JP2016001366A - Agent device, network system, computer program and information acquisition method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an agent device that can enhance immediacy of information acquisition.SOLUTION: An agent device A according to the present invention comprises: an acquisition unit 21 that acquires information from at least a server device 11 on a network 14; a notification unit 22 that transmits a notification of the acquisition of the information to other agent device A on the network 14; and a determination unit 23 that determines whether information pertaining to a notification is necessary for an own device when receiving the notification from the other agent device A. When the determination unit 23 determines that the information pertaining to the notification is necessary for the own device, the acquisition unit 21 has a function that acquires the information.

Description

  The present invention relates to an agent device, a network system, a computer program, and an information acquisition method.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the advancement of information communication technology, network systems that perform communication of various information via a network have become common. In particular, there is a client-server type network system constructed by a client computer operated by a user and a server computer that stores and manages various types of information and provides information in response to requests from the client computer. More widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  There is also known a network system capable of autonomously transmitting and receiving information to and from other client computers with an agent application program installed in the client computer (for example, patents). Reference 2).

JP 2011-123570 A JP 2013-37584 A

In a network system equipped with a client computer (hereinafter also referred to as “agent device”) equipped with an agent application program, the agent device connects to the server device at a predetermined time period, for example, once a day. In some cases, an arrangement is adopted in which necessary information, for example, program update data and setting files are acquired.
However, when the agent device is a portable terminal such as a notebook personal computer, the agent device may not be connected to the network during the time period and may not be able to acquire necessary information from the server device. In this case, although it is possible to acquire information in a predetermined time zone after the next day, a large delay occurs in the acquisition, and thus the state of the agent device is likely to vary in the network.

  An object of this invention is to provide the agent apparatus, network system, computer program, and information acquisition method which can improve the immediateness of information acquisition in view of the above situations.

An agent device according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
An acquisition unit for acquiring information from at least a server device on the network;
A notification unit for transmitting a notification that the information has been acquired to another agent device on the network;
A determination unit that determines whether or not the information related to the notification is necessary when the notification is received from another agent device;
The acquisition unit has a function of acquiring the information when the determination unit determines that the information related to the notification is necessary for itself.

A network system according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
A plurality of the agent devices;
And a server device that provides information to the agent device.

A computer program according to one embodiment of the present invention includes:
A computer functions as the acquisition unit, the notification unit, and the determination unit in the agent device.

An information acquisition method according to an aspect of the present invention includes:
An agent device acquiring information from the network;
Sending a notification that the agent device has acquired the information to another agent device on the network;
When the other agent device receives the notification, determining whether the information related to the notification is necessary for itself;
A step of acquiring the information from the network when the other agent device determines that the information related to the notification is necessary for itself.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the immediacy of acquisition of the information in an agent apparatus can be improved.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a network system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the information transmission in a network system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the information transmission in a network system. It is a function block diagram of an agent apparatus. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the network system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the information transmission in a network system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the modification of the information transmission in a network system.

[Summary of Embodiment of Present Invention]
First, the gist of embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described. In addition, at least a part of the embodiments described below may be arbitrarily combined.
(1) An agent device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
An acquisition unit for acquiring information from at least a server device on the network;
A notification unit for transmitting a notification that the information has been acquired to another agent device on the network;
A determination unit that determines whether the information related to the notification is necessary for itself when the notification is received from another agent device;
The acquisition unit has a function of acquiring the information when the determination unit determines that the information related to the notification is necessary for itself.

  When new information is provided from the server device, the agent device configured as described above receives the notification transmitted by another agent device that has already acquired the information, and acquires the information triggered by the notification. Is possible. Therefore, for example, when an arrangement is adopted in which each agent device autonomously acquires new information from the server device during a predetermined time of the day, an agent device connects to the network during the time zone. Even if the information cannot be acquired, the information can be acquired outside of the time period triggered by a notification received from another agent device. Therefore, information acquisition delay can be reduced and information can be acquired earlier.

(2) The acquisition unit may acquire the information from the server device when the determination unit determines that the information is necessary for itself.

(3) The acquisition unit may acquire the information from the other agent device that is the transmission source of the notification when the determination unit determines that the information is necessary for itself. Good.
With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the communication load of the server device.

(4) When the notification unit is connected to a network different from the network from which the information is acquired, the notification unit may transmit the notification to another agent device on the network.
For example, in a situation where one server device provides information to agent devices on multiple networks, a certain agent device acquires new information on one network and then moves to another network and is connected Then, it is possible to notify other agent devices on the other network that new information is provided from the server device, and the other agent devices can acquire the information by using the notification as a trigger.

(5) A network system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
A plurality of agent devices according to any one of (1) to (4) above;
And a server device that provides information to the agent device.

(6) A computer program according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
This is for causing a computer to function as the acquisition unit, the notification unit, and the determination unit in the agent device according to any one of (1) to (4).
This computer program can be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a flash memory.

(7) An information acquisition method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
An agent device acquiring information from the network;
Sending a notification that the agent device has acquired the information to another agent device on the network;
When the other agent device receives the notification, determining whether the information related to the notification is necessary for itself;
A step of acquiring the information from the network when the other agent device determines that the information related to the notification is necessary for itself.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The network system 10 is a network system used in a company, for example, and is of a client / server type having a server device 11 and a client terminal 12. The server apparatus 11 and the client terminal 12 can transmit / receive information to / from each other via a network 14 including a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The server device 11 is configured by a computer including a calculation unit such as a CPU, a storage unit including a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, a communication interface, an input / output interface, and the like. The server apparatus 11 centrally manages information resources such as various data and application programs.

  The client terminal 12 is configured by a computer including a calculation unit such as a CPU, a storage unit having a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, and the like, a communication interface, an input / output interface, and the like. The client terminal 12 is operated by a user and can use information resources managed by the server device 11 by connecting to the server device 11 as necessary.

  The client terminal 12 includes an application program (hereinafter simply referred to as “application”) for executing various processes, and an agent application program (hereinafter also simply referred to as “agent”) 13 serving as an operation base of the application. Installed.

  The agent 13 has a communication function for communicating with the server apparatus 11 and other client terminals 12 by an application installed in the client terminal 12. The agent 13 can autonomously send and receive information to and from the server device 11 and other client terminals 12. In the present specification, the client terminal 12 in which the agent 13 is installed is also referred to as “agent device A”.

  Examples of applications managed by the agent 13 include an information tracking system and a file transfer system. The agent 13 then sends various information about the client terminal 12, such as terminal OS (operating system) information (serial number, version information, etc.), terminal startup information (startup / end time, etc.), terminal operation log, etc. Information, network information (destination information such as an IP address), software information (version information, etc.), etc. are autonomously transmitted to the server device 11.

The server device 11 manages various types of information transmitted from the client terminal 12 as management information of the client terminal 12 in the storage unit 11A.
The server device 11 manages information to be provided to the client terminal 12 (agent device A), for example, setting information, management policy information, control command information, message information, and the like.

The setting information includes schedule information for the agent device A to acquire information from the server device 11, function option information (device management, network quarantine, etc.) when the agent device A operates, and information for the user of the agent device A. This includes questionnaire information (name, employee number, department, etc.).
Examples of the management policy information include information on conditions for permitting use of external devices for the agent apparatus A, conditions for permitting connection to the network 14, and conditions for restricting use of applications.

Examples of the control command information include installation / uninstallation information of an application for the agent apparatus A, execution information of an arbitrary script, transfer information of an arbitrary file, and the like.
As the message information, data update notification information for the agent device A and the like can be cited.

  When information to be provided to the agent device A is newly registered, the server device 11 transmits the information to the managed agent device A itself. When the connection with the agent device A cannot be established, the server device 11 provides the information according to the connection from the agent device A.

[Functional configuration of agent device]
FIG. 4 is a functional configuration diagram of the agent device.
The agent device A of the present embodiment exhibits the functions shown in FIG. 4 by executing a computer program installed in itself. Note that the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4 shows only the part related to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The agent device A has, as its functional configuration, an acquisition unit 21 that acquires various types of information from the server device 11 or another agent device A, and a notification unit that transmits a notification that the information has been acquired to another agent device A. 22 and a determination unit 23 that determines whether or not the information related to the notification sent from another agent device A is necessary.

  These configurations will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that one server device 11 and two agent devices A1 and A2 are connected via a network. Further, all the agent devices A1 and A2 have the functions of the acquisition unit 21, the notification unit 22, and the determination unit 23 illustrated in FIG.

  Each agent device A1, A2 is set to connect to the server device 11 at a predetermined time zone in one day, for example, and to go to obtain information managed by the server device 11. Such a schedule is set independently for each of the agent devices A1 and A2 in order to distribute the load on the server device 11.

  In FIG. 2, the acquisition unit 21 of one agent device (first agent device) A1 acquires new information necessary for itself from the server device 11 in accordance with the schedule set for itself. The arrows a to e in FIG. 2 indicate the flow of information, respectively, and the first agent device A1 transmits an information acquisition request to the server device 11 at the arrow a, and the server device 11 responds to the request at the arrow b. As a response, necessary information is transmitted to the first agent device A1.

  When the notification unit 22 of the first agent device A1 acquires new information from the server device 11, a notification to the effect that the information has been acquired (hereinafter also referred to as “information acquisition notification”) is indicated on the arrow c. To the agent device (second agent device) A2. This information acquisition notification can include information (registration number (distribution number), registration date, information type, etc.) for specifying the information.

The information acquisition notification as described above is performed for the following reason.
As described above, each agent device A connects to the server device 11 according to the schedule set in itself, but the agent device A is not activated or connected to the network in a predetermined time zone set in the schedule. If not, connection to the server device 11 cannot be performed, and necessary information cannot be acquired. Further, the agent device A that is not connected to the network may not be able to recognize that new information exists. Such a situation may occur when the agent device A is a notebook personal computer that can be taken outside or a terminal that is not always used.

  In the present embodiment, the notification unit 22 of the first agent device A1 shown in FIG. 2 transmits a notification that information has been acquired from the server device 11 to the second agent device A2 (see arrow c). Therefore, even if the second agent device A2 is not connected to the network in a predetermined time zone set in the schedule, the second agent device A2 can receive the information acquisition notification when connected to the network before and after that time zone. It can be recognized that the information is registered in the server device 11.

  When the second agent device A2 receives the information acquisition notification from the notification unit 22, the determination unit 23 determines whether the information related to the information acquisition notification is information necessary for itself. For example, if the second agent device A2 has not yet acquired information related to the information acquisition notification, the information is necessary information, and if it has already been acquired, it is unnecessary information. Further, when the information related to the information acquisition notification is information related to a specific application, for example, and the application is not installed in the agent device A2, the information becomes unnecessary information. As described above, the determination unit 23 of the second agent device A2 determines whether or not the information is necessary, and passes the determination result to the acquisition unit 21.

  When the determination unit 23 determines that the information related to the information acquisition notification is necessary for itself, the acquisition unit 21 of the second agent device A2 acquires the information from the server device 11. Specifically, an arrow d in FIG. 2 transmits an information acquisition request to the server apparatus 11, and the server apparatus 11 transmits necessary information to the agent apparatus A2 as a response to the request at an arrow e. Therefore, the second agent device A2 can acquire the necessary information from the server device 11 triggered by the information acquisition notification even outside the predetermined time period set in the schedule. Therefore, even when the second agent device A2 is not connected to the network in a predetermined time zone, information can be acquired from the server device 11 outside the time zone.

In the second agent device A2, after the acquisition unit 21 acquires information from the server device 11, the notification unit 22 transmits an information acquisition notification to other agent devices on the network. Therefore, the other agent device can acquire information from the server device 11 by using the information acquisition notification in the same procedure as described above.
That is, in the present embodiment, a plurality of agent devices A on the network 14 have the functional configuration (acquisition unit 21, notification unit 22, and determination unit 23) shown in FIG. That the information has been acquired from the agent device A of each other. As described above, the agent devices A notify each other like “word-of-mouth”, thereby suppressing the delay in the transmission of information provided by the server device 11 and improving the immediacy of information acquisition.

[Modification of First Embodiment]
In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the case where the second agent device A2 acquires information from the server device 11 has been described. However, the second agent device A2 can also acquire information directly from the first agent device A1 that has transmitted the information acquisition notification. This case (modified example) will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the acquisition unit 21 of the first agent device A1 acquires new information necessary for itself from the server device 11 according to the schedule set for itself. Specifically, the first agent device A1 transmits an information acquisition request to the server device 11 at the arrow a, and the server device 11 sends information necessary for the first agent device A1 as a response to the request at the arrow b. Send. Then, the notification unit 22 of the first agent device A1 transmits a notification that the information has been acquired to the second agent device A2 (see arrow c).

When the second agent device A2 receives the information acquisition notification from the first agent device A1, the determination unit 23 determines whether or not the information related to the information acquisition notification is necessary for itself, The determination result is transferred to the acquisition unit 21.
If the determination unit 23 determines that the information related to the information acquisition notification is necessary information for itself, the acquisition unit 21 of the second agent device A2 transmits the information acquisition notification to the first agent. Obtained from device A1.

  Specifically, the second agent device A2 transmits an information acquisition request to the first agent device A1 at the arrow f in FIG. 3, and the first agent device A1 responds to the request at the arrow g. Necessary information is transmitted to the second agent device A2. Therefore, in the present modification, necessary information can be acquired from the first agent device A1 that has already acquired information, and thus the load on the server device 11 can be reduced.

  Note that the two examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be implemented independently, but both can be implemented together. That is, the second agent device A2 that has received the information acquisition notification may select either the server device 11 or the first agent device A1 as the information acquisition destination. Which one to select can be determined in consideration of the communication load status of each device 11, A1, for example.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a network system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment shows an example in which a plurality of client terminals 12 connected to a plurality of networks 14 (N1, N2) are managed by a single server device 11. In FIG. 5, two networks N1 and N2 have different network addresses and are connected via a relay device 15 such as a router. Further, the two networks N1 and N2 are constructed in physically separated locations (for example, Tokyo and Osaka). The server device 11 is directly connected to one network N1.

Also in this embodiment, the agent application program 13 is installed in each client terminal 12 to configure the agent device A. The functional configuration of each agent device A is as shown in FIG.
The agent device A performs the same operation as in the first embodiment described above in each of the networks N1 and N2. That is, when the agent device A of each network N1, N2 acquires new information from the server device 11, it notifies the other agent devices A in the same network N1, N2 to that effect (information acquisition notification). After determining whether the information is necessary, the agent device A acquires the information from the server device 11 (see FIG. 2) or the agent device A (see FIG. 3).

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the agent device A that has acquired information from the server device 11 or another agent device A moves across the networks N1 and N2, the following operation is performed.
FIG. 6 shows an example in which the first agent device A1 connected to the first network N1 acquires information from the server device 11 (see arrows a and b) and then moves to the second network N2. . In this case, in the second network N2, the first agent device A1 transmits an information acquisition notification to another agent device (second agent device) A2 in the second network N2 by the notification unit 22 (arrow) h).

  Whether or not the notification unit 22 of the first agent device A1 transmits an information acquisition notification in the second network N2 is determined based on, for example, whether or not the IP address of the first agent device A1 has been changed. can do. That is, when the IP address is changed, there is a high possibility that the agent device A1 is connected to a different network N2, and therefore the notification unit 22 transmits an information acquisition notification.

  In the second network N2, the second agent device A2 receives the information acquisition notification transmitted from the first agent device A1, and the determination unit 23 (see FIG. 4) receives the information related to the information income notification. Determine whether it is necessary. When the determination unit 23 determines that the information is necessary, the acquisition unit 21 connects to the server device 11 and acquires the information (see arrows i and j). Therefore, the second agent device A2 uses the information acquisition notification from the first agent device A1 as a trigger even when it is outside the predetermined time period for acquiring information from the server device 11. It can be acquired.

  This embodiment is more useful when the predetermined time zone for acquiring information from the server device 11 differs for each of the networks N1 and N2. That is, the agent device A1 acquires information in one network N1 whose time zone for acquiring information from the server device 11 is earlier, and then the agent device A1 sends an information acquisition notification in the other network N2 whose later time zone is later. By doing so, it becomes possible for the agent device A2 of the other network N2 to acquire the information before the time period determined for the other network N2. Therefore, since the time zone in which information can be acquired in the other network N2 can be substantially lengthened, it is possible to improve the immediacy of information acquisition. In addition, since the information acquisition timing can be more dispersed in the other network N2, the communication load on the server device 11 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the first agent device A1 on the first network N1 is not limited to acquiring information from the server device 11, but acquires information from other agent devices that have already acquired information. Also good.

[Modification of Second Embodiment]
In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the case where the second agent device A2 of the second network N2 acquires information from the server device 11 has been described. However, the second agent device A2 transmits the information acquisition notification. It is also possible to acquire information from the agent device A1. This case (modified example) will be described with reference to FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the first agent device A1 that has acquired information from the server device 11 in the first network N1 moves to the second network N2, and then transmits an information acquisition notification to the second agent device A2. (See arrow h). In the second agent device A2 that has received the information acquisition notification, the determination unit 23 determines whether the information related to the information acquisition notification is necessary information for itself, and the determination result is sent to the acquisition unit 21. Deliver. Then, when the determination unit 23 determines that the information related to the information acquisition notification is information necessary for itself, the acquisition unit 21 of the second agent device A2 transmits the information acquisition notification to the first From the agent device A1.

Specifically, the second agent device A2 transmits an information acquisition request to the first agent device A1 at the arrow k in FIG. 7, and the first agent device A1 responds to the request at the arrow m. Necessary information is transmitted to the second agent device A2.
Therefore, in the present modification, necessary information can be acquired from the first agent device A1 that has already acquired information, and the load on the server device 11 can be reduced. Since the server device 11 is connected to the first network N1, the first and second agent devices A1 and A2 are connected to the same second network. Information can be transmitted without intervention. Therefore, the certainty of information transmission can be further increased.

  It should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the meanings described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  In each of the above embodiments, the client terminals 12 in the networks 14, N1, and N2 do not have to be all agent devices A, and may include devices other than the agent devices A.

10: network system 11: server device 11A: storage unit 12: client terminal 13: agent application program 14: network 15: relay device 21: acquisition unit 22: notification unit 23: determination unit A: agent device A1: first agent Device A2: Second agent device N1: First network N2: Second network

Claims (7)

An acquisition unit for acquiring information from at least a server device on the network;
A notification unit for transmitting a notification that the information has been acquired to another agent device on the network;
A determination unit that determines whether the information related to the notification is necessary for itself when the notification is received from another agent device;
The acquisition unit has a function of acquiring the information when the determination unit determines that the information related to the notification is necessary for itself.   The agent device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the information from the server device when the determination unit determines that the information is necessary for itself.   The acquisition unit according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the information is necessary for the information, the acquisition unit acquires the information from the other agent device that is a transmission source of the notification. Agent device.   The notification unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the notification unit transmits the notification to another agent device on the network when connected to a network different from the network from which the information is acquired. The agent device described. A plurality of agent devices according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
And a server device that provides information to the agent device.   The computer program for functioning a computer as the said acquisition part in the agent apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4, the said notification part, and the said discrimination | determination part. An agent device acquiring information from the network;
Sending a notification that the agent device has acquired the information to another agent device on the network;
When the other agent device receives the notification, determining whether the information related to the notification is necessary for itself;
And a step of acquiring the information from the network when the other agent device determines that the information related to the notification is necessary for itself.

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