Data supply apparatus, system, and method for supplying data to hierarchically-connected data supply destinations

• US 8,903,977 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Sakae, Yoshiaki, Sugimoto, Kinichi, Okabe, Toshiya, Itabashi, Yasuo, Shizuno, Takayuki, Ichien, Masumi
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US13/392,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20120158939A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 709202-203, 709217-219, 709223-224, 709/201
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21815 comprising local storage units

Abstract

Provided is a data supply apparatus including a transmission device that sends data to another data supply apparatus; a reception device that receives data from another data supply apparatus; a data storing device that stores data in a storage device; and a data storage determination device that determines whether or not the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on a predetermined supply probability. In a typical example, the reception device receives the data to which supply probability information which indicates the supply probability has been appended; and the data storage determination device determines whether or not the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on the supply probability indicated by the supply probability information.

Claims

1. A data supply apparatus that supplies data to data supply destinations which are hierarchically connected in a distributed system, wherein the data supply apparatus comprises:

a transmission device that sends data to another data supply apparatus;

a reception device that receives data from another data supply apparatus;

a data storing device that stores data in a storage device; and

a data storage determination device that determines whether the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on a supply probability for data,

wherein the supply probability is assigned to each tier of the hierarchical connection.

2. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

the reception device receives the data to which supply probability information which indicates the supply probability has been appended; and

the data storage determination device determines whether the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on the supply probability indicated by the supply probability information.

3. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 2, further comprising:

an identification information storage device that stores tier identification information which indicates a tier to which a present apparatus belongs in the hierarchical connection,

wherein the supply probability information contains the supply probability assigned to each tier, and

wherein the data storage determination device obtains the tier identification information from the identification information storage device and determines whether the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on the supply probability which is included in the supply probability information and is associated with the tier indicated by the tier identification information.

4. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a supply probability storage device that stores a data supply probability assigned to a present apparatus,

wherein the data storage determination device determines whether the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on the supply probability stored in the supply probability storage device.

5. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein:

the reception device receives the data to which probability control information which indicates a probability control parameter used in a weighting of the supply probability has been appended; and

the data storage determination device determines whether the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on the probability control parameter and the supply probability for relevant data, which is stored in the supply probability storage device.

6. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein:

the supply probability storage device is provided outside the present apparatus.

7. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

the data storing device is provided as an external apparatus or an external system.

8. A data supply system including a data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1.

11. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein data supply destinations are hierarchically connected on a logical network.

12. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the supply probability information is predetermined in correspondence to each tier.

13. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein information related to said supply probability is stored separately from a body of the data.

14. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said data supply apparatus and said another data supply apparatus are arranged to form a logical tree having a hierarchical structure.

15. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 14, further comprising one or more additional data supply apparatuses,

wherein said logical tree comprises said one or more additional data supply apparatuses.

16. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the supply probability information is appended to the data via the data storage determination unit in response to a user operation of an input device.

17. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said data storage determination unit generates random numbers and compares each generated random number with the supply probability, and

wherein when a generated random number is less than or equal to the supply probability, it is determined that relevant data is to be stored in the data storage unit.

18. The data supply apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said distributed system comprises a widely distributed system.

9. A data supply method that supplies data to data supply destinations which are hierarchically connected in a distributed system, wherein the data supply method comprises:

a transmission step that sends data to an apparatus;

a reception step that receives data from an apparatus;

a data storing step that stores data in a storage device; and

a data storage determination step that determines whether or not the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on a supply probability for data,

wherein the supply probability is appended to a body of the received data and is assigned to each tier of the hierarchical connection.

19. The data supply method in accordance with claim 9, wherein said distributed system comprises a widely distributed system.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium which stores a computer program for controlling a data supply apparatus that supplies data to data supply destinations which are hierarchically connected in a distributed system, wherein the program comprises:

a transmission step that sends data to another data supply apparatus;

a reception step that receives data from another data supply apparatus;

a data storing step that stores data in a storage device; and

a data storage determination step that determines whether or not the received data should be stored in the storage device, based on a supply probability for data,

wherein the supply probability is appended to a body of the received data and is assigned to each tier of the hierarchical connection.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium in accordance with claim 10, wherein said distributed system comprises a widely distributed system.