JPH04257963A - Shared resource managing method for distributed computer network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the load of a client machine and to effectively utilize resources by executing the concentrated management of shared resources at a server machine. CONSTITUTION:A server machine 2 is equipped with a shared resource preservation part 10 to manage the shared resources according to the names of the shared resources, additional information and file forms. Each client machine 1 is equipped with a client information generation part 5 to generate the retrieval data of the shared resource preservation part 10. At either each client machine 1 or server machine 2, a client information table 5' is provided to preserve the additional information for each client concerning the shared resources, and a shared resource part 9 is provided to retrieve the shared resource preservation part 10 based on the retrieval data. The client information table 5' is equipped with a shared resource management table to make the additional information of the shared resources correspondent to the shared resource names and to preserve them and a default information table 7 to decide the file form and a retrieval rule at the client.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for managing shared resources in a distributed computer network system. Conventionally, in distributed computer network systems, resources that could be shared resources such as online manuals were managed as file systems on individual machines (computers). Therefore, a plurality of resources such as the same online manual exist in the same network system, and management is performed for each one, resulting in waste.

[0002] Therefore, in order to conserve file resources and reduce the labor of management work, it has been attempted to centrally manage sharable items such as manual files on one machine and use them as shared resources on the network. It was desired that machines that manage shared resources would be able to use shared resources by remotely mounting shared resource files from the machine that manages the shared resources. In that case, for example, considering an online manual as a shared resource, each client machine that receives the online manual requires a different version of the online manual. Fine-grained management of shared resources regarding types, etc. is required.

The present invention provides a shared resource management method that allows client machines to receive shared resource services such as online manuals of appropriate versions.

0004

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 shows a conventional management method for online manuals such as commands or software. In the figure, 80 to 83 are machines A to D, respectively, which are connected by a common network. 84 to 87 are manual files that store online manuals for machines A to D, respectively. 88 is the network, 89 is the manual file 84
This shows the contents of . 90 is the manual name,
91 indicates a version name corresponding to the manual name. 9
2 is a file type, which specifies a storage format determined for each machine, such as one that can be displayed as is for each machine, one that cannot be displayed without a formatting command, and one that is in a compressed format.

Considering online manuals for commands, a version of the manual for the commands installed on each machine is required. Therefore, in the figure, for example, if manual 1 on machine A is an online manual about commands, the version required on machine A is X, and version X is shown to be on file. Further, the file storage format is determined for each machine, and 92 indicates that the file type commonly determined for files in machine A is X. Similarly, in other machines B to D, versions of the manuals for each machine are managed and file types are determined.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When online manuals are centrally managed in one file on a server, online manuals with different versions, file formats, etc. may be provided to clients. Normally, it is better not to display manuals for commands or software that are not used by a client, but if online manuals are provided from a server to multiple clients, commands or software manuals that are not used by one client may be displayed. may be displayed, and there was a problem that the administrator or user on the client could not control this.

[0007] Furthermore, if the file storage formats differ between the server and the client, a manual mounted remotely from the server may not be displayed without using a command or software different from that normally used on the client.

An object of the present invention is to provide an online manual management method that allows each client to receive necessary online manual services from a server.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a table for managing shared resources such as online manuals for each client, and a client who wishes to receive shared resources from a server enters the name of the shared resource. Then, search data with attached information about the shared resource such as version and file format is automatically created, and the server retrieves the shared resource required by the client based on the search data sent from the client. , Now forwarded to the client.

FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively show the basic configuration of the present invention (
1) and basic configuration (2) are shown. An example in which the shared resource is an online manual for commands, software, etc. will be described below. In Figure 1, 1 is a client machine (hereinafter abbreviated as client)
, which receives an online manual from a server machine (hereinafter abbreviated as server), 3 is a user, 4 is a user interface section,
It consists of an input/output device, etc., and receives the input of a necessary manual name from the user 3, and displays the manual retrieved in the server 2 to the user on a screen or in print. 5 is a client information creation unit that receives the name of a shared resource such as the name of a manual input by the user from the user interface unit 4, refers to a client information table (described later), and determines the online manual version and search rules ( (described later), client-specific information such as file format is added to the search data and transferred to the server as search data. 5' is a client information table, which includes a shared resource management table (described later), a default information table (described later), and a user-specific search rule table (described later).
(described later). 6 is a shared resource management table in which the names and version names of shared resources such as online manuals related to commands and software installed on the client are described. Reference numeral 7 is a default information table in which file formats for determining the display format of manuals on the client and search rules to be used when searching on the server are described. Reference numeral 8 is a user-specific search rule table in which user-specific default search rules and search rules for each shared resource, which are different from the manual search rules defined in the client, are described. 14 is a description of the display format in the default information table 7, which specifies the file format on the client. For example, do you want to format the manual sent from server 2 in a format that can be displayed as is?
Or, it determines whether it should be in a format that cannot be displayed unless it is subjected to a formatting command. Reference numeral 15 is a search rule in the default information table 7, which determines the presence or absence of a manual only based on the search level of the manual name when searching on the server (search rule No. 15).
1), one that determines the presence or absence of a manual at the search level of the specified version name (search rule No. 2), one that determines the presence or absence of a manual by searching all version names (search rule No. 3). 16 is a default search rule defined by the user in the user-specific search rule table 8, and is taken as a search rule when there is no user-defined search rule for each shared resource (described later). 17 is a search rule for each shared resource such as an online manual, which is a search rule defined by the user for each shared resource.

[0011] In FIG. 2, 2 is a server machine, and information about the online manual such as name, version, etc.
It is managed by file type, etc., and provides necessary online manuals in response to requests from the client 1. 9 is a shared resource search unit, and client 1
Receives the search data created by the client information creation unit 5 in , searches the shared resource information storage unit (described later),
It is used to transfer shared resources such as manuals to clients. Reference numeral 10 denotes a shared resource storage unit, which manages shared resources such as online manuals by name, version, file format, etc. The one shown in the figure is an example, and has a hierarchical data search structure, including a directory (18) of shared resource names such as online manuals to be managed, and multiple displays (20 to 20) belonging to the version.
21) or manual files (23) that are stored according to storage format (file format), to store and manage shared resources such as online manuals.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a file format conversion unit, which converts the converter selection table (25
), the converter (28) is selected, and a manual file in another format is input to the converter (28) and converted, thereby creating a manual file in the search condition format.

[0013]

[Operation] Basic configuration (1), basic configuration (2) in Figures 1 and 2
). In the present invention, the user-specific search rule table 8 and the file format converter 11 are not necessarily required, so first, the case where they are not provided will be explained according to the numbers in parentheses in the figure.

(1) The user 3 inputs the name of the online manual to be searched via the user interface unit 4. (2) The name of the online manual is transferred from the user interface section 4 to the client information creation section 5. (3), (4), (5) The client information creation unit 5 refers to the shared resource management table 6 and obtains the version name associated with the name of the input online manual. At the same time, the default information table 7 is referred to to determine the file display format and search rules, and search data is created. (6) The search data created in the client information creation section 5 is transferred to the shared resource search section 9.

(7), (8), (9) The shared resource search unit 9 searches the shared resource storage unit 10 based on the name, display format, and search rule of the online manual. If the search rule is one that determines the presence or absence of a manual only based on the search level of the manual name (search rule No. 1),
If there is a manual whose name matches the search data, it is sent to the shared resource search unit 9, and the shared resource search unit 9 transfers the manual to the client information creation unit 5.

[0016] If the search rule is to determine the presence or absence of a manual at the search level of the specified version name,
A further version search is performed for those with matching names. And if the specified version is available,
The manual is sent to the shared resource search section 9, and the shared resource search section 9 sends the manual to the client information creation section 5. If the specified version does not exist, the shared resource search unit 9 notifies the client information creation unit 5 that the manual to be searched does not exist. Furthermore, if a search rule is specified to search all version names and determine the presence or absence of a manual (search rule No. 3),
Even if the specified version does not exist, if there is another version with the same name, it is transferred to the shared resource search unit 9. Then, the shared resource search unit 9 sends the manual to the client information creation unit 5. (9) The client information creation section 5 transfers the manual transferred from the shared resource search section 9 to the user interface section 4. (10) The user interface unit 4 displays the manual on a screen or prints it out to the user 3.

Next, a case will be described in which a user-specific search rule table 8 is defined in the client 1 in which the user defines manual search rules defined in the client machine. Upon receiving the manual name from the user interface 4, the client information creation unit 5 first refers to the user-specific search rule table 8. Then, if a search rule for the target manual name is set in the shared resource search rule 17, the client information creation unit 5 obtains it. If no search rule is set, the search rule set in the default search rule 16 is used. If no default search rule is set, the search rule set in the default information table 7 is used.

Next, a case will be described in which the server 2 is provided with a file format converter 11 for converting file formats. When searching for a server machine, if a corresponding manual name and version is found, but the file format is different, the file format converter 11 automatically inputs the file in another format and converts it to the specified file format. do. That is, in the converter selection table 25, the input file format and the file format to be output are compared, and the converter 28 that converts the input file format to the output file format is selected. The converter 28 performs file format conversion. The manual thus converted into the file format specified by the search data is transferred from the shared resource search section 9 to the client information creation section 5.

In the above explanation, the shared resource search section 9 and the file format conversion section 11 are provided on the server, but each is provided on the client side, and the shared resource storage section 1
0 may be remotely mounted from the server to the client. Further, the shared resource management table 6 and the default information table 7 may be provided on the server by adding an item indicating which client they belong to. In the above explanation,
The output of the shared resource search unit 9 is sent to the client information creation unit 5.
Although the information is configured to be transferred to the user interface section 4, it is also possible to transfer the information directly to the user interface section 4.

[0020]

Embodiment FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention in a client machine, and FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention in a server machine. In FIG. 3, 30 is a client machine, 30' is a user, 31 is a user interface section, 32 is a client information creation section, 33 is a client information table, and 34 is a manual management table, which are shared resources. It manages manuals by name and version. The figure is the manual name manua
The version names l01 and manual05 are Version X and Version 1, respectively. Reference numeral 37 is a default information table that defines the display format (file format) and search rules. The figure shows FILE type X as the display format (file format) for manual output, and No. 2 as the search rule (described later).
Indicates the case where Reference numeral 40 denotes a user-specific search rule table in which search rules defined by the user for each manual are described. 41 is a default search rule in the user-specific search rule table, which indicates a search rule defined by the user. 42 is a search rule for each manual name in the user-specific search rule table 40. In the figure, the default search rule is No. 3, and manu
The search rules for al04 and manual08 are No.
1.

In FIG. 4, 50 is a server machine, 51
52 is a manual search section, and 52 is a hierarchical manual storage section, which stores manuals in manual name directories 53,
Version name directory 55, 56, file type 57
, 58. Reference numeral 59 denotes a manual file format conversion unit, which converts the file format of the manual. The figure shows that manual01 has version names Version 1 to Version X, and Version 1 has FILE types 1 to FIL.
Indicates that E-type X exists. 60 is a converter selection table, which includes a converter 61 and a format converter 62 that determines the input file format and output file format.
This defines the converter that corresponds to the . In the figure,
Format conversion F1→F2 is performed by converter T1, and F2→
F1 indicates that it is performed by converter T2.

FIG. 5 shows an example of search rules. A conversion rule corresponding to the search rule number is determined. Search rule No. 1 is a conversion rule that checks the manual management table to determine the presence or absence of a manual.The search rule No. 1 is a conversion rule that checks the manual management table to determine the presence or absence of a manual.The search rule No. 1 is a conversion rule that checks the manual management table to determine the presence or absence of a manual.It is determined based only on the match of the manual name, and the version name is set to empty data. Then, the manual search section 51
An appropriate version name, such as the latest version name, is assigned in . Search rule No. 2 is a conversion rule that checks the manual name directory and version name directory to determine the presence or absence of a manual. If the server does not find the specified version as a search result, the client does not have the manual. This will return the result. Search rule No. 3 checks the manual name directory and all version name directories to determine the presence or absence of a manual. If there is no corresponding version, the manual search unit 51
This is to search for manuals such as the latest version name given by. The operations in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be explained. client machine 30
At this time, the client information creation section 32 that has received the manual name from the user interface section 31 refers to the user-specific search rule table 40. Then, refer to the manual name and find the search rule number for the corresponding manual name.
get. If no search rule is set, a default search rule number is obtained. User-specific search rule table 4
If there is no 0, the search rule set in the default information table 37 is used. Next, FILE type X is obtained by referring to the display format in the default information table 37. Furthermore, the version of the input manual name is obtained by referring to the manual management table 34, and search data is created using the name, version name, search rule, and display format (file format). Here, if the search rule is 1 and there is no corresponding manual, the client information creation section 32 notifies the user interface section 31 that no manual exists. If the search rule is not 1, search data for the input name is created with the version name as empty data, and transferred to the server machine.

In the server machine 50, the manual search section 51 searches the hierarchical manual storage section 52 based on the search data, and if a corresponding manual is found, transfers the manual to the client information creation section 32. If the corresponding manual cannot be found by searching up to the hierarchical directory according to the search rule, it is notified that the corresponding manual does not exist (hierarchical manual storage section 5
The flow of the second operation will be described later).

[0024] If the corresponding version is found, but the file format is different, the manual file format converter 59 automatically inputs the file in another format and converts it into the specified file format. That is, in the converter selection table 60, the input file format is compared with the file format to be output, and the converter 28 (there is a plurality of converters) that converts the input file format into the output file format is selected. For example, it is detected that F1→F2 is the converter T1, and the converter T1 is selected. and,
The converter T1τ performs file format conversion. In this way, the manual in the file format specified by the search data is transferred from the manual search section 51 to the client information creation section 32.

The flow of an embodiment in the client information creation section will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 shows the flow (1), and FIG. 7 shows the flow (2) following the flow (1) in FIG.

The flow will be explained according to the numbers shown. (1) Obtain the manual name from the user interface section. (2) Determine whether a user-specific search rule table exists. If it exists, proceed to (3); if it does not exist, proceed to (5)
). (3) Determine whether a user-specific search rule table exists and a search rule number for each manual is defined. If it is specified, proceed to (4); if it is not specified, proceed to (6). (4) Use the manual-by-manual search rule number specified in the user-specific search rule table as search data. (5) If the user-specific search rule table does not exist, the search rule number specified in the default management table is used as the search data. (6) In the user-specific search rule table, if the search rule number for each manual for the corresponding manual is not specified, the default search rule number is used as the search data for the search rule. (7) Refer to the default management table and use the display format (file format) specified in the default management table as the search data. (8) Refer to the manual management table and determine whether the corresponding manual is specified in the manual management table. If it is specified, proceed to (9); if it is not specified, proceed to (10). (9) Use the version name specified in the manual management table as search data. (10) When the corresponding manual name is not defined in the manual management table, if the search rule number is 1, proceed to (11), and if the search rule is not 1, proceed to (12). (11) According to search rule No. 1, notify and display the fact that the manual does not exist on the user interface section. (12) In (10), if there is no corresponding manual name, the version name is set as empty data and used as search data. (13) Transfer the obtained manual name, version name, search rule number, and display format (file format) to the manual search section as search data.

FIG. 8 shows the flow of an embodiment of the manual search section. The explanation will be given according to the numbers shown. (1) The manual search section obtains search data from the client information creation section. Here, if the version name is given as empty data, in the manual search section,
Assign an appropriate version name, such as the latest version name. (2) Determine whether the corresponding manual name directory exists. If it exists, proceed to (4); if it does not exist, proceed to (4).
3) Proceed to step 3). (3) Notify the client information creation department that the relevant manual does not exist. (4) If the corresponding manual name directory exists,
It is determined whether a corresponding version name exists for the manual name. If it exists, proceed to (5); if it does not exist, proceed to (8). (5) If the corresponding version exists, determine whether the corresponding file type exists in that version. If it exists, proceed to (6); if it does not exist, proceed to (7)
Proceed to. (6) Now that the manual with the appropriate name, version, and file type has been obtained, transfer the obtained manual file to the client information creation section. (7) Although there is a manual with the corresponding manual name and version, the corresponding file format does not exist, so the manual file format converter creates a manual file in the corresponding file format using a manual file in a different format. (8) If the corresponding manual name directory exists but the corresponding version does not exist, determine whether the search rule number is 3. If search rule No.=3, (9
). If the search rule number is not 3 (search rule number = 1 or 2), proceed to (3) and notify the client information creation section that the manual does not exist. (9) If the search rule is 3, the version name is
In the case of empty data, it is determined whether another version name such as the latest version name exists, following the same rules as when a version name is assigned. If it exists, (5) repeat the following process. If it does not exist, proceed to (3) and notify the client information creation department that the corresponding manual does not exist.

In the embodiments described above, the user interface section 31 has only been described for screen display and print display, but it also includes a function for importing into a file. In the above embodiment, the manual management table 34 only deals with manuals on the server, but
By making a distinction between manuals on the client and manuals on the server, both types of manuals may be handled.

In the above embodiment, the search rules for each manual in the user-specific search rule table 40 may not be handled. Further, the user-specific search rule table 40 itself may not be provided. In the above embodiment, the user-specific search rule table 40 does not deal with display formats (file formats), but the end user may be able to freely set the display formats (file formats). Although an online manual has been described as a shared resource in the above embodiments, other resources may be used as long as they can be shared between client machines, such as source files for programs and the like.

In the above embodiment, in the hierarchical manual storage section 52, the version name directories 55, 56
Although only differences in versions are distinguished here, differences in OS or types of machines may also be distinguished. In the above embodiment, the hierarchical manual storage unit 52 has a hierarchical structure of directories and files, and the names for manual file names can be changed, for example, by [manual name], [version name], or [file type]. By adding this, a logical hierarchical structure can be created using only files.

In the above embodiment, the hierarchical manual storage unit 52 stores new manual files 57 to 58 for each version name, but does not store manuals in the same file format with different version names. If so, one may save the entire file, and the other may save only the different parts. However, in this case, a mechanism is required to extract the difference between the manual files of both files, and a mechanism to create a new manual file from one complete file and a file in which only the different parts are saved.

Although not described in the above embodiments, the hierarchical manual storage section 52 may be provided with a function for managing each directory and file creation time. Although not described in the above embodiment, the hierarchical manual storage section 52 may have a function of managing files for storing the latest version information under the manual name directory. In the above explanation, the manual file format converter 59 is used to create a file in another format only when a manual file search is performed and there is no manual file in the corresponding format. A manual file in another format may be automatically created when a manual file is registered. In addition, there is a separate process (
It is also possible to automatically create a manual file in another format after the manual file is registered by a periodic update process such as a daemon, or by a background job that runs periodically.

In the above embodiment, the manual file converter 59 refers to the converter selection table 60 for selecting the converter 61.
This may be selected by software based on conditional judgment. In the above embodiment, in the manual file format conversion section 59, a plurality of converters T
1, T2, . . . are prepared, however, one converter may be configured to judge conditions using software and correspond to each conversion.

Although not specifically described in the above embodiment,
In order to limit the people (administrators) who can write to the converter selection table 60 in the manual file format converter 59, a security check may be performed by providing a write permission table specifying the people who can write. In this case, the people who can write may include not only the server administrator but also the client administrator.

[0035] Although not particularly described in the above embodiments,
In the manual file format conversion unit 59, a security check may be performed by setting up a write permission group specifying people who can write in the converter selection table 60, and managing write permission for the group in the converter selection table 60. . In this case, those who can write may include not only the server administrator but also the client administrator. In the above embodiment, the search rule N
The relationship between o and the search rule is determined by software, but this is clearly displayed in a table, and this table is held and referenced on the server, client, or both to determine the relationship between the search rule No. and the search rule. It may be something.

[0036]

According to the present invention, even if different versions of commands, software, etc. are installed on each client machine, an appropriate version of the manual can be provided in response to a request from the client machine. In addition, since multiple manual files with different file formats can be automatically created from a single manual file on the server machine, even if a different manual file display command is used on each client machine, the appropriate file format can be created on the client machine. We can provide manual files.

Furthermore, since the administrator of the client machine or the end user can freely set how the manuals stored in the server machine are searched, it is possible to display the manuals according to the user's preference.

According to the present invention, shared resources in a network are centrally managed by a server machine, so that the management burden on clients can be reduced and the shared resources can be used more effectively.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration (1) of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the basic configuration (2) of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention in a client machine.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention in a server machine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search rule of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example flow (1) in a client information creation section.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example flow (2) in the client information creation section.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example flow in a manual search section.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a conventional online manual management method.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Client machine 2 Server machine 3 User 4 User interface section 5 Client information creation section 5' Client information table 6 Shared resource management table 7 Default information table 8 User-specific search rule table 9 Shared resource search section 10 Shared resource storage section 11 File format Conversion unit 14 Display format (file format) 15 Search rule 16 Default search rule 17 Search rule for each shared resource 25 Converter selection table 28 Converter

Claims (6)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a method for managing shared resources consisting of software in a distributed computer network system, the network system comprises a server machine (2) that manages the shared resources, and a server machine (2) that receives the services of the shared resources from the server machine. The client machine (1) consists of a server machine (2), which is equipped with a shared resource storage unit (10) that manages shared resources based on the shared resource name, accompanying information, and file format.
1) includes a client information creation unit (5) that creates search data for searching the shared resource storage unit (10) in the server machine (2), and also has additional information for each client machine regarding the shared resources. The shared resource search unit (9), which searches the shared resource storage unit (10) based on the client information table (5') and the search data created by the client information creation unit (5), is connected to the client machine (1) or the server. Machine (2
) in preparation for any of the client information table (5
') consists of a shared resource management table (6) that has associated information about shared resources associated with the shared resource name, and a default information table (7) that defines the file format and search rules for the client machine (1). When the name of the shared resource is input by the user on the machine (1), the client information creation section (5)
refers to the default information table (7) and the shared resource management table (6), creates search data based on the file format, input shared resource name, and associated information, and transfers it to the shared resource search unit (9). The shared resource search unit (9) searches the shared resource storage unit (10) in the server machine (2) based on the search data, and
A shared resource management method in a distributed computer network system in which a server machine (2) provides shared resources required by a client machine (1). 2. The distributed computer network according to claim 1, wherein the server machine (2) or each client machine (1) is provided with a file format conversion unit (11) that converts the file format of the shared resource. Shared resource management method in the system. 3. The distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the client information table (5') includes a user-specific search rule table (8) that manages supplementary information regarding user-specific shared information created by the user. A shared resource management method for type computer network systems. 4. In claims 1, 2, and 3, the client information table (5') is provided in the client machine, and the shared resource search section (9) and the file format conversion section (11) are provided in the server machine. A shared resource management method in a distributed computer network system characterized by the following. [Claim 5] In claims 1, 2 and 3, the client information table (5') and the shared resource search unit (9)
and the file format conversion unit (11) is the server machine (2
) A shared resource management method in a distributed computer network system. [Claim 6] In claims 1, 2 and 3, the client information table (5') and the shared resource search unit (9)
The file format converter (11) is provided in the client machine (1), and the server machine (2) is provided with the client machine (1).
A shared resource management method in a distributed computer network system, characterized in that a client machine (1) searches for shared resources by remotely mounting a shared resource storage unit (10) in a client machine (1).