DEVICE, METHOD, AND SYSTEM OF COMMUNICATING VIA RELAY DEVICE, AND RECORDING MEDIUM STORING COMMUNICATION CONTROL PROGRAM

• US 20120239821A1
• Filed: 03/08/2012
• Published: 09/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: HOZUMI, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,601,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1008 based on parameters of servers, e.g. available memory or workload monitoring of computer activity G06F11/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54

Abstract

In a communication system, one of a plurality of relay devices is assigned to a communication device that communicates with a counterpart communication device. When a request for assigning a relay device to the communication device is received, one of the plurality of relay devices is assigned to the communication device based on processing load information indicating a processing load of each one of the plurality of relay devices.

Claims

1. A system of assigning one of a plurality of relay devices to a first communication device as a relay device that relays data between the first communication device and a second communication device through a network, the system comprising:

a first communication interface to receive processing load information indicating a processing load on each one of the plurality of relay devices, from each one of the plurality of relay devices;

a memory to store the processing load information;

a second communication interface to receive a request for assigning a relay device to the first communication device from the first communication device; and

a processor to;

select one of the plurality of relay devices having a low processing load based on the processing load information stored in the memory as a currently assigned relay device that is currently assigned to the first communication device; and

send identification information of the currently assigned relay device to the first communication device through the second communication interface to cause the first communication device to access the currently assigned relay device using the identification information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether the currently assigned relay device matches a previously assigned relay device that is previously assigned to the first communication device that sends the request; and

send a request for canceling allocation information indicating that the previously assigned relay device is assigned to the first communication device, to the previously assigned relay device through the first communication interface, when the currently assigned relay device does not match the previously assigned relay device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive first updated processing load information indicating an updated processing load on the currently assigned relay device from the currently assigned relay device through the first communication interface, the first updated processing load information reflecting the updated processing load that is obtained after the currently assigned relay device is assigned to the first communication device;

determine whether the updated processing load on the currently assigned relay device obtained from the first updated processing load information is higher than a predetermined threshold level, and

select one of the plurality of relay devices having a processing load that is lower than the updated processing load on the currently assigned relay device as a selected relay device, when the updated processing load on the currently assigned relay device is higher than the predetermined threshold level; and

send a replacement start request that requests the currently assigned relay device to start operation of transferring a request transmitted to the currently assigned relay device to the selected relay device, to the currently assigned relay device through the first communication interface, the replacement start request including identification information for identifying the selected relay device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the replacement start request causes the currently assigned relay device to send an error response to the first communication device, when the currently assigned relay device receives data addressed to the second communication device from the first communication device after the replacement request is received at the currently assigned relay device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the replacement start request further causes the currently assigned relay device to send information indicating that operation of transferring a request transmitted to the currently assigned relay device to the selected relay device is started, to the second communication device.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive second updated processing load information indicating an updated processing load on the currently assigned relay device from the currently assigned relay device through the first communication interface, the second updated processing load reflecting the updated processing load that is obtained after the replacement start request is transmitted to the currently assigned relay device;

determine whether the updated processing load of the currently assigned relay device obtained from the second updated processing load information is less than a predetermined threshold level, and

send a replacement end request that requests the currently assigned relay device to stop operation of transferring a request transmitted to the currently assigned relay device to the selected relay device, to the currently assigned relay device through the first communication interface.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the replacement end request further causes the currently assigned relay device to start accepting data addressed to the second communication device that is transmitted from the first communication device, the first communication device being assigned to the currently assigned relay device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the replacement end request further causes the currently assigned relay device to send information indicating that operation of transferring a request transmitted to the currently assigned relay device to the selected relay device is stopped, to the second communication device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive relay function stop information indicating that a relay function is stopped from one of the plurality of relay devices, through the first communication interface; and

delete the relay device that sends the relay function stop information from a list of the plurality of relay devices that may be assigned to the first communication device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:

select one of the plurality of relay devices other than the relay device that sends the relay function stop information, based on the processing load information stored in the memory as a selected relay device;

send information indicating that operation of relaying data for the first communication device is performed by the selected relay device in replace of the relay device that sends the relay function stop information, to the second communication device;

determine whether the currently assigned relay device that is currently assigned to the first communication device matches the relay device that sends the relay function stop information, when the request for assigning a relay device is received from the first communication device through the second communication interface; and

send identification information for identifying the selected relay device to the first communication device that sends the request through the second communication interface, when the currently assigned relay device of the first communication device matches the relay device that sends the relay function stop information.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive restart information indicating that the relay function is restarted from the relay device that sends the relay function stop information; and

send information indicating that the relay device that sends the relay function stop information restarts the relay function to the second communication device.

12. A communication device to communicate with a counterpart communication device through a network, the communication device comprising:

a communication interface to;

send a request for assigning one of a plurality of relay devices to the communication device to an allocating device using identification information stored in a memory, wherein the request for assigning causes the allocating device to assign one of the plurality of relay devices having a low processing load to the communication device as a currently assigned relay device; and

receive identification information for identifying the currently assigned relay device from the allocating device;

a memory to store the identification information of the currently assigned relay device; and

a processor to access the currently assigned relay device using the identification information stored in the memory to communicate with the second communication device through the currently assigned relay device.

13. The communication device of claim 12, wherein the communication interface sends the request for assigning to the allocating device when at least one of the conditions is satisfied, the conditions including:

a condition in which identification information of a previously assigned relay device that is previously assigned to the communication device is not stored in the memory;

a condition in which the communication device does not receive a response from the previously assigned relay device that is accessed using the identification information of the previously assigned relay device stored in the memory; and

a condition in which the communication device receives an error response indicating that the previously assigned relay device does not perform operation of relaying data for the communication device, from the previously assigned relay device that is accessed using the identification information of the previously assigned relay device stored in the memory.

14. The communication device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether the error response includes identification information for identifying a relay device to be accessed by the communication device in replace of the previously assigned relay device, when the error response is received; and

access the relay device using the identification information of the relay device to be accessed without sending the request for assigning to the allocating device, when the error response includes the identification information of the relay device to be accessed.

15. A communication system, comprising:

an allocating device to assign one of a plurality of relay devices to a first communication device as a relay device that relays data between the first communication device and a second communication device through a network; and

the second communication device including;

a memory to store allocation information indicating the association between the first communication device and a currently assigned relay device that is currently assigned to the first communication device;

a communication interface to send a request addressed to the first communication device to the currently assigned relay device, and to receive a response generated by the first communication device with respect to the request from the currently assigned relay device; and

a processor to;

receive information indicating that operation of relaying data for the first communication device is performed by a selected relay device in replace of the currently assigned relay device from at least one of the allocating device and the currently assigned relay device;

obtain information regarding an unprocessed request that is transmitted to the currently assigned relay device but not processed by the first communication device;

send a request that is generated based on the extracted unprocessed request to the selected relay device;

determine which one of the currently assigned relay device and the selected relay device sends a response generated by the first communication device with respect to the unprocessed request to the second communication device; and

cancel one of the request that is transmitted to the currently assigned relay device and the request that is transmitted to the selected relay device based on information regarding which one of the currently assigned relay device and the selected relay device sends the response.

16. The communication system of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to:

update the allocation information stored in the memory to reflect the association between the first communication device and the selected relay device, when the processor determines that the selected relay device sends the response to the second communication device.