Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that improve power saving performance.SOLUTION: An information processing device that is connected to a terminal via a network includes a communication processing unit and a power control unit. The communication processing unit receives request information transmitted from the terminal. The power control unit performs control, when receiving the request information, to operate a network interface while switching between a normal mode and a power-saving mode in which less power is consumed than in the normal mode, according to size of the request information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] A technique for variably controlling the power state of a server (information processing apparatus) connected to a terminal via a network is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a link speed is determined according to the type of data received via a network and a response is made.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, since the reception of data and the communication status are not considered, there is a problem that sufficient power saving performance cannot be obtained.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program capable of improving power saving performance.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention is an information processing apparatus connected to a terminal via a network, including a communication processing unit that receives request information transmitted from the terminal, and at the time of receiving the request information, according to the size of the request information, a power control unit that performs control to switch to either a normal mode or a power saving mode with lower power consumption than the normal mode and operate a network interface. The power control unit operates the network interface in normal mode if the size of the data for the request information corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request information is greater than or equal to a threshold, and switches to the power saving mode after the reception of the request information is complete. It is an information processing apparatus.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, power saving performance can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server in the embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the functions of the server in this embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of the packet structure of the embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of the TCP header structure in the embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of a packet discrimination table in the embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a power state transition determination when receiving packet data in the embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server in the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0009] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the information processing system 1 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 1 includes a server 10 and a terminal 20. The server 10 and the terminal 20 are connected via a network 30. An example of the network 30 may be a LAN (Local Area Network). In the following description, the network 30 may be referred to as "LAN30".

[0010] The number of terminals 20 included in the information processing system 1 can be set arbitrarily; for example, there may be one or two or more. The server 10 is an example of an "information processing device" and can accept requests from multiple terminals 20.

[0011] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server 10 in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the server 10 includes a processor 11, ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, storage medium 14, communication control unit 15, power control unit 16, wireless LAN control unit 17, and wired LAN control unit 18.

[0012] The processor 11 comprehensively controls the operation of the server 10 by executing the program stored in the ROM 12, thereby realizing the various functions of the server 10. The various functions of the server 10 will be described later.

[0013] ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that stores various data, including the program for starting the server 10. RAM 13 is a volatile memory that contains the working area for the processor 11. The storage medium 14 can also function as auxiliary memory.

[0014] The communication control unit 15 is hardware for communicating with terminals 20 on the LAN 30. The power control unit 16 is hardware for controlling the power of the communication control unit 15. The wireless LAN control unit 17 is hardware for controlling the wireless LAN, and the wired LAN control unit 18 is hardware for controlling the wired LAN. Here, the hardware for controlling the wireless LAN (e.g., wireless communication devices such as antennas) and the hardware for controlling the wired LAN correspond to "network interfaces".

[0015] The communication control unit 15 is connected to various control units (power control unit 16, wireless LAN control unit 17, wired LAN control unit 18) as a physical interface for network communication.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functions of the server 10 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the server 10 includes a communication processing unit 110, a network processing unit 120, a data processing control unit 130, a data processing unit 140, a program storage unit 150, and a data storage unit 160.

[0017] The communication processing unit 110 transmits and receives data in packet units (communication packets, packet data) flowing on the LAN 30. As will be described later, the packet data includes request data from the terminal 20, and the request data is an example of "request information".

[0018] The network processing unit 120 processes the data received by the communication processing unit 110. The network processing unit 120 includes a power control unit 121, a protocol stack unit 122, a packet discrimination table 123, and a packet discrimination unit 124.

[0019] The power control unit 121 controls the power of the network interface, which is an interface for connecting to the network 30. In the present embodiment, when the request data is received by the communication processing unit 110, the power control unit 121 switches to either the normal mode or the power saving mode with lower power consumption than the normal mode according to the size of the received request data, and controls the operation of the network interface. In the power saving mode, the power consumption is reduced by suppressing the data transfer speed of the network interface compared to the normal mode.

[0020] The protocol stack unit 122 processes the TCP / IP protocol. The packet discrimination table 123 is an example of "corresponding information" showing the correspondence between the port number and the size of the request data. In this example, the packet discrimination table 123 is a table-form data structure showing the request data size corresponding to the port number analyzed by the protocol stack unit 122, but the data format of the corresponding information is arbitrary and is not limited to the table form.

[0021] The packet discrimination unit 124 refers to the packet discrimination table based on the port number analyzed by the protocol stack unit 122, and determines the transition of the power state of the server 10.

[0022] The packet data in TCP / IP protocol is passed to the data processing control unit 130 and then passed to an application for realizing various functions of the server 10. The program storage unit 150 stores the application. The data processing unit 140 performs data processing under the control of the data processing control unit 130. The data storage unit 160 stores the processed application data.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the packet structure. The protocol stack unit 122 processes the IP header and the TCP header. A payload is passed to the application. The request data from the terminal 20 is stored in the payload, and the application processes the request data and responds with the response data as the payload.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the TCP header structure. In this example, the TCP header contains various data shown in FIG. 5, and since the port number to which the application of the server 10 waits is stored in the destination port number, it is possible to discriminate the type of data. Also, the acknowledgment number is the part that accumulates the size of the received data and responds, and it is possible to discriminate the data size of the request data transmitted from the terminal 20 from a series of received packets.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the packet discrimination table 123. The packet discrimination table 123 is managed by port number, and for each port number, the average size of the request data from the terminal 20, the magnitude of the size determined from the average size, and what power state to set (receive in normal mode or receive in power-saving mode) are associated in a table format.

[0026] In the example in Figure 6, when the port number is "9100", the data type of the request data from terminal 20 is print data, and in this case, the request data tends to be large. On the other hand, when the port number is "161", the data type of the request data from terminal 20 is an inquiry about the status of the device, and in this case, the request data tends to be small. By measuring the data size of the request data from terminal 20 for each port number in advance and recording it in the packet discrimination table 123, it becomes possible to determine the transition of the power state as soon as the port number is identified.

[0027] In this embodiment, the power control unit 121 controls the switching between normal mode and power saving mode based on the packet discrimination table 123 described above. More specifically, the power control unit 121 operates the network interface in normal mode if the size of the request data corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request data is greater than or equal to a threshold (corresponding to a large size), and switches to power saving mode after the reception of the request data is complete. Furthermore, the power control unit 121 maintains power saving mode if the size of the request data corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request data is less than a threshold (corresponding to a small size) and is operating in power saving mode, and maintains normal mode if the size of the request data is less than a threshold and is operating in normal mode.

[0028] For example, the network interface is hardware for controlling a wireless LAN (e.g., wireless communication devices such as antennas), and the normal mode can be a state where communication is performed using multiple antennas. For example, in normal mode, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology can be used to expand the communication bandwidth by using multiple antennas to communicate simultaneously on the same frequency. On the other hand, the power saving mode can be a state where communication is performed using only one antenna.

[0029] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a power state transition determination when packet data is received. If the data transmitted from terminal 20 is a TCP packet, SYN packets are exchanged between terminal 20 and server 10 to establish a connection.

[0030] First, terminal 20 sends a SYN packet to server 10 (S1). At this time, the packet has the SYN bit set in the flags section of the TCP header (see Figure 5). When server 10 receives the SYN packet, it can determine the port number by checking the destination port number (S2).

[0031] The server 10 then refers to the packet discrimination table 123 (S3), checks the size corresponding to the port number determined in S2, and determines the power state corresponding to that size (S4). The server 10 then performs a process to transition the power state according to the determination result in S4 (S5).

[0032] Subsequently, after packet responses are exchanged between the server 10 and the terminal 20 (S6,7), the terminal 20 sends request data to the server 10 (S8), the server 20 receives the request data in a power state corresponding to the request data, and transfers the payload to the application (S9).

[0033] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of server 10. In this embodiment, the initial power state of the network interface is in power-saving mode, and the power state is changed in response to request data from terminal 20.

[0034] First, the communication processing unit 110 receives packet data from the terminal 20 (S11). The network processing unit 120 (protocol stack unit 122) analyzes the packet data received in S1 and obtains the destination port number (S12). The network processing unit 120 (packet discrimination unit 124) refers to the packet discrimination table 123 to identify the size corresponding to the port number obtained in S12 and determines the power state corresponding to the identified size (S13).

[0035] If the power status determined in S13 is power saving mode (S14: Yes) and the server 10 is operating in power saving mode (S15: No), the network processing unit 120 (power control unit 121) maintains power saving mode and receives the remaining packets in power saving mode (S16). In this way, if the data size of the request data is small and the power status of the server 10 at the time of receiving the request data is power saving mode, the request data can be received while maintaining power saving mode.

[0036] If the power state determined in S13 is in normal mode (S14: No), the network processing unit 120 (power control unit 121) controls the power state of the server 10 to normal mode and receives the remaining packets (S17). For example, if the power state of the server 10 is in power-saving mode when request data is received, the network processing unit 120 (power control unit 121) switches the power state of the server 10 to normal mode and receives the remaining packets. After the reception of packet data is complete, the network processing unit 120 (power control unit 121) changes the power state of the server 10 from normal mode to power-saving mode.

[0037] If the power state determined in S13 is in power-saving mode (S14: Yes) and the server 10 is operating in normal mode (S15: Yes), the network processing unit 120 (power control unit 121) maintains normal mode and receives the remaining packets in normal mode (S18). In this way, when the power state of the server 10 is in normal mode when receiving request data, it is in the process of handling other request data with a large data size, so by receiving the request data while maintaining the power state in normal mode, it is possible to control the system so as not to affect the communication of the previous request data.

[0038] As described above, when the server 10 of this embodiment receives request data from the terminal 20, it controls the operation of the network interface by switching to either normal mode or a power-saving mode that consumes less power than normal mode, depending on the size of the request data. This allows the power state of the server 10 to be set in accordance with the reception of request data and the communication status, thus providing the advantageous effect of improving power saving performance.

[0039] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the components can be modified and implemented in practice without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of the multiple components disclosed in the embodiments described above. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments described above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 1. Information Processing System 10 servers 11 processors 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 Storage medium 15 Communication Control Unit 16 Power Control Unit 17 Wireless LAN Control Unit 18 Wired LAN Control Unit 20 devices 30 Network (LAN) 110 Communication Processing Unit 120 Network Processing Unit 121 Power Control Unit 122 Protocol Stack 123 Packet Identification Table 124 Packet discrimination unit 130 Data Processing Control Unit 140 Data Processing Unit 150 Program Storage Unit 160 Data Storage Unit [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0041] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-195819

Claims

1. An information processing device connected to a terminal via a network, A communication processing unit receives request information transmitted from the aforementioned terminal, The system includes a power control unit that, upon receiving the request information, controls the operation of the network interface by switching to either a normal mode or a power-saving mode that consumes less power than the normal mode, depending on the size of the request information. The power control unit operates the network interface in normal mode if the size of the data of the request information corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request information is greater than or equal to a threshold, and switches to the power saving mode after the reception of the request information is complete. Information processing device.

2. The power control unit controls the switching between the normal mode and the power saving mode based on correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the port number and the size of the data of the request information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The power control unit maintains the power saving mode if the size of the data for the request information corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request information is less than the threshold and the unit is operating in the power saving mode, and maintains the normal mode if the size of the data for the request information is less than the threshold and the unit is operating in the normal mode. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

4. An information processing device connected to a terminal via a network, A communication processing unit receives request information transmitted from the aforementioned terminal, The system includes a power control unit that, upon receiving the request information, controls the operation of the network interface by switching to either a normal mode or a power-saving mode with lower power consumption than the normal mode, depending on the size of the request information and the operating state of the information processing device, wherein the power control unit maintains the power-saving mode if the size of the data of the request information is less than the threshold and the system is operating in the power-saving mode, and maintains the normal mode if the size of the data of the request information is less than the threshold and the system is operating in the normal mode. Information processing device.

5. An information processing method using an information processing device connected to a terminal via a network, A communication processing step of receiving request information transmitted from the aforementioned terminal, The power control step includes, upon receiving the request information, controlling the operation of the network interface by switching to either normal mode or a power-saving mode that consumes less power than normal mode, depending on the size of the request information. The power control step involves, if the size of the data of the request information corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request information is greater than or equal to a threshold, operating the network interface in normal mode, and switching to the power saving mode after the reception of the request information is complete. Information processing methods.

6. An information processing method using an information processing device connected to a terminal via a network, A communication processing step of receiving request information transmitted from the aforementioned terminal, The power control step includes, upon receiving the request information, controlling the network interface to operate by switching to either normal mode or a power-saving mode that consumes less power than normal mode, depending on the size of the request information and the operating state of the information processing device. The power control step maintains the power saving mode if the size of the data of the request information is less than the threshold and the system is operating in the power saving mode, and maintains the normal mode if the size of the data of the request information is less than the threshold and the system is operating in the normal mode. Information processing methods.

7. An information processing device connected to a terminal via a network, A communication processing step of receiving request information transmitted from the aforementioned terminal, A power control step is performed to control the operation of the network interface by switching to either normal mode or a power-saving mode that consumes less power than normal mode, depending on the size of the request information, upon receiving the request information, and The power control step involves, if the size of the data of the request information corresponding to the port number used for communication of the request information is greater than or equal to a threshold, operating the network interface in normal mode, and switching to the power saving mode after the reception of the request information is complete. program.

8. An information processing device connected to a terminal via a network, A communication processing step of receiving request information transmitted from the aforementioned terminal, A power control step is performed to control the operation of the network interface by switching to either normal mode or a power-saving mode that consumes less power than normal mode, depending on the size of the request information and the operating state of the information processing device, upon receiving the request information. The power control step maintains the power saving mode if the size of the data of the request information is less than the threshold and the system is operating in the power saving mode, and maintains the normal mode if the size of the data of the request information is less than the threshold and the system is operating in the normal mode. program.

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