Relay device, relay method, and computer program product

• US 8,271,582 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2010
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Okita, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN GILLES, JUDE
• Application Number:
  US12/825,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20110004655A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/211
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication

Abstract

A relay device includes a first communication unit that receives a request including processing object data from a client device; a data processing unit that obtains a first processing result by performing a relay-device-side process of equivalent algorithm to that of a server-side process, which is performed by a server, on the processing object data; a second communication unit that transmits the request to the server, and receives a second processing result, which corresponds to the first processing result and is obtained by performance of the server-side process on the processing object data, from the server as a response; and a control unit that determines whether the second processing result has been transmitted to the client device. When the second processing result has not been transmitted to the client device, the first communication unit transmits the first processing result to the client device.

Claims

1. A relay device that is connected to a client device and a server via a network and functions as a relay between the client device and the server, the relay device comprising:

a first communication unit that receives, from the client device via the network, a request including processing object data to be processed and destination information indicating the server;

a data processing unit that obtains a first processing result by performing a relay-device-side process of equivalent algorithm to that of a server-side process, on the processing object data, the server-side process being performed on the processing object data by the server;

a second communication unit that transmits the request to the server, and receives a second processing result from the server as a response to the request, the second processing result corresponding to the first processing result and being obtained by performance of the server-side process on the processing object data; and

a control unit that determines whether the second processing result has been transmitted to the client device, wherein

when it is determined that the second processing result has not been transmitted to the client device, the first communication unit transmits the first processing result of the relay-device-side process performed on the processing object data by the data processing unit of the relay device, as the response to the client device.

2. The relay device according to claim 1, the data processing unit performs the relay-device-side process on the processing object data in a different processing unit from that of the server-side process.

3. The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising a program storage unit that stores therein a relay-device-side program which is the same in process order as a server-side program for causing the server to perform the server-side process and finally produces the same output as the server-side program, wherein

the data processing unit executes the relay-device-side program to thereby perform the relay-device side process on the processing object data.

4. The relay device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a table storage unit that stores therein a response table; and

a response management unit that registers request identifying information for identifying the request and first-processing-result identifying information for identifying the first processing result obtained by the data processing unit in the response table in an associated manner when the first processing result is obtained, and registers the request identifying information and second-processing-result identifying information for identifying the second processing result in the response table in an associated manner when the second processing result from the server is received, wherein

the control unit determines whether the second-processing-result identifying information of the second processing result corresponding to the first processing result has been registered in the response table by reference to the response table, and

the first communication unit transmits the first processing result to the client device as the response when it is determined that the second-processing-result identifying information has not been registered in the response table.

5. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit deletes the first processing result when it is determined that the second processing result corresponding to the first processing result has already been transmitted to the client device, and

the data processing unit terminates the relay-device-side process on the processing object data.

6. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit determines whether the first processing result corresponding to the second processing result has already been transmitted to the client device when the second processing result with respect to the processing object data is received from the server as the response, and

the first communication unit transmits the second processing result to the client device as the response when it is determined that the first processing result has not been transmitted to the client device.

7. The relay device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a table storage unit that stores therein a response table; and

a response management unit that registers request identifying information for identifying the request and first-processing-result identifying information for identifying the first processing result obtained by the data processing unit in the response table in an associated manner when the first processing result is obtained, and registers the request identifying information and second-processing-result identifying information for identifying the second processing result in the response table in an associated manner when the second processing result from the server is received, wherein

the control unit determines whether the first-processing-result identifying information of the first processing result corresponding to the second processing result has been registered in the response table by reference to the response table, and

the first communication unit transmits the second processing result to the client device as the response when it is determined that the first-processing-result identifying information of the first processing result has not been registered in the response table.

8. The relay device according to claim 6, wherein the control unit deletes the second processing result when it is determined that the first processing result corresponding to the second processing result has already been transmitted to the client device.

9. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein

the data processing unit performs the relay-device-side process on a predetermined first range of the processing object data, and

the first communication unit transmits a first processing result with respect to the first range of the processing object data, which is obtained by performance of the relay-device-side process, to the client device as a response to the request.

10. The relay device according to claim 9, wherein

the second communication unit receives a second processing result obtained by performance of the server-side process on a second range of the processing object data, which is a range of the processing object data other than the first range, from the server, and

the first communication unit transmits the second processing result with respect to the second range of the processing object data to the client device as the response.

11. The relay device according to claim 9, further comprising an editing unit that deletes the first range from the processing object data included in the request received by the first communication unit, wherein

the second communication unit transmits the request including the processing object data from which the first range is deleted to the server.

12. The relay device according to claim 9, further comprising an editing unit that adds range information indicating the first range into the processing object data included in the request, wherein

the second communication unit transmits the request including the range information to the server.

13. The relay device according to claim 9, further comprising a range determining unit that determines the first range on the basis of a line status from the relay device to the server, wherein

the data processing unit performs the relay-device-side process on the first range of the processing object data determined by the range determining unit.

14. The relay device according to claim 9, further comprising a range determining unit that determines the first range on the basis of a processing load on the relay device, wherein

the data processing unit performs the relay-device-side process on the first range of the processing object data determined by the range determining unit.

15. The relay device according to claim 9, further comprising a range determining unit that determines the first range on the basis of a processing load on the server, wherein

the data processing unit performs the relay-device-side process on the first range of the processing object data determined by the range determining unit.

16. The relay device according to claim 10, further comprising a range determining unit that determines, when the first communication unit receives the request, the first range on the basis of a first range used by the data processing unit when a previous request has been received and a time at which the second processing result from the server is received, wherein

the data processing unit performs the relay-device-side process on the first range of the processing object data determined by the range determining unit.

17. The relay device according to claim 11, wherein the second communication unit further transmits the first processing result to the server.

20. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the first processing result of the relay-device-side process performed on the processing object data by the relay device is same as the second processing result of the server-side process performed on the processing object data by the server.

18. A method performed by a relay device that is connected to a client device and a server via a network and functions as a relay between the client device and the server, the method comprising:

receiving, from the client device via the network, a request including processing object data to be processed and destination information indicating the server;

obtaining a first processing result by the relay device performing a relay-device-side process of equivalent algorithm to that of a server-side process, on the processing object data, the server-side process being performed on the processing object data by the server;

transmitting the request to the server and receiving a second processing result from the server as a response to the request, the second processing result corresponding to the first processing result and being obtained by performance of the server-side process on the processing object data;

determining whether the second processing result has been transmitted to the client device; and

transmitting the first processing result of the relay-device-side process performed by the relay device on the processing object data, as the response to the client device, when it is determined that the second processing result from the server has not been transmitted to the client device.

19. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium containing computer-readable program codes that is executed by a computer, which is connected to a client device and a server via a network and functions as a relay between the client device and the server, the program codes when executed causing the computer to perform:

receiving, from the client device via the network, a request including processing object data to be processed and destination information indicating the server;

obtaining a first processing result by performing a relay-device-side process of equivalent algorithm to that of a server-side process on the processing object data, the server-side process being performed on the processing object data by the server;

transmitting the request to the server and receiving a second processing result from the server as a response to the request, the second processing result corresponding to the first processing result and being obtained by performance of the server-side process on the processing object data;

determining whether the second processing result has been transmitted to the client device; and

transmitting the first processing result to the client device as the response when it is determined that the second processing result has not been transmitted to the client device.