KR20080092487A - Client synchronization system and method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and a method for synchronizing clients are provided to automatically synchronize data stored in each client by forming the network with the equal clients without any server, and including a protocol for making the clients recognized with each other and exchange data without any manager for setting an environment of the client or checking agreement of the data. A plurality of clients(20-50) include a master selection protocol for setting one client as a master client among a plurality of clients, and a synchronization protocol for synchronizing data between the master client and other clients, and is set as the master client when a condition of the master selection protocol is satisfied. A network hub(10) connects a plurality of clients with the network. The synchronization protocol makes and transmits an internal data list to each client, and transmits the data requested from each client to each client when the client is the master client. The synchronization protocol deletes or requests the data based on a data list of the master client by comparing the data list received from the master client with the data list when the client is not the master client.

Description

Client synchronization system and method for the same}

1 is a block diagram showing a conventional server-client structure in a network environment;

2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of a conventional server-client in the network environment shown in FIG. 1;

3 is a block diagram showing a conventional client structure in a non-network environment;

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of a conventional client in a non-network environment shown in FIG.

5 is a block diagram showing the structure of a client synchronization system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the client synchronization method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the fifth step S5 in which each client connected to the network in FIG. 6 cleans some data by arranging its internal data based on the data list of the master client, and prepares a data request list. Detailed flow chart,

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail an operation of the sixth step S6 in which each client connected to the network downloads data from the master client and data synchronization is completed.

The present invention relates to a client synchronization system and a method thereof, and in particular, each client connected to the network without the intervention of an administrator by establishing a network with only a client without a separate server, and having a protocol that can recognize and exchange data with each other. The present invention relates to a client synchronization system and a method for automatically synchronizing data.

In order to efficiently manage various clients that can store digital data, it is necessary to keep the internal data of each client the same.To implement this, a method of constructing a server-client network and a person directly manages the data for each client. There is a way to make a copy of each other.

1 is a block diagram showing a conventional server-client structure in a network environment.

As shown in the drawing, when there is a lot of data to be synchronized, data sharing is performed between the server and the client by establishing a network environment based on the server. Various multimedia data is uploaded to the server, and the network is composed of several clients accessing the server in real time and copying the data.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of a conventional server-client in the network environment shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, for synchronization between a server and a client, a client first sets up a network environment, and this process is performed for all clients.

Then, when the multimedia data is added to the server side, the server transmits the newly added data to the client and performs this process for all clients to synchronize the server and the client.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional client structure in a non-network environment.

As shown, if there is less data to synchronize, the system is configured with each client and a removable data repository individually connected to each client without having to configure a network using a server.

4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a conventional client in the non-network environment shown in FIG.

This method uses a removable media containing multimedia data to copy the data or insert the removable data media as a person moves around for every client.

To do this, by copying the number of clients to the number of clients and connecting the number of clients to each client, all clients have the same data.

As such, the non-network client synchronization system can be implemented by only the client without a separate server, but it requires a lot of time and effort in the process of managing several individual clients. On the other hand, the network-based server-client system has an advantage that the distribution of multimedia materials is relatively easier than the non-network method once the network construction is completed.

However, in the network type, each time a new client is added, the server and the client side environment must be reset again, and a relatively expensive server is introduced.

In addition, there is a need for a management manpower to maintain the server separately, and there is a problem in that normal client operation cannot be guaranteed if a problem occurs in the server unless the server is overlapped with a plurality of servers.

The object of the present invention is to configure a network with only equivalent clients without a separate server, and even if a client is added to the network environment, there is no need for a separate administrator to check whether the client's configuration and data match. The present invention provides a client synchronization system and method for automatically synchronizing data between clients by having a protocol for recognizing and transmitting data.

The client synchronization system of the present invention includes a master election protocol for setting a specific client as a master client among a plurality of clients, and a synchronization protocol for synchronizing data of the remaining clients based on the master client, and satisfies the conditions of the master election protocol. When a plurality of clients are set to convert to a master client; And a hub for connecting a plurality of clients to a network, and the synchronization protocol is a master client, in which case, the client prepares an internal data list and transmits it to each client, and transmits the request data according to the data request from each client. If it is not a master client, it receives the data list from the master client and compares the data list of the master client with its own data list and deletes or requests the data based on the data list of the master client.

In the client synchronization method of the present invention, in the client synchronization method by requesting and transmitting data between clients in a network composed of a plurality of clients, any of the clients connected to the network configures itself as a master client by external input. A first step of making; A second step in which a client newly added to the network transmits its information to each client already connected to the network in a broadcast manner, and each client receives the information of the added client and reconstructs the network information; A third step of setting one of the clients as the master client by voting; A fourth step in which the newly set master client prepares an internal data list and transmits it to each client; A fifth step in which each client cleans up its own internal data by referring to the data list of the master client and prepares a data request list; And a sixth step in which each client sends a data request list to the master client, the master client sends the data included in the data request list to the client, and each client receives and updates the data to synchronize with the master client. It is configured by.

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

5 is a block diagram showing the structure of a client synchronization system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the client synchronization system is largely composed of a network hub 10 and a plurality of clients 20 to 50. In addition, each client may be set as a master client by voting of each client in the synchronization process of the present invention, and two or more master clients may be configured.

The network hub 10 connects each client to the network by retransmitting packets from each client 20 to 50 to all other clients 20 to 50.

Clients 20 to 50 are client devices that do not have a large difference in configuration from each other, and store various data such as multimedia data. You can also receive data from external sources via a portable data repository. Each client has the following protocols built in to synchronize data with each other.

■ In the master election protocol, if any client is set as the master client by user's external setting, the randomly set master client sends the master voting request signal to each client and receives the master voting information from each client to obtain the most votes. Set the client as the master client.

In this case, as a criterion for selecting a master client, an additional point is charged for a client having a long operating time and a client having high hardware specifications (CPU frequency, memory size, hard disk size, etc.), and the hardware specifications of each client are exactly the same. If you do, no additional points will be charged.

In addition, when an arbitrary master client is not set by the user's external setting or a defect occurs in the operation of only one existing master client, the client having the highest addition point based on the calculated addition point is the master client. Is set to.

If two or more clients are elected as master clients, the most recently updated client is set as the master client.

■ The synchronization protocol compares the data list of the master client with its own data list and deletes or requests the data based on the data list of the master client.

In other words, the master client set up by the master election protocol prepares a list of internal data including the multimedia file name, change date, size, checksum, etc. which it owns and sends it to each client. Compare your data with.

As a result of the comparison, data is requested from the master client for data that exists in the master client but does not exist in the master client. In addition, in the case of data that exists in the master client but not in the master client, the synchronization should be performed based on the master client. If the data update time is different even though both data exist, the new data is requested and synchronized based on the master client.

At this time, the master client is set to be able to communicate with only one client at a time, and each client periodically attempts to connect to the master client until the master client becomes accessible to request data that is not present in the client.

■ The Recognition Protocol sends a client's information such as client name and IP address to each client when it is newly added to the network. The existing client connected to the network receives information from the newly added client and updates its network information based on this information.

■ Temporary master setting protocol sets each client as a temporary master client when it has finished synchronizing its data based on master client by synchronization protocol. Then, it broadcasts to all clients connected to the network that it is set as a temporary master client.

Eventually, the temporary master client and the master client are in sync, so the internal data is the same. Therefore, the client that has not yet completed the synchronization is synchronized based on the temporary master client as well as the master client.

6 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the client synchronization method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, first any client connected to the network configures itself as a master client by external input (S1). That is, one of several clients is selected as the master client by user input. This process is performed only once when the network is first set up. After that, even if a client is added or deleted, the master client is automatically selected and synchronized within the network itself.

Then, the newly added client on the network sends its information, including the client name, IP address, etc., to each client already connected to the network in a broadcast manner, and each client sends the information of the added client. Receive and reconstruct network information (S2). That is, when a new client is added to a local network composed of clients, the added client propagates a packet informing its existence to all clients existing on the local network by a broadcast method.

In this process, all clients connected to the local network are automatically refreshed immediately after the broadcast of the new client so that the configuration of the remaining existing clients in the local network need not be changed by user or administrator intervention in order to recognize the specific client. Dynamically reconfigure network information such as the name and IP address of the connected client.

Next, it is necessary to determine which client among the various clients becomes the master client who takes the lead, and sets one of the clients as the master client by voting (S3).

To this end, the master client arbitrarily set in the first step S1 transmits a master voting request signal to each client, and each client receives the master voting request and decides which client to select as the master client. Send the information to a client that has been arbitrarily configured as a master.

Then, any master client finally selects the client with the most votes as the master client and sends information about the newly set master client to all clients.

At this time, when there are two or more clients having the conditions of the master client, the client whose data is most recently updated is set as the master client.

As a criterion for each client receiving the master voting request signal in the third step (S3) to select a master client, clients having a long operating time and clients having high hardware specifications (CPU frequency, memory size, hard disk size, etc.) Each client can add points on these matters to create and send master voting information. And if the hardware specifications of each client are exactly the same, no additional points are charged.

In addition, if the administrator does not select a specific client and selects a master client, or if only one master client is designated, and a defect occurs in the operation of the master client, the client that has obtained the highest sum based on the calculated addition point is the master client. Is set to.

Next, the newly set master client creates an internal data list including the multimedia file name, the change date, the size, the checksum, and the like, and transmits it to each client (S4).

Each client then starts a synchronization task based on the list of data sent by the master client. First, each client organizes its own internal data by referring to the data list of the master client, and prepares a data request list to be sent to the master client (S5). The process of partially synchronizing data of the client by the fifth step S5 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 7.

The client, which has created the data request list, transmits the data request list to the master client, and the master client transmits the data included in the data request list to the client. Then, each client receives and updates the data to synchronize with the master client (S6). A process of completing synchronization of all clients by the sixth step S6 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 8.

As such, when all the synchronization between the clients connected to the local network is completed, the synchronization process between the clients may be set to repeat periodically every predetermined time, and even when a new client is added, the synchronization process may be repeated. To this end, if the set time has elapsed or a new client is added, the process from the second step S2 is repeated (S7).

FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the fifth step S5 in which each client connected to the network in FIG. 6 cleans some data by arranging its internal data based on the data list of the master client, and prepares a data request list. This is a detailed flowchart.

As shown in the drawing, each client receives the data list prepared by the master client in the fourth step S4 and performs synchronization based on this. Each client compares the data list of the master client with its data list in units of files (S51).

And, if there is a data that is not included in the data list of the master client but included in the data list (S52), the corresponding data is deleted (S53).

In addition, when there is a file newly added or changed in the master client as a result of the comparison (S54), the file is included in the data request list (S55).

In other words, if there is a material included in the master client's data list but not in the data list, add it to the data request list. If the master client and its data list are both included but the master client's data has been updated more recently than its own data, add the data to the data request list.

Then, the above process is repeated until the comparison of all the files in both the master client and his list is finished (S56).

Through the above process, each client's data is partially tailored based on the master client, and a data request list for requesting the master client for the missing or changed data is prepared.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating in detail the operation of the sixth step S6 in which each client connected to the network downloads data from the master client and data synchronization is completed.

As shown, each client requests a file to download by transmitting the data request list created in the fifth step S5 to the master client (S61).

At this time, the master client is set to be able to communicate with only one client at a time in order to reduce the load, and each client periodically tries to connect to the master client until the master client is in a busy state. Wait until

To this end, each client checks whether another master client exists (S63), if the master client attempting the connection is connecting to another client or performing other tasks (S62). The fully synchronized client is substantially the same as the master client, so if you set it as a temporary master client as described later, there can be more than one master client.

If there is another master client, it connects to the master client and sends a list of data requests. If the other master client is busy, it repeats the process of finding another master client.

However, if no other master client exists, try to connect to the master client that attempted to connect first. At this time, the terminal waits for a predetermined time for a while and attempts to connect periodically by accessing the master client (S64).

After successfully accessing the master client through the above process and delivering the data request list, the master client finds the data included in the data request list and transmits the requested data to the corresponding client requesting the data (S65).

If the client receives all the data from the master client and finishes the synchronization with the master client (S66), the client promotes itself to the temporary master client (S67). Notify all clients connected to the network by the broadcast method (S68). Then, after detecting this fact, the normal client connects to the temporary master client as well as the master client and starts to synchronize the necessary data.

When all normal clients have finished synchronizing with the master client, including the temporary master client, each client connected to the local network will have the same data, thus completing the synchronization.

Although the present invention has been described in more detail with reference to examples, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

According to the present invention, since the network can be configured with only equivalent clients, it is possible to reduce costs without requiring additional server introduction or additional management, and can maintain two or more master clients, thereby preventing service interruption due to server downtime. It does not work.

In addition, since no special network environment setting is required for interworking between clients, clients can freely add or subtract clients as long as the bandwidth of the local network allows, and provide automated client mutual recognition function, thereby burdening the user with the extension of the client. This reduces the effect.

In addition, since all the work is done on the local network, the dependency on the external network can be reduced, and the load of the master client can be evenly distributed by promoting the synchronized client to the temporary master client.

Claims (12)

A master selection protocol for setting a specific client as a master client among a plurality of clients, and a synchronization protocol for synchronizing data of the remaining clients based on the master client, and converting to a master client when the conditions of the master selection protocol are satisfied A plurality of clients; And A hub connecting the plurality of clients to a network; It is configured to include, In case of the master client, the synchronization protocol prepares and transmits the internal data list to each client and transmits the requested data according to the data request from each client, and transmits the data list from the master client if the client is not the master client. A client synchronization system that operates to receive or compare a data list of a master client with its own data list and to delete or request data based on the data list of the master client. The method of claim 1, The client, And a recognition protocol that transmits its own information to each client when it is newly added to the network and updates its network information when it receives information from the newly added client. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The client, When the data is synchronized based on the data of the master client through the synchronization protocol, the temporary master setting protocol for setting itself as a temporary master client operating in the same manner as the master client and notifying each client by a broadcast method. The client synchronization system is further configured to include. In the client synchronization method by requesting and transmitting data between each client in a network composed of a plurality of clients, A first step in which any client connected to the network configures itself as a master client by external input; A second step in which a client newly added to the network transmits its information to each client already connected to the network in a broadcast manner, and each client receives the information of the added client and reconstructs network information; Setting up one of the clients as a master client by voting; A fourth step in which the newly set master client prepares an internal data list and transmits it to each client; A fifth step in which each client cleans up its own internal data by referring to the data list of the master client and prepares a data request list; And A sixth step in which each client transmits a data request list to the master client, the master client transmits data included in the data request list to the corresponding client, and each client receives and updates the data to synchronize with the master client. step; Client synchronization method is configured to include. The method of claim 4, wherein The third step, Transmitting a master voting request signal to each client by a client randomly configured as the master; Each client receiving the master voting request signal, issuing an additional point for a client having a long operation time and a client having high hardware specification to generate master voting information; And Receiving the master voting information from each client and setting the client having the most votes as the master client; Client synchronization method comprising a. The method of claim 5, wherein The third step, And setting the most recently updated data client as the master client when there are two or more clients having the condition of the master client. The method of claim 6, The fourth step, And generating, by the master client, a material list including information such as a multimedia file name, a change date, a size, a checksum, and the like held by the master client. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, The fifth step, Deleting, by the client, its own material if it is not included in the data list of the master client but is included in the data list of the client; And If there is any material included in the data list of the master client but not included in the client data list, adding the corresponding data to the data request list by the client; Client synchronization method comprising a. The method of claim 8, The fifth step, If the data is included in both the data list and the client data list of the master client, but the update time is more recent in the data list of the master client, the client comprising the step of adding the material to the data request list Client synchronization method, characterized in that. The method of claim 9, The sixth step, Setting the master client to communicate with only one client at a time; And Periodically connecting to the master client until each client is connected to the master client; Client synchronization method comprising a. The method of claim 10, The sixth step, Receiving all data from the master client and completing the synchronization, setting itself as a temporary master client; Transmitting, by the temporary master client, all the clients in a broadcast manner to inform the client that the temporary master client is configured as a temporary master client; And Each client requesting access to the master client or the temporary master client, transmitting a data request list, and receiving and updating data; Client synchronization method characterized in that it further comprises. The method of claim 11, And a seventh step of repeating the process from the second step when a set time has elapsed or a new client is added.

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