Connection control device, connection control system, and non-transitory computer readable medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10484464-B2
Application number	US-201815912409-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2018
Priority date	Nov 13, 2014
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a connection control device includes a request acceptor to accept a connection destination determination request transmitted from a first communication device; and a determiner to determine a server being a connection destination of the first communication device from among a plurality of servers. At least one first server among the servers is scheduled to stop running at a first time point. The determiner determines the connection destination of the first communication device in accordance with a number of communication devices connected to each of the servers, based on history information on connection durations by the first communication device with the servers or history information on connection durations by communication devices with the first server, so that a number of the communication devices connected to the first server before the first time point arrives is suppressed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A connection control device comprising:
a first circuit configured to transmit an acquiring request of state information to a plurality of relay servers including a temporary server and a normal server via a network and receive the state information transmitted from the relay servers, wherein the temporary server has a scheduled stop time point and a scheduled start time point set therein and stops running at the scheduled stop time point and restarts the running at the scheduled start time point and the normal server continues running without stopping, the plurality of relay servers being configured to connect between control devices and communication devices controlled by the control devices;
a second circuit configured to receive a connection destination determination request transmitted from a first of the communication devices, which is not yet connected to any relay server, via the network; and
a third circuit configured to select a relay server to be connected by the first communication device from among the plurality of relay servers based on the state information,

wherein
the third circuit is configured to determine whether a time period until the scheduled stop time point of the temporary server is reached is longer than a predetermined length of time period, and when the time period is longer than the predetermined length of time period, select a relay server so that load is equally distributed between the temporary server and the normal server, and
the second circuit is configured to transmit address information of the relay server selected by the third circuit to the first communication device via the network, the address information being required for the first communication device to connect to the selected relay server.

2. The connection control device according to claim 1 , wherein the third circuit is configured to select the temporary server or the normal server at a same probability when the time period until the scheduled stop time point of the temporary server is reached is longer than the predetermined length of time period.

3. The connection control device according to claim 1 , further comprising a hardware storage configured to store history data of connection time with a relay server(s) of the first communication device or the communication devices,
wherein the third circuit is configured to estimate a connection end time point of the first communication device based on the history data, and
the third circuit is configured to select the normal server when the scheduled stop time point is before the estimated connection end time point and select the temporary server when the scheduled stop time point is after the estimated connection end time point.

4. The connection control device according to claim 1 , wherein the third circuit is configured to select a relay server from among relay servers for which a number of connected communication devices is less than or equal to a threshold value.

5. The connection control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the second circuit is configured to receive a connection destination determination request from a first of the control devices, which is not yet connected to any relay server, via the network,
the connection destination determination request from the first control device includes information specifying the first communication device being a control object by the first control device,
the third circuit is configured to determine a connection destination of the first control device by selecting same relay server as the relay server selected for the first communication device, and
the second circuit is configured to transmit address information of the relay server determined by the third circuit to the first control device via the network, the address information being required for the first control device to connect to the determined relay server.

6. The connection control device according to claim 5 , wherein
the address information of the determined relay device is an URL of the determined relay device.

7. The connection control device according to claim 1 , wherein the third circuit is configured to select a relay server from among relay servers for which a total number of connected communication devices and connected control devices is less than or equal to a threshold value.

8. The connection control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the address information of the selected relay device is an URL of the selected relay device.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a program stored therein which, when executed, causes a computer to execute processing comprising:
transmitting an acquiring request of state information to a plurality of relay servers including a temporary server and a normal server via a network and receiving the state information transmitted from the relay servers, wherein the temporary server has a scheduled stop time point and a scheduled start time point set therein and stops running at the scheduled stop time point and restarts the running at the scheduled start time point and the normal server continues running without stopping, the plurality of relay servers being configured to connect between control devices and communication devices controlled by the control devices;
receiving a connection destination determination request transmitted from a first of the communication devices, which is not yet connected to any relay server, via the network;
selecting a relay server to be connected by the first communication device from among the plurality of relay servers based on the state information; and
transmitting address information of the relay server selected, to the first communication device via the network, the address information being required for the first communication device to connect to the selected relay server,
wherein the selecting includes determining whether a time period until the scheduled stop time point of the temporary server is reached is longer than a predetermined length of time period, and when the time period is longer than the predetermined length of time period, selecting a relay server so that load is equally distributed between the temporary server and the normal server.

10. A connection control system comprising a first communication device, a first control device that remotely controls the first communication device, and a connection control device, wherein
the connection control device comprises:
a first circuit configured to transmit an acquiring request of state information to a plurality of relay servers including a temporary server and a normal server via a network and receive the state information transmitted from the relay servers, wherein the temporary server has a scheduled stop time point and a scheduled start time point set therein and stops running at the scheduled stop time point and restarts the running at the scheduled start time point and the normal server continues running without stopping, the plurality of relay servers being configured to connect between control devices and communication devices controlled by the control devices,

a second circuit configured to receive a connection destination determination request transmitted from the first communication device which is not yet connected to any relay server via the network; and
a third circuit configured to select a relay server to be connected by the first communication device from among the plurality of relay servers based on the state information,
the third circuit being configured to determine whether a time period until the scheduled stop time point of the temporary server is reached is longer than a predetermined length of time period, and when the time

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Kawazoe Hiroshi
• Ajitomi Daisuke
• Minami Keisuke

Classifications

• H04L67/1025 Primary

  Dynamic adaptation of the criteria on which the server selection is based · CPC title

• H04L67/1004

  Server selection for load balancing · CPC title