KR20010085015A - Software download method by plural client - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for downloading software using plural client computers is provided to reduce the load of a server computer and achieve a rapid download by using download-completed client computers as a server without special manual setup. CONSTITUTION: A server computer(300) makes out a list of computers in an on-line state among download-completed computers(S400). If a user selects a software download or upgrade function through his user computer(100)(S100), the user computer transmits software information to the server computer to request the transmission of a list of computers capable of downloading software(S402). If the server computer receives the request of the user computer(S403), the server computer compares the transmitted software information of the user computer with the software information of the server computer and transmits the on-line computer list to the user computer(S404). The user computer calculates network speed for the on-line computer list using a network speed calculation module(S405) and requests a download-completed computer(100a), located in the nearest network, to transmit a file(S406). Receiving the file download request, the download-completed computer transmits the file to the user computer(S408). After receiving and installing the file(S409), the user computer notifies the server computer that the software download has been completed(S410,S411). The server computer records the status of this user computer in a download computer database(S412).

Description

Software download method using multiple clients {Software download method by plural client}

The present invention relates to a method for distributing or upgrading software on a network. In particular, when a user chooses to download the software, the user can obtain information about other computers on the network that have previously downloaded the same software from the server computer. The present invention relates to a software download method using a plurality of clients that can quickly download software from a nearby computer.

In a conventional system, a file for distributing or upgrading software is stored on a server, and a user who wants to download the file accesses the server and receives the file. In this method, since all the computers rely on the server to download the file only, the server becomes overloaded, which causes various problems such as server inaccessibility and slow download speed. Therefore, the server operator has a large cost burden when constructing a system such as having to set up several dedicated servers for downloading or installing expensive server equipment.

In addition, even if a user in an internal network connected to a local area network (LAN) downloads and upgrades tens of megabytes of files from the server for a long time, the received file is not used as it is, and thus the same as the upgraded user. Even users on the internal network need to download a long time by connecting to a server separately. As a result, not only a problem of resource utilization but also unnecessary time is spent for upgrading the software, which causes a problem of low user convenience. In addition, if several users of the internal network are simultaneously downloading, there is a possibility that not only the server load increases but also the traffic of the internal network may increase.

If you upgrade software distributed over thousands or tens of thousands of copies, such as an Internet browser or virus checker, over the network, users will be crowded at the same time, causing the download server computer to run out of capacity and users will experience connection failures or download failures. Etc., the user's convenience is low.

In order to remedy this disadvantage, one of the prior arts includes a method in which a client computer downloads a file from a server computer and stores the file in a specific folder, and then shares the specific folder so that another computer can download the file through a network shared folder. . However, there is a problem that the computer downloaded from the server and the computer to be downloaded later belong to a workgroup of the same internal network, and the settings of the client program of the computer must be manually changed. Of course, the computer in which the shared folder exists should be kept online.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to use a client that has completed the download as a substitute for the server without any manual configuration when distributing or upgrading the software, reducing the load on the server computer, a plurality of clients to enable a quick download To provide a software download method using the.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a software download system in accordance with the present invention.

2 is a detailed view of the user computer of FIG.

3 is a detailed view of the server computer of FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a software download process according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100: user computer

100a: Downloaded computer

101: download / upload logic module 102: network communication module

103: network speed calculation module 104: file management module

105: database registration module 106: database search module

107: File Receive Module 108: File Transfer Module

109, 306: Download Computer Database

110, 307: software database

111, 308: File Database 200: Network

300: server computer 301: upload logic module

302: network communication module 303: database registration module

304: database search module 305: file transfer module

A feature of the present invention for achieving the above object is a method for distributing or upgrading software on a network, comprising: a first step of requesting a list of computers available for download by transmitting information of the software from a user computer to a server computer; A second step of transmitting a list of previously downloaded computers including the server itself to the user computer according to the transmitted software information; A third step of calculating, by the user computer, a network speed based on the transmitted computer list, selecting a computer having a high network speed, and requesting downloading of necessary files; A fourth step of downloading the necessary file from the computer selected in the third step; And a fifth step of notifying the server computer of the download completion when the file download is completed, so that the server computer adds the user computer to the list of the downloaded computers. Is in.

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

1 is a block diagram illustrating a software download system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the user computer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the server computer of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the software download system of the present invention, the user computer 100, the computer 100a having been downloaded and the server computer 300 are connected to the network 200.

The downloaded computer 100a is a client computer, such as the user computer 100, but in the following description, terms and symbols are distinguished from each other for clarity. In addition, it is preferable that at least one computer 100a has been downloaded for the efficiency of the present invention.

When the related function for downloading new or upgraded software is executed in the user computer 100, information including the name and version of the software to be downloaded is sent to the server computer 300 through the network 200. In addition, the server computer 300 transmits a list of previously downloaded computers 100a including the server itself to the user computer 100 according to the transmitted software information. The user computer 100 selects a computer 100a that is currently online and closest to the user from the list of received computers, requests a download of necessary files, and when the download of the file is completed, the computer on which the download of the server computer 300 is completed. Request to include user computer 100 in the list. Finally, the server computer 300 includes the user computer 100 in the list of computers for which the download is completed.

The downloaded computer 100a is a computer that receives the file directly from the server computer 300 and a computer that receives the file from another user computer in the same manner as the download method of the user computer 100 described above. Therefore, the user's computer is initially operated as a client function. When the file download is completed, the user's computer is added to the list of the server computer 300 to perform a kind of mirror site function.

In order to perform this process, the user computer 100 and the server computer 300 include a plurality of modules and a database operating under an operating system.

In the user computer 100, the module performs a ping time through a ping test of the computer list stored in the network communication module 102 and the download computer database 109 connecting to the server and other client computers via a network. A network speed calculation module 103 for generating a file, a file receiving module 107 for downloading a file from the server 300 or another client computer 100a, a file management module 104 for installing and deleting the downloaded file, File transfer module 108 for transferring files stored in file database 111 to other client computers, database registration / retrieval modules 105 and 106 for performing registration and retrieval of databases 109 to 111, and the modules. And a download / upload logic module 101 for controlling the download and upload of software by controlling the The download computer database 109 stores a list of computers that have been downloaded from the server computer 300, the software database 110 that stores software information, and the file database 111 that stores files downloaded from a server or another client. )

In the server computer 300, the module registers and retrieves a network communication module 302 for communicating with a client computer over a network, a file transfer module 308 for transferring files to the client computer, and a database 303 to 304. And a database registration / retrieval module (303, 304) for performing the operation and an upload logic module (301) for controlling the modules to perform a response to the software download request of the client. The database stores a list of computers for which the download has been completed. A download computer database 306, a software database 307 for storing software information, and a file database 308 for storing files to be sent to the client.

The download computer databases 109 and 306 store computer information that has been downloaded such as a network address, possessed software ID, online presence, network speed, user ID, firewall presence and the like. Here, the presence or absence of the online information is information managed by a server. If there is the firewall, only the user computer in the same firewall can be downloaded, so that the user does not perform unnecessary speed test.

The software databases 110 and 307 store software information such as a software ID, a software name, a version, an associated file ID, a registrant, and a copyright holder.

The file databases 111 and 308 store actual files constituting the software.

The input device, the output device, the CPU, the memory, and the operating system shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are general technologies, and thus description thereof is omitted.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a software download process according to the present invention.

First, the server computer 300 creates a list of computers that are online on the network among the list of computers that have been downloaded (S400). When the software download or upgrade function is selected in the user computer 100 (S401), the software information is transmitted to the server computer 300, and the server computer 300 is requested (S402). When the server computer 300 receives the request of the user computer 100 while waiting for a software download request (S403), the server computer 300 compares the software information of the received user computer 100 with the software information of the server 300 and needs to download. In the case of transmitting the online computer list of the corresponding software generated in step S400 including the server itself (S404). The transmitted online computer list is stored in the download computer database 109 of the user computer 100, the network speed is calculated using the network speed calculation module 103 for the online computer list (S405), and the closest network. In step S406, the file is requested to the computer 100a in which the download is completed. The computer 100a having received the file download request (S407) transmits the file to the user computer 100 (S408), and the user computer 100 receives and installs the file (S409). Then, when the server computer 300 is notified of the completion of the software download (S410, S411), the server computer 300 records the user computer 100 in the list of computers where the download of the download computer database is completed (S412).

In addition, when the network speed calculation is completed in step S405, the result can be output to the user and a method capable of selecting a computer to be downloaded by the user can be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, the server computer does not always handle the entire process of downloading, but since the client computers that have completed the download distribute the software download, the server computer is reduced in load, thereby making use of small-priced equipment as a server. Can be. In addition, when downloading, the user downloads the software from the client computer closest to the user, so that the download can be completed much faster than when directly downloaded from the server, thereby significantly reducing the time. In addition, in the conventional method, if the server is heavily loaded, the server cannot be connected to the server or the file is connected, but smooth file download is impossible. However, in the present invention, since the load on the server is greatly reduced, Discomfort is reduced.

Claims (3)

In a method for distributing or upgrading software on a network, A first step of requesting a list of computers available for download by transmitting information of the software from a user computer to a server computer; A second step of transmitting a list of previously downloaded computers including the server itself to the user computer according to the transmitted software information; A third step of calculating, by the user computer, a network speed based on the transmitted computer list, selecting a computer having a high network speed, and requesting downloading of necessary files; A fourth step of downloading the necessary file from the computer selected in the third step; And And a fifth step of notifying the server computer of the download completion when the file download is completed, so that the server computer adds the user computer to the list of downloaded computers. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer list transmitted to the user computer in the second step is a computer that is online on a network. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of the downloaded computers includes a network address, a reserved software ID, a network speed, and a presence of a firewall.