Client-server system

• US 20030182367A1
• Filed: 03/17/2003
• Published: 09/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ohara, Kiyotaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,853,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1212 achieving reduced delay between job submission and print start
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/122 with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1229 Printer resources management or printer maintenance, e.g. device status, power levels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1236 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration

Abstract

A client-server system includes a client personal computer and a plurality of printers, all connected to a network. One of the printers broadcasts a GET request using SNMP at a predetermined timing to the other printers to obtain model name, idle rate, and information about image files stored in each of the other printers. Later, a Web browser of the client personal computer sends a Web page request. The printer receives this request. Based on the information obtained from the broadcast, a Web server inside the printer prepares HTML data and sends the HTML data to the client personal computer. The HTML data designates one or more of the other printers as image sources for the client to obtain or otherwise receive the image files from. Based on the HTML data, the Web browser of the client personal computer requests the image files from the other printers.

Claims

1. A client-server system connected to a network, the system comprising:

a data-providing server connected to the network, the data-providing server storing data;

a client connected to the network, the client sending a data request over the network, the data request requesting page data;

judging means for judging the data stored in the data-providing server; and

an assisted server connected to the network and storing the page data, the assisted server receiving the data request from the client over the network and referring to the judging means to judge whether the data-providing server stores target data required to display, as a page, the page data requested by the client and, upon judging that the data-providing server stores the target data, instructing the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server instead of the assisted server providing the target data to the client.

2. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means again judges the data stored in the data-providing server each time a predetermined time duration elapses.

3. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means further judges whether processing load of the assisted server is lower than a predetermined low level, the predetermined low level being lower than the predetermined high level, the judging means judging data stored by the data-providing server if the judging means judges that the processing load of the assisted server is lower than the predetermined low level.

4. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means further judges whether traffic on the network is lower than a predetermined traffic level, the judging means judging data stored by the data-providing server if the judging means judges that traffic on the network is lower than the predetermined traffic level.

5. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means further judges whether the assisted server has just entered a communicable condition with the data-providing server through the network, the judging means judging data stored by the data-providing server if the judging means judges that the assisted server has just entered a communicable condition with the data-providing server.

6. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means further judges whether the data-providing server has just entered a communicable condition with the assisted server through the network, the judging means judging data stored by the data-providing server if the judging means judges that the data-providing server has just entered a communicable condition with the assisted server.

7. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising another server that stores data and that is connected to the network, the judging means further judging whether the data-providing server and the other server are communicable servers that remain in a communicable condition with the network, the judging means judging, when the judging means judges that at least one of the data-providing server and the other server are no longer communicable servers, data stored in any communicable server amongst the data-providing server and the other server.

8. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means further judges whether the assisted server receives the data request from the client and, upon judging that the assisted server has received the data request from the client, judges data stored in the data-providing server.

9. The client-server system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising another client connected to the network, the assisted server, upon receiving another data request, further judges:

whether the other data request is from the client or from the other the client;

whether the other data request is for the same page data as requested in the data request; and

whether the other data request was received within a predetermined time from receipt of the data request;

the judging means judging data stored in the data-providing server when the assisted server judges that the other data request is from the client, that the other data request is for the same page data, and that the other data request was received within the predetermined time.

10. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the judging means further judges whether a load margin level of the data-providing server is less than a predetermined value, the judging means, when the judging means judges that the load margin level of the data-holding server is less than the predetermined value, indicating to the assisted server that the data-providing server does not store the target data.

11. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a user interface enabling a user to selectively allow the assisted server to instruct the client to receive data from the data-providing server and prohibit the assisted server from instructing the client to receive data from the data-providing server, the assisted server instructing the client to receive data from the data-providing server only when the user, through the user interface, allows the assisted server to instruct the client to receive data from the data-providing server.

12. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data-providing server stores the target data, further comprising:

another data-providing server that stores the target data, the assisted server instructing the client to receive the target data from one of the data-providing server and the other data-providing server; and

a memory that stores data indicating, as a previously referred server, the one of the data-providing server and the other data-providing server that the assisted server instructed the client to receive the target data from, the client sending another data request for the target data over the network, the assisted server receiving the other data request and instructing the client to receive the target data from the previously referred server indicated by the data stored in the memory.

13. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assisted server uses an acquisition command to instruct the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server, the acquisition command indicating that the client should obtain the target data directly from the data-providing server, the client, upon receiving the acquisition command from the assisted server, sending a data request for the target data to the data-providing server, the data-providing server, upon receiving the data request from the client, sending the target data to the client.

14. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assisted server transmits a transmission command to the data-providing server and a transmission notification to the client upon judging that the data-providing server stores the target data, the transmission command indicating that the data-providing server should send the target data to the client, the transmission notification indicating that the client should prepare to receive the target data from the data-providing server.

15. The client-server system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the client includes:

reception means for receiving the transmission notification from the assisted server; and

acquisition means for, based on the transmission notification received by reception means, acquiring the data sent from the data-providing server.

16. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising another server that stores data and that is connected to the network, the judging means also judging the data stored in the other server, the assisted server referring to the judging means to judge whether the other server stores the target data requested by the client and, upon judging that the other server stores the target data, instructing the client to receive the target data from the other server instead of the assisted server providing the target data to the client.

17. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the client is a Web browser and the data-providing server and the assisted server are Web servers.

18. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a memory, the judging means storing, in the memory, data that represents the data stored in the data-providing server, the assisted server referring to the memory to judge whether the data-providing server stores the target data requested by the client and, upon judging that the data-providing server stores the target data, instructing the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server.

19. The client-server system as claimed in claim 18, further comprising a peripheral apparatus connected to the network, the judging means and the assisted server being incorporated in the peripheral apparatus to enable the peripheral apparatus to send information about the peripheral apparatus to the client via the assisted server.

20. The client-server system as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a type-storing memory that stores a type of the peripheral apparatus, the judging means further judging a type of the data-providing server and judging whether the type of the data-providing server is the same as the type of the peripheral apparatus, the memory, when the judging means judges that the type of the data-providing server is the same as the type of the peripheral apparatus, storing data indicating that the data-providing server stores the same data as the peripheral apparatus, the judging means, upon receiving the data request from the client device, judging whether the data request is for data that the peripheral apparatus stores and, if the data request is for data that the peripheral apparatus stores and the memory stores the data indicating that the data-providing server stores the same data as the peripheral apparatus, instructing the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server.

21. The client-server system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a first printer that includes the assisted server and a second printer that includes the data-providing server, the first printer storing a page file for displaying a page, the judging means further judging whether the data stored in the data-providing server of the second printer includes any of the image files for displaying the main page, the client sending the data request to the assisted server in order to request the first printer to send the page file for displaying the page, the assisted server referring to the judging means to judge whether the data-providing server stores any of the image files requested by the client and, upon judging that the data-providing server stores at least one of the image files, instructing the client to receive the at least one image file from the data-providing server of the second printer.

22. A method of sending data to a client over a network that connects the client to a data-providing server and an assisted server, the data-providing server storing data, the client sending a data request over the network, the data request requesting target data, the method comprising:

judging data stored in the data-providing server;

referring to the judging means to judge whether the data-providing server stores the target data requested by the client; and

upon judging that the data-providing server stores the target data, instructing the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server instead of the assisted server providing the target data to the client.

23. A recording medium storing programs for controlling an assisted server connected to a data-providing server and a client through a network, the data-providing server storing data, the client sending a data request over the network, the data request requesting page data, the recording medium storing:

a judging program that judges the data stored in the data-providing server; and

an assistance-receiving program that receives the data request from the client over the network, the assistance-receiving program referring to results of the judging program to judge whether the data-providing server stores target data required to display, as a page, the page data requested by the client and, upon judging that the data-providing server stores the target data, instructing the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server instead of the assisted server providing the target data to the client.

24. A program for controlling an assisted server connected to a data-providing server and a client through a network, the data-providing server storing data, the client sending a data request over the network, the data request requesting page data, the program comprising:

a judging process that judges the data stored in the data-providing server; and

an assistance-receiving process that receives the data request from the client over the network, the assistance-receiving process referring to results of the judging process to judge whether the data-providing server stores target data required to display, as a page, the page data requested by the client and, upon judging that the data-providing server stores the target data, instructing the client to receive the target data from the data-providing server instead of the assisted server providing the target data to the client.