METHOD FOR REMOTELY CONTROLLING SERVER AND ASSOCIATED COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

A method for remotely controlling a server includes: receiving a push message, in which the push message represents that an operation of the server is suspended; showing a control interface on a screen of a cellular phone when receiving a user's click command; and when receiving a user's control command from the control interface, transmitting a control signal to the server according to the user's control command, in which the control signal is used to inform the server about a following strategy of the operation, to make the server continue performing the operation or terminate the operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for remotely controlling a server, and more particularly to a method for providing an immediate command feedback mechanism for a long period task and an associated computer program product.

2. Description of the Related Art

When a user uses a computer/server to execute a task which requires a long period of time, the user must wait in front of the computer/server to assure the task has been completed. Otherwise, if any problem occurs during the task which requires a user's intervention, the problem cannot be fixed. In such cases, the computer/server will usually stop executing the task. In other words, if the user wants to make sure the task can be completed successfully, a long wait in front of the computer is necessary which causes an inconvenient experience for the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the objectives of the present invention is therefore to provide an immediate command feedback mechanism for a long period task to solve the abovementioned problem.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a computer program product is disclosed, in which the computer program product is installed in a storage element of a cellular phone, and when a processor of the cellular phone executes the computer program product, the cellular phone performs an interaction with a server. The interaction includes: receiving a push information, in which the push information represents that an operation of the server is suspended; displaying a control interface on a screen of the cellular phone when a user's click command is received; and when receiving a user's control command from the control interface, transmitting a control signal to the server according to the user's control command, in which the control signal is arranged to inform the server of a following strategy of the operation to make the server continue performing the operation or terminate the operation.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for remotely controlling server is disclosed, comprising: receiving a push message, in which the push message represents that an operation of the server is suspended; displaying a control interface of a screen of a cellular phone when a user's click command is received; and when receiving a user's control command from the control interface, transmitting a control signal to the server according to the user's control command, in which the control signal is arranged to inform the server of a following strategy of the operation to make the server continue performing the operation or terminate the operation.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1is a diagram illustrating the architecture of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 1, the system includes a cellular phone110, a server120, a push server130and an intermediate server140, in which the cellular phone110at least includes a processor112and a storage element114storing a computer program product115. In this embodiment, the cellular phone110can be a mobile electronic device with communication and network function, e.g. a smart phone. The computer program product115stored in the storage element114can be a mobile application (APP) downloaded from another server, and the operation of the following embodiments of the present invention can be done by executing the computer program product115via the processor112. In addition, the cellular phone110, the server120, the push server130and the intermediate server140connect via a Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet.

In this embodiment, the server120can be an all-in-one server which can be a data server, a webpage server, a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server, a remote access virtual private network server, a proxy server, etc. For example, the server may be a Network Attached Storage (NAS) server provided by Synology™; in addition, the intermediate server140can act as an intermediary when the cellular phone110cannot connect with the server120. The push server130can be used to receive a push message requisition, and transmit a push message to a designated cellular phone.

In the operation of the system shown inFIG. 1, the user initially downloads and installs a dedicated application (APP) with the cellular phone110, and executes the dedicated APP to bind with the server120. For example, after executing the dedicated APP designed for the server120, the cellular phone110connects with a log in page of the server120. After the user keys in the correct user's name and password, the server120records the relevance with the cellular phone110.

Next, when the user controls the server120via the electronic device such as a desktop or laptop to execute an operation which needs a long period to complete, and when the operation is suspended to wait for the user to confirm the following strategy, the server120makes the push server130transmit a push message to the cellular110indicating that the operation of the server is now suspended. The user can click the push message on the cellular phone110, and the dedicated APP thus displays a control interface on the screen. When the user clicks on the control interface or inputs a control command, the cellular phone110transmits a control signal to the server120directly or via the intermediate server140, in which the control signal is arranged to inform the server120of the following strategy of the operation to make the server120continue performing the operation or terminate the operation.

Through the above operation, the user can learn the status of the operation of the server120immediately from the push message, and also can remotely control the following operation of the server120via the dedicated APP. The user can learn if the operation of the server120is suspended via the cellular phone110which is usually carried by the user, rather than having to wait by the computer. In addition, the user can control the following operation of the server120via the cellular phone110; hence, the server120does not need to be idle for a long period of time, and the efficiency can be greatly improved. As users know how to use an APP, the above operation is quite easy. The control interface shown in the screen of the cellular phone110by the dedicated APP is similar to the interface shown in the computer/server (shown inFIG. 3toFIG. 5), thus the user can control the server120by simply clicking or keying in the control command.

In an embodiment, assume the user controls the server120to perform data copy (for example, copying a plurality of external data into the server120). If data name conflict occurs during the process of data copy (i.e. the server120has data with the same data name already), then the server120suspends the data copy operation and makes the push server130transmit the push message to the cellular phone110to indicate that the data copy operation is suspended due to the data name conflict, in which the push message received by the cellular phone110is shown inFIG. 2. Next, when the user clicks the push message shown inFIG. 2, the dedicated APP displays the control interface shown inFIG. 3on the screen of the cellular phone110, in which the control interface includes options for the following operations for the user. If the user clicks the “skip” option shown inFIG. 3, the cellular phone110transmits the control signal to the server120directly or via the intermediate server140. After the control signal is received, the server120skips the current data (i.e. the data with the same name saved in the server120will not be overwritten), and continues copying the next data. If the user clicks the “overwrite” option shown inFIG. 3, the cellular phone110transmits the control signal to the server120directly or via the intermediate server140. After the control signal is received, the server120continues copying data, i.e. the data with the same name saved in the server120is overwritten.

Through the above embodiment, when the user controls the server to perform data copy which needs a long period of time to complete, the server120can transmit the push message to the cellular phone110via the push server130when a situation occurs, and the user can remotely control the following operation of the server120via the dedicated APP of the cellular phone110. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to wait by the computer to make sure the data copy is completed successfully, which improves the user's experience.

In another embodiment, assume the user controls the server120to perform remote download (for example, download a plurality of data to the server120from other cloud servers). If verification characters or a verification image is shown to request a corresponding input during the file download process (e.g. a CAPTCHA request for preventing a robot), the server120suspends the data download operation, and makes the push server130transmit the push message to the cellular phone110to indicate that the data download operation is suspended due to the verification character request. Next, when the user clicks the push message, the dedicated APP displays the control interface shown inFIG. 5on the screen of the cellular phone110, in which the control interface can display the image of the verification characters, and also provide a column for the user's input. If the user inputs the characters shown in the verification image, the cellular phone110transmits the control signal with the characters inputted by the user to the server120directly or via the intermediate server140. The server120processes the verification character request with the received characters after receiving the control signal to facilitate the data download.

In another embodiment, assume the user controls the server120to perform disk inspection. If a bad sector occurs during the process of disk inspection, the server suspends the disk inspection operation and makes the push server130transmit the push message to the cellular phone110to indicate that the disk inspection is suspended due to the bad sector. Next, when the user clicks the push message, the control interface is shown on the screen of the cellular phone110, in which the control interface can includes options for the following operation for the user, e.g. skip, or terminate. When the user clicks one of the options on the control interface, the cellular phone110transmits the control signal to the server120directly or via the intermediate server140. After the control signal is received, the server120skips the current disk sector to proceed with the disk inspection or terminate the disk inspection according to the user's choice.

It should be noted that the interface and related options shown inFIG. 2toFIG. 5are only for illustrative purposes, and are not limitations of the present invention. In another embodiment, the control interface shown inFIG. 3toFIG. 5can include more options for the user to remotely control the server120via the cellular phone110in a more flexible manner.

FIG. 6is a flowchart illustrating a method for remotely controlling the server120according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the operation in accordance withFIG. 1toFIG. 5, the flow shown inFIG. 6as follows:

Step600: start.
Step602: receive a push message, in which the push message represents that an operation of the server is suspended.
Step604: display a control interface on a screen of the cellular phone when the user's click command is received.
Step606: when the user's control command is received from the control interface, transmit the control signal to the server according to the user's control command, in which the control signal is arranged to inform the server of the following strategy of the operation to make the server continue performing the operation or terminate the operation.

Briefly summarized, in the method for remotely controlling a server and the related computer program product as disclosed by the present invention, the server transmits a push message to the user's cellular phone via the push server when a situation occurs which requires confirmation from the user to proceed with a further operation. The user can learn the operating status of the server via the push message, and can further remotely control the server via the dedicated APP to make the server continue performing the operation or terminate the operation. Through the immediate reaction feedback mechanism, it is not necessary for the user to wait by the computer for a long period of time to ensure the server can complete the task successfully, which improves the user's experience.