Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer protocol implementing – Computer-to-computer data transfer regulating
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-04
2001-09-25
Wiley, David (Department: 2155)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer protocol implementing
Computer-to-computer data transfer regulating
C370S432000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295560
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data delivery system in which a plurality of data delivery units cooperate to deliver data to clients.
2. Description of the Background Art
In keeping with the development of networks and the improved performance of hardwares in recent years, data to be handled are also increasing in capacity. In particular, the spread of multimedia data in which speech, video, text, etc., are handled collectively is pushing this trend of increasing capacity of data. For this reason, as a technique for transmitting, receiving and processing a large amount of data at high speed, there is a need for a data supply device capable of storing a large amount of data efficiently and providing data in response to various requests quickly.
One such data supply device is a connection-oriented data delivery system formed by a plurality of processors connected through a network. In this system, the conventionally adopted scheme for determining a processor to carry out the data delivery includes the following.
(1) Provide a control processor for determining a processor to carry out the data delivery.
(2) Fixedly determine a processor to carry out the data delivery according to a state of connection to the network, etc.
However, in the former scheme for providing the control processor, there is a problem that the entire data delivery system will stop and the subsequent data supply becomes impossible when that control processor is disabled. Also, in the latter scheme for determining fixedly, there is a problem that the processor resources cannot be utilized effectively when the processing loads concentrate on a specific processor, because it is impossible to re-distribute the processing loads to the other less loaded processors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a data delivery system capable of distributing processing loads on the data supply side without providing the control processor, in which clients can receive data delivery without becoming conscious of the switching of processors that carry out the data delivery.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a data delivery system for delivering data to clients, the system having an upper layer address allocated thereto and comprising: a plurality of data delivery units, each having a shared lower layer address common to said plurality of data delivery units and a unique lower layer address uniquely allocated to each data delivery unit; and a transfer unit for transferring a request destined to the upper layer address and transmitted from a client to said plurality of data delivery units and transferring a response destined to the client and transmitted from one of said plurality of data delivery units toward the client; wherein each data delivery unit includes a reception unit for receiving a request from the client that is transferred to the shared lower layer address, and a transmission unit for transmitting a response which has the upper layer address as a source by using own unique lower layer address when a request received by the reception unit is a connection request that is made prior to data delivery and said each data delivery unit has a response right indicating one of said plurality of data delivery units which is allowed to respond to requests.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for delivering data to clients from a system formed by a plurality of data delivery units, comprising the steps of: allocating a common upper layer address to said plurality of data delivery units; allocating to each data delivery unit a shared lower layer address common to said plurality of data delivery units and a unique lower layer address to be uniquely allocated to each data delivery unit; transferring a request destined to the upper layer address and transmitted from a client to said plurality of data delivery units; receiving at each data delivery unit a request from the client that is transferred to the shared lower layer address; transmitting from one data delivery unit which has a response right indicating one of said plurality of data delivery units which is allowed to respond to a request, a response which has the upper layer address as a source by using own unique lower layer address when a request received by the receiving step is a connection request that is made prior to data delivery; and transferring a response destined to the client and transmitted from one of said plurality of data delivery units toward the client.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a data delivery device among a plurality of data delivery devices for delivering data to clients in cooperation, comprising: a memory for storing an upper layer address which is commonly allocated to said plurality of data delivery devices: a first interface for holding a shared lower layer address commonly allocated to said plurality of data delivery devices, receiving a request destined to the upper layer address and transmitted from a client, and transmitting a response which has the upper layer address as a source by using the shared lower layer address when a received request is an address resolution request; and a second interface for holding a unique lower layer address uniquely allocated to said data delivery device among said plurality of data delivery devices, and transmitting a response which has the upper layer address as a source by using own unique lower layer address when a received request is a connection request that is made prior to data delivery and said data delivery device has a response right indicating one of said plurality of data delivery devices which is allowed to respond to requests.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an article of manufacture, comprising: a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied therein for causing a computer to function as a data delivery device among a plurality of data delivery devices for delivering data to clients in cooperation, the computer readable program code means includes: first computer readable program code means for causing said computer to store an upper layer address which is commonly allocated to said plurality of data delivery devices: second computer readable program code means for causing said computer to hold a shared lower layer address commonly allocated to said plurality of data delivery devices, receive a request destined to the upper layer address and transmitted from a client, and transmit a response which has the upper layer address as a source by using the shared lower layer address when a received request is an address resolution request; and third computer readable program code means for causing said computer to hold a unique lower layer address uniquely allocated to said data delivery device among said plurality of data delivery devices, and transmit a response which has the upper layer address as a source by using own unique lower layer address when a received request is a connection request that is made prior to data delivery and said data delivery device has a response right indicating one of said plurality of data delivery devices which is allowed to respond to requests.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a data delivery system for delivering data to clients, comprising: a plurality of data delivery units, in which requests transmitted from a client including a connection request and a data delivery request are received by every data delivery unit and responses to requests are transmitted from one of said plurality of data delivery units toward the client, each data delivery unit including: a transmission unit capable of transmitting a first response to the connection request and a second response containing data requested by the data delivery request; and a processor for determining one data delivery unit which should transmit the second response among said plurality
Asano Shigehiro
Kanno Shin-ichi
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Wiley David
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