KR20170035314A - Method and apparatus for reducing cloud service traffic using p2p connection - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a method of sharing content using peer-to-peer (P2P) connection and a method of saving traffic and a storage space for a cloud storage service by using the sharing method. According to one embodiment of present invention, the method of sharing the content includes the steps of: receiving an integrated link for accessing one of a first link and a second link from an external device; and preferentially attempting to access the first link through the integrated link, and then attempting to access the second link only when the access to the first link is failed. The first link is used to receive the content through data transmission and reception using the P2P method, and second link is used to download the content from a data storage device which is connected to a network so as to provide a content storage service.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing cloud service traffic using a p2p connection,

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing cloud service traffic using a peer-to-peer connection. And more particularly, to a method and apparatus for saving network traffic and storage demand caused by cloud storage service by replacing some traffic of cloud storage service with p2p connection.

A p2p connection refers to a network connection in which all participants are both suppliers and consumers by directly connecting and searching among individual computers, away from existing server and client concepts or supplier and consumer concepts. There are two main ways to connect p2p. One is a method of realizing an inter-personal connection with the help of a server to some extent, and the other is a method of directly connecting without a server by sharing personal information such as an IP address in advance between clients. In the former case, after the connection and retrieval step, the information is shared and exchanged directly with the individual as in the case of the latter case.

Meanwhile, various types of cloud storage services are provided. Cloud storage services are services that enable you to store data on a network-based basis. The cloud storage service is generally implemented using a plurality of storage devices connected to a network and a service server managing the storage devices and managing an interface with the users.

There has been an increasing number of content viewing devices connected to the Internet and a plurality of content viewing devices used by a single user have been used to synchronize contents stored in various content viewing devices or to share content among users, The cloud storage service causes more and more network traffic and storage demand.

Korean Laid-Open Patent No. 2013-0093748 (Published on March 23, 2013) Korean Patent Publication No. 2005-0088699 (disclosed on September 7, 2005)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a content sharing method and apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for saving traffic and storage space required for a cloud storage service and an apparatus for executing the method.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of performing accounting based on performance that saves traffic and storage space required for a cloud storage service and an apparatus for executing the method.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for providing rewards to users who have contributed to saving traffic and storage space required for cloud storage services, and an apparatus for executing the method.

The technical objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical subjects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing method including: receiving an integrated link for accessing any one of a first link and a second link from an external device; 1 < / RTI > link, and attempting access to the second link only if the access to the first link fails. In this case, the first link is for receiving content through a p2p (peer-to-peer) data transmission and reception, and the second link is connected to a network to provide content from a data storage device For downloading. The content sharing method according to the present embodiment may be implemented, for example, by a recipient terminal that shares content.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing method including: transmitting a p2p link of content stored in a sender terminal and an integrated link for obtaining a cloud link for downloading the content uploaded to a cloud service server; Receiving the p2p link and the cloud link from the content sharing mediating server by accessing the content sharing mediation server using the integrated link, and receiving the p2p link and the cloud link using the p2p link, And attempting to download the content through the cloud link upon receiving the p2p failure. The content sharing method according to the present embodiment may be implemented, for example, by a recipient terminal that shares content.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing mediation method including: transmitting a p2p link for content stored in a sender terminal and a cloud link for downloading the content uploaded to a cloud service server, Generating a consolidated link using the p2p link and the cloud link; and in response to a connection from a recipient terminal via the aggregated link, the sender terminal is capable of communicating over the p2p link And redirecting the integrated link to the p2p link if the state is such that the sender terminal is unable to communicate over the p2p link, and redirecting the integrated link to the cloud link if the sender terminal is unable to communicate via the p2p link. The content sharing method according to the present embodiment can be implemented, for example, by a content sharing mediation server that mediates sharing of contents.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing method including: receiving an integrated link for accessing a p2p link for content stored in a sender terminal from a sender terminal; The method comprising the steps of: attempting access to the p2p link first through the unified link; receiving content from the sender terminal through the p2p communication method as a result of the access to the p2p link; And attempting to access the cloud link newly matched to the aggregated link as a result of updating the aggregated link through the aggregated link if the connection is lost during reception of the content. The content sharing method according to the present embodiment may be implemented, for example, by a recipient terminal that shares content.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a content sharing method including: generating a p2p link indicating a stored content; initiating a content upload to a cloud service server; Transmitting the p2p link to the content sharing mediation server and requesting the p2p link to create an integrated link for accessing the p2p link before the content upload is completed; Receiving a p2p transmission request through the p2p link from the recipient terminal and starting p2p transmission of the content; and transmitting content to the cloud service server through the content sharing intermediary server When the p2p transmission is completed before the p2p transmission is completed, Comprising the step of canceling the content uploaded to the service server. The content sharing method according to the present embodiment can be implemented, for example, by a sender terminal sharing content with another user.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for charging for reducing cloud service traffic, the method comprising: receiving a p2p link of content stored in a sender terminal and a cloud link for downloading the content uploaded to the cloud service server; Collecting information on the performance of receiving p2p from the sender terminal instead of downloading from the cloud service server from the receiver terminal connected through the unified link; And generating billing data for an operator of the cloud service server using information on the collected performance. The billing method for reducing the cloud service traffic according to the present embodiment may be implemented by a content sharing mediation server for mediating the sharing of contents, for example.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a reward for reducing cloud service traffic, the method comprising: receiving a p2p link of content stored in a sender terminal and a cloud for downloading the content uploaded to the cloud service server; Collecting information on an achievement of performing p2p reception from the sender terminal instead of downloading from a cloud service server from a receiver terminal connected through the unified link; And issuing a reward for at least one of a user account of the sender terminal and a user account of the receiver terminal using the collected performance information. The method of providing a reward for reducing cloud service traffic according to the present embodiment may be implemented by a content sharing mediation server that mediates sharing of contents, for example.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for reducing cloud service traffic, including a network interface, at least one processor, a memory for loading a computer program executed by the processor, A p2p link of contents, a cloud link for downloading the contents uploaded to the cloud service server, and an integration link table including matching information of the p2p link and an integrated link provided to the receiver terminal for accessing the cloud link Storage. Wherein the computer program further comprises: receiving the p2p link and the cloud link through the network interface to generate an integrated link for accessing the p2p link and the cloud link; In response to a connection of the p2p link, redirects the integrated link to the p2p link if the sender terminal is in a state where communication via the p2p link is available, and when the sender terminal is unable to communicate over the p2p link, And redirecting the link to the cloud link.

According to the present invention, network traffic and storage space generated directly or indirectly between a cloud service providing apparatus and a user terminal can be saved through p2p connection between users sharing contents.

The present invention solves the problem that contents can be received through the p2p connection only when the sender terminal is turned on, and when the sender terminal is off, it is possible to receive the shared contents anytime by downloading the contents through the cloud service.

In addition, since content can be shared only after uploading to the cloud service, in order to share a large-capacity large-sized content such as a high-quality movie, the problem of waiting for uploading is solved, At the same time, content sharing is effective.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a sharing process through a cloud storage service according to the related art.
2 is a configuration diagram of a contents sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 to 7 are flowcharts of a content sharing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 to 11 are flowcharts of a content sharing method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a flowchart of a charging method for reducing cloud service traffic according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the content sharing method described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7 in more detail.
FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the content sharing method described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 in more detail.
15 is a block diagram of a content sharing mediation server according to another embodiment of the present invention.
16 is a hardware configuration diagram of a content sharing mediation server according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used in a sense commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Also, commonly used predefined terms are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly defined otherwise. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification.

1. Content sharing system

1 and 2, a content sharing system and a content sharing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be schematically described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a sharing process through a cloud storage service according to the related art. To prevent unnecessary confusion, the cloud storage service will be unified as a cloud service.

The cloud service server 200 is connected to the storage device 300 that stores the contents uploaded by the user terminals and provides cloud services to the user terminals. FIG. 1 illustrates a sender terminal 400 and a receiver terminal 500 of the user terminals. It is assumed that the ID of the user using the sender terminal 400 is 'a@abc.com' and the ID of the user using the receiver terminal 500 is 'b@abc.com'. The ID is an ID for logging into the cloud service.

The cloud service provides a content sharing function for other users. A user who wants to share contents can specify a sharing target. For example, you can specify a specific user, all users belonging to a specific group, or you can specify multiple users. 1, the user a@abc.com of the sender terminal 400 uploads the content to the storage device 300 via the cloud service server 200, and sets the sharing setting for the uploaded content (B@abc.com) of the recipient terminal 500 as well as the user (a@abc.com) of the sender terminal 400 are allowed to share with the user 'b@abc.com' The uploaded content can be downloaded.

However, sharing through a cloud service according to the related art described with reference to FIG. 1 has some problems in sharing large-capacity contents such as high-definition movies. First, in the case of large-volume content, the uploading time is long. However, the uploading is not completed until the sharing is started. In addition, there is a burden of network traffic and storage space in the cloud service provider. The embodiments of the present invention are newly invented to solve the above problems.

Referring to FIG. 2, a content sharing system and a content sharing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Unlike the content sharing method and system using the conventional cloud service shown in FIG. 1, the content sharing method and system according to the present embodiment further utilize the p2p connection. That is, in a situation in which the p2p connection can be used, the content is not downloaded from the storage device 300 of the cloud service but received one by one using the p2p connection. That is, if both p2p connections and two channels of cloud storage are available, the p2p connection is the first choice. Accordingly, the cloud service provider can save the cost burden due to the network traffic accompanied by the downloading of the contents.

In some embodiments of the present invention, if the purpose is to share content only through a p2p connection to a recipient who is receiving the content, the content may not be uploaded to the storage device 300, or the content may be uploaded through the p2p connection The content upload is canceled. Accordingly, the cloud service provider can save the burden of the maintenance cost of the storage device 300 accompanying the storage of the contents.

In some embodiments of the present invention, when the receiver terminal 500 is disconnected from the p2p connection due to power off of the sender terminal 400 while the receiver terminal 500 is receiving content through the p2p connection, 300). ≪ / RTI > That is, according to the present embodiment, the instability of the p2p connection can be compensated by the cloud service.

The sender terminal 400 and the recipient terminal 500 may establish a session for p2p connection through an interaction with the content sharing mediation server 100. [ The interaction includes a first interaction for generating a p2p link of contents stored in the sender terminal 400 and an integrated link for obtaining a cloud link for downloading the contents uploaded to the cloud service server, Lt; / RTI >

To perform the interaction, the sender terminal 400 and the receiver terminal 500 may call an API (Application Programming Interface) for requesting a specific function to the content sharing mediation server 100. The API is included in an SDK (Software Development Kit) distributed by a provider of the content sharing mediation server 100. The API can be embedded and invoked in various application programs. For example, the API may be embedded in an application program for using the cloud service.

The content sharing mediation server 100 can manage a service user through a membership subscription procedure to perform a function related to the second interaction, and can distribute content among a plurality of terminals owned by one service user, Sharing function can be supported.

The content sharing mediation server 100 assists in creating a p2p connection between the sender terminal 400 and the receiver terminal 500. [ If at least one of the sender terminal 400 and the receiver terminal 500 belongs to a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) network, the content sharing mediation server 100 serves as a p2p-to-UPnP proxy gateway Can be performed. The p2p connection mediation method using the p2p-to-UPnP proxy gateway has already been well known to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, and Korean Patent Publication No. 2005-0088699, P2P-to-UPnP Proxy Gateway Architecture for Home Multimedia Content Distribution (KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS) Vol. 6 No.1, 2012.1, 404-423 (20 pages)). do.

Although the cloud service server 200 and the content sharing mediation server 100 are shown as separate devices in FIG. 2, the content sharing mediation server 100 may be a module of the cloud service server 200. In this case, since it is meaningless to distinguish between the user of the cloud service and the user of the content sharing mediation service, the user of the cloud service will soon be the user of the content sharing mediation service.

The content sharing method according to the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. 2 may be understood to include the following operations.

First, the sender terminal 400 provides the first link and the second link to the content sharing mediation server 100. Wherein the first link is for receiving content via a peer-to-peer (P2P) data transmission and reception method, and the second link is for connecting to a network and downloading content from a data storage device will be. Hereinafter, for convenience of understanding, the first link is referred to as a p2p link and the second link is referred to as a cloud link. The p2p link can be generated by the sender terminal 400 executing the API (included in the SDK distributed by the operator who operates the content sharing mediation server) for p2p link generation. The cloud link may be received from the cloud service server 200 as a result of the sender terminal 400 completing content upload to the storage device 300 through the cloud service server 200.

Next, the content sharing mediation server 100 generates an integrated link for accessing either the p2p link or the cloud link. The unified link is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and indicates the content sharing mediation server 100. That is, when the specific terminal selects the integrated link, the specific terminal is connected to the content sharing mediation server 100. The content sharing mediation server 100 can transmit the integrated link to the sender terminal 400 or the receiver terminal 500 or both the sender terminal 400 and the receiver terminal 500. [

Next, the recipient terminal 500 receives the integrated link. The external device may be any one of the sender terminal 400 and the content sharing mediation server 100.

Next, the recipient terminal 500 first tries to access the p2p link through the unified link, and tries to access the cloud link only when the p2p link fails to access. In one embodiment, the content sharing mediation server 100 may redirect the integrated link to either the p2p link or the cloud link. In another embodiment, the content sharing mediation server 100 uses the information included in the unified link to inquire the corresponding p2p link and the cloud link, and then transmits the p2p link and the cloud link to the terminal As shown in FIG. If the sharing target content has already been uploaded to the cloud service, the cloud link will exist, but if the merged link is created while the sharing target content is being uploaded to the cloud service, the cloud link will not exist. In this case, the content sharing mediation server 100 redirects the integrated link to the cloud link, or transmits the cloud link to the connected recipient terminal 500 via the integrated link.

Several embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 3-11.

2. Sharing after content upload is completed

3 to 7 are flowcharts of a content sharing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment assumes that content sharing starts after the sender terminal completes uploading the content to the cloud service. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method performed by a sender terminal storing a content to be shared, and FIGS. 4 to 7 are flowcharts of a method selectively performed by a receiver terminal after the method of FIG. 3 is performed.

Will be described with reference to FIG.

The sender terminal uploads the content to the cloud service server (S100), and receives the cloud link indicating the uploaded content from the cloud service server (S102). Then, the sender terminal calls the p2p link generation API included in the SDK described above to generate a p2p link for transmitting the content stored in the sender terminal through the p2p connection (S104).

Next, the sender terminal calls the API for requesting the creation of the integrated link included in the SDK, requests the content sharing mediation server to generate the integrated link, and receives the integrated link generated by the content sharing mediation server (S 106 ). The integrated link creation request API requests the p2p link and the cloud link as parameters. In addition, when the API for requesting the creation of the integrated link is called, the sender terminal transmits the p2p link and the cloud link to the content sharing mediation server.

Next, the sender terminal transmits the integrated link to the recipient terminal (S108). The sender terminal may request the content sharing mediation server to transmit the integrated link, or may directly transmit the content through the e-mail, messenger, SMS, or the like.

Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a method implemented by a receiver terminal that has received the integrated link.

When the recipient terminal receives a user operation for selecting the unified link from the user, the recipient terminal accesses the content sharing mediation server through the unified link (S110). The recipient terminal receives the p2p link and the cloud link from the content sharing mediation server (S112).

The recipient terminal accesses the sender terminal using the p2p link (S114). If the connection is successful, the content is received from the sender terminal using the p2p link (S116). If the connection fails, the content is downloaded from the cloud service server using the cloud link (S118).

That is, according to the present embodiment, even if the sharing target content is uploaded through the cloud service, if the p2p connection is possible, the sharing target content is received through the p2p connection, thereby saving network traffic of the cloud service.

Will be described with reference to FIG. 5 is a method implemented by a receiver terminal that has received the integrated link. The method shown in FIG. 5 is different from the method shown in FIG. 4 in that the recipient terminal receives the content to be shared through the p2p connection and then transmits the performance of the content transmission through the p2p connection to the external device S136) is added. The external device may be the content sharing mediation server or the cloud service server.

Will be described with reference to FIG. 6 is a method implemented by a receiver terminal that has received the integrated link. The method shown in FIG. 6 is a method in which if the p2p connection is interrupted (S132) while the recipient terminal is receiving content through a p2p connection (S130), receiving the content via the cloud link (S118) Is added.

There are various reasons why p2p connections are blocked in the middle. For example, it may be due to communication instability. In the case of starting content reception through the p2p connection, it may be because the transmitter terminal is in a state in which communication is possible, or in the middle of power off or communication shaded area. This problem is related to the inherent limitations of the p2p connection. The present embodiment overcomes this problem and saves the traffic usage of the cloud service by receiving the content through the p2p connection, and can automatically take over the content through the cloud service when the p2p connection is disconnected. Supplement.

In some embodiments, if the cloud service does not support resume, the content is downloaded from scratch.

Even if the content reception through the p2p connection is interrupted, if the cloud service supports resumption, the network traffic for the cloud service provider is saved by the data size transmitted through the p2p connection. Therefore, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the recipient terminal transmits the partial content transmission performance through the p2p connection to the external device using the size of the p2p transmitted data (S133). The external device may be the content sharing mediation server or the cloud service server.

Will be described with reference to FIG. 6 is a method implemented by a receiver terminal that has received the integrated link. According to the present embodiment, when the recipient terminal can not connect to p2p and is downloading through the cloud service, when the p2p connection becomes possible, the recipient terminal automatically receives the content through the p2p connection.

The recipient terminal accesses the integrated link (S110), acquires the p2p link and the cloud link (S112), and if the connection attempt to the p2p link fails (S114), downloading the content through the cloud link (S120). During the progress of downloading the content, the recipient terminal periodically or attempts to access the p2p link when receiving an event alarm from an external device (S122). For example, it may be considered that the sender terminal is powered off at the start of content download, but the sender terminal is powered on in the middle. The event alarm may be received from the content sharing mediation server, for example. The content sharing mediation server can monitor the connection status of each terminal registered in the content sharing mediation server for the event alarm service.

If the connection to the p2p link is successful (S124), the receiver terminal ends the downloading of the content (S126). Then, the content is received through the p2p link (S116). If the content transmission / reception technique through the p2p link supports the download, the content download via the cloud link (S120) and the subsequent content reception via the p2p link (S116) preferably proceed in a follow-up form.

3. Share before content upload

8 to 11 are flowcharts of a content sharing method according to another embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment assumes that content sharing starts before the sender terminal completes uploading the content to the cloud service. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method performed by a sender terminal storing contents to be shared, and FIGS. 9 to 11 are flowcharts of a method that the receiver terminal can selectively implement after the method of FIG. 8 is performed.

Will be described with reference to FIG.

The sender terminal starts uploading the content to the cloud service server (S200). Also, before the content upload is completed, the sender terminal calls the p2p link generation API included in the SDK described above to generate a p2p link for transmitting the content stored in the sender terminal through the p2p connection ( S202).

Next, the sender terminal calls an API for requesting an integrated link generation request included in the SDK, requests the content sharing mediation server to generate an integrated link, and receives the integrated link generated by the content sharing mediation server S204). The integrated link creation request API requests only the p2p link as a parameter. Also, when the API for requesting the unified link generation is called, the sender terminal transmits the p2p link to the content sharing mediation server.

Next, the sender terminal transmits the unified link to the receiver terminal (S206). The sender terminal may request the content sharing mediation server to transmit the integrated link, or may directly transmit the content through the e-mail, messenger, SMS, or the like.

Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a method implemented by a receiver terminal that has received the integrated link.

When the recipient terminal receives a user operation for selecting the unified link from the user, the recipient terminal accesses the content sharing mediation server through the unified link, and receives the p2p link from the content sharing mediation server (S208).

The recipient terminal attempts to connect to the sender terminal using the p2p link (S210). If the connection fails, the recipient terminal warns that there is no error in receiving the content (S212). If the connection is successful, the content is received from the sender terminal using the p2p link (S214). When the content reception is completed (S216), the data of the traffic saving performance through the p2p transmission is transmitted to the external device (S217 ). The external device may be the content sharing mediation server or the cloud service server.

According to this embodiment, content can be shared only after uploading to the cloud service. Therefore, in order to share a large-capacity content having a large data size such as a high-quality movie, the problem of waiting for uploading is solved, It is possible to share contents at the same time as it is uploaded.

Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a method performed by the sender terminal after the operation of FIG. 9 is completed. If the upload to the cloud server and the upload to the cloud server are still in progress (p21p), the upload to the cloud server is canceled (step S222). Then, the sender terminal transmits the performance data related to the cancellation of the upload to the external device (S223). In addition, when the user of the sender terminal activates the automatic power-off setting, since the content transmission is completed, the sender terminal is automatically turned off (S224).

According to the present embodiment, there is an effect that the cloud service provider can save network traffic and storage space consumption due to the uploading of the contents that have already been shared.

Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a method performed by the sender terminal after the operation of FIG. 9 is completed. 11, the content upload is canceled only when the recipient who receives the content through the p2p link is set as a sharer of the content to be uploaded. it is necessary that not only the recipient who has already received the content through the p2p link, but also other recipients should be able to receive it. However, if the content is not uploaded to the cloud server, the other recipient may have difficulty in receiving the content.

11, when the upload to the cloud server and the upload to the cloud server are still in progress (step S218) even though the p2p transfer is completed first after the upload to the cloud server and the p2p transfer are concurrently performed, Sharing settings are checked. If the recipient who has already received the content through the p2p transmission is the only sharer of the content (S220), the upload to the cloud server is canceled (S222). Then, the sender terminal transmits the performance data related to the cancellation of the upload to the external device (S223). In addition, when the user of the sender terminal activates the automatic power-off setting, since the content transmission is completed, the sender terminal is automatically turned off (S224). On the other hand, if another content sharer exists in addition to the receiver who has already received the content through the p2p transmission (S220), the content upload is continued (S226).

4. Billing and rewarding for cloud service traffic savings

12 is a flowchart of a charging method for reducing cloud service traffic according to another embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 12, a charging method for reducing cloud service traffic according to the present embodiment and a reward providing method that can be accompanied or independently provided will be described.

According to the various embodiments described so far, content upload or download for the cloud server is partially replaced by p2p transmission (S300). Then, the replacement result is collected (S302). That is, the content sharing mediation server generates a p2p link of content stored in the sender terminal and an integrated link for obtaining a cloud link for downloading the content uploaded to the cloud service server, , Information on the performance of p2p reception from the sender terminal is collected instead of downloading from the cloud service server.

The information on the performance may include data size information of content received as a result of p2p reception from the sender terminal, time information on occurrence of the p2p reception, sender and receiver information instead of downloading from the cloud service server.

Next, in step S304, the sender terminal generates billing data for the operator of the cloud service server using the collected information on the collected shared performance. The billing data may be periodically collected and transmitted to a business-side computing device operating the cloud service server.

Although not shown in FIG. 12, a reward based on the reduction of the cloud service traffic may be given to at least one of the sender and the receiver. That is, the content sharing mediation server can issue a reward to at least one of the user account of the sender terminal and the user account of the receiver terminal, using the information on the collected performance. The reward may be provided by a company operating the content sharing mediation server. At this time, the reward can be calculated in a range of the revenues generated by the billing. Further, the reward may be provided by the service provider of the cloud service.

5. Overall Service Flow

Hereinafter, referring to Figs. 13 and 14, embodiments of the present invention will be summarized again. FIG. 13 is a view for explaining an embodiment in which sharing is started after contents are uploaded, and FIG. 14 is a view for explaining an embodiment in which sharing starts simultaneously with contents uploading.

Will be described with reference to FIG. The sender terminal 400 completes the content upload through the cloud service server 200 (S400), and receives the cloud link indicating the uploaded content from the cloud service server (S402). Then, the sender terminal 400 generates a p2p link for p2p connection of the contents stored in the sender terminal 400 (S404). Next, the sender terminal 400 requests the creation of the integrated link by providing the cloud link and the p2p link to the content sharing mediation server 100 (S406). In response to the integrated link creation request, the content sharing mediation server 100 creates an integrated link (S408). The content sharing mediation server 100 may transmit the generated integrated link to the sender terminal 400 (S410).

The sender terminal 400 directly transmits the integrated link to the recipient terminal 500 via e-mail, messenger or the like (S416) or transmits the integrated link through the content sharing mediation server 100 (S412, S414).

The recipient terminal 500 accesses the content sharing mediation server 100 using the integrated link (S418).

In one embodiment, the content sharing mediation server 100 transmits the p2p link and the cloud link corresponding to the integrated link to the recipient terminal 500 (S420). At this time, the recipient terminal 500 first tries to receive p2p of the content using the p2p link (S424), and attempts to download the content through the cloud link when the p2p reception fails (S422).

In another embodiment, the content sharing mediation server 100 redirects the unified link to the p2p link when the p2p link corresponding to the unified link is currently accessible, and the p2p link corresponding to the unified link And redirects the unified link to the cloud link if it is currently unavailable. When the content sharing mediation server 100 directly redirects the URL to the unified link, the recipient terminal 500 can download the shared content by accessing the unified link, and an appropriate channel among the p2p and the cloud is content Since the shared mediation server 100 determines automatically, the recipient terminal 500 has the effect of downloading the content to be shared in a conventional manner. When the content sharing mediation server 100 directly redirects the URL to the integrated link, the content sharing mediation server 100 transmits the performance data related to the cloud service traffic reduction according to the p2p connection to the sender terminal 400 and the receiver terminal 500, Can be created directly without help.

Will be described with reference to FIG. The sender terminal 400 starts uploading the content through the cloud service server 200 and generates a p2p link for p2p connection of the content stored in the sender terminal 400 at step S500. Next, the sender terminal 400 requests the creation of the integrated link by providing the p2p link to the content sharing mediation server 100 (S502). The content sharing mediation server 100 generates an integrated link in response to the integrated link creation request (S504). The content sharing mediation server 100 may transmit the generated integrated link to the sender terminal 400 (S506).

The sender terminal 400 directly transmits the integrated link to the recipient terminal 500 via e-mail, a messenger, or the like, or transmits the integrated link through the content sharing mediation server 100 (S508, S510).

The recipient terminal 500 accesses the content sharing mediation server 100 using the integrated link (S512).

In one embodiment, the content sharing mediation server 100 transmits the p2p link corresponding to the integrated link to the recipient terminal 500 (S514). Unlike the case shown in FIG. 13, at this time, there is no cloud link corresponding to the integrated link because the content upload through the cloud service server has not yet been completed. Therefore, only the p2p link is transmitted to the recipient terminal 500. The recipient terminal 500 attempts to receive p2p of the content using the p2p link (S515). If the p2p reception fails, the recipient terminal 500 will output an error message.

In another embodiment, the content sharing mediation server 100 redirects the unified link to the p2p link if the p2p link corresponding to the unified link is currently accessible. When the contents sharing mediation server 100 directly redirects the URL to the integrated link, the recipient terminal 500 can download the contents to be shared only by accessing the integrated link, The contents to be shared can be downloaded as it is. When the content sharing mediation server 100 directly redirects the URL to the integrated link, the content sharing mediation server 100 transmits the performance data related to the cloud service traffic reduction according to the p2p connection to the sender terminal 400 and the receiver terminal 500, Can be created directly without help.

When the uploading of the content through the cloud service server 200 is completed (S516), the sender terminal 400 receives the cloud link indicating the uploaded content from the cloud service server 200 (S518). The sender terminal 400 provides the cloud link to the content sharing mediation server 100 and requests the update of the integrated link already issued (S520). The content sharing mediation server 100 further updates the integrated link by matching the cloud link provided from the sender terminal 400 to the integrated link (S522).

As a result of updating the integrated link, the recipient terminal 500 can receive the shared content irrespective of whether the p2p transmission of the sender terminal 400 is possible or not.

6. Configure content-sharing mediation server

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the content sharing mediation server according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. 15 is a block diagram of a content sharing mediation server according to another embodiment of the present invention. 15, the content sharing mediation server 100 according to the present embodiment includes a storage unit 108, a user management unit 102, an integrated link management unit 104, a performance management unit 106, and a network interface 110 ).

The user management unit 102 manages information on users registered in the content sharing service provided by the content sharing mediation server 100. The information about the users is stored in the storage unit 108 according to a predetermined data structure. Content sharing may be provided only between the registered users according to the service provision form, but it may eliminate the restriction of the content sharing subject by providing services to all users for the integrated link.

The integrated link management unit 104 receives the p2p link and the cloud link from the sender terminal through the network interface 110 and generates an integrated link for accessing either the p2p link or the cloud link and accesses only the p2p link If an integrated link is created first, it performs an integrated link update that complements the cloud link later. The integrated link management unit 104 may transmit the p2p link and the cloud link corresponding to the aggregated link as an acknowledgment to the access when there is an access through the aggregated link or a URL redirection to either the p2p link or the cloud link do.

Instead of downloading from the cloud service server, the performance management unit 106 collects information on the performance of p2p reception from the sender terminal, and uses information on the collected performance to inform the operator of the cloud service server And generates billing data for the user. Information on the collected performance may be received from the sender terminal or the receiver terminal. In the embodiment in which the integrated link management unit 104 performs the URL redirection corresponding to the integrated link access, the performance management unit 106 receives the URL redirection performance information from the integrated link management unit 104, You may.

16 is a hardware configuration diagram of a content sharing mediation server according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 16, the content sharing mediation server 100 may include a processor 110, a memory 116, a network interface 110, a data bus 112, and a storage 118.

The processor 110 may comprise one or more central processing units (CPUs) for performing operations. The memory 116 may be loaded with software for performing the content sharing mediation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The data bus 112 may be connected to the processor 110, the memory 116, the network interface 1110 and the storage 118 to serve as a transfer path for transferring data between the respective components.

The storage 118 stores binary files (not shown) of software for performing a content sharing mediation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The binary file is loaded into the memory 116 and executed via the processor 110. The storage 118 may further store a table 181 for managing integrated links and a performance table 182 for managing performance related to cloud service traffic reduction.

The memory 116 may be loaded with service logic to process the p2p link to form a p2p connection between the sender terminal and the receiver terminal, process the aggregate link and redirect the url to either the p2p link or the storage link, The aggregate link service logic that transmits either the p2p link or the storage link may be loaded as the reply. The two service logic may be activated through a memory load of the binary file of the software for performing the content sharing mediation method.

7. Other

The methods according to the embodiments of the present invention described so far with reference to Figs. 2 to 16 can be performed by the execution of a computer program embodied in computer readable code. The computer program may be transmitted from a first computing device to a second computing device via a network, such as the Internet, and installed in the second computing device, thereby enabling it to be used in the second computing device. The first computing device and the second computing device may include a server device, a fixed computing device such as a desktop PC, a mobile computing device such as a notebook, a smart phone, a tablet PC, and a wearable computing device such as a smart watch, do.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

Claims (7)

A sender terminal executes a first API (Application Programming Interface) included in a software development kit (SDK) distributed by a company that operates a content sharing mediation server, and receives a peer-to-peer Generating a first link for receiving content stored in the sender terminal through data transmission / reception of the first link;
Wherein the sender terminal receives a second link for downloading the content from a data storage device that provides a content storage service and executes a second API included in the SDK to transmit the first link and the second link Receiving an integrated link pointing to the content sharing mediation server by using the integrated link;
Receiving a combined link from the sender terminal; And
Attempting access to the second link only if the recipient terminal first tries to access the first link through the unified link and fails to access the first link,
Wherein the first API and the second API are embedded in an application program for using the content storage service,
How to share content. The method according to claim 1,
The step of receiving the integrated link includes:
Providing the first link and the second link to the content sharing mediation server through execution of the second API and receiving the integrated link from the content sharing mediation server,
How to share content. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising the step of transmitting to the external device, when the p2p reception of the contents is completed, the traffic reduction performance information on the use of the p2p reception instead of downloading from the data storage device,
How to share content. The method of claim 3,
When the p2p reception of the content is completed, transmitting the traffic reduction performance information using the p2p reception to the content sharing mediation server instead of downloading from the data storage device,
When the connection with the sender terminal is lost during p2p reception of the content, attempting to successively receive the content through the second link, and transmitting partial traffic saving performance information according to the p2p reception to the external device ≪ / RTI >
How to share content. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the receiving terminal attempts to access to the first link through the unified link first, and attempts to access only the second link only when the access terminal fails to access the first link,
Automatically attempting to download the content over the second link if the p2p connection is lost while receiving the content via the first link.
How to share content. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the receiving terminal attempts to access to the first link through the unified link first, and attempts to access only the second link only when the access terminal fails to access the first link,
Checking whether a p2p connection is available using the first link during downloading the content through the second link; And
Stopping downloading of the content over the second link and initiating p2p reception of the content using the first link if a p2p connection using the first link is possible,
How to share content. A sender terminal executes a first API (Application Programming Interface) included in a software development kit (SDK) distributed by a company that operates a content sharing mediation server, and receives a peer-to-peer Generating a first link for receiving content stored in the sender terminal through data transmission / reception of the first link;
Wherein the sender terminal starts uploading the content to a data storage device providing a content storage service;
Executing a second API included in the SDK and receiving an integrated link indicating the content sharing mediation server using the first link before the sender terminal completes uploading of the content;
Transmitting, by the sender terminal, the integrated link directly to the recipient terminal or transmitting the aggregated link to the recipient terminal via the content sharing mediation server before the content upload is completed; And
Receiving, by the recipient terminal, the content in a p2p manner by accessing the first link via the unified link; And
Wherein the sender terminal is provided with a second link for downloading the content from the data storage device when the upload of the content is completed and providing the second link to the content sharing mediation server, , ≪ / RTI >
Wherein the first API and the second API are embedded in an application program for using the content storage service,
How to share content.

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