JP4430951B2 - Content distribution management method, content distribution apparatus, content distribution system, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a content distribution management method, a content distribution apparatus, a content distribution system, a program, and a recording medium. Specifically, content such as video and audio is transmitted over a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) network. The present invention relates to a content distribution management technology that can efficiently distribute content as packets.

  Initially, the Internet was primarily responsible for displaying static web pages and delivering text-based email. However, in recent years, with the development of communication infrastructure such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and CATV (cable television, community antenna television), there has been a new focus on video and audio, and easy communication between friends. It is transforming into entertainment.

  Needless to say, the speeding up of the Internet has an impact. In this way, the speeding up of the Internet is accelerated, and a large amount of data can be received on the receiver side, and contents such as video and audio can be distributed on the Internet.

However, if a large amount of information such as content such as video and audio is continuously distributed over the Internet, a specific user sends out a very large number of packets and uses a large amount of network bandwidth. As a result, the resources that can be used by other users sharing the network are reduced.
As a result, there is a problem in that the network is heavily loaded, packet loss or packet delay occurs frequently, and content such as video and audio is interrupted.
Further, when a large amount of content is requested by a large number of users, the capacity of the content distribution apparatus is exceeded, and there is a problem that the content cannot be distributed.

For this reason, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when viewing requests for the same content are made from a plurality of terminal devices at substantially the same time, the content is distributed to each terminal device at the same time, and the content is individually transmitted to each terminal device. A content distribution management method that can reduce the load on the network caused by distributing content to the network is proposed to prevent content such as video and audio from being interrupted.
JP 2002-259267 A

  In the content distribution management method described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the terminal device “a” requests the content distribution device to view the content “A”, the terminal device a does not immediately send the viewing request to the content distribution device but waits for a certain period of time. When another terminal device b requests viewing of the same content “A” within a certain period of time, the content distribution device does not send the viewing requests of the terminal device a and the terminal device b to the content distribution device, but uses a virtual IP address. The content “A” sent to the content distribution device as a viewing request for the content “A” of one terminal device possessed by the terminal device a and the terminal device b By distributing the content to the network, it is possible to reduce the load on the network and prevent the content from being interrupted.

However, this content distribution management method, when there is no request for viewing the same content from a plurality of terminal devices at approximately the same time, places a heavy load on the network as in the past, and the content interruption and the capability of the content distribution device This leads to the inability to distribute content due to limitations.
In addition, when a terminal device makes a viewing request to a content distribution device, a delay for waiting for a certain period without immediately sending a viewing request to the content distribution device, and a delay such as a transfer due to an increase in communication nodes and traffic are added. , The response time becomes longer, and the problem remains that the viewer is uncomfortable.

  In addition, network management in the distribution of content using the Internet protocol so far is based on the assumption that the network topology (network connection form) is unknown, and the network speed / throughput is set for each content viewing request. In many cases, measurement was performed and content distribution was permitted / not permitted, or a codec (CODEC, COmpression / DECompression) method of content data was selected.

  On the other hand, in the enterprise, despite using the Internet, the bases are connected to each other like a dedicated line, and VPN (Virtual Private Network) that enables secure communication is used to make a wide area network (Internet). While the intranet including the Internet has been expanded and the importance of the Internet protocol such as voice and data integration (VoIP) over the Internet protocol has increased, various application programs such as video and audio content playback have become widespread. With the momentum far surpassing typical Web page display and text-based e-mail, the demand for viewing to send large amounts of data continuously and stably has increased, and the total amount of data traffic has increased. It is expected to continue in the future.

  Along with the expansion of the intranet in the company, network management tools for comprehensive diagnosis and monitoring of a network are widely used in order to improve the efficiency of operations related to network monitoring and management. With the spread of this tool, it is possible to manage the network in the company or measure the network operation status.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and viewing requests are issued from a large number of terminal devices in an intranet where the capacity / performance of the network in the group to which the terminal device requesting viewing belongs is known. In this case, the upper limit of simultaneous distribution calculated in advance from the network performance is ensured to ensure the quality of the service that distributes the content in response to the viewing request, the network resources are effectively used, and the content is reliably transmitted to the request source. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of unstable content distribution by responding to the congestion status and a message prompting the retry to the requester who cannot receive the content distribution. Content distribution management method, content distribution apparatus, and content distribution system that are efficiently implemented Temu, and to provide a program and a recording medium.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention of claim 1 connects a plurality of terminal devices and a content distribution device via a network, and requests content from the content distribution device to be a request source. A content distribution management method for distribution, comprising: an upper limit management database for registering an upper limit value for each date and time information of the number of simultaneously connected terminal devices for each group to which the terminal device belongs, and a terminal for which a viewing request has been made The upper limit value of the simultaneous connection number corresponding to the date / time information when the viewing request of the group to which the device belongs is obtained from the upper limit management database, and the number of terminal devices simultaneously requesting viewing in the group to which the terminal device belongs And the upper limit value to limit the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously connected to the content distribution device. And wherein the door.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the content distribution management method according to claim 1, the content that is the viewing request if the number of terminal devices are viewing request simultaneously to the content delivery apparatus does not exceed the upper limit value The message is distributed to the requesting terminal device, and when the upper limit value is exceeded, a message indicating that the content cannot be distributed to the requesting terminal device is responded.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the content distribution management method according to the first or second aspect , the operation status of the network is monitored, and the upper limit value of the number of connected upper limit management databases is updated according to the operation status. It is characterized by.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the content distribution management method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the terminal devices are grouped by the IP address of the terminal device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a content distribution device that distributes content requested to be viewed from a terminal device connected via a network to a requesting terminal device, the number of simultaneously connected terminal devices for each group to which the terminal device belongs. An upper limit management database for registering an upper limit value for each date / time information, and a distribution reception that receives a viewing request from the terminal device, acquires an IP address from the viewing request, and acquires date / time information when the viewing request is received And the group to which the terminal device that requested the viewing belongs, and the upper limit value of the number of simultaneously connected devices that matches the date and time information when the viewing request is received from the upper limit management database, and the group to which the terminal device belongs When the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously requesting viewing reaches the upper limit, content distribution to the requesting terminal device is performed. A delivery management unit that responds with a message indicating that the content cannot be received, and a delivery execution unit that delivers the content requested to be viewed to the requesting terminal device when the delivery management unit determines that the upper limit is not exceeded. It is characterized by having.

The invention of claim 6 is a content distribution apparatus that distributes content requested to be viewed from a terminal apparatus connected via a network to a requesting terminal apparatus. For each group to which the terminal apparatus belongs, An upper limit management database for registering an upper limit value for each date / time information, and a distribution reception that receives a viewing request from the terminal device, acquires an IP address from the viewing request, and acquires date / time information when the viewing request is received When the distribution service condition is not set for the content requested for viewing, the upper limit value of the simultaneous connection number of the group to which the terminal device requested for viewing belongs is obtained from the upper limit management database. The date and time when the viewing request is accepted when the distribution service conditions are set for the requested content The upper limit value of the simultaneous connection number that matches the date and time information that matches the delivery service condition is obtained from the upper limit management database, and the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously requesting viewing in the group to which the terminal device belongs is the upper limit value. A distribution management unit that responds with a message indicating that content cannot be distributed to the requesting terminal device, and the viewing request when the distribution management unit determines that the upper limit is not exceeded. And a distribution execution unit that distributes the received content to the requesting terminal device.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a plurality of terminal devices for viewing a content viewing request and the distributed content, and the content distribution device for distributing the content requested for viewing from the terminal device to a requesting terminal device are connected to a network. In the content distribution system connected in the above, the content distribution device is configured by the content distribution device according to claim 5 or 6 .

The invention according to claim 8 is the content distribution system according to claim 7 , further comprising: measuring an operation status of the network to create operation status information; and when requested from the content distribution device, the operation status A network monitoring device that transmits information to a request source is connected to the network, and the content distribution device periodically requests the network monitoring device to request network operating status information, and responds to the operating status information. it further comprising a report request / analysis unit that updates the upper limit value of the number of connected upper limit management database Te.

The invention according to claim 9 is a processing procedure of the content distribution management method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , a function of the content distribution apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 , or a function according to claim 7. Or a program for executing the function of the content distribution system according to 8 .
A tenth aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to the ninth aspect is recorded.

According to the present invention, when viewing requests are issued from a large number of terminal devices in an intranet in which the capacity / performance of the network in the group to which the terminal device making the viewing request belongs is calculated, it is calculated in advance from the network performance. By maintaining the upper limit of the number of terminal devices that can be simultaneously viewed, it is possible to ensure the quality of service for viewing requests, effectively use network resources, and reliably distribute content to requesting sources.
In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an unstable content distribution state by responding to a congestion request and a message prompting a retry to a request source that cannot receive the content distribution. No unnecessary trial and error.

Furthermore, since the flow rate of the content stream can be managed, traffic can be reduced without reducing the quality of distribution, and the network load can be reduced.
In addition, the request source can prevent the output video from being disturbed and the frame dropped, and can obtain high-quality content by preventing the skipping of the audio output by the audio reproduction function.
In this way, the reliability of the system can be improved, which can greatly contribute to the improvement of the quality of service provided by the system.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The content distribution system of the present invention will be described by dividing it into the following three embodiments.
In the first embodiment, terminal devices are grouped by IP address, and for each group, the upper limit value of the number of simultaneously connected terminal devices is registered in an upper limit management database (described later), and the terminal device that requested the viewing belongs. By acquiring the upper limit value registered in the upper limit management database of the group, and by acquiring the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously requesting viewing in the group to which this terminal device belongs, and comparing this number with the upper limit value, The number of terminal devices that are simultaneously connected to the content distribution device is limited.

  In the second embodiment, terminal devices are grouped by IP address, the group is subdivided by date and time information, and the upper limit value of simultaneous delivery by time, day of week, and date is registered in the upper limit management database. Acquire the upper limit value corresponding to the date and time information when a viewing request is received from the device, and acquire the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously requesting viewing in the group to which the terminal device belongs, and compare this number with the upper limit value By doing so, the number of terminal devices simultaneously connected to the content distribution device is limited.

  In the third embodiment, terminal devices are grouped by IP address, and for each group, the upper limit value of simultaneous delivery and the inside of the group are subdivided by date and time information, and the upper limit value of simultaneous delivery by time, day of week, and date. Is registered in the upper limit management database, and when the distribution service condition is specified in the content to be distributed, the upper limit value corresponding to the distribution service condition is acquired, and the terminal that simultaneously requests viewing in the group to which the terminal device belongs By acquiring the number of devices and comparing this number with an upper limit value, the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously connected to the content distribution device is limited.

(Embodiment 1)
First, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a content distribution system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, the content distribution system includes an arbitrary number of terminal devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c, and networks 200, 200a, 200b, and 600 that interconnect the content distribution device 300 and the network monitoring device 500.
The content distribution device 300 provides the content stored in the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300 to the terminal devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c that issued the viewing request. The content distribution device 300 and the network monitoring device 500 are connected to an intranet network 200 and are connected to a wide area network (WAN) 600 via a router (not shown).

The terminal devices 100 and 100a are connected to a high-speed network 200a, and the high-speed network 200a is connected to a wide area network 600 via a router (not shown).
The terminal devices 100b and 100c are connected to the low-speed network 200b, and the low-speed network 200b is connected to the wide area network 600 via a router (not shown). Here, the IP addresses of the terminal devices are grouped in the network configuration, and the content distribution device 300 assigns an upper limit value (described later) of the number of terminal devices that can be connected simultaneously in the same group.

  And the content delivery apparatus 300 fulfill | performs each function shown to the following (A1)-(A7) with a hardware and software.

(A1) a function of receiving a viewing request issued by the terminal device 100 and acquiring an IP address of the terminal device 100;
(A2) A function of searching an upper limit management database (described later) using the IP address acquired by the function of (A1) as a key, and acquiring the upper limit value of the group to which the IP address belongs,
(A3) When the number of terminal devices viewing content in the group to which the IP address acquired by the function of (A2) belongs is less than the upper limit value, the content distribution start instruction is issued to the requesting terminal device 100 function,
(A4) When the number of terminal devices viewing content in the group to which the IP address acquired by the function of (A2) belongs has already reached the upper limit, the requesting terminal device 100 is notified of “the current line is A feature that responds with a message saying “It ’s crowded and content ca n’t be delivered.”
(A5) a function for distributing content stored in a content storage file system via a network;
(A6) A function for requesting network operation status information to the network monitoring device 500;
(A7) A function of analyzing the operation status information acquired by the function of (A6) and updating the upper limit value for each group.

  Moreover, the network monitoring apparatus 500 fulfill | performs each function shown to the following (B1)-(B7) with a hardware and software.

(B1) a function of monitoring a server device (not shown) connected to the networks 200, 200a, and 200b and analyzing an access status;
(B2) a function of detecting a terminal device illegally connected to the networks 200, 200a, 200b,
(B3) a function of analyzing traffic and access status in a switch environment such as a router (not shown) connected to the networks 200, 200a, 200b,
(B4) a function of analyzing the traffic and access status of each network 200, 200a, 200b,
(B5) a function for managing devices connected to the networks 200, 200a, 200b,
(B6) A function for creating operating status information from the information analyzed in (B1), (B3) and (B4),
(B7) A function of transmitting the operation status information created by the function of (B6) to the request source.

  Here, it is needless to say that the functions (B1) to (B7) described above may be functions of a general-purpose network management tool installed under the operating system operating on the network monitoring apparatus 500.

  Further, the terminal devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c perform the functions shown in the following (C1) to (C3) by hardware and software.

(C1) a function for requesting a content viewing request to the content distribution device 300;
(C2) a function of receiving content distributed from the content distribution device 300;
(C3) A function of outputting the content received by the function of (C2).

  Here, it is needless to say that the functions (C1) to (C3) described above may be general-purpose functions installed under the operating system operating on the terminal devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c. .

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, all of the functions described above are provided by the hardware and software in the content distribution device 300, the network monitoring device 500, and the terminal devices 100, 100a, 100b, and 100c. Of course, each function described above may be selectively provided as necessary.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a general device used in the content distribution device 300 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The content distribution device 300 includes a memory 301, a storage device 302 that stores various data and programs, an input device 303 that inputs data and instructions such as a keyboard and a mouse, a CPU 304 that executes a program, and input and output data. A display device 305 such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display, a communication control unit 307 such as a network board for controlling transmission / reception of data via the network 200, and a clock unit 308 for outputting current time information. Connected through.

  The programs for realizing the various functions ((A1) to (A7)) described above are stored in the storage device 302, read out to the memory 301 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 304. As a result, functions related to content distribution and control are realized.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the content distribution apparatus 300 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The software includes a distribution reception unit 350, a distribution management unit 351, a distribution execution unit 352, and a report request / analysis. It is configured by the unit 353 and operates under an operating system operating on the content distribution apparatus 300.

  Furthermore, a content storage file system 310 for accumulating content and an upper limit management database 360 are stored on the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300.

  The content storage file system 310 holds bibliographic items and contents of content in correspondence with each content.

  The upper limit management database 360 has a data structure as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and registers the upper limit value of the number of terminals that can be simultaneously distributed in the group to which the IP address belongs (hereinafter referred to as the upper limit value of simultaneous distribution). ing. The upper limit management database 360 includes the following items for one IP address.

IP address 361a:
Stores the IP address.
Upper limit registration address 361b:
Stores the address of the entry in which information on the upper limit value of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address stored in the IP address 361a belongs is registered. The entry indicated by the address stored in the upper limit registration address 361b is composed of the following items.

IP address group upper limit 362a:
The upper limit value of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address stored in the IP address 361a belongs is stored.

  The distribution receiving unit 350 receives the viewing request issued by the terminal device 100, acquires the IP address of the terminal device 100, and passes the acquired IP address and viewing request to the distribution management unit 351.

  The distribution management unit 351 searches the upper limit management database 360 using the IP address notified by the distribution accepting unit 350 as a key, and acquires the upper limit value of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address belongs.

Next, the acquired upper limit value is compared with the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the notified IP address belongs.
As a result of the verification, when the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs is less than the upper limit value, the distribution execution unit 352 is notified of the distribution start instruction for the content requested to be viewed.

  As a result of the comparison, when the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs has already reached the upper limit value, the communication control unit 307 is notified to the terminal device 100 that has issued the viewing request. The message “The content cannot be distributed because the current line is busy” is returned as a response.

  The distribution execution unit 352 reads the content stored in the content storage file system 310 on the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300, assembles the read content into an IP packet format, and assembles the assembled IP packet. Is transmitted to the requesting terminal device 100 via the communication control unit 307 and the network 200.

  The report request / analysis unit 353 analyzes the operation analysis report transmitted from the network monitoring device 500 and the function of requesting the network monitoring device 500 to request the operation analysis report when a preset period is reached. The upper limit value is updated for each group in the upper limit management database 360.

  For example, analyze the traffic and access status of each network, and when the load is large, the upper limit value is reduced according to the line capacity, and when the load is small, the upper limit value is increased according to the line capacity. . The upper limit value calculated here is stored in the IP address group upper limit value indicated by the upper limit value registration address corresponding to the IP address of the terminal device connected to each network, and the upper limit management database 360 is updated.

  Accordingly, the upper limit value of the simultaneous simultaneous delivery of the predicted content can be set according to the network usage status based on the report in which the network monitoring device 500 dynamically analyzes the network operating status in advance.

  Next, a flowchart of FIG. 5 shows details of processing for distributing a content viewing request from the terminal device 100 and content stored in the content storage file system 310 on the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300. Will be described with reference to FIG.

  It is assumed that when the terminal device (user) requests to view the content stored in the content distribution device 300, the content distribution device 300 authenticates authentication information such as a user name and password input from the terminal device 100. And

  First, in response to a user viewing request command, the terminal device 100 transmits a viewing request request to the content distribution device 300 via the network (step S100).

  When the content distribution apparatus 300 receives a request for viewing, the distribution receiving unit 350 acquires an IP address from the request for viewing request, and notifies the distribution management unit 351 of the viewing request and the acquired IP address (step S101). .

The upper limit management database 360 is searched using the IP address notified from the distribution accepting unit 350 as a key, and the upper limit value for simultaneous distribution is acquired (step S102).
The upper limit value acquired by the search and the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs are verified. As a result of the verification, when the number of terminal devices viewing the content in the group to which the request source belongs is less than the upper limit value (YES in step S103), the distribution execution unit 352 stores the storage attached to the content distribution device 300. The content of the viewing request stored in the content storage file system 310 on the device 302 is read (step S105).

The read content is assembled into an IP packet format, and the assembled IP packet is sent to the requesting terminal device 100 via the communication control unit 307 and the network (step S106).
When the distribution of all contents is completed (YES in step S107), the process is terminated. If the content distribution has not been completed yet (NO in step S107), control is transferred to step S105 to continue the processing in order to distribute the remaining content.

  As a result of the verification, when the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs has already reached the upper limit (NO in step S103), the distribution management unit 351 determines that the request source terminal device In response to the message 100 via the communication control unit 307, the message “current line is busy and content cannot be distributed” is returned (step S104), and the process ends.

  Next, for details of processing for requesting a network operation analysis report from the content distribution apparatus 300 to the network monitoring apparatus 500, analyzing the acquired operation analysis report, and updating the upper limit value, refer to the flowchart of FIG. I will explain.

  This process is started when a preset period is reached until the power is turned off after the content distribution apparatus 300 is turned on and the initialization process is completed.

  When the predetermined period is reached, a network operation analysis report request is issued to the network monitoring apparatus 500 (step S201).

  When receiving the request, the network monitoring apparatus 500 transmits an operation analysis report of the network managed by the apparatus to the content distribution apparatus 300 (step S301).

  When the content distribution device 300 receives the operation analysis report transmitted from the network monitoring device 500 (YES in step S202), the content distribution device 300 updates the upper limit value for each group based on the information of the operation analysis report (step S203). Wait until the inquiry cycle is reached.

  By configuring the first embodiment of the present invention as described above, content is distributed in accordance with the upper limit of simultaneous content distribution calculated in advance from the performance of the network. In addition to being able to prevent dropping, it is possible to distribute high-quality content by preventing skipping of sound output by the sound playback function. In addition, the terminal device that cannot receive the content requested for viewing is responded to the congestion status and a message prompting the retry, thereby preventing the occurrence of an unstable content distribution state, and unnecessary trial and error for the user. You don't have to.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a software configuration of the content distribution apparatus 300 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The software includes a distribution reception unit 350, a distribution management unit 351, a distribution execution unit 352, and a report request / analysis. It is composed of a unit 353 and a clock unit 308, and operates under an operating system operating on the content distribution apparatus 300.
Furthermore, a content storage file system 310 for accumulating content and an upper limit management database 360 are stored on the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300.
In the second embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those in the first embodiment of the present invention described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  The upper limit management database 360 of the second embodiment has a data structure as shown in FIG. 8, for example, and subdivides the group to which the IP address belongs by date and time information, by time, by day of the week, and by date. The upper limit of simultaneous distribution is registered as necessary. The upper limit management database 360 includes the following items for one IP address.

IP address 361a:
Stores the IP address.
Upper limit registration address 361b:
Stores the address of the entry in which information on the upper limit value of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address stored in the IP address 361a belongs is registered. The entry indicated by the address stored in the upper limit registration address 361b is composed of the following items.

Day of week upper limit 362w1n-w7n:
Stores the upper limit for each day of the week when the viewing request is accepted. Here, w1n to w7n correspond to Sunday to Saturday, respectively.
Time upper limit values 362t1n to t24n:
Stores the upper limit for each time the viewing request is accepted. Here, t1n to t24n correspond to 0:00 to 23:00, respectively.
Date upper limit 362d1n-d31n:
Stores the upper limit by date when the viewing request is accepted. Here, d1n to d31n correspond to 1st to 31st, respectively.

In the second embodiment, the following functions are added to the content distribution apparatus 300 of the first embodiment, and operations of each unit including content distribution are performed.
(A8) A function of acquiring time, day of the week, and date information when a viewing request issued by the terminal device 100 is received.

  The distribution receiving unit 350 receives the viewing request issued by the terminal device 100, acquires the IP address of the terminal device 100, and passes the acquired IP address and viewing request to the distribution management unit 351. Furthermore, the distribution receiving unit 350 acquires time, day of the week, and date information when a viewing request is received from the clock unit 308, and also transfers the acquired date / time information (time, day of the week, date information) to the distribution management unit 351.

  The distribution management unit 351 searches the upper limit management database 360 using the IP address notified by the distribution accepting unit 350 as a key, and acquires an upper limit value that matches any of the date / time information acquired in the group to which the IP address belongs. . For example, if the upper limit value of a certain group is not set for the month or time but is set only for the day of the week, the upper limit value corresponding to the day of the week when the viewing request is made is acquired.

The acquired upper limit value is compared with the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the notified IP address belongs.
As a result of the comparison, if the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs is less than the upper limit value, the distribution execution unit 352 is notified of the distribution start instruction for the content requested to be viewed.

  As a result of the comparison, when the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs has already reached the upper limit value, the communication control unit 307 is notified to the terminal device 100 that has issued the viewing request. The message “The content cannot be distributed because the current line is busy” is returned as a response.

  Next, the flowchart of FIG. 9 shows details of processing for distributing content viewing requests from the terminal device 100 and content stored in the content storage file system 310 on the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300. Will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in response to a user's viewing request command, the terminal device 100 transmits a viewing request to the content distribution device 300 via the network (step S300).

  When the content distribution device 300 receives the request for viewing, the distribution receiving unit 350 obtains the time, day of the week, and date information from the clock unit 308, acquires the IP address from the request for viewing, and acquires the acquired IP address. The obtained date and time information is notified to the distribution management unit 351 (step S301).

  Receiving the notification, the distribution management unit 351 searches the group to which the IP address belongs using the IP address notified from the distribution receiving unit 350 as a key, and the date / time information notified from the distribution receiving unit 350 within the searched group. Is acquired (step S302).

  Hereinafter, the verification processing of the upper limit acquired by the search and the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs and the processing after the verification result are the same as those in the first embodiment described above. The description is omitted.

  By configuring the second embodiment of the present invention as described above, grouping is performed according to the IP address of the requesting terminal device in the network configuration, and the group to which the IP address belongs is classified by time, day of the week, and date. By registering an upper limit value for simultaneous delivery in the network and changing this upper limit value during and after working hours, it is possible to reduce the load on the network by distributing content during working hours, and to the core business Can be minimized.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

  Since the software configuration of the content distribution apparatus 300 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention is the same as that of Embodiment 2 of the present invention described above, only the differences will be described.

The content storage file system 310 holds content distribution service conditions, bibliographic items, and contents in correspondence with each content. This distribution service condition is, for example, one in which a time zone for limiting the distribution amount of content is specified by one of the following.
(1) “Time limit”: A specific time zone, for example, during working hours or outside working hours,
(2) “Limited date”: A specific date, for example, a date with a holiday or event,
(3) “Day of Week Restriction”: A specific day of the week, for example, a day that is not a work day, such as Saturday or Sunday.

  The upper limit management database 360 has, for example, a data structure as shown in FIG. 10 that is a combination of the above-described first and second embodiments, and the upper limit value and IP address of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address belongs. Is grouped by date and time information, and the upper limit value of simultaneous delivery by time, day of the week and date is registered. The items in the upper limit management database 360 are the same as those in the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above, and a description thereof is omitted.

The distribution management unit 351 refers to the content storage file system 310 and extracts the distribution service condition of the content requested to be viewed.
(1) When delivery service conditions are not set:
The upper limit management database 360 is searched using the IP address notified by the distribution accepting unit 350 as a key, and the upper limit value of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address belongs is acquired.

(2) When delivery service conditions are set:
Any of the date / time information notified from the distribution receiving unit 350 is extracted according to the distribution service condition (“time limit”, “day of the week limit”, or “date limit”).
For example, when the distribution service condition is “day of the week restriction”, the day of the week when viewing is requested (the day of the day when viewing is requested from the terminal device) is extracted.
Next, the upper limit management database 360 is searched using the IP address notified by the distribution accepting unit 350 as a key, and the upper limit value that matches the distribution service condition is acquired in the group to which the IP address belongs. For example, in the above example, the upper limit value corresponding to the day of the week when the viewing request is made is acquired.

The upper limit value acquired in (1) or (2) above is compared with the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the notified IP address belongs.
As a result of the comparison, when the number of terminal devices viewing the content in the group to which the request source belongs is less than the upper limit value, the distribution execution unit 352 is notified of a distribution start instruction for the content requested to be viewed.

  As a result of the comparison, when the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs has already reached the upper limit value, the communication control unit 307 is notified to the terminal device 100 that has issued the viewing request. The message “The content cannot be distributed because the current line is busy” is returned as a response.

  Next, processing for distributing content viewing requests from the terminal device 100 and content stored in the content storage file system 310 on the storage device 302 attached to the content distribution device 300, using the flowchart of FIG. The procedure will be described in detail.

  First, in response to a user's viewing request command, the terminal device 100 transmits a viewing request to the content distribution device 300 via the network (step S400).

  When the content distribution device 300 receives the request for viewing, the distribution receiving unit 350 obtains the time, day of the week, and date information from the clock unit 308, acquires the IP address from the request for viewing, and acquires the acquired IP address. The obtained date and time information is notified to the distribution management unit 351 (step S401).

  Upon receipt of the notification, the distribution management unit 351 refers to the content storage file system 310 and verifies whether or not a condition is set for the distribution service for the requested content. (YES in S402), information corresponding to the distribution service condition set for the requested content is acquired from the date and time information (time, day of the week, or date) notified from the distribution receiving unit 350 (step S403).

  Using the IP address notified from the distribution accepting unit 350 as a key, the upper limit management database 360 is searched to obtain the upper limit value for simultaneous distribution (step S404). However, if conditions are set for the distribution service at the time of this search, the search is first performed with the group to which the IP address belongs, and then the search is performed with the conditions for the distribution service set from the search result. For example, when the conditions of the set distribution service are set for each day of the week, search by the group to which the IP address belongs, and search by the day of the week from the group of search results to match the day of the week when the viewing request was made Get the upper limit of the day of the week.

  Hereinafter, the verification process of the upper limit acquired by the search and the number of terminal devices currently viewing content in the group to which the request source belongs and the process after the verification result are the same as those in the first and second embodiments described above. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted.

  By configuring the embodiment 3 as described above, the content is distributed in accordance with the upper limit of the simultaneous distribution of the content calculated in advance from the performance of the network, so that the disturbance of the video output from the terminal device and the dropping of the frame are prevented. In addition, it is possible to distribute high-quality content by preventing skipping of sound output by the sound playback function. In addition, the terminal device that cannot receive the content requested for viewing is responded to the congestion status and a message prompting the retry, thereby preventing the occurrence of an unstable content distribution state and unnecessary trial and error for the user. You don't have to.

  In addition, by grouping with the IP address of the requesting terminal device in the network configuration, the upper limit value of the simultaneous distribution of the group to which the IP address belongs is registered, and the group to which the IP address belongs is further classified by time, day of the week, date By registering the upper limit value for simultaneous delivery separately and changing this upper limit value during and after working hours, it is possible to reduce the load on the network by distributing content during working hours, Can be minimized.

According to the present invention, each function constituting the content distribution system, content distribution apparatus, terminal device, and network monitoring apparatus according to the above-described embodiment is programmed, written in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM in advance, and content distribution By mounting the CD-ROM on a recording medium reading device provided in the device, terminal device, and network monitoring device, installing the corresponding programs, and executing them by the CPU provided in those devices, It goes without saying that the objective is achieved.
In this case, the state read and executed from the recording medium realizes the function according to the above-described embodiment, and the program and the recording medium recording the program also constitute the present invention.

Note that programs that realize such functions include semiconductor media (eg, ROM, nonvolatile memory, etc.), optical media (eg, DVD, MO, MD, CD, etc.), magnetic media (eg, magnetic tape, flexible external). The recording medium may be provided in any form such as a storage device.
Alternatively, the program stored in the storage device may be directly supplied from the server device via a communication network such as a network. In this case, the storage device of this server device is also included in the recording medium of the present invention.

  In addition to realizing the functions according to the above-described embodiment by executing a program, the above-described embodiment is realized by jointly processing with an operating system or other application program based on an instruction of the program. The case where the function concerning is realized is also included.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a content delivery system. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of a content delivery apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the software of a content delivery apparatus. It is a data structure figure describing the format of the upper limit management database. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which delivers the content by which the viewing-and-listening request | requirement was requested | required from the terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which analyzes the operation | movement analysis report of a network and updates an upper limit. It is a block diagram which shows the other structure of the software of a content delivery apparatus. It is a data structure figure describing the other format of the upper limit management database. It is a flowchart which shows the other process sequence which delivers the content by which the viewing-and-listening request | requirement was requested | required from the terminal device. It is a data structure figure describing the other format of the upper limit management database. It is a flowchart which shows the other process sequence which delivers the content by which the viewing-and-listening request | requirement was requested | required from the terminal device.

Explanation of symbols

100, 100a, 100b, 100c ... terminal device, 200 ... network, 200a ... high speed network, 200b ... low speed network, 300 ... content distribution device, 301 ... memory, 302 ... storage device, 303 ... input device, 304 ... CPU, 305 ... Display device, 306 ... Bus, 307 ... Communication control unit, 308 ... Clock unit, 310 ... Content storage file system, 350 ... Distribution reception unit, 351 ... Distribution management unit, 352 ... Distribution execution unit, 353 ... Report request / analysis , 360 ... upper limit management database, 500 ... network monitoring device, 600 ... wide area network.

Claims (10)

A content distribution management method for connecting a plurality of terminal devices and a content distribution device over a network, and distributing content requested for viewing from the terminal device to a request source from the content distribution device, wherein the terminal device For each group to which it belongs, an upper limit management database for registering the upper limit value for each date and time information of the number of simultaneously connected terminal devices is provided, and the date and time information when the viewing request of the group to which the terminal device that requested the viewing belongs is received. By acquiring the upper limit value of the corresponding simultaneous connection number from the upper limit management database and comparing the upper limit value with the number of terminal devices simultaneously requesting viewing in the group to which the terminal device belongs, to the content distribution device. A content distribution management method characterized in that the number of terminal devices connected simultaneously is limited. 2. The content distribution management method according to claim 1 , wherein when the number of terminal devices simultaneously requesting viewing from the content distribution device does not exceed an upper limit, the content requested to be viewed is sent to the requesting terminal device. A content distribution management method characterized in that a message indicating that the content cannot be distributed is sent to the requesting terminal device when the distribution is over and the upper limit value is exceeded. 3. The content distribution management method according to claim 1 , wherein the operation status of the network is monitored, and the upper limit value of the number of connected units in the upper limit management database is updated according to the operation status. Method. 4. The content distribution management method according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal devices are grouped by the IP address of the terminal device.   In a content distribution apparatus that distributes content requested for viewing from a terminal apparatus connected via a network to a requesting terminal apparatus, an upper limit value for each date and time information of the number of simultaneously connected terminal apparatuses is set for each group to which the terminal apparatus belongs. An upper limit management database to be registered, a viewing request from the terminal device, a distribution receiving unit that acquires an IP address from the viewing request, and acquires date and time information when the viewing request is received, and the viewing request The upper limit value of the number of simultaneously connected devices in the group to which the terminal device belongs and the date and time information when the viewing request is received is obtained from the upper limit management database, and the viewing request is simultaneously made in the group to which the terminal device belongs. When the number of terminal devices has reached the upper limit, a message indicating that content cannot be distributed to the requesting terminal device. A distribution management unit that responds to a message, and a distribution execution unit that distributes the content requested to be viewed to the requesting terminal device when the distribution management unit determines that the upper limit is not exceeded. A content distribution apparatus.   In a content distribution device that distributes content requested for viewing from a terminal device connected via a network to a requesting terminal device, for each group to which the terminal device belongs, an upper limit value for each date and time information of the number of simultaneously connected terminal devices is set. An upper limit management database to be registered, a distribution receiving unit that receives a viewing request from the terminal device, acquires an IP address from the viewing request, and acquires date and time information when the viewing request is received, and a request for viewing When the distribution service condition is not set for the content that has been requested, the upper limit value of the simultaneous connection number of the group to which the terminal device that has requested viewing belongs is obtained from the upper limit management database, and is distributed to the content that has been requested to be viewed. When the service condition is set, the distribution is included in the date / time information when the viewing request is received. The upper limit value of the number of simultaneously connected devices that matches the date and time information that matches the service conditions is acquired from the upper limit management database, and the number of terminal devices that are simultaneously requesting viewing in the group to which the terminal device belongs has reached the upper limit value. In this case, the distribution management unit responds with a message indicating that the content cannot be distributed to the requesting terminal device, and if the distribution management unit determines that the upper limit is not exceeded, the content requested for viewing is requested. A content distribution apparatus comprising: a distribution execution unit that distributes to an original terminal device. In a content distribution system in which a plurality of terminal devices for viewing content viewing requests and distributed content and the content distribution devices for distributing content requested for viewing from the terminal devices to a requesting terminal device are connected via a network The content distribution apparatus comprises the content distribution device according to claim 5 or 6 . 8. The content distribution system according to claim 7 , further comprising: measuring operation status of the network to create operation status information, and transmitting the operation status information to a request source when requested by the content distribution device. In addition to connecting a network monitoring device to the network, the content distribution device periodically requests the network monitoring device to request network operating status information, and connects the upper limit management database according to the operating status information. A content distribution system comprising a report request / analysis unit for updating an upper limit value of the number of units. The processing procedure of the content distribution management method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , the function of the content distribution device according to claim 5 or 6 , or the content distribution according to claim 7 or 8 , A program for executing system functions. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 9 is recorded.