JPH11110401A - Nethod and system for broadcasting type distribution filtering, and storage medium storing broadcasting type distribution filtering program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the load of data distribution at a network and a terminal by storing filtering conditions inputted from a user in advance and receiving data matching with the filtering conditions when a distribution announce message from a server matches with the filtering conditions. SOLUTION: In the data distribution system for distributing data from a server through the network to a lot of terminals, the filtering conditions inputted from a user in advance are registered on the terminal side (S1) and the distribution announce message containing the summary information of data distribution or the like is received from the server (S2). Filtering is performed by discriminating the matching of the distribution announce message with the filtering conditions (S3). When the terminal matches, it participates in a distribution group (S4) and the data matching with the filtering conditions are received (S5).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a broadcast-type distribution filtering method and system, and a storage medium storing a broadcast-type distribution filtering program, and more particularly to a data distribution service using a communication network such as news distribution and electronic publishing. The present invention relates to a broadcast-type distribution filtering method and system for providing data as desired by each user when data is distributed to a large number of users, and a storage medium storing a broadcast-type distribution filtering program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 shows an overall configuration of a data distribution system, and FIG. 11 shows a conventional distribution filtering method. The data distribution system shown in FIG.
01, a network 102, and a large number of terminals 103. The server 101 distributes data such as news and digital magazines to many terminals 103 via a network 102. In particular, data is distributed by broadcast such as multicast.

[0003] In the data distribution system shown in FIG. 10, as shown in FIG.
When data distribution is performed by broadcasting from terminal 1 to terminals 103 ₁ , 103 ₂ ,... (Data distribution 1, 2), terminal 103
_There is a method in which after receiving data at ₁ , 103 ₂ ,..., The received data is filtered by collating with a pre-input condition, unnecessary received data is discarded, and only necessary data is left.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, since the data is once received by the terminal and then the filtering process is performed, unnecessary data is also received, and the network traffic is large. However, there is a problem that the load of unnecessary reception processing is large. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a broadcast-type distribution filtering method and system capable of performing data determination before receiving data at a terminal and reducing the data distribution load on a network and a terminal. And a storage medium storing a broadcast-type distribution filtering program.

[0005]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention. According to the present invention, in a broadcast-type distribution filtering method in a data distribution system for performing data distribution from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, a terminal registers in advance filtering conditions input by a user (step 1). ), Receiving a distribution announcement message including summary information of distribution data from the server (step 2), performing filtering by determining compatibility between the distribution announcement message and filtering conditions (step 3), and determining whether the terminal matches. If so, the server participates in the distribution group (step 4) and receives data matching the filtering condition (step 5).

Further, according to the present invention, when a filtering condition is input to a terminal, the filtering condition is stored in a storage means, and when a distribution announcement message is received from a server, the message is stored in the storage means. If the filtering condition matches the distribution announcement message, set the port number of the terminal itself, open the receiving interface with the multicast address specified in the distribution announcement message, and distribute the distribution data sent from the server. If no match is received, the delivery announcement message is discarded.

Further, according to the present invention, on the server side, distribution data for distribution to the terminal is stored, a distribution announcement message is transmitted to the terminal (step 2), and a preset distribution time arrives. Then, the distribution data is distributed from the data storage means to the terminal (step 5).

The distribution announcement message includes at least communication information including media information, a multicast address, a port number used by a receiving terminal, broadcast information including a broadcast start time, an end time, and cycle information of data distribution;
It has summary information including keyword strings and abstracts related to distribution data. The distribution data is a multicast packet including a multicast address, a server address, and data.

Also, in the terminal, when the filtering condition conforms to the distribution announcement message, and when the start time arrives in accordance with the predetermined cycle information of the broadcast information of the distribution announcement message, the terminal opens the reception interface of the port and terminates. Close the receiving interface when the time has arrived.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention. The present invention relates to a broadcast-type distribution filtering system in a data distribution system that distributes data from a server 10 to a large number of terminals 20 via a network.
A filtering condition storage unit 21 for storing filtering conditions input by a user in advance;
Announcement message receiving means 22 for receiving a distribution announcement message including summary information of distribution data from 0
And a suitability judging means 23 for judging suitability between the distribution announcement message and the filtering condition. In the suitability judging means 23, if the filtering condition is met, a joining means 24 for joining the distribution group.
And data receiving means 25 for receiving distribution data only when the filtering condition is satisfied.

The server 10 includes a distribution announcement transmitting unit for transmitting a distribution announcement message to the terminal, a data storage unit for storing distribution data for distribution to the terminal, and a pre-set distribution time. And distribution management means for distributing distribution data from the data storage means.

The distribution announcement message includes at least communication information including media information, a multicast address, a port number used by a receiving terminal, broadcast information including a broadcast start time, an end time, and period information of data distribution;
It has summary information including keyword strings and abstracts related to distribution data. The distribution data is a multicast packet including a multicast address, a server address, and data.

[0013] The present invention is a storage medium storing a broadcast-type distribution filtering program in a data distribution system for performing data distribution from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, wherein a filtering condition input prompting a user to input a filtering condition is provided. A control process, an announcement message reception control process for controlling reception of a distribution announcement message including summary information of distribution data from a server, and adaptation for determining compatibility between the distribution announcement message and a filtering condition input in advance by a user. In the gender determination process and the compatibility determination process, if the filtering conditions and the content of the distribution announcement message match, the participation process of joining the distribution group and the reception of only data that matches the filtering conditions are performed. And a data reception control process for controlling so.

Further, the present invention is a storage medium storing a broadcast type distribution filtering program in a data distribution system for performing data distribution from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, and controls transmission of a distribution announcement message to the terminals. And a distribution management control process for controlling the broadcast distribution of distribution data when a preset distribution time has arrived.

As described above, according to the present invention, the server transmits a distribution announcement message including an outline of distribution data to the terminal. The terminal compares the filtering conditions entered in advance with the information contained in this distribution announcement message, determines whether or not it is possible to join the multicast group specified in the distribution announcement, and sets the distribution group only when it matches. (Multicast group)
attend to. Data is distributed only to terminals participating in the multicast group. Therefore, it is possible for the terminal to receive only data that meets the conditions specified by the user, and data that the user does not want is not received by the terminal.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is applied to the system shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of multicast packet reception used by the present invention. The multicast packet transmitted from the server 101 is duplicated in the network 102 and received by the terminal 103 belonging to the group specified by the address included in the multicast packet. The terminal 103 designates an address to the communication control unit having the function of multicast reception and makes a join request (Join) (). The communication control unit sets the specified address and opens the receiving interface. Multiple addresses can be set for the same interface.

[0017] For example, an opened reception interface only in the address a in a certain terminal 103 ₁ (). When the multicast packet of the address a comes from the network 102 (), the multicast packet is received. Even if the multi-packet of the address b flows through the network 102, it is not received by the receiving interface ().

When a multicast address is set, the multicast packet is distributed to the network to which the terminal is connected by multicast routing. A multicast packet having a multicast address not set to any terminal connected to the network is not delivered to the terminal. For more information, see "Deering, SE, Multicast Routing in Internetwo
rks and Extended LANs, ACM Transactions on Computer
Systems, No. 8, 1990 ”; ・“ Deering, SE, Host Extensions for IP Multic
asting, IETF RFC1112,1989 ";・" Kumar, V, MBone Interactive Multimedia on the
Internet, New RidersPublishing, Indianapolis, Ind
iana, 1996. Chapter 1. ";

First, the configuration of the server of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the server of the present invention. Server 5
Reference numeral 00 includes a communication control unit 501, a distribution management unit 502, and a data storage unit 503. The data storage unit 503
Stores data to be distributed to distribution groups. When the distribution time set for each data is reached, the distribution management unit 502
The data in the data storage unit 503 is transferred to the communication control unit 501. The communication control unit 501 transmits the data to the network by multicast.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of the multicast packet distributed at this time. The data distributed from the server 500 is one or more multicast packets 800
Is divided and stored in the data section 803 of the server and distributed. The multicast packet has a multicast address 80
1, including the address 802 of the server. The data distributed from the server 500 includes contents such as news and digital magazines. The data is broadcast to each terminal via a network by multicast. As a tool for performing such a multicast, there is a tool using RMTP. For this reference: ・ Shiroshita, T., et all, Performance evaluatio
n of reliablemulticast transport protocol for larg
e-scale delivery, Proc.IFIP FifthIntl. Workshop o
n Protocols for High-Speed Networks (PFHSN'96), Oc
t.1996 ".

Further, the server 500 distributes a distribution announcement message as shown in FIG. 6 as data.
The distribution announcement message 900 includes media information 901 such as a media type, communication information 902 including a multicast address and a port number used by a receiving terminal, broadcast start time and end time of data distribution, daily or once a week, and the like. The broadcast information 903 is composed of broadcast information 903 composed of cycle information, a keyword string relating to distribution data, and summary information 904 composed of an abstract.

A delivery announcement message 900 is formed for each data delivery. If you want to announce the delivery of multiple data in one announcement message,
A configuration in which a plurality of components of the delivery announcement message 900 are connected in series is used. The above is an example of the distribution announcement message, and other variations are allowed.

As a tool for multicasting the distribution announcement message 900, for example, “Session Dire
ctory (SD) ". References for this tool include: “Kumar, V, MBone Interactive Multimedia on the
Internet, New RidersPublishing, INdianapolis, Indi
ana, 1996. Chapter 4, pp.62-65 ";・" Handley, M. and Jacobson, V., Internet-draft:
SDP: SessionDescription Protocol, March 1997 ”; ・“ Handley, M., SAP-Session Announcement Protocol ”
ol, Internet-draft, November 1996 ";

Next, the configuration of the terminal of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 shows a configuration of the terminal of the present invention. The terminal 600 shown in the figure includes a communication control unit 601, a condition input unit 602, a filtering unit 603, a distribution management unit 604, and a data storage unit 605. The communication control unit 601 has a multicast packet receiving function described above. The multicast packet distributed from the communication control unit 501 of the server 500 is transmitted to the terminal 60 via the network 102.
0 is received by the communication control unit 601. The communication control units of the server 500 and the terminal 600 may have a unicast packet transmission / reception function for packet retransmission, retransmission management, and the like.

The condition input unit 602 receives media information and summary information from a user as filtering conditions. Here, the media information is information on receivable data of the user, and includes a media type, a receivable data size, and the like. The summary information is information on data that the user wants to receive, and includes a keyword, an ID code, an abstract, and the like.

The filtering unit 603 determines whether the distribution announcement message matches the filtering condition.
Based on the determination result of the filtering unit 603, the distribution management unit 604 sets the multicast address and the port number at the time specified by the broadcast information 903,
01 is performed. The multicast address is set in the receiving interface of the communication control unit 601 and the port number is set in the internal interface of the communication control unit 601 and is information necessary for identifying a communication protocol or the like in Internet communication. .

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the filtering unit of the terminal of the present invention. The filtering unit 603 includes a condition memory 701, an announcement content memory 702, and a matching processing unit 703. The filtering condition input from the condition input unit 602 is stored in the condition memory 701. Each information of the delivery announcement message is stored in the announcement content memory 702. The process of determining the suitability of these two memory conditions and information is performed by the matching processing unit 703. If they match, the communication information (multicast address, port number) and broadcast information (broadcast start time, end time, cycle information) are transferred to the distribution management unit 604.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a distribution process in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. Step 101) When the end is designated by the user, the process ends. Step 102) A filtering condition is input from the user to the condition input unit 602.

Step 103) The conditions input in step 102 are stored in the condition memory 7 of the filtering unit 603.
Set to 01. Step 104) The communication control unit 601 receives the distribution announcement message 900 from the server 500. The delivery announcement message 900 is also delivered by the multicast packet 800. The terminal 600 always participates in the group of the multicast address in this case,
The communication control unit 601 sets the multicast address and opens the reception interface.

Step 105) The information contained in the received distribution announcement message is stored in the announcement content memory 702. Step 106) The compatibility between the filtering condition in the condition memory 701 and the information stored in the announcement content memory 702 is determined. The determination of the suitability will be described later.

Step 107) If the condition is satisfied in step 106, a set of communication information (multicast address, port number) and broadcast information (broadcast start time, end time, cycle information) is transferred to the distribution management unit 604.
The distribution management unit 604 stores a plurality of sets of such information. Step 108) When the broadcast start time of the broadcast information stored in the distribution management unit 604 comes, the port number of the communication control unit 601 is set according to the corresponding communication information, and the reception interface of the communication control unit 601 is designated by the specified multicast address. To open.

Step 109) The data distributed from the server 500 is received by the communication control unit 601. Step 110) At the end time of the broadcast information, the distribution management unit 604 closes the port opened in step 108 and cancels the setting of the multicast address set in the receiving interface.

Step 111) When the designated delivery time comes, the process shifts to the data receiving process of step 108. (Step 112) Here, the user interrupts the process. If it is not the end designation, the process proceeds to step 102. Step 113) If no match is found in the matching process in step 106, the distribution announcement message is discarded.

Step 114) Here, there is an interrupt from the user, and if the end is designated in step 101, the process is ended. If not, the process proceeds to step 102. If there is no interruption from the user, the process proceeds to step 104. An example of the suitability determination in step 106 will be described below. The logical operation symbol used below is ∧: and ∨: or ≦: Within.

[0035]

[Table 1]

[0036]

[Table 2]

In the above, it is assumed that the overall judgment condition of (A) and (B) is (A) ∧ (B) = (a∧b) ∧ (c∨d∧e)... In the determination based on the media information in the above (A), since the media type (moving image) of the delivery announcement message is not included in “a. Media type (text or image)” that can be determined by the filtering condition,
“A. Media type” is “nonconforming”.

Since the filtering condition “b. Receivable data size” is 20 Mbytes or less and the distribution data size of 10 Mbyte satisfies this, “b. Receivable data size” is “conformity”. Since the comprehensive judgment condition of (A) is “a. And b.”, The comprehensive judgment of (A) is “nonconforming”.

In the judgment based on the summary information in (B), since the keyword of the distribution announcement message is included in the “keyword” of the filtering condition, the “keyword” is “adapted”. Since the ID code of the distribution announcement message is not included in the “ID code” of the filtering condition, the “ID code” is “nonconforming”.

Since both the filtering condition "designation word protocol of the abstract, NTT" is included in the abstract of the delivery announcement message, the "abstract" is "conforming". The overall judgment condition of (B) is c. Or d. And e. Therefore, the comprehensive judgment of (B) is “conformity”.

Finally, the overall judgment of (A) and (B) is as follows.
(A) is “nonconforming” and (B) is “conforming”. Here, since the overall overall judgment condition is “(A) and (B)”, the final overall overall judgment is “non-conforming”. The above operation is an example of the flow of the distribution process in the terminal, and it is also possible to execute another processing flow.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the terminal joins the multicast group only when the condition of the data desired by the user or the condition of the receivable data is matched, and receives the data in the multicast packet. This makes it possible to eliminate unnecessary data reception not desired by the user. Join the multicast group (Jo
Otherwise, unnecessary packets do not enter the network of the terminal, so that the load on the network can be reduced.

By constructing the distribution process at the terminal shown in FIG. 9 as a program and storing the program in a disk device of the terminal device, or in a portable storage medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, a general-purpose operation can be performed. It is possible to implement. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified and applied within the scope of the claims.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently realize data distribution according to each user's desire while receiving the effect of the distribution efficiency of broadcast distribution. That is, the traffic load can be reduced for the network to which the terminal is connected, and the reception of unnecessary data for the terminal can be reduced, which is efficient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a principle configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of multicast packet reception used by the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a server of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a multicast packet of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a delivery announcement message of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a terminal of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a filtering unit of the terminal of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a distribution process in a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of the entire data distribution system.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a conventional distribution filtering method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Server 20 Terminal 21 Filtering condition storage means 22 Announcement message receiving means 23 Suitability determination means 24 Participation means 25 Data receiving means 101 Server 102 Network 103 Terminal 500 Server 501 Communication control unit 502 Distribution management unit 503 Data storage unit 600 Terminal 601 Communication Control unit 602 Condition input unit 603 Filtering unit 604 Distribution management unit 605 Data storage unit 701 Condition memory 702 Announcement content memory 703 Matching processing unit 800 Multicast packet 801 Multicast address 802 Server address 803 Data 900 Distribution announcement message 901 Media information 902 Communication information 903 Broadcast information 904 Overview information

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A broadcast-type distribution filtering method in a data distribution system that distributes data from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, wherein a terminal stores in advance filtering conditions input by a user. Receiving a delivery announcement message including summary information of the delivery data from the server, determining compatibility between the delivery announcement message and the filtering condition, and, if the terminal is compatible, joining a delivery group; A broadcast-type distribution filtering method, comprising receiving data meeting the filtering condition. 2. In the terminal, when a filtering condition is input, the filtering condition is stored in a storage unit, and when a distribution announcement message is received from the server, the message is stored in a storage unit. If the filtering condition matches the delivery announcement message, set the port number of the terminal itself, open the receiving interface at the multicast address specified in the delivery announcement message,
2. The broadcast-type distribution filtering method according to claim 1, wherein the distribution data sent from the server is received, and if no match is found, the distribution announcement message is discarded. 3. The server stores distribution data for distribution to the terminal, transmits a distribution announcement message to the terminal, and stores the data when a predetermined distribution time arrives. And distributing the distribution data to the terminal from a means.
5. The broadcast-type filtering method according to claim 4. 4. The delivery announcement message includes at least media information, a multicast address,
The broadcast according to claim 1, further comprising communication information including a port number used by the receiving terminal, broadcast information including a broadcast start time and an end time of data distribution, broadcast information including cycle information, a keyword string regarding distribution data, and summary information including an abstract. Type delivery filtering method. 5. The broadcast-type filtering method according to claim 1, wherein the distribution data is a multicast packet including a multicast address, a server address, and data. 6. The terminal, wherein the filtering condition matches the distribution announcement message, and the start time arrives according to the predetermined cycle information of the broadcast information of the distribution announcement message; 5. The broadcast-type distribution filtering method according to claim 2, wherein said receiving interface of a port is opened, and said receiving interface is closed when said end time has come. 7. A broadcast type distribution filtering system in a data distribution system that distributes data from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, wherein the terminal stores filtering conditions input in advance by a user. Storage means; announcement message receiving means for receiving a distribution announcement message including summary information of distribution data from the server; suitability determination means for determining compatibility between the distribution announcement message and the filtering condition; In the gender determining means, when the filtering condition is satisfied, the device includes a joining unit for joining a distribution group and a data receiving unit for receiving data matching the filtering condition. Broadcast distribution filtering system Tem. 8. The server, comprising: a distribution announcement transmitting unit for transmitting a distribution announcement message to the terminal; a data storage unit for storing distribution data for distribution to the terminal; and when a predetermined distribution time arrives. 8. The broadcast-type filtering system according to claim 7, further comprising: distribution management means for distributing said distribution data from said data storage means. 9. The distribution announcement message includes at least media information, a multicast address,
9. The communication device according to claim 7, further comprising communication information including a port number used at the receiving terminal, broadcast information including broadcast start time and end time of data distribution, broadcast information including period information, a keyword string related to distribution data, and summary information including an abstract. Broadcast distribution filtering system. 10. The distribution data is a multicast packet including a multicast address, a server address and data.
The broadcast type filtering system as described. 11. A storage medium storing a broadcast-type distribution filtering program in a data distribution system for performing data distribution from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, wherein a filtering condition input control process for prompting a user to input a filtering condition is provided. An announcement message reception control process for controlling reception of a distribution announcement message including summary information of distribution data from the server; and determining compatibility between the distribution announcement message and the filtering condition input by a user in advance. In the suitability determination process, in the suitability determination process, when the filtering condition and the content of the delivery announcement message match, a joining process of joining a delivery group, and matching the filtering condition. Storage medium storing Broadcasting filtering program characterized by having a data reception control process for controlling so as to receive the data. 12. A storage medium storing a broadcast type distribution filtering program in a data distribution system for performing data distribution from a server to a large number of terminals via a network, the distribution medium controlling transmission of a distribution announcement message to the terminals. A storage medium storing a broadcast-type distribution filtering program, comprising: an announcement transmission control process; and a distribution management control process for controlling broadcast distribution of distribution data when a preset distribution time has arrived.