JP2003157197A - Download method, download help method, and computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently download a file. SOLUTION: A download method comprises a step for specifying a plurality of download request destination computers as download request destinations of files which should be downloaded and are regarded as one files, a step for determining a part of the files to be requested to each specified download request destination computer and storing information related to distribution into a storage device, a step for transmitting a download request including discrimination information of the files and information related to determined parts of the files to each download request destination computer, and a step for receiving data from each download request destination computer and using the information related to distribution to create and store a file into the storage device. Since the file is divided and downloaded in this manner, this method is hardly affected by the load state of each download request destination computer to achieve efficient download of the file.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a file download technique.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, files have been downloaded from a server connected to the Internet. In addition, currently Peer to Peer (Peer to Peer or
Data is also exchanged on a P2P basis. Both are formats for downloading data such as files from one computer to a user's computer.

For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-47926 discloses a data division download method.
Only one computer sends the data to be downloaded.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In such a form,
Since data is downloaded from one computer, data may not be efficiently acquired depending on the load of the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of this computer or the load of the network to which the computer is connected. That is, a state in which the transfer speed is slow or a response cannot be obtained easily may occur. In particular,
In P to P data transfer, the download request destination computer is often a computer with a relatively low processing capacity such as a personal computer, and the user of the download request destination computer further performs the download processing. The load will be high and you will suffer disadvantages.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for efficiently downloading a file.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique for reducing the processing load of a download request destination computer in downloading a file.

[0007]

The present invention achieves the above object, and makes a request to each of a plurality of download request destination computers specified as the download request destinations of the files considered to be the same to be downloaded. An allocation determining step of determining a part of the file and storing information about the allocation in a storage device, and a transmitting step of transmitting a download request including identification information of the file and information about the determined part of the file to each download request destination computer And a step of receiving data from each download request destination computer, generating a file using information about allocation, and storing the file in a storage device.

As described above, by dividing and downloading the files from a plurality of download request destination computers that hold the same files to be downloaded, the load state of each download request destination computer is less likely to be affected. You will be able to download files efficiently. It should be noted that the load of each download request destination computer is also reduced as compared with the case of downloading from one computer.

The method further includes a download request destination computer specifying step of specifying a plurality of download request destination computers of the same file to be downloaded, based on a response from one or a plurality of computers to the inquiry about the file to be downloaded. It is also possible to have such a configuration. For example,
An inquiry is made to one management server or a plurality of computers as to whether or not the user's computer holds the files considered to be the same to be downloaded, and the computer that has been confirmed to hold the files is specified as the download request destination computer.

Further, the above-mentioned download request destination computer specifying step is added to the identification information included in the response from one or more computers to the inquiry about the file to be downloaded and generated from the information of the file by a predetermined algorithm. On the other hand, it may be configured to include a step of determining the identity of the file to be downloaded. The identity is ensured by determining whether or not they are the same file based on special identification information instead of the changeable information such as the file name.

Further, in the above-mentioned download request destination computer specifying step, among the computers having the same files to be downloaded, the computer whose estimated load is below a predetermined standard is the download request destination computer. May be specified as. The reason for downloading from a computer having an excessively high load is that the transfer efficiency is lowered and the user of the computer to which the download request is made feels stress.

The allocation determining step described above is performed based on the load state of each download request destination computer, which is obtained from the responses from the plurality of download request destination computers, of the portion of the above file requested to each download request destination computer. It is also possible to adopt a configuration including a step of determining the amount of data. It is more efficient to request a small amount of data for a heavily loaded computer and a large amount of data for a lightly loaded computer. However, it may be equally divided among a plurality of download request destination computers.

Further, the download assisting method executed by the management server according to the second aspect of the present invention enables download in response to a file search request in correspondence with information of a computer holding a downloadable file. A step of searching a storage device including information of various files, and when it is determined that a plurality of computers hold the same file in the search, determine a part in charge of the file for each of the plurality of computers. It includes a step of determining a part in charge, and a step of transmitting information of a plurality of computers and information of a part in charge of the file to a file search request source.

By doing so, the computer that has output the search request to the management server can obtain the file according to the designated allocation from the plurality of computers designated to hold the specific file. Become.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned portion to be in charge of determining the portion in charge of the above-mentioned file is determined for each of the plurality of computers based on the step of inspecting the load state of each of the plurality of computers and the examined load state. The configuration may include a step of performing.

Further, the download method executed by the client terminal according to the third aspect of the present invention is, from the management server, information on a plurality of computers holding files to be downloaded and files to be transmitted by each computer. Receiving the information of the portion and storing it in a storage device; transmitting the identification information of the file and the information of the portion of the corresponding file to each of the plurality of computers; and transmitting the data from each of the plurality of computers. Receiving and generating a file using information about the portion of the file that each computer should send and storing it in a storage device. This is the processing of the client terminal corresponding to the download assistance method by the management server.

It is also possible to create a program for causing a computer to execute the method described above, and the program is, for example, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, or the like. Stored in the storage medium or the storage device.
It may be distributed via a network. Data that is being processed is temporarily stored in the memory of the computer.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a system outline according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, a personal computer (PC: P: P
personal computers) PC1, PC2, PC3, and P
We are a management server for uniformly managing the files shared by C4 and these PC1 to PC4.
b A server 6 having a server function is connected. The number of PCs is not limited to four. Also, the number of servers 6 is not limited to one, and there may be cases where the number of servers 6 does not have to exist.

Each of the PC1 to PC4 has a function of executing a divided download of a specific file from another PC according to a user's operation. That is, PC1
Specifies a plurality of PCs (for example, PC2 to PC4) that hold files that need to be downloaded and can be regarded as the same, estimates the load state of each PC, and downloads from each PC according to the estimated load state. Determine which file part should be used. Then, the download request is transmitted to each PC according to the allocation to each PC,
When it receives data from, it creates a file according to the allocation information.

Further, the server 6 has a shared file DB for managing files designated as shared files in the PC1 to PC4, and upon receiving a file search request from the PC1 to PC4, the shared file DB is received. Search for the corresponding file in. Then, as a search result, information of a file that matches the conditions (for example, a file name or an identification code described later) and information of a PC that holds the file (for example, an address) are transmitted to the search request source. The PC as the search request source performs divided download based on the received information. In some cases, the load status of a plurality of PCs holding files that meet the conditions is investigated, and each P
C determines the sharing of the file portion to be sent to the search request source. The information regarding this sharing is transmitted to the search request source together with the information of the file that matches the conditions and the information of the PC that holds the file. The PC as the search request source performs divided download based on the received information.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a functional block diagram of PC1 to PC4. Although an example of the PC1 is shown here, the PC2 to the PC4 also have the same function. The PC 1 includes a communication unit 100 for communicating with other computers via the network 7, a file download processing unit 102 for downloading files from a plurality of computers,
A shared file management unit 112 that manages files (hereinafter referred to as shared files) that can be transmitted in response to a download request from another computer, and a shared file list 114 that is a list of shared files are included. The file download processing unit 102 requests any part of the file from the file search unit 104 that searches the network 7 for a computer having a file that needs to be downloaded and each computer that holds a file that can be regarded as the same. A data division setting unit 106 for deciding whether or not, a division setting file 108 for storing information regarding a download request mode to each computer,
A file combining unit 110 that combines the data received from each computer to generate a file is included.

An example of the shared file list 114 is shown in FIG. The shared file list 114 includes, for each shared file, an identification code, a file name, a storage location, and property information such as the amount of data and the date and time of file generation. The file name may be changed by the user. Therefore, the file name alone is not sufficient when determining the file identity. Therefore, for example, the file is identified using a key (ie, an identification code) calculated by a predetermined logic using the file size or CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) of the data, or the data of the file itself. The shared file management unit 112 calculates the identification code of the file designated by the user as the shared file by this predetermined logic, and registers it in the shared file list 114. It should be noted that the identity is, for example, the file size,
It may be determined based on the date and time of generation.

An example of a functional block diagram of the server 6 is shown in FIG. The server 6 includes a search unit 61 that searches the shared file DB 65 in response to a search request from the PC 1 to PC 4.
Then, when it is determined by the search unit 61 that the shared file that matches the search request condition is held in a plurality of PCs, which part of the shared file should be acquired from each PC that holds the shared file. A sharing assignment determining unit 63 that determines the sharing of the transmission of such a file portion is included. The assignment determining unit 63 provides the name of the file that matches the search request condition, the information of the PC that holds the file, and the information about the transmission assignment to the search requesting PC.
Send to.

The shared file DB 65 includes, for each shared file, the address (for example, IP address) of the PC holding the shared file, the shared file name, the identification code, and the property information of the shared file.

[First Embodiment] In the first embodiment, FIG.
Through FIG. 7, a method of performing divided download without using the server 6 will be described. First, here PC1
PC to request download, PC2 to PC4
Is a PC with shared files. First, the user of PC1 inputs the conditions of the file to be downloaded to PC1. File search unit 1 accordingly
04 causes the communication unit 100 to transmit a search request including the condition input by the user to the PC2 to PC4 in which the file is disclosed in advance (step (1)). The communication unit 100 of the PC2 to PC4 is a PC
The search request is received from 1 and the search request is output to the shared file management unit 112 (step (2)). The shared file management unit 112 receives the shared file list 114 according to the conditions included in the received search request.
Is searched (step (3)). Then, the request file management unit 112 causes the communication unit 100 to transmit the search result to the PC 1 (step (4)). The search result includes, for example, a file name, an identification code, property information including the amount of data, and the like. The PC1 receives the search result from the PC2 to PC4 and displays it on the display device, for example (step (5)). The communication unit 100 of the PC 1
Measures the time from transmitting the search request to receiving the search result for each PC.

In some cases, the user may look at the file name, identification code, property information, etc. displayed on the display device to determine which file to download and specify a particular file. Note that, depending on the search condition, only one type of file may exist, and thus the file may be presented to the user and may not be designated.

The processing shifts to FIG. When it is decided to download the specific file, the file search unit 104 confirms whether the specific file is held in a plurality of PCs other than the PC 1. That is, it is confirmed using the identification code included in the received search result whether or not files that can be regarded as the same are held in a plurality of PCs (step (6)). As described above, since the file name may be changed, the user cannot change the file name in this embodiment, and the shared file management unit 112
Determines based on the identification code calculated by a predetermined logic.
However, the identity may be determined from the file name, data size, and other property information.

If it is determined that the files that can be regarded as the same are held in a plurality of PCs,
Next, the data division setting unit 106 selects the PC to which the download request should be transmitted (step (7)). It should be noted that simply a plurality of PCs that hold files that can be regarded as the same should send the download request as they are.
You may decide. Alternatively, the user may be presented with a plurality of PCs holding files that can be regarded as the same, and the selection may be performed, and the PC to which the download request is transmitted may be specified by the selection input. Also, the communication unit 10
The load status of each PC is estimated based on the time that 0 holds and the search result is received until the search result is received. You may decide not to send the request. Instead of the time from the transmission of the search request to the reception of the search result held by the communication unit 100, for example, ping may be performed and the response time thereof may be measured again. It may be transmitted to a candidate PC that may transmit the download request, and it may be determined whether or not the download request can be transmitted based on the load state information received from the candidate PC. In any case, a plurality of PCs transmitting the download request are specified. Here, it is assumed that it is determined to transmit to PC2 to PC4.

Next, the data division setting unit 106 determines which part of the files that can be regarded as the same to be downloaded is requested to which PC, and registers information about the allocation in the division setting file 108. (Step (8)). This allocation is also determined, for example, from the load state of the download request destination PC, which is estimated from the time from the transmission of the search request to the reception of the search result, which is held by the communication unit 100. For example, the requested data amount is reduced for the download request destination PC with a high load, and the requested data amount is increased for the download request destination PC with a low load. Also here, the information on the load state may be separately acquired from the download request destination PC. The allocation may be set automatically and evenly.

For example, data as shown in FIG. 7 is registered in the division setting file. When such a division setting file is generated, data 0-10 for the requested PC 2 is generated.
0 is requested, and data 101-2 is requested for the requested PC3.
50 is requested, and data 251-is requested for the requested PC 4.
Request 300. In this example, the request destination PC3, PC2, and PC4 are arranged in ascending order of load.

When the allocation is determined, the data division setting unit 106 informs the communication unit 100 of the identification code of the file and the information about the data range allocated to each download request destination PC (combination of start address and size or start). A download request including a combination of an address and an end address) is transmitted to each download request destination PC (step (9)). The communication unit 100 of each download request destination PC receives the download request including the identification code of the file and the information about the data range of the file, and stores it in the storage device (step (10)). The communication unit 100 outputs the download request to the shared file management unit 112. The shared file management unit 112
The shared file 112 having the identification code designated by the download request is identified by referring to the shared file list 114, and the data block in the designated data range is read (step (11)). Then, the shared file management unit 112 causes the communication unit 100 to transmit the read request data block to the PC 1 as the download request source (step 812).

The communication unit 100 of the PC 1 receives the requested data block and stores it in the storage device (step (1
3)). Then, the communication unit 100 includes the file combination unit 11
Output the received request data block to 0. The file combination unit 110 refers to the division setting file 108 to retrieve all data from all download request destination PCs.
It is confirmed whether the block has been received (step (14)).
If it is determined that all the data blocks have been received, all the received data blocks are combined according to the division setting file 108, a file is generated, and stored in a storage device such as a hard disk. (Step (15)).

In this way, the user of the PC 1 can download a desired file from a plurality of PCs in a divided form. Since the load is distributed rather than downloading from a single PC, more efficient downloading is possible. Further, when the requested data amount is determined in consideration of the load condition of the download request destination PC, more efficient download is possible and the users of PC2 to PC4 do not feel much stress. , Will be able to download.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, an example in which the server 6 is not used is shown. However, each PC knows the address of the PC that executes the operation according to the first embodiment by some means in advance. I have to go. It is possible for people who have a certain relationship to share addresses, but it is impossible to download files from an unspecified number of PCs. Therefore, for example, if the server 6 that centrally manages the files registered in the shared file list 114 is prepared, the necessary files can be dividedly downloaded from an unspecified number of PCs.

The split download process when the server 6 is used will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the user inputs into the PC 1 search conditions for a file to be downloaded. The PC 1 transmits a search request including the search condition of the input file to the server 6 (step S1).
The server 6 receives the search request including the file search condition from the PC 1 and stores it in the storage device (step S3).
Then, the search unit 61 of the server 6 executes the search of the shared file DB 65 according to the received search condition (step S5). If a file matching the search condition is detected as a result of the search, the address of the computer (PC) that holds the file, the identification code of the file, the file name, and the like are transmitted to the PC 1 that is the search request source ( Step S7). The PC 1 receives from the server 6 the address of the computer that holds the file that matches the search condition, the identification code of the file, and the like, and displays it on the display device (step S9). Then, the file search unit 104
When the file to be downloaded is selected, it is confirmed whether the selected file is held in a plurality of PCs other than the PC 1. That is, it is confirmed whether or not files that can be regarded as the same are held in a plurality of PCs by using the identification code included in the received search result (step S11).

When the processing up to this point has been carried out, the files to be downloaded have been decided, and the processing up to the specification of a plurality of computers holding the files regarded as the same has been completed. However, if the identified computer is currently running and what the load conditions are,
We have not been able to obtain information on such things.

Therefore, for example, the processing shown in FIG. 9 is executed. Here, it is assumed that PC2 to PC4 hold files that can be regarded as the same to be downloaded. First, the data division setting unit 106 of the PC 1 causes the communication unit 100 to transmit a file confirmation request including the identification code of the file for which the download request is made to the PCs 2 to 4 (step (21)). The communication unit 100 measures the time from the transmission of the file confirmation request to the reception of the file confirmation response. The communication units 100 of the PC2 to PC4 receive the file confirmation request from the PC1 (step (22)) and output it to the shared file management unit 112. The shared file management unit 112 searches the shared file list 114 using the identification code of the file included in the received file confirmation request, and confirms whether the file having the specified identification code is shared (step (23 )). The shared file management unit 112 causes the communication unit 100 to transmit the result of file confirmation (present or not) to the PC 1 as a file confirmation response (step (24)). The communication unit 100 of the PC1 includes PC2 to P2.
The file confirmation response is received from C4 and output to the data division setting unit 106 (step (25)). At this time, the processing unit 100 also outputs the time from the transmission of the file confirmation request to the reception of the file confirmation response to the data division setting unit 100. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the response time is separately measured by using a ping or the like as in the first embodiment, or an inquiry about the processing load is separately made.

When the processing up to this point is carried out, the data division setting unit 100 should request to which PC the download request can be transmitted, and how much data amount should be requested from the PC of the download request destination. You will be able to decide what to do. That is, since the state is the same as when step (6) in FIG. 6 is completed, step (7) and subsequent steps in FIG. 6 may be carried out below. If the file confirmation response cannot be obtained or if the file confirmation response includes information such as no file, the computer of the file confirmation request transmission destination is not selected as the download request destination.

In the second embodiment described above, the server 6 manages the shared file DB 65, searches the shared file DB 65 according to the search request, and returns the result to the search request source. Is. However, a configuration is also possible in which the server 6 carries out part of the processing currently performed by the PC.

For example, after identifying a plurality of computers holding files that can be regarded as the same by using the identification code, as a search result, the file name, the identification code for the file name, and the file having the identification code are stored. The configuration is such that the addresses of a plurality of computers are collectively returned.

Further, the server 6 may perform file confirmation. That is, it is a computer that holds the file name, the identification code for the file name, and the file having the identification code after performing the processing such as step (21) in FIG. The configuration may be such that the addresses of downloadable computers are collectively returned.

Further, the server 6 estimates the load state based on, for example, the response of the file confirmation, determines the allocation of the data to the downloadable computer based on the load state, and also the information about the allocation of the data. It is also possible to send the search result to the computer that issued the search request.

FIG. 10 shows a processing flow of the server 6 in such a case. The search unit 61 of the server 6 is, for example, the PC 1
The file search request is received from and the shared file DB 65 is searched under the specified search condition (step S21). Then, the search result is output to the allocation determining unit 63. The assignment determining unit 63 distinguishes the files that match the conditions based on the identification code, and specifies a plurality of computers that hold files having the same identification code (step S23). Then, for example, the file confirmation request is transmitted to the specified computers, the response time is acquired by receiving the file confirmation response, and the load state is investigated (step S25). Instead of transmitting the file confirmation request, for example, a response time by ping may be acquired or a transmission of the load state may be separately requested.

Then, based on the information on the load state,
Identify the computer to which you want to request the download. Note that a PC that does not return a file confirmation response or a PC whose confirmation result is no file is not selected as the download request destination. Then, similarly, based on the information on the load state, the allocation of the same file portion to be downloaded is determined for each download request destination computer (step S27). However, the sharing may not be determined based on the load state. Then, a data set including at least the address of the download request destination computer, the file identification code, and the information about the data range in charge of each download request computer is generated (step S29), and the P of the request source is generated.
It transmits to C1 (step S31). The requesting PC 1 that has received the data set as described above may execute the processing after step (9) in FIG.

If the function of the server is increased in this way,
The function of the client can be reduced, and the processing load of the client can be reduced.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described as above, the present invention is not limited to this. Although PC1 to PC4 are described as personal computers based on P to P above, they are not limited to personal computers, and may be other computers such as servers, mobile terminals, and information appliances.

The way of dividing the functional blocks shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is an example, and it is also possible to divide into other modes that can realize the functions described above.

Further, although the above description has been made from the scene where a user who does not know the identification code of the file to be downloaded searches for the file, if the identification code of the file to be downloaded is known for some reason, It is also possible to search using the identification code of the file.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, files can be efficiently downloaded.

In addition, the processing load of the computer of the download request destination can be reduced compared to the conventional case when the file is downloaded.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a client according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a functional block diagram of computer PC.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a shared file list.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a server computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 1) in the case where the PC 1 carries out the divided download from the PC 2 to the PC 4.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 2) when the PC 1 carries out the divided download from the PC 2 to the PC 4.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a division setting file.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 1) when a server is used.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a processing flow (No. 2) when a server is used.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow (part 3) when a server is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

6 server 7 network 100 communication unit 102 file download processing unit 104 file search unit 106 data division setting unit 108 division setting file 110 file combining unit 112 shared file management unit 114 shared file list 61 search unit 63 sharing assignment unit 65 shared file DB

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. Allocation for determining a portion of the file requested to each of a plurality of download request destination computers specified as download request destinations of files to be downloaded which are considered to be the same, and storing information regarding allocation in a storage device. A determining step, a transmission step of transmitting a download request including identification information of the file and information regarding the determined portion of the file to each of the download request destination computers, and receiving data from each of the download request destination computers, Generating a file using the information about the allocation and storing the file in a storage device. 2. A download request destination computer specifying step for specifying a plurality of download request destination computers of files considered to be the same to be downloaded, based on a response from one or a plurality of computers to an inquiry about a file to be downloaded. The download method according to claim 1, which includes. 3. The download request destination computer specifying step includes downloading based on identification information included in a response from one or more computers to an inquiry about a file to be downloaded and generated from a file information by a predetermined algorithm. 3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of determining the identity of the files to be processed.
Download method described. 4. In the download request destination computer specifying step, among the computers having the same files to be downloaded, a computer whose estimated load is below a predetermined standard is specified as a download request destination computer. The download method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that. 5. The portion of the file requested to each of the download request destination computers based on the load state of each of the download request destination computers obtained from the responses from the plurality of download request destination computers in the allocation determining step. The download method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining the amount of data. 6. A step of searching a storage device including information of the downloadable file corresponding to information of a computer holding the downloadable file in response to a file search request, and a plurality of computers in the search. When it is determined that the same file is held, a responsible part determining step of determining a responsible part of the file for each of the plurality of computers; Transmitting the computer information and the information of the responsible part of the file. 7. The part in charge determining step determines the load state for each of the plurality of computers, and determines the part in charge of the file for each of the plurality of computers based on the load state examined. 7. The download assistance method according to claim 6, further comprising: 8. A step of receiving, from a management server, information of a plurality of computers holding files to be downloaded and information of portions of the files to be transmitted by each computer, and storing the information in a storage device; Transmitting to each of the computers identification information of the file and information of the corresponding portion of the file, the portion of the file to be transmitted by each of the computers that receives data from each of the plurality of computers. Generating a file by using the information of the above and storing the file in a storage device. 9. A program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. 10. An allocation for determining a portion of the file requested to each of a plurality of download request destination computers specified as download request destinations of files considered to be the same to be downloaded, and storing information regarding allocation in a storage device. Determining means, transmitting means for transmitting a download request including identification information of the file and information regarding the determined portion of the file to each of the download request destination computers, and receiving data from each of the download request destination computers, A means for generating a file using the information on the allocation and storing it in a storage device. 11. Means for searching a storage device including information of the downloadable file corresponding to information of a computer holding the downloadable file in response to a file search request, and a plurality of computers in the search. When it is determined that the same file is held, a responsible part determination unit that determines a responsible part of the file for each of the plurality of computers; A means for transmitting the information of the computer and the information of the part in charge of the file.