JPH04273636A - Decentralized bulletin board system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a read request of a bulletin board from being concentrated onto one server device and to improve the response by arranging a copy of the bulletin board to plural servers in the electronic mail system. CONSTITUTION:A copy of a bulletin board is arranged to plural server devices 10A,...,10N to allow each of client devices 20A1,...,20Ap,...20N1,...,20Ns to have only to publicate a read request not to a specific server but to a server device belonging to itself.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail system for exchanging electronic messages via a communication network.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic mail systems, conventional bulletin board functions are generally arranged in a concentrated manner on one server device for one type of bulletin board.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional bulletin board function described above, the bulletin board is centrally located on one server device, which results in a concentrated load and slow response to simultaneous read requests from multiple client devices. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention is to distribute the load and improve responsiveness by introducing a distributed bulletin board system in which bulletin boards of the same type are distributed among a plurality of server devices.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, one or more types of bulletin boards are provided in a server device, and each type of bulletin board is connected to a plurality of server devices via the communication means. By distributing the posting read requests from multiple client devices to the multiple server devices where the copies are placed, it is possible to prevent the posting read requests from concentrating on one server device. I made it.

[0006]

[Operation] According to the present invention, by placing copies of the bulletin board on multiple server devices, a request to read a bulletin board can be made in one time.
This prevents concentration on one server device and improves responsiveness.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an e-mail system. The server devices 10A, . . . , 10N have a plurality of bulletin boards 30A1, . . . , 30An, .
N1,...,30Nn and multiple mailboxes 4
0A1,..., 40At,..., 40N1,...
, 40Nw, controls sending and receiving of messages, and communicates with other server devices, thereby allowing bulletin boards 30A1, . . . , 30An, . . .
This is a device that controls the bulletin boards 30N1, . . . , 30Nn so that the same bulletin boards are stored in each bulletin board. Client devices 20A1,..., 20Ap,...
, 20N1..., 20Ns accepts instructions such as sending and receiving messages from users, and displays a list of messages,
This is a device that displays the contents of messages.

[0009] Server device 10A and client device 20
A1, . . . , 20Ap, .
) 50A, . . . , 50N, and communicate with each other. Further, LANs 50A, . . . , 50N are connected via a public network 60, and server devices 10A, .
. . , 10N communicate with each other via the LANs 50A, . . . , 50N and the public network 60. In Figure 1, LAN50A,
. . , 50N, a telephone line or the like may be used to connect the server device and the client device.

[0010] Here, the server device does not necessarily have to have all types of bulletin boards. 2 and 3 respectively show an example in which there is no bulletin board 30A2 and an example in which there is no bulletin board at all in the server device 10A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the system configuration of a client device. System bus 100, MPU 101, RAM
102, ROM 103, transmission/reception mechanism 104, disk control section 105, display control section 106, and keyboard input control section 107 are connected. System bus 100 is a common path for data, addresses, and programs within the client device. The MPU 101 is a microprocessor unit that executes programs written in the ROM 103, which is a read-only memory, rewrites data in the RAM 102, which is a readable/writable memory, and controls the transmission/reception mechanism 1.
04, controls various I/Os of the disk control section 105, display control section 106, and keyboard input control section 107. R
AM102 is a memory that stores data and tables necessary for executing a program that controls the client device.

The ROM 103 is a memory that stores a group of programs for controlling the client device. The transmitting/receiving mechanism 104 is a mechanism that transmits data on the system bus 100 to the communication line, and conversely transmits data received from the communication line to the system bus 100. Disk control unit 1
05, display control section 106, keyboard input control section 107
are between the magnetic disk 108, CRT 109, keyboard 110 and MPU 101, or RAM 102.
, ROM103.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the system configuration of the server device. System bus 200, MPU 201, RAM 202
, ROM 203, transmission/reception mechanism 204, disk control unit 1
05 is connected. The system bus 200 is a common path for data, addresses, and programs inside the server device. MPU201 is a microprocessor unit, R
Execute the program written in OM203, and
2 and controls the transmitting/receiving mechanism 204. The RAM 202 is a memory that stores data and tables necessary for executing a program that controls the server device. The ROM 203 is a memory that stores a group of programs that control the server device. The transmitting/receiving mechanism 204 sends data on the system bus 200 to the communication line, and conversely sends data received from the communication line to the system bus 200.
This is the mechanism that transmits the signal to 0. The disk control unit 205 operates between the magnetic disk 208 and the MPU 201 or between the RAM 2
02 and ROM 203.

Next, message communication operations using this system will be explained. FIGS. 6 and 7 show examples of processing flows when sending and receiving messages, respectively. In Figure 8,
An example of a functional block diagram of a program group written in the ROM 103 and controlling the client device is shown.

The document editing 121 edits the document to be sent as the main body of the message and stores it on the magnetic disk 10.
This provides a man-machine interface for storing documents in a document file 127 provided in the 8. Document editing operations are performed using the mouse 111, as in a normal word processor.
This can be done using the keyboard 110 and CRT 109, and the edited document is stored in the document file 127 via the document management 125 with a document name.

The transmission control 122 provides a man-machine interface for transmitting messages. For example, when a user inputs a message transmission command from the keyboard 110, a message transmission operation screen is displayed on the CRT 109. When the user enters an execution command after keying in the necessary information, the input information is checked for errors, and if there are no errors, the document specified by the document name specified by the user is sent via the document management 125. The information is read out from the document file 127 and transmitted to the server device via the communication control 126 along with information such as the sender and destination.

At this time, the server device to which each client device should send messages is the server device that accommodates the mailbox of the user who is performing the message sending operation. Methods for determining the partner server device include, for example, a method in which the correspondence between the user ID and the network address of the server device is stored in advance in a server registration table provided in the magnetic disk 108 of each client device; Any method such as inputting the network address of the device may be used.

On the other hand, the reception control 123 provides a man-machine interface for each user to receive messages posted to his or her mailbox or bulletin board. For example, when a user inputs a message reception command from the keyboard 110, a message reception operation screen is displayed on the CRT 109. When a user enters an execution command after keying in the necessary information, the entered information is checked for errors, and if there is no error, the server that houses the user's mailbox is sent via the communication control 126. A message reception request is transmitted to the device, with the name of the mailbox or bulletin board from which the message is to be received and the search conditions as parameters.

[0019] The server device returns message names, senders, etc. for all messages that meet the specified search conditions among the messages stored in the specified mailbox or bulletin board. These contents are CRT
109. When a user selects a specific message from among the displayed messages and requests to receive the message body, a message body reception request is sent to the server device with the message ID of the message selected by the user as a parameter. Sent out. When the main body of the message is received from the server device, its contents are transferred to CRT1.
Displayed on 09.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a functional block diagram of a group of programs written in the ROM 203 to control the server device.

In the magnetic disk 208 of one server device, there are a plurality of bulletin boards 30-1, . . . , 30-n and a plurality of user mailboxes 40-1, .
−k can be accommodated. In addition, each server device
Via the client-to-client communication control 219 and the server-to-server communication control 220, it is possible to communicate with a plurality of client devices and server devices at the same time. Mailbox name registration table 221 and bulletin board name registration table 222
The correspondence between all mailbox names and bulletin board names that can be specified as message delivery destinations from each server device and the address on the communication network of the server device in which they are accommodated is registered. put.

The client-to-client communication control 219 controls communication with the client device, and when a message is sent from the client device, the message reception 211
Start. At this time, message control information including the sender and destination of the message is sent from the client device prior to the message body. Message reception 2
11 sends the message control information of the received message to the determination processing unit 215 to obtain a result as to whether the message should be delivered to a mailbox or a bulletin board.

[0023] The judgment processing unit 215 judges whether the message should be delivered to a mailbox or a bulletin board.
The determination method is to provide a field in the message control information that identifies whether the message is addressed to an email or a bulletin board, or include information in the destination as to whether the message is addressed to an email or a bulletin board (for example, if a certain character string Any method may be used, such as a destination starting with , indicating a bulletin board address, etc. The message reception unit 211 performs the following processing according to the result obtained from the determination processing unit 215.

If the result is to be delivered to a mailbox, the communication network address of the server device to which the mail is to be delivered is determined by searching the mailbox name registration table 221 for the destination of the received message (hereinafter referred to as mail). Message delivery 21
Pass it to 2. Message delivery 212 is message reception 2
The mail is sent via the server-to-server communication control 220 to the destination server device corresponding to the communication network address of the destination server device determined in step 11. The mail sent from the message delivery 212 of the server device is
The message is received by the message reception 213 via the server-to-server communication control 220 of the server device that accommodates the destination mailbox. The message receiving unit 213 sends the message control information of the received message (mail) to the judgment processing unit 215 to obtain a result as to whether the message should be stored in a mailbox or a bulletin board. The method of determination in the determination processing unit 215 is exactly the same as when message control information is received from the message reception 211. In this case, the results obtained from the determination processing section 215 should be stored in the mailbox. The message reception 213 responds to the result obtained from the judgment processing unit 215.
Store the message in your mailbox or bulletin board. In this case, the mail is sent to the corresponding mailbox (40-1, 40-1,
..., 40-k).

If the results are to be delivered to a bulletin board, by searching the bulletin board name registration table 222 for the destination of the received message (hereinafter referred to as a bulletin board), the bulletin board name to which the bulletin board is to be delivered and the bulletin board are determined. The communication network address of the registered server device is obtained and the posted item is passed to the message delivery 212. In the case of a bulletin board, there are usually multiple delivery destinations. From then on, the message delivery 212 transmits the bulletin board, and the process of receiving it by the message reception 213 of the delivery destination server device is the same as in the case of e-mail.

[0026] Furthermore, the client communication control 219
Upon receiving a message reception request from the client device, message retrieval 214 is activated. Message retrieval 214 retrieves message names for all messages that satisfy the specified search conditions from among the messages stored in the mailbox or bulletin board corresponding to the mailbox name or bulletin board name sent from the client device. , sender, etc., and if a request to receive the body of the specified message is sent from the client device, the body of the message is read from the mailbox or bulletin board and sent to the client device.

[0027] Here, information on whether to read the mailbox or the bulletin board is added to the reception request from the client device, and the judgment processing unit 215 judges the information, or if the information starts with a certain character string. Assuming that the name indicates the bulletin board, the judgment processing unit 215 can determine the name included in the reception request from the client device and narrow down the target of subsequent processing to either the mailbox or the bulletin board. The judgment processing unit 215
is applicable.

[0028] In this embodiment, if a certain server device becomes inactive, it will no longer be able to provide services to the users accommodated by that server device, but even in that case, other server devices in the operating state will For example, when receiving a request to send a message to a bulletin board for a user accommodated by the server, the server remembers that it could not be forwarded to the bulletin board accommodated by the server device that is in an inactive state, and transfers the request to the server device at regular intervals. By doing so, services can be provided, and even if part of the system is out of service, it is possible to continue providing services to a certain extent as a whole.

[0029]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since copies of the bulletin board are placed on a plurality of server devices, it is possible to prevent requests for reading bulletin boards from being concentrated on one server device and improve responsiveness. It becomes possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Figure 1] Example of overall configuration of e-mail system

[Figure 2] Example where the server device does not have a certain type of bulletin board

[Figure 3] Example where the server device does not have a bulletin board at all

[Figure 4] Example of system configuration of client device

[Figure 5] Example of system configuration of server device

[Figure 6] Processing flow when sending a message

[Figure 7] Processing flow when receiving a message

[Figure 8] An example of a functional block diagram of a program group that controls a client device

[Figure 9] An example of a functional block diagram of a program group that controls a server device

[Explanation of symbols]

10A,...,10N...Server device, 20
A1,..., 20Ap,..., 20N1,...,
20Ns...Client device, 30A1,...
..., 30An, ..., 30N1, ..., 30Nn
...Bulletin board, 40A1,..., 40At,..., 40N1,...
・、40Nw・・・Mailbox、50A、・
...,50N...LAN (Local Ar
eaNetwork) 60... Public network 208A,..., 208N... Magnetic disk 100... System bus 101... MPU 102... RAM 103...ROM 104...Transmission/reception mechanism 105...Disk control unit 106...Display control unit 107...Keyboard input control unit 108 ...
... Magnetic disk 109 ... CRT 110 ... Keyboard 111 ... Mouse 200 ... System bus 201 ... MPU 202 ... ...RAM 203...ROM 204...Transmission/reception mechanism 205...Disk control unit 208...Magnetic disk 121...Document editing 122 ......Transmission control 123...Reception control 125...Document management 126...Communication control 127...Document file 211...・Message reception 212...Message delivery 213...Message reception 214...Message extraction 215...Judgment processing unit 217...Bulletin board management 218 ...Mailbox management 219...
... Client communication control 220 ... Server communication control

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: A processing device equipped with a client function that provides a man-machine interface for sending and receiving messages (hereinafter referred to as a client device), a processing device equipped with a server function that delivers and stores messages (hereinafter referred to as a server) In an e-mail system consisting of a client device and a server device, and a communication means for communication between the server device and the server device, and in which zero or more bulletin boards and one or more mailboxes are arranged in the server device. , by placing copies of the bulletin board on multiple server devices via communication means for each type of bulletin board, and distributing message read requests from multiple client devices to the multiple server devices where the copies are placed. A distributed bulletin board system is characterized in that it prevents the information from being concentrated on one server device and enables high-speed responses to the read requests. Claim 2: In the distributed bulletin board system according to claim 1,
You can add more server devices depending on the scale of users, place copies of bulletin boards on server devices depending on user needs, etc.
A distributed bulletin board system that is characterized by the fact that it can be configured in various ways, such as by being removed. Claim 3: In the distributed bulletin board system according to claim 1,
If a server device becomes inactive, it will no longer be able to provide services to the users accommodated by that server device, but even in that case, it will still be possible to provide services to the users accommodated by other server devices that are in the operating state. , a distributed bulletin board system that is characterized by the ability to maintain a certain level of service provision for the entire system. Claim 4: In the distributed bulletin board system according to claim 1,
To maintain consistency of bulletin board contents between multiple server devices, the bulletin board of a certain server device is designated as a parent bulletin board (hereinafter referred to as a parent bulletin board).
and make the bulletin board of another server device a child (hereinafter referred to as a child bulletin board).
A distributed bulletin board system that maintains consistency by distributing change information from a parent bulletin board to child bulletin boards each time a change occurs in the contents of the bulletin board.