CONNECTION CONTROL IN THIN CLIENT SYSTEM

• US 20080263217A1
• Filed: 12/05/2007
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: KIMIZUKA, Masahiko, KOSHIBA, Kunihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,364,830 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/563 Data redirection of data network streams

Abstract

In a first exemplary aspect of the present invention, a thin client server system includes thin client servers, which comprises clients which are grouped into client groups based on client data; thin client terminals which are allocated with terminal data and are grouped into terminal groups based on the terminal data, wherein users are allocated with user identifiers and are grouped into user groups based on the user identifiers, and each of the client groups is predetermined for at least one of one of the terminal groups and one of the user groups, and a connection control server interposed between the thin client servers and the thin client terminals. The connection control server determines connectable client groups based on a specific user identifier of a specific user, and a specific terminal data of a specific one of the thin client terminals used by the specific user, determines a desired client of at least a desired one of the connectable client groups based on a status of each of the clients. The specific thin client terminal connects with the desired client based on the client data of the desired client.

Claims

1. A thin client server system comprising:

thin client servers, which comprises clients which are grouped into client groups based on client data;

thin client terminals which are allocated with terminal data and are grouped into terminal groups based on the terminal data, wherein users are allocated with user identifiers and are grouped into user groups based on the user identifiers, and each of the client groups is predetermined for at least one of one of said terminal groups and one of the user groups, and

a connection control server interposed between said thin client servers and said thin client terminals,

wherein said connection control server determines connectable client groups based on a specific user identifier of a specific user, and a specific terminal data of a specific one of said thin client terminals used by the specific user, determines a desired client of at least a desired one of the connectable client groups based on a status of each of said clients, and

said specific thin client terminal connects with the desired client based on the client data of the desired client.

2. The thin client server system according to claim 1, wherein said connection control server comprises:

a storage section configured to store a group data management table and a connection destination setting data table, wherein said group data management table stores the client groups for the clients, the terminal groups for said thin client terminals, and the user groups for the users, and said connection destination setting data table stores each of the connectable client groups for at least one of one of the terminal groups and one of the user groups; and

a connection destination control section configured to determine the connectable client groups from said group data management table and said connection destination setting data table based on at least one of the specific user identifier and the specific terminal data, to transmit the connectable clients groups to said specific thin client terminal, and to receive and determine the desired client group.

3. The thin client server system according to claim 2, wherein said storage section further comprises:

a client status management table which stores a status of each of the clients, and

said connection destination control section further refers to said client status management table to determine the desired client based on the statuses of the clients of the desired client group.

4. The thin client server system according to claim 3, wherein each of said thin client servers comprises a status acquiring section configured to transmit a data indicating a change of the status of each of the clients of said thin client server, and

said connection destination control section further receives the status change data from each of said thin client servers and updates said client status management table based on the received status change data.

5. The thin client server system according to claim 3, wherein said connection destination control section further boots up the desired client and transmitting the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal, and

said specific thin client terminal connects to the desired client based on the client data of the desired client.

6. The thin client server system according to claim 3, wherein said connection destination control section further reboots up the desired client and transmitting the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal, and

said specific thin client terminal connects to the desired client based on the client data of the desired client.

7. A connection control server comprising:

a storage section configured to store a group data management table, a connection destination setting data table, a client status management table, wherein said group data management table stores the client groups for the clients, the terminal groups for said thin client terminals, and the user groups for the users, said connection destination setting data table stores each of the connectable client groups for at least one of one of the terminal groups and one of the user groups, and said client status management table stores a status of each of the clients; and

a connection destination control section configured to determine the connectable client groups from said group data management table and said connection destination setting data table based on at least one of the specific user identifier and the specific terminal data, to transmit the connectable clients groups to said specific thin client terminal, to receive and determine the desired client group, to refer to said client status management table to determine the desired client based on the statuses of the clients of the desired client group.

8. The connection control server according to claim 7, wherein said connection destination control section further receives a status change data and updates said client status management table based on the received status change data.

9. The connection control server according to claim 7, further comprising:

a start-up section configured to issue an instruction to boot up or reboot up the desired client and to transmit the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal.

10. A thin client server comprising:

a plurality of clients which are connected from thin client terminals; and

a client control section provided for said plurality of clients, and configured to boot up or reboot up one of said plurality of clients in response to an instruction supplied externally.

11. The thin client server according to claim 10, wherein each of said plurality of clients comprises:

a status acquiring section configured to transmit a data indicating a change of a status of each of said plurality of clients.

12. A connection control method comprising:

transmitting a specific terminal data of a specific thin client terminal and a specific user identifier of a specific user from said specific thin client terminal to a connection control server;

wherein thin client terminals are allocated with terminal data and are grouped into terminal groups based on the terminal data, users are allocated with user identifiers and are grouped into user groups based on the user identifiers, and thin client servers, which comprises clients which are grouped into client groups based on client data;

wherein each of the client groups is predetermined for at least one of one of said terminal groups and one of the user groups;

determining connectable client groups based on the specific user identifier and the specific terminal data;

determining a desired client of at least a desired one of the connectable client groups based on a status of each of said clients; and

connecting said specific thin client terminal with the desired client based on the client data of the desired client.

13. The connection control method according to claim 12, further comprising:

providing a group data management table and a connection destination setting data table, wherein said group data management table stores the client groups for the clients, the terminal groups for said thin client terminals, and the user groups for the users, and said connection destination setting data table stores each of the connectable client groups for at least one of one of the terminal groups and one of the user groups; and

said determining connectable client groups comprises;

determining the connectable client groups from said group data management table and said connection destination setting data table based on at least one of the specific user identifier and the specific terminal data;

transmitting the connectable clients groups to said specific thin client terminal; and

determining the desired client group through a selection by said specific user.

14. The connection control method according to claim 12, wherein said providing further comprises:

providing a client status management table which stores a status of each of the clients, and

said determining a desired client comprises;

referring to said client status management table to determine the desired client based on the statuses of the clients of the desired client group.

15. The connection control method according to claim 14, further comprising:

transmitting a data indicating a change of the status of each of the clients of said thin client servers to said connection control server;

updating said client status management table based on the status change data.

16. The connection control method according to claim 12, further comprising:

booting up the desired client based on the client data of the desired client;

transmitting the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal; and

connecting said specific thin client terminal to the desired client.

17. The connection control method according to claim 12, further comprising:

rebooting up the desired client based on the client data of the desired client;

transmitting the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal; and

connecting said specific thin client terminal to the desired client.

18. A computer-readable storage medium which stores a program for realizing of a connection control method comprising:

providing terminal groups obtained by grouping thin client terminals based on terminal data allocated to the thin client terminals, user groups obtained by grouping users to which user identifiers are allocated, and client groups obtained by grouping clients of client servers based on client data;

providing each of the client groups is predetermined for at least one of one of said terminal groups and one of the user groups;

determining connectable client groups based on the specific user identifier and the specific terminal data, and

determining a desired client of at least a desired one of the connectable client groups based on a status of each of said clients, such that said specific thin client terminal is connected with the desired client based on the client data of the desired client.

19. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18, wherein said providing further comprises:

providing a group data management table and a connection destination setting data table, wherein said group data management table stores the client groups for the clients, the terminal groups for said thin client terminals, and the user groups for the users, and said connection destination setting data table stores each of the connectable client groups for at least one of one of the terminal groups and one of the user groups; and

said determining connectable client groups comprises;

determining the connectable client groups from said group data management table and said connection destination setting data table based on at least one of the specific user identifier and the specific terminal data;

transmitting the connectable clients groups to said specific thin client terminal; and

determining the desired client group through a selection by said specific user.

20. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18, wherein said providing further comprises:

providing a client status management table which stores a status of each of the clients, and

said determining a desired client comprises;

referring to said client status management table to determine the desired client based on the statuses of the clients of the desired client group.

21. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 20, wherein said connection control method further comprises:

updating said client status management table based on the status change data indicating a change of the status of each of the clients of said thin client servers to said connection control server.

22. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18, wherein said connection control method further comprises:

booting up the desired client based on the client data of the desired client; and

transmitting the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal such that said specific thin client terminal is connected with the desired client.

23. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18, wherein said connection control method further comprises:

rebooting up the desired client based on the client data of the desired client; and

transmitting the client data of the desired client to said specific thin client terminal such that said specific thin client terminal is connected with the desired client.