JP2009059240A - Pod-cast system and program usable in this system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system allowing suppression of increase of a distribution load on a pod-caster distributing a pod-cast file even if popularity of the pod-cast file is heightened. <P>SOLUTION: This pod-cast system has two kinds of servers of a Web server 10 and a distribution control file distribution server 60. The Web server 10 sends RSS pod-casting information including a prescribed URI that is a URI of a distribution control file (e.g. a torrent file or a grid file) needed for acquisition of a target file, configured with the target file as the pod-cast file to a user terminal 20. The distribution control file distribution server 60 receives access from the user terminal 20 according to the prescribed URI, and sends out the distribution control file to the user terminal 20. Thereby, the user terminal 20 performs the acquisition of the target file using a P2P technology based on the distribution control file. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a podcast file distribution technique.

  As a method for publishing / distributing audio data files and video data files on the Internet, podcasting is known (see, for example, the background art section of Patent Document 1). There is a method of obtaining a podcast file such as an audio data file or a video data file by directly accessing a public / distributed site and manually downloading the podcast file, but more commonly, Apple's iTunes (registered trademark) is available. ) And other podcast aggregators. The podcast aggregator is application software that acquires RSS podcasting information including the URL of the podcast file and downloads the podcast file collectively or selectively based on the RSS podcasting information.

JP 2007-66100 A

  As the popularity of podcast files increases, the lines and servers used to download the podcast files become congested, which will take time to download the podcast files.

  In order to make such a situation, conventionally, measures such as increasing the number of lines or increasing the number of servers and / or the capacity of individual servers have to be taken.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of suppressing an increase in the distribution load of a podcaster that distributes a podcast file even if the popularity of the podcast file increases.

  The present invention provides a new system that combines podcasting and P2P (PearToPear) distribution technology as means for solving the above-described problems.

  That is, according to the present invention, the first podcast system includes a predetermined URI that is a URI of a distribution control file required for acquiring a target file using the P2P technology, and the target file is podcasted. A first server for sending RSS podcasting information configured as a file to a user terminal; receiving the access from the user terminal according to the predetermined URI, and sending the delivery control file to the user terminal; And a second server that causes the user terminal to acquire the target file using P2P technology based on the distribution control file.

  Further, according to the present invention, as the second podcast system, in the first podcast system, a podcast aggregator for downloading a podcast file, a pseudo server program using a predetermined TCP port, and a pseudo A podcast system constructed on the assumption that a P2P component that performs file acquisition using P2P technology in cooperation with a server program is installed in a user terminal; When receiving the request for the RSS podcasting information from the podcast aggregator, prompting the user terminal to notify the first server of the predetermined TCP port number; Place An enclosing element tag is a specific URL formed by appending the predetermined URI as a parameter to a URL body including at least a TCP port number, a loopback address (127.0.0.1), and a file name of the target file. And generating the RSS podcasting information, sending the generated RSS podcasting information to the podcast aggregator of the user terminal, and sending the RSS podcasting information to the podcast aggregator. Recognizing the pseudo server program as a direct download destination and performing the acquisition of the podcast file; the second server from the pseudo server program of the user terminal Predetermined By receiving access according to RI and sending the delivery control file to the pseudo server program, the delivery control file is passed to the P2P component to the pseudo server program, and the P2P component is sent to the P2P component. The target file is obtained; a podcast system is obtained.

  In the second podcast system, a program having both functions of the pseudo server program and the P2P component may be installed in the user terminal. Even in that case, there is no change in the basic operation of the first server and the second server.

  That is, according to the present invention, as the third podcast system, in the first podcast system, the podcast aggregator for downloading the podcast file and the P2P technology are used in cooperation with the podcast aggregator. A P2P file acquisition cooperation program for file acquisition is installed on the user terminal, and the P2P file acquisition cooperation program is constructed assuming that communication is performed using a predetermined TCP port. A podcast system; the first server notifies the first server of the predetermined TCP port number when receiving a request for the RSS podcasting information from the podcast aggregator of the user terminal A URL body including at least a step prompting the user terminal, the number of the predetermined TCP port acquired from the user terminal, a loopback address (127.0.0.1), and a file name of the target file. On the other hand, a specific URL formed by adding the predetermined URI as a parameter is described as a URL attribute in an enclosure element tag to generate the RSS podcasting information, and the generated RSS podcasting information is stored in the user terminal. The podcast aggregator is sent to the podcast aggregator, and the podcast aggregator recognizes the P2P file acquisition cooperative program as a direct download destination and the podcast file via the P2P file acquisition cooperative program. The second server receives the access according to the predetermined URI from the P2P file acquisition cooperation program of the user terminal, and acquires the distribution control file. Sending to the P2P file acquisition cooperation program causes the P2P file acquisition cooperation program to acquire the target file using P2P technology based on the distribution control file; Podcast System Is obtained.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, in a computer system including a processor and a memory, the processor is caused to execute predetermined processing, and the computer system is caused to function as pseudo server software that performs communication via a predetermined TCP port. A podcast aggregator is activated on the computer system; the podcast aggregator acquires specific RSS podcasting information from outside the computer system, and the specific RSS The podcasting information is configured to include a specific URL formed by adding a predetermined URI as a parameter to the URL body, and the predetermined URI includes the number of the predetermined TCP port and a loopback address (1 7.0.0.1) and the file name of the target file, and the predetermined URI is the URI of the distribution control file required for obtaining the target file using P2P technology. In the case; the predetermined processing is: receiving a file acquisition request according to the specific URL on the local host from the podcast aggregator; and receiving the distribution control file from an external server according to the predetermined URI Obtaining the target file using P2P technology by passing the distribution control file to the P2P component; and obtaining the acquired target file Podcast Aggregate And forwarding respect; program comprising obtained.

  According to the present invention, with respect to a popular podcast file, there is a high possibility that a file can be acquired by P2P from a user who has already acquired the file, so that a large distribution load is avoided only on the original podcaster. be able to.

  Hereinafter, pot casting according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the podcasting according to the present embodiment, the distribution control file (.torrent file, .grid file, etc.) is generally applied to the RSS podcasting information distributed from the Web server 10 to the user terminal 20. By including a URI (hereinafter referred to as “predetermined URI”) of a file used for controlling file distribution using the P2P technology, the user terminal 20 can acquire a distribution control file from the distribution control file distribution server 60, and Thus, the acquisition of the podcast file from the P2P distribution network 70 is performed. In particular, in the present embodiment, the existing podcast aggregator 30 can be used as it is, and the above-described podcasting is performed. Therefore, as described in detail later, not only the P2P component 50 that performs P2P file transmission / reception, but also the pseudo The server 40 is provided in the user terminal 20.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the Web server 10 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 11, a main memory 12, an auxiliary memory 13, and a transmission / reception unit 14 that are connected to each other via a bus. Of these, the main memory 12 is composed of, for example, a DRAM, and the auxiliary memory 13 is composed of, for example, an HDD. In addition to the main program for causing the Web server 10 to function, the auxiliary storage 13 stores a script for performing processing as described later, an ActiveX control used there, and the like. A program such as a main program is developed on the main memory 12 and executed by the CPU 11 to cause the computer system shown in FIG. 2 to function as the Web server 10 according to the present embodiment. In addition, on the main memory 12, data generated while the CPU 11 is operating according to the program and data used by the CPU 11 are also temporarily stored. The transmission / reception unit 14 establishes a connection between the Web server 10 and the network under the control of the CPU 11. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the Web server 10 knows in advance a predetermined URI that is a URI of a distribution control file held in the distribution control file distribution server 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the user terminal 20 includes a CPU 21, a main memory 22, an auxiliary memory 23, and a transmission / reception unit 24 that are connected to each other via a bus. The auxiliary storage 23 stores at least programs that operate as the podcast aggregator 30, the pseudo server 40, and the P2P component 50. These programs are expanded on the main memory 22 and executed by the CPU 21, and communicate with the Web server 10, the distribution control file distribution server 60, and the P2P distribution network 70 through the transmission / reception unit 24 under the control of the CPU 21. Here, the pseudo server 40 according to the present embodiment is set to be activated and resident when the OS is started, and performs communication using a predetermined TCP port on the user terminal 20. The number of the predetermined TCP port is determined, for example, when the pseudo server 40 program is started for the first time. The method for determining the number of the predetermined TCP port is not limited. For example, the predetermined TCP port number may be arbitrarily determined by the user, may be assigned a predetermined number (changeable) by default, and may be changed by the user if necessary. Alternatively, it may be determined and determined randomly and automatically from among the free ports. In this embodiment, the predetermined TCP port number determined in this manner is recorded in the registry.

  Note that the installation of the program constituting the pseudo server 40 in the present embodiment on the user terminal 20 may be manually performed by the user. For example, the RSS pod according to the present embodiment such as the Web server 10 may be used. It may be automatically introduced at the first access to a Web server capable of delivering casting information (described later). Specifically, when the URL of the RSS podcasting information file on the Web server 10 is to be registered with the podcast aggregator 30 as the acquisition destination of the RSS podcasting information, the site on the Web server 10 is first registered by a Web browser or the like. In many cases, the registration information to the podcast aggregator 30 is acquired from the site. At that time, the Web server 10 checks whether or not the program of the pseudo server 40 is installed in the user terminal 20 by, for example, causing the user terminal 20 to download ActiveX control, and has not been installed. In such a case, the program may be installed by being guided to the program installation screen of the pseudo server 40.

In addition, in this embodiment, the URL of the RSS podcasting information file on the Web server 10 (hereinafter referred to as “acquisition destination URL”) is registered in the podcast aggregator 30 as the acquisition destination of the RSS podcasting information. When trying to do so, the Web server 10 downloads the ActiveX control to the user terminal 20 and causes the user terminal 20 to execute the ActiveX control, for example, to set a predetermined TCP port registered in the registry of the user terminal 20. Get the number. Next, the user terminal 20 generates a registration URL by adding the acquired number of the predetermined TCP port as a parameter to the acquisition destination URL, and uses the registration URL as the acquisition destination of the RSS podcasting information to the podcast aggregator 30. The user can be notified, and is registered as a registration URL in the podcast aggregator 30 by the user.
(Example)
Acquisition URL:
http://www.hogehoge.jp/hoge/index.xml
Registration URL:
http://www.hogehoge.jp/hoge/index.xml?port_no=1234
Here, port_no is a variable indicating the number of the predetermined TCP port. In this case, the number of the predetermined TCP port is 1234.
By doing so, thereafter, the podcast aggregator 30 notifies the Web server 10 of a predetermined TCP port each time when requesting transmission of RSS podcasting information.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the distribution control file distribution server 60 includes a CPU 61, a main memory 62, an auxiliary storage 63, and a transmission / reception unit 64 that are connected to each other via a bus. In addition to the main program for causing the auxiliary storage 63 to function as the distribution control file distribution server 60, a distribution control file for controlling file distribution using the P2P distribution network is also stored. Programs such as the main program are expanded on the main memory 62 and executed by the CPU 61, thereby causing the computer system shown in FIG. 4 to function as the distribution control file distribution server 60 according to the present embodiment. The transmission / reception unit 64 establishes a connection between the distribution control file distribution server 60 and the network under the control of the CPU 61.

  The podcast file acquisition procedure according to this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

When the Web server 10 receives an RSS podcasting information acquisition request from the podcast aggregator 30 (SQ1), the Web server 10 generates RSS podcasting information using the number of a predetermined TCP port notified accordingly. The RSS feed used in podcasting includes an enclosing element for including information about the podcast file. In the present embodiment, a specific URL that allows access to the pseudo server 40 and transmission of the URI of the distribution control file is described for the URL attribute included in the enclosing element. Examples of specific URLs are as follows:
<enclosure
url = http: //127.0.0.1: [port_no] /foo/bar.mp3?via= [grid_uri] length = “12345678” type = “audio / mpeg” />
Here, 127.0.0.1 is a so-called loopback address, and [port_no] indicates a number of a predetermined TCP port. That is, http://127.0.0.1:[port_no] is an address for making an HTTP connection to the pseudo server 40 that is also running on the user terminal 20 on which the podcast aggregator 30 is running. . Also, /foo/bar.mp3 is a file (target file) name to be downloaded as a podcast file. ? Indicates that what is described thereafter is a parameter, and via = [grid_uri] is a URI of the distribution control file (predetermined URI: distribution control file on distribution control file distribution server 60) as a parameter of variable via ). Note that length = “12345678” indicates that the size of the target file (podcast file) is 12345678, and type = “audio / mpeg” indicates that the MIME type of the target file (podcast file) is audio / mpeg. (In this example, it is the MIME type of the MP3 file).

  The RSS podcasting information including the above specific URL (in the above example, http://127.0.0.1:[port_no]/foo/bar.mp3?via=[grid_uri]) is generated for the enclosure element. The Web server 10 transmits it to the podcast aggregator 30 (SQ2).

  The podcast aggregator 30 uses the URL described in the URL attribute included in the enclosure element and uses the GET method to acquire the target file (podcast file), as in the case of acquiring general RSS podcasting information. Issue an acquisition request. Since the specific URL in the present embodiment includes a combination of the loopback address and the predetermined TCP port number of the pseudo server 40, the podcast aggregator 30 makes an HTTP connection to the pseudo server 40, An acquisition request for the file (/foo/bar.mp3) is made (SQ3). At this time, a parameter (via = [grid_uri]) related to the predetermined URI is also notified to the pseudo server 40.

  Upon receiving the podcast file acquisition request, the pseudo server 40 makes a transmission control file transmission request to the distribution control file distribution server 60 based on the predetermined URI described in [grid_uri] (SQ4). Upon receiving the request from the pseudo server 40, the distribution control file distribution server 60 transmits the corresponding distribution control file in accordance with the transmission request (SQ5).

  The pseudo server 40 that has acquired the distribution control file passes the distribution control file to the P2P component 50 that is a P2P file transmission / reception program (SQ6), and the P2P component 50 that has received the distribution control file receives the distribution control file based on the distribution control file. Then, the target file is downloaded from the P2P distribution network 70 (SQ7).

  Each time the P2P component 50 in this embodiment receives a certain amount of data, the P2P component 50 reports the progress of downloading the target file to the pseudo server 40 and also receives the data received so far (that is, the target file). (SQ8).

  When receiving the data from the P2P component 50, the pseudo server 40 transfers the data as it is to the podcast aggregator 30 (SQ9).

  When the download of the target file using the pseudo server 40 as a direct download destination is completed, the podcast aggregator 30 closes the HTTP connection to the pseudo server 40, and the pseudo server 40 also returns to a connection standby state from the podcast aggregator 30. . In this manner, the podcast aggregator 30 can acquire the podcast file (target file) from the P2P distribution network 70 by the same method as the acquisition of the podcast file based on the conventional RSS podcasting information. In the present embodiment, since the P2P component 50 is a P2P component executed on another user terminal, the P2P component 50 is fixed to the P2P distribution network 70 as a podcast file seeder even after the podcast file is acquired. Continue to participate for hours.

  Hereinafter, regarding the podcasting described above, the operations of the Web server 10, the pseudo server 40 on the user terminal 20, and the distribution control file distribution server 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 on the Web server 10 and the user terminal 20. Supplementary explanation will be given from the respective viewpoints of the pseudo server 40 and the distribution control file distribution server 60.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the Web server 10 according to the present embodiment receives the RSS potcasting information transmission request from the podcast aggregator 30 of the user terminal 20 (step S <b> 101). RSS podcasting information is generated using the TCP port number (step S102). Next, the Web server 10 transmits the generated RSS podcasting information to the podcast aggregator 30 (step S103). As a result, the podcast aggregator 30 can send a transmission request for a podcast file to the pseudo server 40 by the same method as handling general RSS podcasting information.

  As shown in FIG. 6, upon receiving a podcast file transmission request from the podcast aggregator 30 (step S401), the pseudo server 40 according to the present embodiment is based on the predetermined URI notified at the time of the transmission request. Then, a transmission control file transmission request is sent to the distribution control file distribution server 60 (step S402). Next, when the distribution control file is acquired from the distribution control file distribution server 60 (step S403), the pseudo server 40 passes the acquired distribution control file to the P2P component 50 (step S404), and the target file from the P2P distribution network 70 is obtained. Let's download Thereafter, each time the P2P component 50 downloads a certain amount of data, the pseudo server 40 receives the data from the P2P component 50 (step S405) and transfers it to the podcast aggregator 30 (step S406).

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the distribution control file distribution server 60 according to the present embodiment receives a distribution control file transmission request based on a predetermined URI from the pseudo server 40 (step S601), the distribution control file distribution server 60 is indicated by the predetermined URI. The distribution control file is transmitted to the pseudo server 40 (step S602).

  As described above, the podcasting according to the present invention has been described with specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the pseudo server 40 and the P2P component 50 have been described as separate programs. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the functions of the pseudo server 40 and the P2P component 50 are described. It is good also as using the program which it has together. In the above-described embodiment, the pseudo server 40 and the P2P component 50 are separate programs from the podcast aggregator 30 so that the existing podcast aggregator 30 can be used as it is. On the other hand, the function of the pseudo server 40 and the function of the P2P component 50 may be included.

It is a figure which shows schematically the structure which enables the pod casting by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the web server by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the user terminal by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the delivery control file delivery server by embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the Web server by embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the user terminal by embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the delivery control file delivery server by embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Web server 20 User terminal 30 Podcast aggregator 40 Pseudo server 50 P2P component 60 Distribution control file distribution server 70 P2P distribution network

Claims (4)

First, RSS podcasting information including a predetermined URI which is a URI of a delivery control file required for acquiring a target file using the P2P technology and configured as the podcast file is sent to the user terminal. Server,
Upon receiving access from the user terminal in accordance with the predetermined URI and sending the delivery control file to the user terminal, the user can obtain the target file using P2P technology based on the delivery control file. A podcast system comprising a second server to be executed by a terminal. A podcast aggregator for downloading podcast files, a pseudo server program that uses a predetermined TCP port, and a P2P component that acquires files using P2P technology in cooperation with the pseudo server program are installed in the user terminal The podcast system according to claim 1 constructed on the assumption that
The first server is
Prompting the user terminal to notify the first server of the predetermined TCP port number when receiving the request for the RSS podcasting information from the podcast aggregator of the user terminal;
The predetermined URI is added as a parameter to the URL body including at least the number of the predetermined TCP port acquired from the user terminal, a loopback address (127.0.0.1), and the file name of the target file. And generating the RSS podcasting information by describing the specific URL as a URL attribute in an enclosure element tag;
The generated RSS podcasting information is transmitted to the podcast aggregator of the user terminal, and the podcast aggregator is made to recognize the pseudo server program as a direct download destination to obtain the podcast file. And the step of performing
The second server is
Upon receiving access according to the predetermined URI from the pseudo server program of the user terminal, the distribution control file is sent to the pseudo server program by sending the delivery control file to the pseudo server program. A podcast system that causes the P2P component to acquire the target file. A podcast aggregator for downloading a podcast file and a P2P file acquisition cooperation program for acquiring a file using P2P technology in cooperation with the podcast aggregator are installed in the user terminal, and the P2P file acquisition The podcast system according to claim 1, wherein the podcast system is constructed assuming that the cooperative program for communication communicates using a predetermined TCP port,
The first server is
Prompting the user terminal to notify the first server of the predetermined TCP port number when receiving the request for the RSS podcasting information from the podcast aggregator of the user terminal;
The predetermined URI is added as a parameter to the URL body including at least the number of the predetermined TCP port acquired from the user terminal, a loopback address (127.0.0.1), and the file name of the target file. Generating the RSS podcasting information by describing the specific URL as a URL attribute in an enclosure element tag;
The generated RSS podcasting information is sent to the podcast aggregator of the user terminal, and the podcast aggregator recognizes the P2P file acquisition cooperation program as a direct download destination to acquire the P2P file. The step of obtaining the podcast file via the cooperative program for
The second server is
Upon receiving access in accordance with the predetermined URI from the P2P file acquisition cooperation program of the user terminal, and sending the distribution control file to the P2P file acquisition cooperation program, P2P technology based on the distribution control file A podcast system for causing the P2P file acquisition cooperation program to acquire the target file using the. A program for causing the processor to execute predetermined processing in a computer system including a processor and a memory, and causing the computer system to function as pseudo server software that performs communication via a predetermined TCP port,
On the computer system, a podcast aggregator is running,
In the case where the podcast aggregator acquires specific RSS podcasting information from outside the computer system, the specific RSS podcasting information includes a specific URL obtained by adding a predetermined URI as a parameter to the URL body. The predetermined URI includes at least a number of the predetermined TCP port, a loopback address (127.0.0.1), and a file name of the target file. The predetermined URI In the case of the URI of the delivery control file required for obtaining the target file using P2P technology,
The predetermined process is:
Receiving a file acquisition request according to the specific URL on the local host from the podcast aggregator;
Obtaining the delivery control file from an external server according to the predetermined URI;
Passing the delivery control file to a P2P component to cause the P2P component to acquire the target file using P2P technology;
Transferring the acquired target file to the podcast aggregator.

Images