JP5477174B2 - Distributed processing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a distributed processing system.

  Conventionally, there has been known a distributed processing system for processing a large load job such as a large amount of print output and a large amount of OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scanning by a plurality of information processing apparatuses. Yes.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a load distribution system in which a server manages distributed processing by a plurality of printers having a power saving mode. In this load balancing system, the server acquires device information such as the transition time from each printer to the power saving mode, and based on the acquired device information and the presence / absence of the power saving mode, the server is not in the power saving mode and saves power. A printer to be distributed is selected from printers that are not in the middle of power mode transition. Thereby, in the load distribution system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the disappearance of the opportunity to stand by in the power saving mode is avoided, and power saving is achieved.

  However, in the conventional technology as described above, it is necessary to acquire device information from each information processing device in order to select the information processing device to be distributed. For this reason, even when the information processing apparatus is in the energy saving mode, it is necessary to return from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode in order to acquire device information, and there is room for improvement in achieving energy saving.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a distributed processing system capable of reducing energy consumption associated with distributed processing.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a distributed processing system according to one aspect of the present invention is connected via a network and has a normal operation mode and an energy saving mode with less energy consumption than the normal operation mode. Each of the plurality of information processing devices includes identification information of each of the plurality of information processing devices, energy performance information regarding energy performance of the information processing device, and Various performance list storage means for storing various performance information including processing performance information related to processing performance, and various performance information for storing the various performance information of the information processing apparatus. An information storage means, an own performance information updating means for updating the own performance information, and each of the plurality of information processing devices. From the performance lists stored in the performance list storage means of each of the information processing devices determined to be in the normal operation mode, a determination means for determining whether or not the normal operation mode, Search means for searching for the latest performance lists, and the performance information associated with the identification information of the information processing apparatus in the searched performance lists by the performance information update means The performance list first update means updated with the updated own performance information, and the information determined by the performance list updated by the performance list first update means as the normal operation mode. Performance list second update means for updating the performance lists stored in the performance list storage means of each processing device, and the own information processing when a job occurs Determining means for determining an information processing apparatus to be used for distributed processing with reference to the performance list stored in the performance list storage means and updated by the performance list second update means. Distributed processing means for performing distributed processing of the job using the information processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the energy consumption associated with the distributed processing.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a distributed processing system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a portion common to each of a plurality of types of information processing apparatuses according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of performance list update processing performed in the distributed processing system of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which only the own node is in the normal operation mode in the distributed processing system of this embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which any other node is in the normal operation mode in addition to the own node in the distributed processing system of the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of distributed processing performed in the distributed processing system of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a distributed processing system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration of the distributed processing system of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a distributed processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the distributed processing system 10 includes a plurality of types of information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5, and the information processing apparatuses are connected to each other via a network 11. The network 11 can be realized by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network).

  In the present embodiment, the case where the information processing apparatus 20-1 is a copier, the information processing apparatuses 20-2 to 20-4 are printers, and the information processing apparatus 20-5 is a server will be described as an example. However, it is not limited to this. The information processing apparatus is a multifunction peripheral (MFP), a scanner apparatus, a facsimile apparatus, or a PC (Personal Computer) having at least two functions among a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. Also good. Further, the number of information processing apparatuses may be any number as long as it is two or more. In the following description, the information processing devices 20-1 to 20-5 may be simply referred to as the information processing device 20 when it is not necessary to distinguish them.

  The distributed processing system 10 is a hostless system that does not have a host device that is responsible for managing distributed processing, and any of the information processing devices 20-1 to 20-5 can be a master device or a slave device. sell. The information processing apparatus 20 becomes a master apparatus when a large-load job such as a large amount of print processing or OCR processing occurs, and selects a slave apparatus, divides a job, transmits a divided job to the slave apparatus, and transmits a transmitted job. The processing results are received and the received processing results are aggregated. The slave device receives a job from the master device, processes the received job, transmits a processing result, and the like.

  For example, it is assumed that a job with a large processing load occurs in which the information processing apparatus 20-1 scans a large amount of paper documents and performs OCR processing. In this case, the information processing device 20-1 is a master device, and the information processing devices 20-3 and 20-5 are selected as the slave devices from the information processing devices 20-2 to 20-5, and the information processing device 20- 1 divides a job generated in itself (job related to OCR processing) and transmits it to the information processing apparatuses 20-3 and 20-5. Each of the information processing devices 20-3 and 20-5 receives the job transmitted from the information processing device 20-1, processes the received job, and transmits the processing result to the information processing device 20-1. The information processing apparatus 20-1 receives job processing results from the information processing apparatuses 20-3 and 20-5, aggregates the received processing results, and ends the processing.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a part common to each of a plurality of types of information processing apparatuses 20 according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 20 has a normal operation mode and an energy saving mode that consumes less energy than the normal operation mode. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication unit 30, the input unit 40, the storage unit 50, The control part 60 is provided. In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the information processing devices 20-2 to 20-4 further include a printing unit that prints image data, and the information processing device 20-1 includes a printing unit and a document. Is further provided with a reading unit for generating image data.

  The “normal operation mode” is a mode in which various processes such as job execution can be executed, and the “energy saving mode” is the power-on state of some devices (for example, the CPU) that are turned off. This is a mode in which energy (power) consumption is suppressed as compared with the normal operation mode. Note that jobs cannot be executed in the energy saving mode.

  The communication unit 30 communicates with other information processing apparatuses via the network 11 and can be realized by, for example, an existing communication apparatus such as a communication interface.

  The input unit 40 inputs various operations, and can be realized by at least one of existing input devices such as a touch panel, a key switch, a keyboard, and a mouse.

  The storage unit 50 stores various programs executed by the information processing apparatus and various information used for various processes performed by the distributed processing system 10. The storage unit 50 is, for example, a magnetic, optical, or electrical device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, an optical disk, a read only memory (ROM), and a random access memory (RAM). This can be realized by at least one of existing storage devices that can be stored. The storage unit 50 includes various performance list storage unit 52, own performance information storage unit 54, and an initial value storage unit 56.

  The various performance list storage unit 52 includes various pieces of performance information including identification information of each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5, energy performance information regarding the energy performance of the information processing apparatus, and processing performance information regarding the processing performance. Various performance lists in which mode information indicating whether or not the information processing apparatus is in the energy saving mode are associated with each other are stored. In this embodiment, the identification information is an IP address and a MAC address, the energy performance is the power consumption per unit time in the normal operation mode and the power consumption per unit time in the energy saving mode, and the processing performance is the processing speed, The case where it is the time required for shifting (returning) from the resource and the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the time required for starting up the information processing apparatus may be included in the processing performance. Each performance list is also associated with a time stamp of the performance list. In the present embodiment, the performance list storage unit 52 is realized by a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and is shared by not only the own information processing device but also other own information processing devices. It is a folder.

  The own performance information storage unit 54 stores own performance information, which is performance information of the own information processing apparatus. That is, the own performance information storage unit 54 stores the energy performance information and the processing performance information of the own information processing apparatus as the own performance information.

  The initial value storage unit 56 stores initial values of own performance information. That is, the initial value storage unit 56 stores the initial values of the energy performance information and the processing performance information of the information processing apparatus as the initial values of the various performance information.

  The control unit 60 controls each unit of the information processing apparatus, and can be realized by an existing control apparatus such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 60 includes an input receiving unit 62, a transition control unit 64, an own performance information update unit 66, a determination unit 68, a search unit 70, various performance list first update units 72, and various performance list items. 2 update unit 74, determination unit 76, and distributed processing unit 78.

  The input accepting unit 62 (an example of the first input accepting unit and the second input accepting unit) receives, from the input unit 40, a setting input for timing to update the processing performance of the information processing apparatus and a mode transition instruction input. Accepts input of various operations. For example, the input receiving unit 62 inputs a first timing setting input for measuring and updating at least one of the processing speed and the resource of the own information processing device from the input unit 40, or from the energy saving mode of the own information processing device to the normal operation mode. The second timing setting input for measuring and updating the transition time is received. In the present embodiment, the case where the first timing is when the own information processing apparatus is activated and the second timing is when the own information processing apparatus transitions from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode will be described as an example. It is not limited to this. For example, the first timing may be not at every activation but at a certain cycle such as one week or one month. The same applies to the second timing. In the present embodiment, a mode in which a user, a serviceman, or the like inputs or edits the first timing and the second timing is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The timing and the second timing may be fixed values. In this case, information indicating the first timing and the second timing may be stored in the storage unit 50 in advance.

  The transition control unit 64 controls the transition of the information processing apparatus to the normal operation mode and the energy saving mode. The shift control unit 64 shifts the local information processing apparatus to the energy saving mode when a job has not occurred for a predetermined period during the normal operation mode or when the input receiving unit 62 receives an instruction to shift to the energy saving mode. Let The transition control unit 64 stores the performance list storage unit 52 of each of the information processing devices in the normal operation mode among the plurality of information processing devices 20-1 to 20-5 before the own information processing device is shifted to the energy saving mode. The identification information of the information processing apparatus in the stored performance lists, specifically, the mode information associated with the MAC address is set to the energy saving mode. Further, the transition control unit 64 returns the information processing apparatus to the normal operation mode when a job is generated during the energy saving mode or when the input reception unit 62 receives a return instruction input to the normal operation mode ( Migrate). The transition control unit 64 returns the own information processing apparatus to the normal operation mode, and then the performance list storage unit 52 of each of the information processing apparatuses in the normal operation mode among the plurality of information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5. The energy saving mode set in the mode information associated with the MAC address of the information processing apparatus in the various performance lists stored in is canceled. Note that the determination unit 68 described later determines whether the information processing apparatus is in the normal operation mode.

  Further, when the transition control unit 64 returns the information processing apparatus to the normal operation mode, the mode information of the performance lists stored in the performance list storage unit 52 of the information processing apparatus is set to the energy saving mode. The other information processing apparatus confirms whether or not the mode has been shifted to the normal operation mode, and cancels the energy saving mode set in the mode information when the mode has been shifted to the normal operation mode. This is the time between when another information processing device that was in the energy saving mode before the own information processing device entered the energy saving mode returns to the normal operation mode after the own information processing device entered the energy saving mode. In addition, the normal operation mode may be entered.

  The own performance information updating unit 66 updates the own performance information stored in the own performance information storage unit 54. Specifically, the own performance information update unit 66 measures the processing performance of the own information processing apparatus, and the processing performance information of the own performance information stored in the own performance information storage unit 54 with the measured processing performance. Update. For example, the own performance information updating unit 66 measures the processing speed and resource of the own information processing apparatus at the first timing when the setting input is received by the input receiving unit 62, and the own performance information is measured using the measured processing speed and resource. The processing speed and resources of the various performance information stored in the storage unit 54 are updated. Further, for example, the own performance information updating unit 66 measures the transition time from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode of the information processing apparatus at the second timing when the setting input is received by the input receiving unit 62, and the measured transition time. Then, the transition time from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode of the various performance information stored in the various performance information storage unit 54 is updated.

  The determination unit 68 determines whether each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5 is in the normal operation mode. Specifically, the determination unit 68 communicates with the IP address of each of the information processing apparatuses other than the own information processing apparatus among the plurality of information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5, and performs normal operation if the communication is successful. If the communication mode fails, it is determined that the mode is not the normal operation mode. For example, the determination unit 68 communicates with the IP addresses of other information processing apparatuses using ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) such as PING. Note that the determination unit 68 determines that the information processing apparatus is in the normal operation mode.

  The search unit 70 searches for the latest performance lists from the performance lists stored in the performance list storage units 52 of the information processing devices determined by the determination unit 68 as being in the normal operation mode. Specifically, the search unit 70 selects the performance list with the latest time stamp from the performance lists stored in the performance list storage unit 52 of each information processing apparatus determined to be in the normal operation mode. Explore.

  The various performance list first update unit 72 stores the identification information of the own information processing device in the various performance lists searched by the search unit 70, specifically, the various performance information associated with the MAC address. The performance information is updated with the own performance information updated by the performance information updating unit 66 (the own performance information stored in the own performance information storage unit 54). The various performance list first updating unit 72 also updates the time stamp of the various performance lists together with the updated various performance lists.

  In the performance list first update unit 72, the own performance information updated by the own performance information update unit 66 (the own performance information stored in the own performance information storage unit 54) is an invalid value. In this case, the performance information associated with the identification information of the own information processing device in the performance lists searched by the search unit 70 is the initial value of the own performance information stored in the initial value storage unit 56. Update. For example, the various performance list first update unit 72 determines that the self performance information updated by the self performance information update unit 66 exceeds the threshold value.

  The various performance list second update unit 74 is the various performance lists updated by the various performance list first update unit 72, and the various performance list storage units of each information processing apparatus determined by the determination unit 68 to be in the normal operation mode. The various performance lists stored in 52 are updated. The various performance list second update unit 74 also updates the time stamp of the various performance lists together with the updated various performance lists.

  When a job is generated, the determining unit 76 refers to the performance list stored in the various performance list storage unit 52 of the information processing apparatus and updated by the various performance list second update unit 74 and performs distributed processing. Another information processing apparatus to be used is determined.

  The distributed processing unit 78 performs job distributed processing using another information processing apparatus determined by the determining unit 76.

  Note that the information processing apparatus 20 does not have to have all the above-described units as essential configurations, and may have a configuration in which some of them are omitted.

  Next, the operation of the distributed processing system of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of various performance list update processing performed in the distributed processing system 10 of the present embodiment. Here, the case where the information processing apparatus 20-1 becomes the processing subject of various performance list update processes as its own node and the information processing apparatuses 20-2 to 20-5 become other nodes will be described as an example. Is not to be done. In the distributed processing system 10 of this embodiment, any of the information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5 can be a local node or another node.

  First, the own performance information update unit 66 waits until the own node is activated by the control unit 60 or until the own node is returned from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode by the transition control unit 64 (No in step S100). No in step S102).

  Then, when the own node is activated by the control unit 60 (Yes in step S100), the own performance information update unit 66 is restored from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode by the transition control unit 64. In this case (Yes in step S102), the processing performance of the own node is measured (step S104). Here, the own performance information updating unit 66 measures the processing speed and resources of the own node when the own node is activated by the control unit 60, and the own control unit 64 operates normally from the energy saving mode by the transition control unit 64. When returning to the mode, the transition time from the energy saving mode of the own node to the normal operation mode is measured.

  Subsequently, the own performance information updating unit 66 updates the processing performance information of the own performance information stored in the own performance information storage unit 54 with the measured processing performance (step S106).

  Subsequently, the determination unit 68 communicates with the IP address of each of the other nodes using ICMP such as PING, and determines whether communication with the IP address of any other node is possible (step S108). Here, as illustrated in FIG. 4, when any of the information processing apparatuses 20-2 to 20-5 that are other nodes is not in the normal operation mode, the determination unit 68 determines that communication with any other node is not possible. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, among the information processing devices 20-2 to 20-5 that are other nodes, the information processing devices 20-2 and 20-4 are in the energy saving mode, and the information processing device 20-3 , 20-5 are in a power-off state. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when any of the information processing apparatuses 20-2 to 20-5 that are other nodes is in the normal operation mode, the determination unit 68 determines that communication with any other node is possible. . In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, among the information processing apparatuses 20-2 to 20-5 that are other nodes, the information processing apparatuses 20-2 and 20-5 are in the energy saving mode, and the information processing apparatus 20-3 20-4 are in the normal operation mode. Note that the determination unit 68 determines that another node of the IP address that has been successfully communicated is in the normal operation mode.

  When it is determined by the determination unit 68 that communication with any other node is not possible (No in step S108), the performance list first update unit 72 stores the performance lists in the performance list storage unit 52 of its own node. It is confirmed whether or not there is (step S110). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the performance list storage unit 52 of the information processing apparatus 20-1 that is the own node is a shared folder indicated by a path of ¥¥ 192.168.168 / cluster, Various performance lists stored in the performance list storage unit 52 are stored in the “plmlist. It is assumed that the file is indicated by txt. In this case, the various performance list first update unit 72 adds pmllist.com to the shared folder indicated by the path of ¥¥ 192.168.0.10 ¥ cluster. It is confirmed whether or not the file indicated by txt is stored.

  When the various performance lists are not stored in the various performance list storage unit 52 of the own node (No in step S110), the various performance list first update unit 72 updates the own various performances updated by the own various performance information update unit 66. Various performance lists of the own node describing the information are created and stored in the various performance list storage unit 52 of the own node (step S112), and the process ends. At this time, the various performance list first update unit 72 also creates time stamps of the various performance lists. The various performance list first update unit 72 determines the initial performance information stored in the initial value storage unit 56 when the performance information updated by the performance information update unit 66 is an invalid value. Various performance lists of the node describing the values are created and stored in the performance list storage unit 52 of the own node.

  On the other hand, when the performance lists are stored in the performance list storage unit 52 of the own node (Yes in step S110), the first performance list update unit 72 is stored in the performance list storage unit 52 of the own node. In the various performance lists, it is confirmed whether or not the various performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node is the latest (step S114). Here, the performance list first update unit 72 determines whether or not the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node matches the own performance information updated by the own performance information update unit 66. If they match, it is determined that the performance information is the latest, and if they do not match, it is determined that the performance information is not the latest.

  When the various performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node is not the latest (No in step S114), the various performance list first update unit 72 is updated by the own various performance information update unit 66. The own performance information is updated (step S116), and the process is terminated. At this time, the various performance list first update unit 72 also updates the time stamp of the various performance lists. If the performance information updated by the performance information update unit 66 is an invalid value, the performance list first update unit 72 displays the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node as an initial value. Update the initial value of the performance information stored in the value storage unit 56.

  On the other hand, when the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node is the latest (Yes in step S114), the performance list first update unit 72 ends the process without performing the process of step S116.

  If it is determined in step S108 that the determination unit 68 can communicate with any other node (Yes in step S108), the search unit 70 determines that the determination unit 68 determines that it is in the normal operation mode. The various performance lists with the latest time stamps are searched from the various performance lists stored in the various performance list storage units 52 (step S118). For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the shared folder in which the performance list storage unit 52 of the information processing apparatus 20-1 (own node) that is in the normal operation mode is indicated by a path of ¥¥ 192.168.168 ¥ cluster. The performance lists stored in the performance list storage unit 52 are stored in the plmlist. It is assumed that the file is indicated by txt. Similarly, the performance list storage unit 52 of the information processing apparatus 20-3 (another node) in the normal operation mode is a shared folder indicated by a path of ¥¥ 192.168.0.15 ¥ cluster, and the various performances Various performance lists stored in the list storage unit 52 are stored in the plmlist. It is assumed that the file is indicated by txt. Similarly, the performance list storage unit 52 of the information processing apparatus 20-4 (another node) that is in the normal operation mode is a shared folder indicated by a path of ¥¥ 192.168.20 ¥ cluster, and the various performances Various performance lists stored in the list storage unit 52 are stored in the plmlist. It is assumed that the file is indicated by txt. In this case, the search unit 70 shares the path indicated by the path of \\ 192.168.0.10 \ cluster, \\ 192.168.0.15 \ cluster, and \\ 192.168.0.20 \ cluster. Stored in the folder. From among txt, the latest time stamp of pmllist. Search for txt.

  Subsequently, the performance list first update unit 72 checks whether or not the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node is the latest in the performance lists searched by the search unit 70 (step S120). . Here, the various performance list first update unit 72 performs various performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node and the own various performance information updated by the own performance information update unit 66 in the same manner as the processing in step S114. It is determined whether or not the performance information matches, and it is determined whether or not the performance information is the latest.

  If the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node is not the latest (No in step S120), the performance list first update unit 72 updates the performance information by the own performance information update unit 66. It is updated with the various performance information (step S122). At this time, the various performance list first update unit 72 also updates the time stamp of the various performance lists. If the performance information updated by the performance information update unit 66 is an invalid value, the performance list first update unit 72 displays the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node as an initial value. Update the initial value of the performance information stored in the value storage unit 56.

  On the other hand, when the performance information associated with the MAC address of the own node is the latest (Yes in step S120), the performance list first update unit 72 does not perform the process of step S122.

  Subsequently, the various performance list second update unit 74 is the various performance lists updated by the various performance list first update unit 72, and the various performances of the information processing devices determined by the determination unit 68 to be in the normal operation mode. The various performance lists stored in the list storage unit 52 are updated (step S124), and the process ends. At this time, the various performance list second update unit 74 also updates the time stamp of the various performance lists.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a distributed processing procedure performed in the distributed processing system 10 according to the present embodiment. Here, a description will be given by taking an example of distributed processing when a job is generated in the information processing apparatus 20-1 after the performance list update processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed in the state shown in FIG. That is, the information processing device 20-1 becomes a processing subject of distributed processing as a master device (own node), selects a slave device from the information processing devices 20-2 to 20-5 that are other nodes, and performs distributed processing. An example to be performed will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in the distributed processing system 10 of the present embodiment, any of the information processing devices 20-1 to 20-5 can be a master device or a slave device.

  First, when a job is generated in the information processing apparatus 20-1 (step S200), the information processing apparatus 20-1 becomes a master apparatus.

  Subsequently, the determination unit 76 of the master device (the information processing device 20-1) refers to the performance lists stored in the performance list storage unit 52 of the own node and updated by the performance list second update unit 74. Then, the slave device used for the distributed processing is determined from the information processing devices 20-2 to 20-5 that are other nodes (step S202). Note that the determination unit 76 may prioritize any of the performance information described in the various performance lists in determining the slave device used for the distributed processing. That is, the determination unit 76 requires power consumption per unit time in the normal operation mode, power consumption per unit time in the energy saving mode, processing speed, resources, and transition (return) from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode. A slave device used for distributed processing may be determined with priority given to any time. Further, the priority of each piece of information included in the various performance information can be input from the input unit 40 so that the user, the serviceman, or the like can switch the priority. Further, whether or not the information processing apparatuses 20-2 to 20-5, which are other nodes, are in the normal operation mode can be determined based on whether or not communication using the IP address is possible. It can be determined from the mode information in the list.

  Subsequently, when the determined slave device is in the energy saving mode (Yes in step S204), the determination unit 76 sends a special packet such as a magic packet to the slave device in order to return the slave device to the normal operation mode. Transmit (step S206). The shift control unit 64 of the slave device that has received the magic packet from the master device returns itself from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode.

  On the other hand, when the determined slave device is not in the energy saving mode (No in step S204), the determination unit 76 does not perform the process of step S206.

  Subsequently, the distribution processing unit 78 of the master device performs job distribution processing using the slave device determined by the determination unit 76 (step S208). Specifically, the distributed processing unit 78 of the master device performs job division, transmission of the divided job to the slave device, reception of job processing results from the slave device, aggregation of received jobs, and the like. Further, the distributed processing unit 78 of the slave device receives a job from the master device, processes the job, transmits the job processing result to the master device, and the like.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the various performance information of any information processing device is updated, the latest performance list in the information processing device in the normal operation mode is updated with the updated own performance information. Then, the performance lists of all information processing apparatuses in the normal operation mode are updated with the updated performance lists. In other words, in this embodiment, the performance list is not updated to the latest at a specific timing such as before the distributed processing, but the normal operation mode is updated each time the own performance information of any information processing apparatus is updated. The various performance lists of the information processing apparatus are updated to the latest.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the performance lists of the information processing apparatus that is in the normal operation mode are always kept up-to-date, so it is necessary to update the performance lists at a specific timing such as before performing distributed processing. Absent. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to return the information processing apparatus in the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode in order to update the performance lists to the latest, and it is possible to reduce the energy consumption accompanying the distributed processing. it can.

  Note that even in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to reduce the energy consumption associated with the distributed processing, the device is acquired only from the printer in the normal mode without acquiring the device information from the printer in the power saving mode. A mode in which information is acquired and distributed processing is performed by selecting a printer to be distributed is also conceivable. However, in such a mode, when all the printers are in the power saving mode, device information cannot be acquired from any printer, and thus it becomes impossible to select a printer to be distributed.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, even if all nodes other than the master device are in the energy saving mode, the performance lists of the master device are maintained in the latest state. By referencing, it is possible to determine an appropriate slave device for distributed processing and perform distributed processing.

(Hardware configuration)
An example of the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-5 of this embodiment will be described.

  The information processing apparatus 20-5 of the present embodiment includes a control device such as a CPU, a storage device such as a ROM and a RAM, an external storage device such as an HDD and a removable drive device, a display device such as a display, a keyboard and a mouse. And a communication device such as a communication interface, and has a hardware configuration using a normal computer.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-4 according to the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the information processing apparatuses 20-1 to 20-4 have a configuration in which a controller 910 and an engine unit (Engine) 960 are connected by a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus. The controller 910 is a controller that controls the overall control, drawing, communication, and input from the operation display unit 920 of the information processing apparatus. The engine unit 960 is a printer engine that can be connected to a PCI bus, and is, for example, a monochrome plotter, a one-drum color plotter, or a four-drum color plotter. The engine unit 960 includes an image processing part such as error diffusion and gamma conversion in addition to a so-called engine part such as a plotter. In the case of the information processing apparatus 20-1, the engine unit 960 further includes a scanner unit and the like.

  The controller 910 includes a CPU 911, a north bridge (NB) 913, a system memory (MEM-P) 912, a south bridge (SB) 914, a local memory (MEM-C) 917, and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 916 and a hard disk drive (HDD) 918, and the North Bridge (NB) 913 and the ASIC 916 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 915. The MEM-P 912 further includes a ROM 912a and a RAM 912b.

  The CPU 911 performs overall control of the information processing apparatus, has a chip set including the NB 913, the MEM-P 912, and the SB 914, and is connected to other devices via the chip set.

  The NB 913 is a bridge for connecting the CPU 911 and the MEM-P 912, SB 914, and AGP 915, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 912, a PCI master, and an AGP target.

  The MEM-P 912 is a system memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, a memory for developing programs and data, a memory for drawing printers, and the like, and includes a ROM 912a and a RAM 912b. The ROM 912a is a read-only memory used as a memory for storing programs and data, and the RAM 912b is a writable and readable memory used as a program / data development memory, a printer drawing memory, and the like.

  The SB 914 is a bridge for connecting the NB 913 to a PCI device and a peripheral device. The SB 914 is connected to the NB 913 via a PCI bus, and a network interface (I / F) unit and the like are also connected to the PCI bus.

  The ASIC 916 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications having hardware elements for image processing, and has a role of a bridge for connecting the AGP 915, the PCI bus, the HDD 918, and the MEM-C 917. The ASIC 916 includes a PCI target and an AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 916, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 917, and a plurality of DMACs (Direct Memory) that perform image data rotation by hardware logic and the like. Access Controller) and a PCI unit that performs data transfer between the engine unit 960 via the PCI bus. A universal serial bus (USB) 940 and an IEEE 1394 (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface 950 are connected to the ASIC 916 via a PCI bus. The operation display unit 920 is directly connected to the ASIC 916.

  The MEM-C 917 is a local memory used as a copy image buffer and a code buffer, and the HDD 918 is a storage for storing image data, programs, font data, and forms.

  AGP915 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card that has been proposed to speed up graphics processing, and speeds up the graphics accelerator card by directly accessing MEM-P912 with high throughput. .

(Modification)
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the own performance information update unit 66 measures the processing performance of the own information processing apparatus and updates the processing performance information of the own performance information with the measured processing performance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the input receiving unit 62 receives the setting input of the processing performance of the own information processing apparatus, and the own performance information updating unit 66 has the processing performance received by the input receiving unit 62. You may make it update the processing performance information of own performance information. In this way, the user, service person, etc. can input or edit the processing performance information.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Distributed processing system 11 Network 20 (20-1-20-5) Information processing apparatus 30 Communication part 40 Input part 50 Storage part 52 Performance list storage part 54 Self-performance information storage part 56 Initial value storage part 60 Control part 62 Input accepting unit 64 Transition control unit 66 Own performance information update unit 68 Judgment unit 70 Search unit 72 Performance list first update unit 74 Performance list second update unit 76 Determination unit 78 Distributed processing unit 910 Controller 911 CPU
912 System memory 912a ROM
912b RAM
913 North Bridge 914 South Bridge 915 AGP Bus 916 ASIC
917 Local memory 918 Hard disk drive 920 Operation display unit 940 USB
950 IEEE1394 interface 960 engine part

JP 2006-343955 A

Claims (13)

A distributed processing system comprising a plurality of information processing devices connected via a network and having a normal operation mode and an energy saving mode with less energy consumption than the normal operation mode,
Each of the plurality of information processing devices
Various performance lists that store various performance lists in which identification information of each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses is associated with various performance information including energy performance information regarding energy performance of the information processing apparatuses and processing performance information regarding processing performance. Storage means;
Self-performance information storage means for storing self-performance information that is various performance information of the self-information processing device;
Self-performance information updating means for updating the self-performance information;
Determination means for determining whether or not each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses is in the normal operation mode;
Search means for searching for the latest performance lists from the performance lists stored in the performance list storage means of each of the information processing devices determined to be in the normal operation mode;
The various performance information associated with the identification information of the information processing apparatus in the searched performance information list is updated with the performance information updated by the performance information updating means. A performance list first updating means;
The various performance lists updated by the various performance list first update means, the performance lists stored in the performance list storage means of each of the information processing devices determined to be in the normal operation mode. Various performance list second updating means to be updated;
Information processing used for distributed processing with reference to the performance lists stored in the performance list storage means of the information processing apparatus and updated by the performance list second update means when a job occurs Determining means for determining the device;
Distributed processing means for performing distributed processing of the job using the determined information processing apparatus;
A distributed processing system comprising:   The distributed processing system according to claim 1, wherein the own performance information updating unit measures the processing performance of the own information processing apparatus and updates the own performance information. The processing performance includes at least one of processing speed and resources,
3. The own performance information updating unit measures at least one of the processing speed and the resource of the own information processing apparatus at a first timing, and updates the own performance information. The distributed processing system described in 1.   The distributed processing system according to claim 3, further comprising first input receiving means for receiving a setting input of the first timing.   The distributed processing system according to claim 3, wherein the first timing is a startup time. The processing performance includes a transition time from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode,
The own performance information updating means measures the transition time from the energy saving mode to the normal operation mode of the own information processing apparatus at a second timing, and updates the own performance information. The distributed processing system as described in any one of Claims 2-5.   The distributed processing system according to claim 6, further comprising second input receiving means for receiving a setting input of the second timing.   The distributed processing system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the second timing is a time when the energy saving mode is shifted to the normal operation mode. An input receiving means for receiving an input of the processing performance of the information processing apparatus;
The distributed processing system according to claim 1, wherein the own performance information updating unit updates the own performance information with the input processing performance. Further comprising initial value storage means for storing an initial value of the performance information.
The various performance list first update means, when the own performance information updated by the own performance information update means is an invalid value, of the own information processing apparatus in the searched performance lists. The distributed processing system according to claim 1, wherein the performance information associated with the identification information is updated with the initial value. The identification information includes an IP address,
The determination unit communicates with IP addresses of each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses other than the information processing apparatus, and determines that the normal operation mode is established if communication is successful. The distributed processing system according to any one of the above. The identification information includes a MAC address,
The various performance list first updating means updates the various performance information associated with the MAC address of the own information processing apparatus in the searched performance lists by the own performance information updating means. The distributed processing system according to claim 1, wherein the distributed processing system is updated with the own performance information. The performance list storage means further stores a time stamp in association with the performance lists,
The search means selects the performance list with the latest time stamp from the performance lists stored in the performance list storage means of each of the information processing devices determined to be in the normal operation mode. Explore
The performance list first update means updates the time stamp of the performance list together with the updated performance list,
The distributed processing system according to claim 1, wherein the performance list second update unit updates the time stamp of the performance list together with the updated performance list.

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