, the installation to the installation medium is determined to be impossible and the installation is stopped. If they do not match, the installation is determined to be possible. In the installation processing means, the third identification means determines that the installation is possible. The application storage from the application storage section of the installation medium. Software is read and installed in the application storage unit of the client,
In the post-processing means, the number of used licenses stored in the used license number storage unit of the installation medium is stored as a used license number in the used license number storage unit of the server, and the computer name storage of the client is stored. Wherein the computer name stored in the storage unit is stored in the computer name storage unit of the installation medium, and the number of used licenses in the used license number storage unit is incremented. Software copy guard system.