JP2006174399A - Communication method in group, system and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication method in a group having simplicity of use and flexibility without imparting an identification ID or the like other than a node ID, and to provide a system and a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The communication method in the group is composed of a group control section 20 with a group defining section 21 defining one or more of groups containing a plurality of members respectively and a data forwarding section 30 transferring data from one host such as the host 40A to the other host 40B in the same group in cooperation with the group control section 20. The data forwarding section 30 is composed of a reception section 31, a group decision section 32, a destination-host decision section 33, a routing section 34 and a transmission section 35. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an intra-group communication method and system, and more particularly to an intra-group communication method, system, and recording medium for transmitting data only to a host in a group selected from a source host among a plurality of hosts.

  Conventionally, as a method of performing communication closed within a group, unique identification information is defined by an application, a unique identifier is assigned to each user (node) from the identification information, and a group is formed using the identifier. There is a method for enabling communication only between users (nodes) having an identifier belonging to the group.

  As another method for performing closed communication within a group, there is a method of assigning an ID for identifying a group in addition to a node ID (for example, VLAN). They can perform closed communication within a group when a host node gives an ID for identifying a group different from a special node ID, or a relay node gives it.

  Prior art in this technical field or related is disclosed in several technical documents. When constructing a virtual closed group (VPN) on a network that uses TCP / IP, it is possible to construct a VPN that does not depend on the physical conditions of the network, such as the IP address of the terminal and the user's work location. A closed group communication system, a management server, a communication terminal, and their program storage media are disclosed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-59357 A (page 3-4, FIG. 1)

  As described above, in the conventional technology, grouping is effective in a specific application, but since it cannot be referred from other applications, it is necessary to perform unique grouping for each application, and it is difficult to make a unique grouping. .

  Further, since a mechanism for processing an ID for identifying a group different from a special node ID is required on the path between all the nodes constituting the group, it is complicated. Further, when the host belongs to a plurality of groups, the setting must be changed for each group at any time, which is complicated.

  Furthermore, in order to configure a closed group for each service provided by each node, it is necessary to separate the nodes, which causes a problem of waste of resources.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and a main object of the present invention is to provide an intra-group communication method, system, and recording medium that can overcome or reduce such problems.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the intra-group communication method, system and recording medium according to the present invention employ the following characteristic configuration.

(1) In an intra-group communication method in which data is transferred from one host in a group including a plurality of hosts to another host by a data forwarding unit and communication is performed only in the group to which the one host belongs.
Preparing group definition data in which group IDs and node IDs of members of each group are associated, and determining whether the data forwarding unit refers to the group definition data and transfers data to the other host And an intra-group communication method that communicates only within the group.
(2) The intra-group communication method according to (1), wherein group determination of one host that transmits the data and group determination of a destination host to which the data is transferred are determined based on the group definition data.
(3) The intra-group communication method according to (1) or (2), wherein the group definition data associates a plurality of groups and hosts belonging to each group.
(4) The intra-group communication method according to (1), (2), or (3), wherein each of the hosts can belong to a plurality of groups.
(5) In an intra-group communication method for transferring data from one host (source) of a plurality of hosts to a host of a selected group among other hosts,
An intra-group communication method comprising the steps of defining the group with resources that are communication addresses and service types of the plurality of hosts, and performing a closed communication within the group.
(6) Creating a RID and resource correspondence table for associating resource identifiers (RIDs) of the plurality of hosts with resources, and creating a group and resource member correspondence table for associating group identifiers and resource members constituting the group. The intra-group communication method according to (5), comprising: a step.
(7) a group management unit including a group definition unit that associates a plurality of groups and a plurality of hosts belonging to each group, and a data forwarding unit that transfers data from one of the plurality of hosts to a destination host With
The data forwarding unit includes: a receiving unit that receives data from the one host; a group determination unit that queries the group definition unit to determine a group to which the one host belongs; and queries the group definition unit to the destination host Intra-group communication comprising: a destination host determining unit that determines a group to which the host belongs; a routing unit that routes the data according to a determination result of the destination host determining unit; and a transmitting unit that transfers data of the routing unit to a predetermined destination host system.
(8) The intra-group communication system according to (7), wherein the data forwarding unit includes a plurality of data forwarding units each configured to be accessible by a plurality of hosts.
(9) The intra-group communication system according to (7) or (8), including a plurality of the group management units, each having a group definition unit.
(10) In an intra-group communication system in which a plurality of hosts are grouped and a communication service is provided to the hosts of the selected group among the groups.
A group management unit that manages the group of hosts, and a data forwarding unit that transmits data to a host of the group selected under the control of the group management unit,
The group management unit includes a group definition unit that defines a group of the plurality of hosts and a resource definition unit that defines a resource of the host,
The data forwarding unit includes a data transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives data, a group determination unit that determines a group of the host, a destination resource determination unit that determines a resource of the data destination, and the transmission unit based on a determination result of the resource determination unit An intra-group communication system including a routing unit for sending data to the network.
(11) The intra-group communication system according to (10), wherein the data forwarding unit includes a plurality of data forwarding units configured to be accessible by a plurality of hosts.
(12) The intra-group communication system according to (10) or (11), including a plurality of the group management units, each having a group definition unit.
(13) The resource definition unit associates resources and resource identifiers held by the hosts, and the group definition unit associates group identifiers and resource members constituting the host group. The intra-group communication system according to any one of 10) to (12).
(14) The intra-group communication system according to any one of (10) to (13), wherein the routing unit of the data forwarding unit is provided between the destination resource determination unit and the transmission unit.
(15) The intra-group communication system according to any one of (10) to (14), wherein the routing unit is provided between the group determination unit and the destination resource determination unit.
(16) The intra-group communication system according to any one of (7) to (15), wherein the routing unit is provided between the reception unit and the group determination unit.
(17) A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute any one of the processes (1) to (16).

  According to the intra-group communication method and system of the present invention, the following remarkable effects in practical use can be obtained. In other words, in order to perform closed communication within a group, it is determined whether or not they are in the same group from the data transmission node ID and the destination node ID, and therefore does not depend on the application. Further, since communication is performed without assigning an ID for identifying a group different from a special node ID to the data, a means for assigning an ID for identifying a group different from the special node ID is not required. Also, no means for processing an ID for identifying a group different from the special node ID on the path with the communication partner is required. Further, every time the group to which the user belongs is changed, the means for giving an ID for identifying a group different from the node ID and the means for processing need not be changed.

  Further, by using a plurality of data forwarding units, it is possible to distribute the traffic load to the data forwarding unit and to distribute the data processing load of the data forwarding unit. Furthermore, group definition management can be distributed by having group definitions in a plurality of group management units. In addition, a plurality of data forwarding units can access a plurality of group management units to have the above-described effects.

  Further, since resources can be grouped in units of services, a closed area group can be configured for each service provided by a node, so that it is not necessary to separate nodes for each service.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of a preferred embodiment of an intra-group communication method and system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an intra-group communication system according to the present invention. The intra-group communication system 10 includes a group management unit 20 and a data forwarding unit 30. The group management unit 20 includes a group definition unit 21. The data forwarding unit 30 includes a receiving unit 31, a group determining unit 32, a destination host determining unit 33, a routing unit 34, and a transmitting unit 35.

  In the intra-group communication system 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the group definition unit 21 of the group management unit 20 associates a group with a node ID (including a communication address). A host (not shown in FIG. 1) that wishes to perform closed communication within the group transfers the transmission data to the receiving unit 31 of the data forwarding unit 30. The receiving unit 31 transfers the transferred data to the group determination unit 32. The group determination unit 32 detects the transmission node ID of the transfer data and inquires of the group definition unit 21 whether the transmission node ID is group-defined.

  If the transmission node ID belongs to the group as a result of the above inquiry, the group determination unit 32 informs the destination host determination unit 33 which group the transmission node ID belongs to. The destination host determination unit 33 detects the destination node ID of the transfer data and inquires of the group definition unit 21 whether the destination node ID and the transmission node ID are the same group. If they are in the same group, the destination host determination unit 33 passes the transfer data to the routing unit 34. The routing unit 34 sees the destination node ID of the transfer data, passes the transfer data to the transmission unit 35, and the transmission unit 35 transfers the transfer data toward the destination node ID.

  In this way, in the intra-group communication system 10 of the present invention, in order to perform communication closed within the group, it is determined whether or not they are the same group from the data transmission node ID and the destination node ID. Independent of application. In addition, since communication is performed without assigning an ID for identifying a group different from a special node ID to the data, no means for giving an ID for identifying a group different from the special node ID is required. . Further, there is no need for means for processing an ID for identifying a group different from a special node ID on the path with the communication partner. Further, every time the group to which the user belongs is changed, the means for giving an ID for identifying a group different from the node ID and the means for processing need not be changed.

  Next, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of communication between the intra-group communication system 10 shown in FIG. 1 and a plurality of hosts AD. Hosts A, B, C, and D (hereinafter referred to as hosts 40A to 40D) have reachability to the data forwarding unit 30 (for example, establish a tunnel). Note that the number of nodes belonging to the data forwarding node need not be four in the specific example shown in FIG. The data forwarding unit 30 has means for accessing the group management unit 20.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the group management unit 20 includes a group definition unit 21, and the data forwarding unit 30 includes a reception unit 31, a group determination unit 32, a destination host determination unit 33, a routing unit 34, and a transmission unit 35. ing. The group definition unit 21 has means for accessing the group determination unit 32 and the destination host determination unit 33. The receiving unit 31 has means for accessing the group determining unit 32. The group determination unit 32 has means for accessing the destination host determination unit 33. The destination host determination unit 33 has means for accessing the routing unit 34. The routing unit 34 has means for accessing the transmission unit 35. The routing unit 34 may be between the group determination unit 32 and the destination host determination unit 33, or may be between the reception unit 31 and the group determination unit 32.

  Here, it is assumed that the node IDs of the hosts 40A to 40D have IP addresses IP1, IP2, IP3, and IP4, respectively, as an example. The group definition unit 21 associates a group with a node ID. FIG. 3 shows an example of the group definition unit 21. The group definition unit 21 is group definition data in the form of a correspondence table of groups and members (ie, node IDs). In the specific example of the group definition unit 21, the members of group 1 are IP1 and IP2, and the members of group 2 are IP3 and IP4. The group definition unit 21 may have not only a one-to-one relationship between groups and node IDs but also a many-to-one relationship (one host belongs to a plurality of groups). The group definition unit belonging to the group management node may belong to the data forwarding unit 30.

  Next, the operation of the intra-group communication system 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described step by step. First, for example, the host 40A transfers transmission data addressed to the host 40B to the receiving unit 31 of the data forwarding unit 30 (step 1). Next, the reception unit 31 transfers the transfer data to the group determination unit 32 (step 2). Therefore, the group determination unit 32 detects the transmission node ID (IP address IP1 of the host 40A) of the transfer data, and determines whether or not the transmission node ID (IP1) is group-defined. 21 is inquired (step 3).

  Next, the group definition unit 21 searches to which group the transmission node ID (IP1) belongs (step 4). Then, the group definition unit 21 replies to the group determination unit 32 to which group the transmission node ID (IP1) belongs (in the specific example of FIG. 3, it belongs to “group 1”) (step 5). Therefore, the group determination unit 32 informs the destination host determination unit 33 of which group the transmission node ID (IP1) belongs to (belongs to group 1) and transfers the transfer data to the destination host determination unit 33. Transfer (step 6).

  Next, the destination host determination unit 33 detects the destination node ID (IP2) of the transfer data, and whether the destination node ID (IP2) belongs to the group (group 1) to which the transmission node ID (IP1) belongs. The group definition unit 21 is inquired whether or not (step 7). Therefore, the group definition unit 21 searches whether the destination node ID (IP2) belongs to the group (group 1) to which the transmission node ID (IP1) belongs (step 8).

  Next, the group definition unit 21 replies to the destination host determination unit 33 that the destination node ID (IP2) belongs to the group (group 1) to which the transmission node ID (IP1) belongs (step 9). Therefore, the destination host determination unit 33 transfers the transfer data to the routing unit 34 (step 10). Next, looking at the destination node ID of the transfer data, the transfer data is transferred to an appropriate transmission unit 35 (step 11). Finally, the transmission unit 35 transfers the transfer data toward the destination node ID (that is, IP2) (step 12). As a result of the search in step 4 described above, if the sending node ID does not belong to any group, the process ends. In step 8, the process is also terminated when the destination node ID does not belong to the same group as the transmission node ID.

  Next, a second embodiment of the intra-group communication system according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a system configuration of the second embodiment of the intra-group communication system according to the present invention. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals are used for the constituent parts corresponding to the constituent parts of the first embodiment described above. The same applies to other embodiments described below.

  The intra-group communication system 50 shown in FIG. 4 includes a group management unit 20 and a plurality of data forwarding units 30A and 30B. The host 40A and the host 40B are connected to the data forwarding unit 30A so as to be accessible, and the hosts 40C and 40D are connected to the data forwarding unit 30B so as to be accessible.

  As is clear from a comparison of FIGS. 4 and 2, this intra-group communication system 50 differs from the intra-group communication system 10 of the first embodiment in that it includes a plurality of data forwarding units 30A and 30B. Each of the data forwarding units 30A and 30B has a means for accessing the group management unit 20. Each data forwarding unit 30A (or 30B) has reachability to another data forwarding unit 30B (or 30A). The hosts 40A and 40B need only have reachability to the data forwarding unit 30A as a minimum. On the other hand, the hosts 40C and 40D need only have reachability to the data forwarding unit 30B as a minimum. One host 40 may have one data forwarding unit 30. In this case, reachability may be secured directly. Other configurations are the same as those of the intra-group communication system 10 according to the first embodiment.

  Next, the operation of the intra-group communication system 50 shown in FIG. 4 will be described focusing on the differences from the above-described intra-group communication system 10 (of the first embodiment). The operation of the intra-group communication system 50 is different from the intra-group communication system 10 described above, such as when the host 40A transmits data to the host 40C when the host 40A and the host 40C are in the same group. This is a case where communication is performed between the hosts 40 belonging to the forwarding unit 30.

  In this case, in steps 11 and 12 of the first embodiment, the routing unit 34 sees the destination node ID (IP3) of the transfer data and passes the transfer data to the appropriate transmission unit 35, and the transmission unit 35 transfers the transfer data to the destination node. Forward towards ID. However, when the data forwarding unit 30A does not have direct reachability to the destination node ID (host 40C), the transfer data is transferred to another data forwarding unit 30B, and the destination node ID (host 40C) is transferred. The data forwarding unit 30B having reachability to () transfers the transfer data toward the destination node ID (host 40C). If the host 40C has reachability to the data forwarding unit 30A, the operation is the same as in the first embodiment.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the intra-group communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. This intra-group communication system 60 differs from the intra-group communication system 10 of the first embodiment in that the group management unit 20 includes a plurality (two in this specific example). The group management units 20A and 20B each include a group definition unit 21, but the groups defined in these group definition units may be different. For example, the group management unit 20A may manage only the group 1, and the group management unit 20B may manage only the group 2. The data forwarding unit 30 has means for accessing the group management units 20A and 20B. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The operation of the intra-group communication system 60 of the third embodiment will be described focusing on differences from the operation of the intra-group communication system 10 of the first embodiment. When the group determination unit 32 and the destination host determination unit 33 of the data forwarding unit 30 make an inquiry to the group definition unit 21 of the group management unit 20, the data forwarding unit 30 sequentially makes an inquiry to each group management unit 20A and 20B. Become. The order of this inquiry is arbitrary.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment (not shown), a plurality of data forwarding units 30 are provided, each having means for accessing a plurality of group management units 20. In this case, the effects of Example 2 and Example 3 described above are also provided. A plurality of group management units 20 may manage the same group. In that case, a group synchronization unit (not shown) synchronizes the group definition units 21 of the plurality of group management units 20. Furthermore, if the plurality of group management units 20 have the same group definition unit 21, the data forwarding unit 30 only needs to have a means for accessing only one group management unit 20.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the group management unit 20 of the intra-group communication system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The group management unit 20 includes a group definition unit 21, a group selection unit 22, a reception unit 23, and a transmission unit 24. Therefore, it differs from the group management unit 20 of the first embodiment described above in that a group selection unit 22 is added. The group selection unit 22 has means for accessing the reception unit 23, the group definition unit 21, and the transmission unit 24. The group selection unit 22 belongs to the group management unit 20, but may be independent. The hosts 40A to 40D have reachability to the group selection unit 22 of the group management unit 20. Each host 40 </ b> A to 40 </ b> D can select a group to which the host belongs by transmitting it to the group selection unit 22 of the group management unit 20.

  Next, the operation of the intra-group communication system according to the fifth embodiment will be described step by step. First, the host 40A inquires which group it belongs to the group selection unit 22 of the group management unit 20 (step 1). Next, the group selection unit 22 detects the node ID (IP1) of the host 40A and inquires of the group definition unit 21 which group it belongs to (step 2). Then, the group definition unit 21 replies to the group selection unit that the node ID (IP1) belongs to the group 1 (step 3). The group selection unit 22 replies to the host 40A that it belongs to the group 1 (step 4). The host 40A informs the group selection unit 22 that group 1 is selected (step 5).

  Next, the group selection unit 22 notifies the group definition unit 21 that the node ID (IP1) has selected group 1 (step 6). The group definition unit 21 sets a valid flag for the node ID (IP1) of group 1 (step 7). The group definition unit 21 notifies the group selection unit 22 that a valid flag has been set for the node ID (IP1) of the group 1 (step 8). Finally, the group selection unit 22 notifies the host 40A that a valid flag has been set for the node ID (IP1) of group 1 (step 9).

  Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above. However, when the group determination unit 32 and the destination host determination unit 33 make an inquiry to the group definition unit 21 of the group management unit 20 in the first embodiment, a valid flag is set in either the transmission node ID or the destination node ID. If not, the process ends at that point.

  If there is no group to which the group belongs in step 3 described above, the process ends. Alternatively, if there is only one member group, step 7 may be skipped instead of step 3. In addition, the host 40 may select a plurality of groups at the same time. Further, when the host 40 changes the group to which it belongs, the node ID valid flag of the group not selected in step 7 is invalidated, and the node ID flag of the selected group is validated. Further, although the node ID valid flag is set when a group is selected, there may be a group valid node ID definition unit that defines only a group and a valid node ID. In that case, the group determination unit 32 and the destination host determination unit 33 of the data forwarding unit 30 make an inquiry to the group valid node ID definition unit. According to the fifth embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, when the host 40 belongs to a plurality of groups, it is possible to select the group to which the host 40 belongs.

  Further, the fifth embodiment may be combined with the fourth embodiment described above. In that case, the group selection unit 22 of the group management unit 20 may be independent from the group management unit 20, and the group selection unit 22 may have means for accessing the group definition units 21 of the plurality of group management units 20. . There may be a plurality of independent group selection units 22.

  Next, a sixth embodiment of the intra-group communication system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a group management unit and a data forwarding unit, which are main parts of the intra-group communication system 70 according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the entire system including the group management unit and the data forwarding unit of FIG. 9 and 10 are specific examples of a resource definition unit and a group definition unit, respectively.

  First, the configuration of the intra-group communication system 70 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. For convenience of explanation, in the block diagram of FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are used for the components corresponding to the intra-group communication system 10 of FIG. The intra-group communication system 70 includes a group management unit 20A and a data forwarding unit 30A, and a plurality of hosts 40 are further connected to the data forwarding unit 30A as shown in FIG.

  The group management unit 20 </ b> A includes a group definition unit 21 and a resource definition unit 23. The data forwarding unit 30A includes a receiving unit 31, a group determining unit 32, a routing unit 34, a transmitting unit 35, and a destination resource determining unit 36. The resource definition unit 23 includes means for accessing the group definition unit 21, the group determination unit 32, and the destination resource determination unit 36. The receiving unit 31 has means for accessing the group determining unit 32. The group determination unit 32 has means for accessing the destination resource determination unit 36. The destination resource determination unit 36 has means for accessing the routing unit 34. The routing unit 34 has means for accessing the transmission unit 35. Note that the routing unit 34 may be between the group determination unit 32 and the destination resource determination unit 36, or may be between the reception unit 31 and the group determination unit 32.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the hosts 40A to 40C have reachability to the data forwarding unit 30A (for example, establish a tunnel). Of course, the number of nodes (or hosts) belonging to the data forwarding unit 30A is not limited to three, and may be an arbitrary number. In this specific example, the node IDs of the hosts 40A, 40B, and 40C have IP addresses IP1, IP2, and IP3. The host 40B can provide DNS and SMTP services.

  The resource definition unit 23 associates a resource identifier (RID) and a resource. FIG. 9 shows an example of the resource definition unit 23. As shown in FIG. 9, resource identifiers (RID) 1, 2, 3, 4,... And IP1, IP2 and DNS, IP2 and SMTP, IP3,. On the other hand, the group definition unit 21 associates a group identifier and resource members (set of RIDs) constituting the group. As shown in an example in FIG. 10, the resource members constituting the group 1 are RID1 and RID2, and the resource members constituting the group 2 are RID3 and RID4.

Next, operations of the intra-group communication system 70 will be sequentially described with reference to FIGS.
(1) The host 40A transfers transmission data addressed to the host 40B to the reception unit 31 of the data forwarding unit 30A.
(2) The receiving unit 31 transfers the transfer data to the group determination unit 32.
(3) The group determination unit 32 detects the transmission source resource (IP1) of the transfer data and inquires of the resource definition unit 23 of the group management unit 20A whether the transmission source resource (IP1) is defined.
(4) The resource definition unit 23 searches which RID is the transmission source resource (IP1).
(5) Since the source resource (IP1) is found to be RID1 as a result of the search, the resource definition unit 23 inquires of the group definition unit 21 which group RID1 belongs to. As a result of the search, if it is not any RID, the group determination unit 21 is informed that it is not defined in the resource definition unit 23 and ends.

(6) The group definition unit 21 searches to which group RID1 belongs (group 1), and replies to the resource definition unit 23 that it belongs to group 1. The resource definition unit 23 replies to the group determination unit 32 that it belongs to the group 1. The group definition unit 21 may directly reply to the group determination unit 32 that the transmission source resource (IP1) belongs to the group 1.
(7) The group determination unit 32 notifies the destination resource determination unit 36 of which group the transmission source resource (IP1) belongs to (belongs to the group 1), and transmits the transfer data to the destination resource determination unit 36. Forward to.
(8) The destination resource determination unit 36 detects the destination resource (IP2 and DNS) of the transfer data, and performs group management to determine whether the destination resource (IP2 and DNS) is defined and belongs to the group 1 An inquiry is made to the resource definition unit 23 of the unit 20A.

(9) The resource definition unit 23 searches which RID is the destination resource (IP2 and DNS) (RID2).
(10) Since the destination resource (IP2 and DNS) is found to be RID2 as a result of the search, the resource definition unit 23 inquires of the group definition unit 21 whether RID2 belongs to group 1 or not. Further, as a result of the search, if it is not any RID, a response is made to the destination resource determination unit 36 that it is not defined in the resource definition unit 23.
(11) The group definition unit 21 searches whether the RID belongs to the group 1.
(12) As a result of the search, it can be seen that they belong to the same group, so the group definition unit 21 replies to the resource definition unit 23 that it belongs to the same group, and the resource definition unit 23 To the destination resource determination unit 36. Note that the group definition unit 21 may directly reply to the destination resource determination unit 36 that it belongs to the same group. In addition, if it does not belong to the same group as a result of the search, it responds to the resource definition unit 23 that it does not belong to the same group, and the resource definition unit 23 determines that it does not belong to the same group. It responds to the part 36 and ends. The group definition unit 21 may directly reply to the destination resource determination unit 36 that it does not belong to the same group.

(13) The destination resource determination unit 36 transfers the transmission data to the routing unit 34.
(14) The routing unit 34 sees the destination node ID of the transfer data and passes the transfer data to the appropriate transmission unit 35.
(15) The transmission unit 35 transfers the transfer data toward the destination node ID.

  In the above-described embodiment (for example, Embodiment 3), when there are a plurality of group management units, it is obvious that the groups defined in the group definition unit may be different. In addition, the resource definition section may define only resource members defined in the group definition section. In this case (when only the resource members defined in the group definition part are defined in the resource definition part), the RID of the resource definition part may be assigned to each group management part. What is necessary is just to define a resource member using RID.

  Of course, a program for causing a computer to execute the processing described above can be stored in a recording medium.

  The configuration and operation of several embodiments of the intra-group communication method, system and recording medium according to the present invention have been described in detail above. However, it should be noted that such examples are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that various changes and modifications can be made according to the specific application without departing from the spirit and spirit of the present invention.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the basic system structure of the intra-group communication system by this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication system in a group of FIG. 1, and a some host. It is a specific example of the group of the group definition part in FIG. 1, and member related data. It is a functional block diagram of the modification of the communication system in a group by this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the further modification of the intra-group communication system by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the modification of the group management part of the communication system in a group by this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the principal part of another Example of the communication system in a group by this invention. It is a whole block diagram of another Example of the communication system in a group by this invention. It is a specific example in which a resource identifier (RID) is associated with a resource. It is a specific example in which a group and resource members constituting the group are associated with each other.

Explanation of symbols

10, 50, 60, 70 Intra-group communication system 20, 20A Group management unit 21 Group definition unit 22 Group selection unit 23 Resource definition unit 30, 30A Data forwarding unit 31 Reception unit 32 Group determination unit 33 Destination host determination unit 34 Routing unit 35 Transmission unit 36 Destination resource determination unit 40 Host

Claims (17)

In an intra-group communication method in which data is transferred from one host in a group including a plurality of hosts to another host by a data forwarding unit and communication is performed only in the group to which the one host belongs.
Preparing group definition data in which group IDs and node IDs of members of each group are associated, and determining whether the data forwarding unit refers to the group definition data and transfers data to the other host An intra-group communication method comprising: communicating with each other only within the group.   2. The intra-group communication method according to claim 1, wherein group determination of one host that transmits the data and group determination of a destination host to which the data is transferred are performed based on the group definition data.   The intra-group communication method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the group definition data associates a plurality of groups and hosts belonging to each group.   The intra-group communication method according to claim 1, wherein each of the hosts can belong to a plurality of groups. In the intra-group communication method for transferring data from one host (source) of a plurality of hosts to a host of a selected group among other hosts,
An intra-group communication method comprising the steps of defining the group with resources that are communication addresses and service types of the plurality of hosts, and performing closed communication within the group.   Creating a RID and resource correspondence table for associating resource identifiers (RIDs) of the plurality of hosts with resources; and creating a group and resource member correspondence table for associating group identifiers with resource members constituting the group. 6. The intra-group communication method according to claim 5, further comprising: A group management unit including a group definition unit that associates a plurality of groups and a plurality of hosts belonging to each group, and a data forwarding unit that transfers data from one of the plurality of hosts to a destination host,
The data forwarding unit includes: a receiving unit that receives data from the one host; a group determination unit that queries the group definition unit to determine a group to which the one host belongs; and queries the group definition unit to the destination host A destination host determination unit that determines a group to which the data belongs, a routing unit that routes the data according to a determination result of the destination host determination unit, and a transmission unit that transfers the data of the routing unit to a predetermined destination host. An intra-group communication system.   8. The intra-group communication system according to claim 7, wherein the data forwarding unit includes a plurality of data forwarding units configured to be accessible to a plurality of hosts.   The intra-group communication system according to claim 7 or 8, comprising a plurality of the group management units, each having a group definition unit. In an intra-group communication system in which a plurality of hosts are grouped into a plurality of groups and a communication service is provided to the hosts of the selected group among the groups.
A group management unit that manages the group of hosts, and a data forwarding unit that transmits data to the hosts of the group selected under the control of the group management unit,
The group management unit includes a group definition unit that defines a group of the plurality of hosts and a resource definition unit that defines a resource of the host,
The data forwarding unit includes a data transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives data, a group determination unit that determines a group of the host, a destination resource determination unit that determines a resource of the data destination, and the transmission unit based on a determination result of the resource determination unit An intra-group communication system comprising a routing unit for sending data to   The intra-group communication system according to claim 10, wherein the data forwarding unit includes a plurality of data forwarding units configured to be accessible by a plurality of hosts.   The intra-group communication system according to claim 10 or 11, comprising a plurality of the group management units, each having a group definition unit.   The resource definition unit associates resources and resource identifiers held by the hosts, and the group definition unit associates group identifiers and resource members constituting the host group. The intra-group communication system according to any one of claims 10 to 12.   The intra-group communication system according to claim 10, wherein the routing unit of the data forwarding unit is provided between the destination resource determination unit and the transmission unit.   The intra-group communication system according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the routing unit is provided between the group determination unit and the destination resource determination unit.   The intra-group communication system according to claim 7, wherein the routing unit is provided between the reception unit and the group determination unit.   A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the processing according to claim 1.

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