Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer network managing – Computer network monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-05
2001-07-24
Vu, Viet D. (Department: 2758)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer network managing
Computer network monitoring
C709S219000, C709S223000, C709S226000, C709S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266697
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a client/server system. More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic maintenance technique for automatically maintaining a client under control of the client itself as well as a computer executing such self maintenance and a recording medium therefor.
In recent years, as the performance of general purpose computer such as a personal computer is enhanced, the client/server systems widely spread. Speaking of the client/server system, there are some cases where a user's operational error, simple environment setting error or the like tends to cause such a problem as to influence the overall network system. When the problem occurs, the server is incapable of sending a maintenance command to the client. In those cases, there is a fear that not only maintenance cannot be executed but also the system may become inoperable until the system is recovered. The fear grows as the number of clients connecting to the server increases. With the network system becoming larger, there is no ignoring economical damages this may cause.
Moreover, the infection of computer viruses is recently becoming a serious problem to the system using a plurality of general purpose computers as clients and a server such as a client/server system. Namely, when a computer virus enters a general purpose computer serving as one of the plural clients in the client/server system, then the virus spreads over all clients and the server via the network, thus entailing a big loss. Considering this, to comfortably operate the client/server system, it is vital to efficiently execute system maintenance.
Meanwhile, for the maintenance of respective clients in the conventional client/server system, there has been adopted a so-called top-down method, i.e., the method in which a user stores necessary information about maintenance in the server and a maintenance command is issued from the server. In this top-down method, however, the maintenance command is basically issued to all clients connecting to the server all at once. Owing to this, every time maintenance work is being done, excessive loads are imposed on the server and the transmission path. During that time, all clients is inoperative simultaneously, with the result that the overall system performance is disadvantageously lowered.
As can be understood from the above, the conventional client/server system requires maintenance work and the maintenance time largely depends on the maintenance capability of the server or the communication capability of the transmission path. When a problem occurs, clearing up the cause has to depend on the capability of the user or of maintenance personnel. As a result, not only the recovery of the system cannot be expected quickly but also this eventually troubles the user and maintenance personnel.
Under these circumstances, the inventor of the present application filed an invention identified as Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-272643. According to the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-272643, self-maintenance capability is provided to clients, with which individual clients make self-diagnoses when powered, and only when some problem occurs, only necessary file(s) is downloaded from the backup system of the clients stored in the server and the self-repair processing is carried out. The Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-272643 is thus designed to reduce loads imposed on the server and the transmission paths, to decrease the probability that the system becomes inoperative and to enhance the overall system capability by allowing the respective clients to execute self-maintenance.
Nevertheless, there are many cases recently where the size of software installed into clients is as large as that in units of 100 MB. This requires increasing the capacity of the memory of the server. In addition, when such software are downloaded from the server into the clients, the higher loads are imposed on the transmission paths. This causes the lowering of system response and many clients requiring maintenance have to wait due to delayed response. For that reason, when the number of clients increases, it is necessary to review the capability of the server and that of the transmission paths and to redesign them. In some cases, there is a fear that the number of the clients cannot be even increased.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances. In short, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording medium recording computer program for the client/server system and the clients thereof capable of reducing loads imposed on the overall system during the maintenance of clients, by backup-storing files, which need to be repaired many times, have a large size and are repaired with high frequency, in the clients themselves to prevent these files from being transferred on the transmission paths.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a computer used as a client of the above-stated client/server system.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a recording medium recording computer program for allowing such a computer to execute self-maintenance.
A client/server system according to the present invention is a client/server system including a server computer and a client computer connected to a network, wherein the server computer comprises a storing unit which stores information necessary for repairing/updating software of the client computer; and the client computer comprises means for diagnosing as to whether or not the software of the client computer itself needs to be repaired/updated by the server computer; means for inquiring of the server computer about a load state of the server computer; and means for requesting repair/update processing to the server computer when the load state of the server computer falls within a predetermined condition.
In the client/server system of the present invention as stated above, the client computer diagnoses as to whether or not the client computer needs to be repaired/updated by the server computer, inquires of the server computer about the load state of the server computer, and requests repair/update processing to the server computer when the load state of the server computer a predetermined condition. Due to this, only when the server has margin, information necessary for repairing/updating the client computer is transferred from the storing unit of the server computer to the client computer.
The client/server system according to the present invention with the above-stated structure, further comprises load condition storing means for storing, as the predetermined condition, at least one of the number of client computers connected to the server computer, and a size of a file to be transferred to the client computers.
In the client/server system of the present invention as stated above, at least one of the number of client computers connected to the server computer and the size of the file to be transferred to the client computers is read as a predetermined condition, from the load condition storing means provided to the client computer. The predetermined condition thus read is used to be compared with the load state of the server computer judged by the server load judging means.
Moreover, a client computer according to the present invention is a client computer connected, through a network, to a server computer comprising a storing unit which stores necessary information for repairing/updating software of another computer, the client computer comprising: means for diagnosing as to whether or not software of the client computer needs to be repaired/updated by the server computer; means for inquiring of the server computer about a load state of the server computer; and means for requesting repair/update processing to the server computer when the load state of the server computer falls within a predetermined condition.
The client computer of the present invention, as stated above, diagnoses as to whether or not the client compu
Fujitsu Limited
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Vu Viet D.
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