JP4263868B2 - Information processing apparatus coupling method and information processing apparatus coupling program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus in an information processing system including a plurality of information processing apparatuses divided into a plurality of groups, Information processing apparatus coupling method and information processing apparatus coupling program About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Interactivity in digital broadcasting that has started is one of the technologies that have attracted a great deal of attention in that the voice of the viewer can be reflected in the program in real time. However, due to the fact that the equipment is expensive at present, it is expected that it will spread to the general public.
[0003]
On the other hand, in the Internet, which has been rapidly spreading in recent years, a technology for simultaneously distributing a large amount of content such as multicast to a large number of users in a single packet is being introduced. Not that. However, on the Internet, conventionally, unilateral information distribution from the server to the client has been the main, so the interactivity as seen in digital broadcasting is still poor.
[0004]
For example, suppose that a user performs a quiz in which a large number of users participate at the same time, and notifies each participant of the answer status such as how many respondents are present and how many are correct ones at any time.
[0005]
If multicast is used for distribution of the total results, the number of providers who can receive the service is limited because there are still a few providers that support multicast. Also, the prior art broadcast (information distribution method that sends a single packet to all points in a specified network), except in special cases where the participants are all users belonging to the same network. And cannot be used.
[0006]
Therefore, if we try to distribute this total result to all participants by unicast in the prior art (information distribution method that creates and transmits packets to specified individual points), 1000 cases are processed in one second. However, if there are 1 million participants, it will take more than 16 minutes and it will not be very real-time. In the first place, it takes a considerable amount of time just to summarize the answer status, that is, to accept answers from 1 million participants and to count the number of respondents and correct answers.
[0007]
Therefore, the applicant organizes the clients in a tree shape with the server at the top, and (a) the upper client C adds up the total results up to that point from the lower clients A and B, and gives his answer. (B) The lower-level client C forwards the total result distributed from the higher-level client D to the lower-level clients A and B. A technology has been proposed that dramatically reduces the load on the server by distributing and allocating processing conventionally burdened by the server to the clients of each hierarchy of the tree (Japanese Patent Application 2001). No. 094415 and related technologies include Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-094414 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-094416).
[0008]
In the above technique, a client who wants to participate in the content first connects to the server in order to acquire minimum necessary items such as a participation ID. At this time, the server designates one of the clients on the tree that has already been formed (one of the clients that are already participating). Built into the delivery route. In this way, the tree grows gradually.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above is a case where a small number of clients are sporadically participating in the content. For example, when a large number of clients belonging to the same provider are participating at once, it is more efficient to form a separate tree with them alone. Is. In addition, a tree that was originally a single tree may be divided into a plurality of parts due to cancellation of participation or communication interruption of some clients.
[0010]
Whatever the cause of multiple trees, these trees must be merged into a single tree at the top of the server by the start of the content at the latest. Then, if this tree-joining operation is performed on the server side, the server must always know the connection status of one million units of clients, which increases the processing load.
[0011]
Therefore, we want to let the client side autonomously join the trees, and more specifically, organize the clients (the former is just one example of the latter), but if the individual clients act on their own, May cause contradiction. For example, at the same time that a client at the top of tree A (specifically, one of the clients in the loop at the top of the tree, described below) decides to fall under tree B, It can happen that the client (same as above) decides to go under the tree A.
[0012]
In addition, if one of the clients (the top client in the above example) is left to make a decision to join, the organization will be confused if this client stops participating or loses communication. There is.
[0013]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and is capable of autonomously organizing a large number of grouped information processing apparatuses without causing any inconsistency or confusion on the organization. Information processing apparatus coupling method, information processing apparatus coupling program, and information processing apparatus The purpose is to provide.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the purpose, This invention The information processing apparatus according to the present invention determines whether or not it is possible to propose a combination to a group other than the group to which the group belongs in the information processing apparatus in the information processing system including a plurality of information processing apparatuses divided into a plurality of groups. A combination proposal availability determination unit; a determination result transmission unit that transmits a determination result by the combination proposal availability determination unit to an information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the group belongs; and a group other than the self in the group to which the group belongs. A determination result receiving means for receiving a determination result by the combination proposal availability determination means of the apparatus, a determination result transmitted by the determination result transmitting means, and a determination result received by the determination result receiving means from the information processing apparatus; And a joining request transmission means for sending a joining request to the other group when a majority is acceptable. And butterflies.
[0015]
This Departure According to Ming, a proposal for a combination from one group to another will only be executed after a majority vote in the group.
[0016]
Also, This invention The information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus in an information processing system including a plurality of information processing apparatuses divided into a plurality of groups, and receives a join request from a group other than the group to which the information belongs. Means for determining whether to accept the join request received by the join request receiving means, and the result of determination by the join permission determining means to an information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the user belongs. Transmitted by a determination result transmitting means for transmitting, a determination result receiving means for receiving a determination result by the joining possibility determining means of the device from information processing apparatuses other than the self in the group to which the apparatus belongs, and transmitted by the determination result transmitting means If a majority of the judgment results received and the judgment results received by the judgment result receiving means are acceptable, the other group Characterized in that and a shared information transmission means for notifying the information processing apparatus other than the own group to own affiliation information required for binding to flop.
[0017]
This invention According to the above, the combination of one group with another group (sharing of information necessary for this) is executed only after a majority decision is made by a group discussion.
[0018]
Also, This invention In the information processing method in each of the information processing systems in the information processing system composed of a plurality of information processing devices divided into a plurality of groups, the information processing method according to the present invention proposes a connection to a group other than the group to which the user belongs. A combined proposal propriety determining step for determining whether or not a combination is possible, a determination result transmitting step for transmitting a determination result in the combined proposal propriety determining step to an information processing apparatus other than the self in a group to which the group belongs, and a group to which the self belongs A determination result receiving step for receiving the determination result of the device in the combination proposal availability determination step, a determination result transmitted in the determination result transmission step, and a reception in the determination result reception step A joining request transmission step of sending a joining request to the other group when a majority of the determination results obtained is acceptable; Characterized in that it contains.
[0019]
This invention According to the above, a proposal for a combination from one group to another group is not executed until it is approved by a majority in the group.
[0020]
Also, This invention In the information processing method in each of the information processing systems in the information processing system composed of a plurality of information processing devices divided into a plurality of groups, a join request is issued from a group other than the group to which the user belongs. A joining request receiving step for receiving, a joining availability judging step for judging acceptance / rejection of the joining request received in the joining request receiving step, and a judgment on whether or not to join the information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the device belongs. A determination result transmitting step for transmitting a determination result in the step; a determination result receiving step for receiving the determination result of the device in the combination availability determination step from an information processing device other than the self in the group to which the device belongs; and the determination When a majority of the determination results transmitted in the result transmission step and the determination results received in the determination result reception step are acceptable, And shared information transmitting step for notifying information required for binding to serial other groups to an information processing apparatus other than the self in the group of self belongs, characterized in that it contains.
[0021]
This invention According to the above, the combination of one group with another group (sharing of information necessary for this) is executed only after a majority decision is made by a group discussion.
[0022]
Also, This invention The program related to the above The computer is caused to execute the method described in (1).
[0023]
This invention According to claim 3, the method according to claim 3 or 4 is executed by a computer.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Information processing apparatus coupling method, information processing apparatus coupling program, and information processing apparatus The preferred embodiment will be described in detail.
[0025]
First, the configuration of an information processing system (specifically, an answer counting system) including an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the physical configuration of this system. As shown in the figure, this system is composed of the Internet, a server installed there, and a large number of clients of thousands to millions connected to the Internet through providers, proxies, and the like.
[0026]
Next, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram conceptually and schematically showing the configuration of the present system. This figure does not show the physical connection relationship between the server and the client as shown in FIG. 1, but shows the above-mentioned totaling route and the totaling result distribution route. As shown in the figure, a plurality of clients form one group (indicated by a triangle in the figure, hereinafter referred to as a “loop”), and each loop is arranged in a tree shape with a server at the top.
[0027]
Note that, in the same drawing, each loop is drawn so as to be composed of three clients, but the number of loop members is actually about three to ten and more, and the number of loops is different for each loop. In addition, a plurality of (for example, three) clients are selected for each loop as clients representing the loop. This representative is appointed and dismissed as needed according to the processing capability and load status of each client in the loop (usually, the three whose processing is the fastest are selected as representatives).
[0028]
One loop is composed of clients that are (1) directly communicable and (2) as close as possible to the electronic distance (it may be said that the communication path is short or the address is close).
[0029]
For example, a client connected to the Internet by dial-up IP connection is usually assigned a global IP address by DHCP when connecting to each provider. And, between clients having a global IP address, direct communication by UDP is possible regardless of the connected provider.
[0030]
Therefore, from the viewpoint of (1), these clients may be combined into one loop, but from the viewpoint of (2), one client is usually connected to the same provider. A loop will be formed. However, when the number of members in one loop becomes too large, it is divided and distributed into a plurality of loops.
[0031]
On the other hand, a client connected to the Internet via a proxy from a LAN or the like is normally assigned a private IP address, and can in principle communicate only with a client in the same LAN. Therefore, such a client forms a loop only from these viewpoints (1) and (2).
[0032]
Of course, it is possible to connect from the inside of the LAN to the outside by taking measures such as encoding data and transmitting it using the HTTP protocol, setting static NAT, or installing a dedicated proxy. However, in any case, it puts a load on the router and proxy server, so such clients are put together at the end of the tree.
[0033]
Next, the configuration of each client constituting the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each client in the system. The configuration shown in the figure is a typical example, and actually, the hardware configuration varies depending on the variety of clients participating in the content.
[0034]
In the figure, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU that controls the entire apparatus, 302 denotes a ROM that stores basic input / output programs, and 303 denotes a RAM that is used as a work area of the CPU 301.
[0035]
Reference numeral 304 denotes an HDD (hard disk drive) that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the HD (hard disk) 305 according to the control of the CPU 301, and 305 denotes an HD that stores data written according to the control of the HDD 304. Yes. Reference numeral 306 denotes an FDD (flexible disk drive) that controls reading / writing of data with respect to the FD (flexible disk) 307 according to the control of the CPU 301, and reference numeral 307 denotes a removable FD that stores data written according to the control of the FDD 306. Respectively.
[0036]
Reference numeral 308 denotes a cursor, menu, window, or display for displaying various data such as characters and images, and reference numeral 309 denotes a modem for transmitting / receiving data to / from the Internet via the public telephone line 310. Show. Reference numeral 311 denotes a keyboard having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, and various instructions. Reference numeral 312 denotes a mouse for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like. ing.
[0037]
Reference numeral 313 denotes a scanner that optically reads characters and images, 314 denotes a printer that prints characters and images on paper, 315 denotes a CD-ROM that is a removable recording medium, and 316 denotes data for the CD-ROM 315. Reference numeral 300 denotes a CD-ROM drive for controlling the leads, and reference numeral 300 denotes a bus or cable for connecting the above-mentioned parts.
[0038]
Next, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a functional configuration of each client in the system. Although the client has various functions other than those shown in the figure, only functions necessary for explaining the invention described in the claims, specifically, functions related to client organization (particularly, tree connection) will be described. To do.
[0039]
In the figure, reference numeral 400 denotes a participation unit that acquires information necessary for participation in the content by connecting to the server (participation ID, acceptance destination loop, client IP address to be inquired later), and the like. This is a functional unit that connects to the receiving destination and obtains other necessary information (such as a representative IP address of the receiving destination loop) to incorporate this client into the above-described tree.
[0040]
Reference numeral 401 denotes a connection position specifying unit, which inquires a connection position between a tree different from the tree to which the client belongs and searches for a loop serving as a node between both trees according to a procedure described in detail later. It is a functional part to identify.
[0041]
Reference numeral 402 denotes an in-loop proposal unit that requests a representative client in the same loop to propose a connection to the loop of the other party tree specified by the connection position specifying unit 401, and The configuration includes a combination proposal request receiving unit 402b that receives the request from any client in the same loop.
[0042]
Reference numeral 403 denotes an admissibility determination unit, which includes an adjoining tree propriety determination unit 403a that determines whether or not to propose an adjoining tree loop, and an admissibility determination that determines whether or not to combine with an opponent tree loop. The configuration includes the unit 403b.
[0043]
Reference numeral 404 denotes an availability determination unit, which is a determination result transmission unit 404a that transmits its own determination result by the availability determination unit 403 to other representative clients in the same loop, and conversely, other representative clients in the same loop. From the determination result receiving unit 404b that receives the determination result by each of the determination unit 403, the own determination result by the determination unit 403 and the determination results of other representatives received by the determination result reception unit 404b are collated. Thus, when the majority is “permitted”, it is configured to include a permission / rejection determination unit 404c that determines to propose a connection to a loop of a counterpart tree or to join a loop of a counterpart tree.
[0044]
Reference numeral 405 denotes an organization information sharing unit. When the combination or proposal is determined by the permission determination unit 404, shared information transmission is performed to transmit the fact, information necessary for the combination, and the like to all other clients in the same loop. And a shared information receiving unit 405b that receives the above facts and information from a representative client in the same loop.
[0045]
406 is an out-of-loop proposing unit, and a coupling request transmitting unit 406a that proposes coupling with a loop to which the self belongs to a representative of the loop of the other party tree identified by the coupling position identifying unit 401. A join request receiving unit 406b that receives the above proposal from a representative of a loop other than the loop, and sends a decision result by the acceptability judging unit 403 to the representative of the proposal source loop for the proposal received by the join request receiving unit 406b. The configuration includes a determination result transmission unit 406c and a determination result reception unit 406d that receives the determination result from the representative of the loop of the proposal destination.
[0046]
It should be noted that the portion surrounded by a dotted line in the drawing, that is, the combined proposal request receiving unit 402b among the in-loop proposal unit 402, the availability determination unit 403 and the availability determination unit 404, and the shared information transmission unit 405a among the organization information sharing unit 405, The out-of-loop proposal unit 406 is provided only for clients selected as representatives of each loop among the clients (the client other than the representative may be provided, but the function is exhibited by these clients. There is nothing.)
[0047]
Now, the tree shown in FIG. 2 is a completed form, that is, a state immediately before the start of the content, and is obtained as a final result in which a plurality of trees being formed are gradually combined. Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, a procedure for joining trees in this system will be described in detail.
[0048]
The tree is joined at the timing when a new client joins one of the trees being formed, that is, when a new client joins the content, so the flowchart in the figure also includes the participation phase. Yes.
[0049]
The client who wants to participate in the content first connects to the server by the participation unit 400 to acquire the necessary items for participation (step S501 in FIG. 5), and then connects to the reception destination designated there, By acquiring necessary information, it is incorporated into one of the trees (step S502).
[0050]
The join following this participation is divided into two stages: a query phase before join (step S503) and a join agreement and actual join phase (step S504 and subsequent steps) for broadly specifying the join position. is there. Hereinafter, description will be made sequentially.
[0051]
1. Inquiry before join (identification of join position)
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a specific state of the coupling position between the tree A and another tree B immediately after the client 600 shown in FIG. The process in step S503 in FIG. 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. This process is executed exclusively by the coupling position specifying unit 401 shown in FIG.
[0052]
As described above, the client 600 obtains necessary items such as a participation ID and an accepting destination from the server prior to participation in the content. Among these necessary items, the client 600 is selected as an inquiry destination from already participating clients. IP addresses of a plurality of clients (the number is not limited as long as it is two or more) are included. This client is randomly selected from clients that can directly communicate with the client 600. Here, it is assumed that one of them is the client 601 shown in the figure.
[0053]
After the client 600 joins the tree A, it identifies the identification information of the tree A to which the client 600 belongs, and the hierarchy in which the client 600 is located (in the example of FIG. That is, the first hierarchy) is transmitted ((1) in the figure).
[0054]
If the received tree identification information is the same as the identification information of the tree to which the client 601 belongs, the client 601 returns a message to that effect to the client 600. In this case, since the newly joined client 600 and the client 601 that is the inquiry destination belong to the same tree, there is no room for joining the trees, and the inquiry is canceled at this point. (If there is a contact that has not yet been contacted, move to that contact).
[0055]
On the other hand, if the received tree identification information is different from the identification information of the tree to which the client belongs, the client 601 receives the hierarchy in which the client 601 is located in the tree B (the first hierarchy in the example in the figure) Comparing the hierarchy in which the client 600 is located (also the first hierarchy), if the own hierarchy is equal to or higher than the other hierarchy, the client 600 is replied to the client 600 to make an inquiry again. ((2) in the figure).
[0056]
Upon receiving this, the client 600 raises a request for an inquiry to the loop one above the loop to which the client 600 belongs ((3) in the figure), and the client 602 in the loop that has received the request requests its own in the tree A. The positioned hierarchy (second hierarchy in the example in the figure) is transmitted to the client 601 ((4) in the figure).
[0057]
Similarly to the inquiry from the client 600, the client 601 compares its own hierarchy (first hierarchy) with the other party's hierarchy (second hierarchy). In this case, the own hierarchy is lower than the other party's hierarchy. A request for an inquiry is raised to the loop one above the loop to which the group belongs ((5) in the figure). In response to this, the client 603 in the loop transmits the hierarchy in which the client 603 is located in the tree B (second hierarchy in the example in the figure) to the client 602 ((6) in the figure).
[0058]
The client 602 that has received this also compares its own layer (second layer) with the partner's layer (second layer). In this case, the own layer is the same as (or higher than) the partner's layer. The client 603 is returned to the client 603 to make an inquiry again to the higher-level client ((7) in the figure).
[0059]
Upon receiving this, the client 603 raises a request for an inquiry to the loop one level above the loop to which it belongs ((8) in the figure), and the client 604 in the loop that has received this requests its own in the tree B. The positioned hierarchy (third hierarchy in the example in the figure) is transmitted to the client 602 ((9) in the figure).
[0060]
The client 602 that has received the same compares the own layer (second layer) with the partner layer (third layer). In this case, the own layer is lower than the partner layer, so the loop to which the client belongs The inquiry request is raised to the loop one above ((10) in the figure). In response to this, the client 605 in the loop receives the fact that the hierarchy in which the client 605 is located is the highest in the tree A, that is, the fact that the loop to which the client 605 belongs is the highest loop in the tree A. ((11) in the figure).
[0061]
Upon receiving this, the client 604 returns the IP addresses of three representative clients among the clients belonging to its own loop to the client 605 ((12) in the figure). Then, after the loop of the client 604 and the loop of the client 605 agree to join by the procedure described later, the tree A that has reached the top loop first falls under the other tree B, and the loop 7 are connected as shown in FIG.
[0062]
In this way, by comparing the hierarchies where each other is located and reciprocally inquiring to a higher-order client if it is a disagreeable partner, communication between trees is finally achieved (that is, in FIG. 6 (12)). At that time) to ensure that it is done between clients at the same level and as much as possible.
[0063]
The merit of doing the above is that, regardless of the positional relationship between the newly joined client and the inquiry destination client appropriately designated by the server, the tree to which each client belongs is It is in the point of being combined in a state of “equal”.
[0064]
For example, when the newly joined client is 605 instead of 600, and the inquiry destination is the client 601, the trees A and B may be joined in such a manner that the client 605 loop is connected to the client 601 loop. Yes, but in the combined tree, the path from the highest loop to the lowest loop becomes considerably longer than before the connection (simple addition).
[0065]
However, from the viewpoint of the above-mentioned totalization and totalization result distribution, it is better that the route is as short as possible, and that there is less variation in length such as only one extremely long route. This is because the speed of aggregation or the like depends on the length of the route, so that if there is a noticeably long route, another short route client must wait for the processing to end there.
[0066]
Therefore, when the client 605 makes an inquiry to the client 601, if it is found that there is a difference of two layers between the two, the client 604 on the second layer of the same tree is finally replaced with the client 601 of the lower rank. Adjust to be a contact. As a result, even when the newly joined client is 605, the combined tree is the same as that in FIG. However, the combination result of the tree A and the tree B is the same regardless of the combination of the inquiry source and inquiry destination clients.
[0067]
2. Join agreement and actual join
Next, FIG. 8 to FIG. 14 schematically show the state of the connection agreement between the loops that are the nodes of both trees and the actual connection after the connection position is specified as described above. It is explanatory drawing. In the figure, the left side is the loop of the third hierarchy of the tree A (the loop to which the client 605 belongs; hereinafter “loop a”), and the right side is the loop of the third hierarchy of the tree B (the loop to which the client 604 belongs. ]). The processes after step S504 in FIG. 5 will be described in detail with reference to these drawings.
[0068]
(1) Joining proposal in loop a ... Fig. 8
First, the client 605 in the loop a proposes to join the loop b to the three clients that are representative of its own loop, specifically, 800, 801, and 802 shown in FIG. A request to do so is transmitted (step S504). The request is attached with the representative IP address of loop b (see FIG. 6 (12)) received by the client 605 from the client 604.
[0069]
(2) Joint proposal discussion in loop a ... Fig. 9
The clients 800, 801, and 802 that have received the request from the client 605 by the combined proposal request receiving unit 402b determine whether or not a proposal can be made by each combined proposal determination unit 403a (step S505). Then, the determination result (either “Yes” or “No”) is transmitted from the determination result transmission unit 404a to the remaining two representatives, and conversely, each determination result is received from the remaining two representatives by the determination result receiving unit 404b. The determination result 404 is received and collated with the determination result (step S506).
[0070]
(3) Determination of combination proposal in loop a and well-known matter of determination ... FIG.
Then, when at least two of the judgment results of the self and the judgment results of the other two representatives are “Yes”, that is, when a majority of the representatives judges that the proposal of the combination is possible (Step S507: Yes), it is decided to propose to join the loop b, and the shared information transmission unit 405a notifies that to all clients in the loop a (step S508). The client other than the representative trusts the notification when the shared information receiving unit 405b receives the notification from at least two of the three representatives.
[0071]
(4) Proposal of coupling from loop a to loop b ... FIG.
Further, the representative client of the loop a that has made the decision transmits a request for combining with its own loop to the representatives 1100, 1101, and 1102 of the loop b by the connection request transmission unit 406a in parallel with the above notification ( Step S509). If two or more representatives decide that the proposal for joining is “OK” and communication between the three representatives is successful, the three representatives of loop a join the three representatives of loop b respectively. Since this is a proposal, a total of nine communications between loops occur. This proposal includes all information necessary for combining, for example, identification information of loop a.
[0072]
(5) Current answer from loop b to loop a ... Fig. 12
The representatives 1100, 1101, and 1102 of the loop b can accept or reject individual proposals by the combination determination unit 403b when the combination request receiving unit 406b receives the proposals from the representatives 800, 801, and 802 of the loop a. (Step S510), and returns the result from the determination result transmission unit 406c to the proposal source (step S511).
[0073]
For example, when the representative 1100 of the loop b receives the proposal from the representative 800 of the loop a, regardless of the intentions of the other representatives 1101 and 1102, whether or not it can be combined is determined by itself, and the result is given to the representative 800. Send back. If the same proposal is received soon from another representative 801 in loop a, the same decision is made in the same manner, and the reply is sent to the representative 801. Further, when the same proposal is received from the remaining one representative 802 in the loop a, its own determination is returned to the representative 802 in the same manner. Since the three representatives answer to the three representatives respectively, a total of nine communications between the loops occur again here.
[0074]
The reply from the loop b to the loop a includes all items necessary for combining when the determination result is “Yes”, for example, the identification information of the loop b and the identification information of the tree B. If the determination result is “No”, the reason is included.
[0075]
In addition, when receiving a connection proposal from the loop a, when the loop b is proposing a connection to the loop a, that is, the connection proposal from the loop a and the connection proposal from the loop b are mixed. In that case, loop b ignores the join proposal from loop a.
[0076]
(6) A proposal for accepting a combined proposal in loop b, a proposal for accepting a combined proposal in loop a, FIG.
After replying to loop a, representatives 1100, 1101 and 1102 in loop b send their own judgment results answered to each representative of loop a to the other representatives in loop b by judgment result transmission unit 404a. Each determination result is received from the other representative by the determination result receiving unit 404b, and these are collated by the availability determining unit 404c (step S512).
[0077]
In loop a, representatives 800, 801, and 802 respectively determine whether the loop b determines the future correspondence of the loop b, that is, the loop b determines the combination from the plurality of replies received by the determination result receiving unit 406d. The decision result is judged (predicted), and the decision result is transmitted / received between the three parties by the decision result transmission unit 404a and the decision result reception unit 404b and collated by the decision unit 404c (step S513).
[0078]
(7) Determination of coupling and notification of coupling information in loop b and loop a FIG.
Then, each representative of the loop b decides to combine with the loop a when at least two determination results are “OK” (step S514: Yes), and to that effect and information necessary for the combination (combination) Information) is notified from the shared information transmission unit 405a to all clients in the loop b (step S515).
[0079]
In addition, each representative of the loop a decides the coupling with the loop a when at least two of the replies from the loop b are “Yes” (step S516: Yes), that is, the coupling performed by itself. Is determined to be accepted, the connection with the loop b is determined, and the information (connection information) necessary for the connection is notified from the shared information transmission unit 405a to all the clients in the loop a ( Step S517).
[0080]
When a client other than the representative receives the above notification from at least two representatives by the shared information receiving unit 405b, the client trusts the notification, captures the combined information contained therein, and stores it in an appropriate storage area. . When all the clients in the loops a and b recognize the connection and share necessary information, the two loops and the trees A and B included in them are logically combined.
[0081]
If there is a client that has not yet been contacted among the inquiry destinations acquired from the server at the time of participation (step S518: Yes), the processing after specifying the coupling position with the client is repeated again (return to step S503).
[0082]
According to the embodiment described above, a plurality of representatives appointed for each loop decide on whether or not to join with other loops by a majority decision, and some representatives are normal for some reason. Even when processing cannot be performed, the joining of trees proceeds without delay by other representatives.
[0083]
For example, even if the representative 802 of loop a becomes unable to communicate due to machine trouble or line trouble, if the remaining representatives 800 and 801 determine that the proposal from the client 605 is “possible”, the loop b by these representatives The proposal to the representative is executed (FIG. 15, compared with FIG. 11).
[0084]
Even in the loop b, even if the representative 1100 is unable to communicate, the remaining representatives 1101 and 1102 determine that the connection is possible and return it to the loop a (FIG. 16; FIG. 12). In contrast, the representatives in the loop b by the representatives and the representatives 800 and 801 receiving the reply are normally notified in the loop a (FIG. 17; in contrast to FIG. 14).
[0085]
In this way, even in an unstable environment, opinion adjustment inside and outside the loop and sharing of necessary information is performed reliably according to a predetermined procedure, so the server is not involved and it is left up to the client to organize it. However, there is no contradiction or confusion in the organization. Even if a malicious client intentionally disturbs or destroys an organization, the act will be absorbed in the majority vote, so it will not affect many people.
[0086]
In the above description, the number of representatives of each loop is three. Of course, more representatives may be selected. In addition, there may be no particular representative, and all clients in the loop may discuss whether or not to join or propose (so to speak, everyone is representative), but in any case proportional to the number of people. I cannot deny that it takes time to adjust opinions.
[0087]
In the procedure shown in FIG. 5, the loop b proposed to be combined from the loop a responds for the time being by each representative's own judgment (step S511), and then combines the opinions of the representatives together. This order may be reversed (step S512 and subsequent steps), but this order may be reversed, and whether or not the loop a can be combined with the loop b after the discussion / determination in the loop b is completed (in other words, the loop) b's unified view) may be returned.
[0088]
The reason why the opinions of the representatives are individually returned to the loop a before the opinion adjustment in the loop b is because speed is more important than certainty. That is, if priority is given to certainty, it is better to return a unified view after discussion, but loop a waits wastefully during the discussion in loop b. Therefore, before you hear the opinions of other representatives, you can answer them first to ensure speed. Even in this way, if the loop a associates the opinions of the representatives of the loop b, the same conclusion as the decision made in parallel with the loop b is drawn.
[0089]
In the above, the procedure for adjusting opinions and sharing information between loops has been described in the client organization, particularly in the aspect of the tree combination. However, this procedure is not limited to the tree combination. Is different from “joining” in which loop b is placed under loop b, which means a merge in which loop a is absorbed by loop b), and loop division (the reverse of coalescence, one loop is divided into multiple loops) It can also be applied to cases such as
[0090]
In addition, it is not always necessary that the loops are organized in a tree shape. For example, even if the loops are connected in a mesh shape, the above-described procedure for conferencing in the aspect of joining, merging, and dividing the loops is performed. Can be adopted. Furthermore, the processing performed by the organized client does not have to be the above-described aggregation or distribution of the aggregation results.
[0091]
Note that the participation unit 400, the coupling position specifying unit 401, the in-loop proposal unit 402, the availability determination unit 403, the availability determination unit 404, the organization information sharing unit 405, and the outside loop proposal unit 406 described above are read from the HD 305 or the like into the RAM 303. The function of each unit is realized by the CPU 301 executing instruction processing according to the instructions of the issued program. In addition to HD 305, this program can be stored in various recording media such as FD 307, CD-ROM 315, or MO, or can be distributed via a network.
[0092]
【The invention's effect】
As explained above This invention Is a combined proposal propriety judging means for judging whether or not a joint proposal for a group other than the group to which the group belongs can be made in an information processing apparatus in an information processing system composed of a plurality of information processing apparatuses divided into a plurality of groups. And from the information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the self belongs, the determination result transmission means for transmitting the determination result by the combination proposal availability determination means to the information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the self belongs, A determination result receiving unit that receives a determination result by the combination proposal availability determination unit of the apparatus, a determination result transmitted by the determination result transmitting unit, and a determination result received by the determination result receiving unit can be a majority. And a joining request transmission means for sending a joining request to the other group when there is, so that from one group to another Proposals for joining loops are only executed after a majority vote in the group, thereby autonomously organizing a large number of grouped information processing devices without causing organizational contradiction or confusion. There is an effect that an information processing apparatus that can be used is obtained.
[0093]
Also, This invention In the information processing apparatus in the information processing system including a plurality of information processing apparatuses divided into a plurality of groups, a combination request receiving unit that receives a combination request from a group other than the group to which the user belongs, and the combination A joinability determination unit that determines whether or not to accept a join request received by the request receiving unit, and a determination result transmission that transmits a determination result by the joinability determination unit to an information processing apparatus other than the self in a group to which the request belongs. Means, a determination result receiving means for receiving a determination result by the combining possibility determining means of the device from an information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the apparatus belongs, and a determination result transmitted by the determination result transmitting means; In order to combine with the other group when a majority of the determination results received by the determination result receiving means is acceptable A shared information transmission means for notifying information processing devices other than the self in the group to which the user belongs, so that a combination between a group and another group (sharing of information necessary for that) Information processing that is executed only after a majority decision is made by group counseling, and can thereby autonomously organize a large number of grouped information processing devices without causing organizational contradiction or confusion. There exists an effect that an apparatus is obtained.
[0094]
Also, This invention In the information processing method in each of the devices in the information processing system composed of a plurality of information processing devices divided into a plurality of groups, it is determined whether or not it is possible to propose a combination to a group other than the group to which the device belongs. A combination proposal availability determination step, a determination result transmission step of transmitting a determination result in the combination proposal availability determination step to an information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the user belongs, and a non-self in the group to which the user belongs From the information processing device, a determination result receiving step for receiving the determination result of the device in the combination proposal availability determination step, a determination result transmitted in the determination result transmission step, and a determination result received in the determination result reception step And a joining request transmission step of sending a joining request to the other group when a majority is possible. Proposals for joining the loop to other groups are only executed after a majority vote in the group, thereby allowing a large number of grouped information processing devices to operate autonomously without causing organizational contradiction or confusion. There is an effect that an information processing method that can be organized is obtained.
[0095]
Also, This invention In the information processing method in each of the devices in the information processing system composed of a plurality of information processing devices divided into a plurality of groups, a join request reception for receiving a join request from a group other than the group to which the device belongs A determination result in the combination determination step, and a combination determination step for determining whether to accept the combination request received in the combination request reception step, and an information processing apparatus other than the self in the group to which the group belongs A determination result transmission step of transmitting, a determination result reception step of receiving the determination result of the device in the combination possibility determination step from information processing devices other than the self in the group to which the device belongs, and transmission in the determination result transmission step When a majority of the determination results received and the determination results received in the determination result receiving step are acceptable, the connection with the other group is established. And a shared information transmission step for notifying information processing devices other than the self in the group to which the user belongs to a group that belongs to the group. Sharing) is executed only after being approved by a majority in the group, and it is possible to autonomously organize a large number of grouped information processing devices without causing inconsistencies and confusion in the organization. The effect that a simple information processing method is obtained is produced.
[0096]
Also, This invention According to the above It is possible to obtain a program capable of causing a computer to execute the method described in 1).
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a physical configuration of an information processing system including an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram conceptually and schematically showing the configuration of the system.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of each client constituting the system.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a functional configuration of each client constituting the system.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for combining trees in the system.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a specific state of a tree coupling position in the system.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an example of a combination of a plurality of trees in the system.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of proposal of a joint proposal in a certain loop a in the system.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of a joint proposal in loop a in the system.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a determination of a combination proposal in loop a and a well-known state of matters to be determined in the system.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of proposal of coupling from loop a to another loop b in the system.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of an answer from loop b to loop a in the system.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory view schematically showing a state of a joint proposal acceptance in loop b and a joint proposal acceptance plan in loop a in the system.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the determination of coupling in loop b and loop a and the well-known state of coupling information in the system.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of proposal of coupling from loop a to loop b (when any representative has trouble) in the system.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state of reply from loop b to loop a (when any representative has a trouble) in the system.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing determination of coupling in loop b and loop a and a known state of coupling information (when any representative has a trouble) in the system.
[Explanation of symbols]
300 bus or cable
301 CPU
302 ROM
303 RAM
304 HDD
305 HD
306 FDD
307 FD
308 display
309 modem
310 Public telephone line
311 keyboard
312 mouse
313 Scanner
314 Printer
315 CD-ROM
316 CD-ROM drive
400 Participants
401 Coupling position specifying unit
402 Proposal part in the loop
402a Join proposal request transmitter
402b Join proposal request receiver
403 availability determination unit
403a Join proposal availability determination unit
403b Joinability determination unit
404 Acceptability decision section
404a Judgment result transmitter
404b Judgment result receiver
404c availability determination unit
405 Organization Information Sharing Department
405a Shared information transmission unit
405b Shared information receiver
406 Outside Loop Proposal Department
406a Join request transmitter
406b Binding request receiver
406c Determination result transmission unit
406d Judgment result receiver

Claims (3)

A plurality of information processing apparatuses belonging to an arbitrary group (hereinafter referred to as “first group”) among a plurality of groups of information processing apparatuses connected to the network, and a predetermined number belonging to the first group. Information to the information processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “representative client”) to the other group (hereinafter referred to as “second group”) other than the first group, A first transmission step of transmitting information including information on a plurality of information processing devices belonging to a group (hereinafter referred to as “second group information processing device information”) via the network;
A second transmission step of transmitting information indicating whether or not the representative client with respect to the combination proposal request information is transmitted from the representative client to all other representative clients belonging to the first group via the network;
Based on the availability information of the plurality of representative clients and the availability information of the other representative clients transmitted in the second transmission step, the sum of the number of the representative clients has reached the majority of the whole. In this case, information indicating that a connection request is made to the second group is transmitted to all the information processing apparatuses belonging to the first group via the network, and based on the second group information processing apparatus information. A third transmission step of transmitting coupling request information to the plurality of information processing apparatuses belonging to the second group, respectively, via the network;
An information processing apparatus combining method comprising: In the information processing apparatus combining method in each information processing apparatus in the information processing system composed of a plurality of information processing apparatuses divided into a plurality of groups,
Self of representative Member (hereinafter referred to as "first group"), a plurality of information processing apparatuses predetermined (hereinafter referred to as "representative client"), respectively,
Information for combining with another group other than the first group (hereinafter referred to as “second group”), which is information regarding a plurality of information processing devices belonging to the second group (hereinafter referred to as “second group”). Proposal information receiving step for receiving information including “group information processing device information” from any information processing device in the first group;
Promissibility information transmission step of transmitting information on whether or not to combine information received in the proposal information reception step (hereinafter referred to as “first availability information”) to all representative clients other than the self in the first group. When,
A permission information receiving step of receiving the permission information of the representative client (hereinafter referred to as “second permission information”) from a representative client other than the self in the first group;
Based on the first availability information and the second availability information, when the sum of possible numbers of the first availability information and the second availability information reaches a majority of the first, Information indicating that a request to join to the second group is transmitted to all information processing devices belonging to the group via the network, and the second group is based on the second group information processing device information. A coupling request transmission step of transmitting coupling request information to each of a plurality of information processing devices belonging to
An information processing apparatus combining method characterized in that: 請 Motomeko 1 or information treatment device coupled program characterized by executing the method of the computer according to claim 2.

Images