Network system

• US 9,112,779 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamada, Masaki, Ogata, Yuji, Muranaka, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Man
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mansoury, Nourali
• Application Number:
  US13/435,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20120250528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 370/250
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

In a network system in which a large number of terminals that transmit information exist and data extraction is performed via a wide area network, when data filtering is performed by using terminals called entrance nodes, existing in front of the wide area network, efficient operation of the entrance nodes is a goal to achieve. In one implementation, when an entrance node has detected an alteration to a configuration of diverse resources attached to it, it updates management information by communicating with other entrance nodes existing in the neighborhood. In a further implementation, through a query and reply exchange about allocations of filtering and quick response processes to be executed by entrance nodes, reallocating process items, pre-filtering of necessary data, and relaying data between entrance nodes are performed.

Claims

1. A network system comprising:

an information processing device that manages status of an object to be monitored;

a plurality of sensing devices that senses information of the object to be monitored; and

a first network node that receives a packet from at least one of the sensing devices, decides whether a node that executes a computational process on information in the packet is identifiable, and, if it has been decided that such node is not identifiable, sends a query about the computational process on the information in the packet to some other node;

wherein the some other node is a second network node connected to the information processing device via a network and is configured to communicate with at least one of the sensing devices, and

wherein the first network node receives a reply to the query from the second network node and decides which network node should execute the computational process on the packet, based on a load of the second network node included in the reply and a load of the first network node itself.

2. The network system according to claim 1,

wherein the some other node is the second network node connected to the information processing device via the network and is configured to communicate with at least one of the sensing devices, and

wherein the first network node receives a reply to the query from the second network node and executes the computational process relevant to the packet, based on the reply.

3. The network system according to claim 2,

wherein the computational process is a computational process to be executed on a plurality of packets, and

wherein the first network node receives the reply including a history of pervious computational processes and executes the computational process based on the history of computational processes and the packets.

4. The network system according to claim 3,

wherein the first network node transmits a result of the execution of the computational process to the information processing device.

5. The network system according to claim 4,

wherein the packet includes information sensed by a sensor with respect to the object to be monitored, and

wherein the computational process is to be executed on the information sensed by the sensor.

6. The network system according to claim 1,

wherein the first network node transmits the packet to the second network node.

7. The network system according to claim 6,

wherein the first network node stores information for a transfer destination of the packet.

8. The network system according to claim 1,

wherein the first network node holds information about a network node that executes the computational process on the packet according to the decision and transfers a further received packet based on the held information.

9. A packet processing method in any one of a plurality of network nodes configured to execute a computational process on a packet, comprising:

receiving data obtained by sensing an object to be monitored from a sensing device;

deciding whether a process to be executed on the data is allocated;

if the process is not allocated, sending a query to some other network node;

deciding whether to transfer the packet to the some other network node or allocate a computational process on the packet to the network node itself according to a result of the query; and

executing the packet processing according to the decision;

wherein the some other node is a second network node connected to an information processing device via a network and is configured to communicate with at least one of the sensing devices, and

wherein the first network node receives a reply to the query from the second network node and decides which network node should execute the computational process on the packet, based on a load of the second network node included in the reply and a load of the first network node itself.

10. A network node comprising:

a first network interface that is connected to a sensor node via a first network;

a second network interface that is connected to an information processing device via a second network;

a third interface;

a storage unit for storing information about a computational process on information included in a packet; and

a control unit that, when the packet has been transmitted by the sensor node and if information included in the packet is not stored in the storage unit, sends a query to some other network node via the third interface and decides whether to entrust the computational process on the packet to the some other network node or execute the computational process by itself according to a reply to the query;

wherein the some other node is a second network node connected to the information processing device via a network and is configured to communicate with at least one of the sensing devices, and

wherein the first network node receives a reply to the query from the second network node and decides which network node should execute the computational process on the packet, based on a load of the second network node included in the reply and a load of the first network node itself.