Abstract:
A distributed data server is a portable data server that is built by incorporating it with an embedded system. The distributed data server can receive outside data through an input unit, process the outside data via a control unit and then store the processed data to a storage unit. The server provides a network unit for the outside world to inquire about the processed data via the Internet. The server further offers a display unit to show a data message that is outputted from the control unit. In addition, the control unit can determine whether a plurality of states of data being written onto the storage unit are abnormal and, if so, output an abnormal signal as a warning. Hence, the distributed data server can reduce the huge systematic structure of the known distributed data server and construct any type of monitoring system flexibly.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention is generally related to a server and an operating method thereof, and more particularly, a portable data processing server and an operating method thereof. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Presently, most off-site data servers transfer data to a centralized database over the Internet for further storage and management. In this way, it acts as a base for relevant applications for clients. But the scale of such system structure is too large and the cores of such systems are all constructed in a possessive institutional unit or Information Service Provider (ISP). Therefore, more investment is required for base construction and the usages and applications are less flexible. 
         [0005]    Over recent years, a lot of applications on off-site data servers have adapted a kind of broadcast synchronization coordination mechanism to construct a monitoring system for receiving and collecting information in many specific zones for the long term. For this construction, there are many devices that are required in each zone, including at least one computer host and a relative monitoring device for collecting and transferring data to a special purpose server host. The special purpose server host integrates, analyzes and evaluates the collected data for eventually answering inquiries. 
         [0006]    Relative to such enormous systems, there must be some points that are needed to be considered carefully, such as equipment, costs and flexible operations for construction. Therefore, there needs to be an improvement towards simplification, greater flexibility and customized application development. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In view of this, one object of the present invention provides a distributed data server that is built by incorporating it with an embedded system. The distributed data server is provided as a portable server host for conveniently being configured in each zone. Furthermore, the server of the present invention may simply change each monitoring environment in original client locations to be a server type via a network environment in each zone for directly managing data for analysis, evaluation, storage and transfer. Moreover, the server of the present invention provides users an independent server host system for inquiring after relative data, meanwhile it also let users feel that their use is occurring in a single system instead of multiple hosts linked together over the Internet. 
         [0008]    A distributed data server of the present invention includes a control unit, a time control unit for providing time information required by the control unit, an input unit that is a data input interface which is coupled to the control unlit, at least one storage unit for recording data which is processed, calculated or analyzed by the control unit and is for answering remote queries, a display unit for displaying information provided by the control unit, a power supply unit for providing power to the control unit, the time control unit, the display unit and the storage unit when they are operating, and a network unit configured to be coupled to the control unit that is a communication interface for the Internet, whereby the control unit may determine an abnormal situation of data recorded by the storage unit and further outputting an abnormal signal to show that abnormal situation. 
         [0009]    The general description above and the following details as well as the drawings are all used to further illustrate those manners, means, and efficacies employed in the present invention to achieve the desired purposes. Other purposes and advantages of the present invention will be explained also in the following descriptions and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is another flowchart according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the present invention provides a portable distributed data server. The server of the invention comprises a control unit  10 , a time control unit  20 , a network unit  30 , an input unit  40 , a power supply unit  50 , at least one storage unit  60 , and a display unit  70 . 
         [0014]    The control unit  10  includes a microcontroller  101 , an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM)  102 , a program recording unit  103  and a switching device  104 . The recording unit  103  may record a firmware program with a function of a network server to the EEPROM  102 , wherein besides storing the firmware program, the EEPROM  102  may provide a monitoring mode and a time adjusting mode, reporting said modes for further executing, and incorporating with the microcontroller for operating. The microcontroller  101  which belongs to a single chip controller may be arranged with the recording unit  103  to make the controller  10  an embedded system. Additionally, modes of the distributed data server may be selected by the switching device  104  via a switching manner. 
         [0015]    A time control unit  20  is configured to provide time information required by the control unit  10  in operation. The input unit  40  is configured to receive and collect information outside data, wherein the outside data may be processed, calculated and analyzed by the control unit  10  and then written to the storage unit  60  for inquiring and accessing by the network unit  30  external of the Internet. The storage unit  60  may be a MultiMedia Card/RSMMC/MM, a SecureDigital Card/MiniSD/MicroSD, a Memory Stick/Memory Stick PRO/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick PRO Duo, a Type I/II Compact Flash Card, a MicroDrive, a SmartMedia Card/xD, a NAND Flash Memory or a Hard Disk Drive, etc. The network unit  30  may be a wired or wireless network card. Additionally, the control unit  10  may determine whether an abnormal situation of data recorded by the storage unit  60  and the network unit  30  may further output an abnormal signal to show that abnormal situation, wherein the abnormal signal may be an I/O signal and have another way of showing up, such as by being written to the storage unit  60  and shown on the display unit  70 . The display unit  70  may be a kind of a Super Twisted Nematic (STN), a Color Super Twisted Nematic (CSTN), a Thin Film Transistor (TFT), a Thin Film Diode (TFD) or an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), etc. 
         [0016]    The power supply unit  50  includes a first power unit  501  for providing the power required by the control unit  10 , the time control unit  20  and the storage unit  60  when they are operating. A second power unit  502  included by the power supply unit  50  is an independent power source for the display unit  70  so as to avoid a problem of there being insufficient power occurring due to sharing power with the control unit  10 . A third power unit  503  also included by the power supply unit  50  is a back-up power for ensuring the time control unit  20  may operate normally after being shut down by the first power unit  501 , wherein the third power unit  503  may be a kind of carbon battery, an alkaline battery, a Li battery, a pen battery, a Nickel-Cadmium battery, a Nickel-Metal Hydride battery, or a Li-ion battery, etc. 
         [0017]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , wherein  FIG. 2  is a flowchart according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In S 201 , outside data is received and collected by the input unit  40  via a wired or wireless method, then in S 203 , the data is processed, calculated and analyzed by the control unit  10 . In step  205 , the processed data is stored in available addresses of the storage unit  60 , wherein the available addresses correspond to time information provided by the time control unit  20 . It deserves to be mentioned that if external users want to inquire after relative data in the storage unit  60  (in S 206 ), they may use the Internet to inquire through the network unit  30 . After finishing storing the data, the control unit  10  may determine whether the data is in an abnormal situation (in S 207 ). If a determining result is true in S 207 , an abnormal signal is outputted in S 209 . On the contrary, the present invention may repeat data receiving and collecting in S 201  whether the determining result is false in S 207  or after S 209 . The abnormal situations mentioned above may be a situation of an environmental temperature being higher than a predetermined temperature or a situation where no changeable activation has occurred in the monitoring data for a long time. When determining that those values are identified with abnormal situations, which are set by the control unit  10 , then S 209  is performed to output an abnormal signal for warning, wherein the abnormal signal may be an I/O signal for triggering a warning device and the information issuing device. 
         [0018]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , wherein  FIG. 3  is a flowchart of another embodiment of the present invention. In S 301 , a present mode which exists in the distributed data server is firstly determined. In S 303 , whether or not a number of times the network server program has been executed complies with a predetermined value of the program if the present mode is in monitoring mode is determined. If a result in S 303  is true then a monitoring operation is processed in S 305 , wherein the monitoring operation comprises reading out time information from the time control unit  20 , starting to collect the data received by the input unit  40 , detecting statuses of the storage unit  60 , updating content displayed by the display unit  70 , and finally clearing the execution times of the network server program. Alternatively, if the result in S 303  is false or after S 305 , then whether time differences are between unlocking monitoring modes is determined to achieve a predetermined interval time, which is set by the program in S 307 . If a result in S 307  is true, available addresses that correspond to time information provided by the time control unit are calculated and provided. The data is then stored in available addresses in S 309 . But if the determining result in S 307  is false or followed by S 309 , then the present time information provided by the control unit  20  is determined to comply with a predetermined time point which is set by the program. If a result in S 307  is true and is followed by S 309 , the storing data is integrated and analyzed before the time point for outputting an analysis evaluation report in S 313 . After S 313 , if the result in S 311  is false, the network server program starts being executed in S 315 . It is then further determined whether or not a remote inquiring instruction has been received in S 317 . If a result in S 317  is true, then the data which corresponds to the available addresses in the storage unit  60  is read out according to a time point which is provided by the inquiring instruction in S 319 . After S 3139 , or if the determining result in S 317  is false, the process returns to S 301  and continues. 
         [0019]    If the present mode which exists in the distributed data server is a time adjusting mode, time information provided by the time control unit  20  is read in S 321 , and then adjusted in S 323 . Finally, the time is updated in the time control unit  20  and displayed by the display unit  70  in S 325 . 
         [0020]    If the present mode which exists in the distributed data server is a reporting mode, data allocations are calculated in the storage unit  60 , which corresponded to a present time information provided by the time control unit  20  in S 327 , then an analysis evaluation report in the storage unit  60  is read according to the data allocations. Data displayed on the display unit  70  is then updated in S 329 . 
         [0021]    As above-mentioned, the distributed data server of the present invention may select a monitoring mode, a time adjusting mode, and a reporting mode via a switching device  104 . Users may operate the distributed data server directly, and may also access data in the distributed data server from a remote side via the Internet. 
         [0022]    The distributed data server of the present invention only uses a micro-control unit  10  incorporated with a network unit  30  to directly connect to the system providing the Internet. Relative to the prior art data server, there are a number of advantages, such as a smaller size, lower cost, greater flexibility, easier construction and higher security, to meet a core system requirement for numbers of portable system researches. 
         [0023]    Obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the present invention can be practiced other than as specifically described herein. Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it is obvious to those who are skilled in the art that many modifications of the present invention may be made without departing from what is intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.