Patent Application
20080092144
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the relative arrangement of the components, the numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.
Referring to
Reference numerals 104 and 105 denote multi-functional peripheral equipments (devices having a plurality of types of functions such as a copy function, print function, scanner function, and the like; also called MFPs) connected to the LAN 101. Reference numerals 106 and 107 denote printers connected to the LAN 101. Also, various other devices (network devices) such as a network scanner 108, network camera 109, and the like are connected to the LAN 101.
Network device management of the first embodiment is implemented when a CPU executes software (to be referred to as device management software hereinafter) which runs on the computer 102. The device management software manages various devices 104 to 109 connected to the LAN 101. Also, in another mode, the device management software runs on the server computer 103, and is manipulated by a Web browser which runs on the computer 102, via an HTTP protocol. Note that a case will be exemplified below wherein the device management software runs on the computer 102.
Note that
The functional arrangement implemented by the device management software will be described below with reference to
In
Referring to
Reference numeral 204 denotes a management status setting module used to write designated management statuses in a target device.
Reference numeral 205 denotes a device discover module used to discover devices connected to the LAN 101. The management status setting module 204 and device discover module 205 use the SNMP to communicate with the devices on the network. Reference numeral 206 denotes an SNMP communication module used to provide an SNMP communication function to upper modules.
Reference numeral 207 denotes a storage unit which holds setting values of management statuses (management status setting values) to be written in a target device. Reference numeral 208 denotes a storage unit which holds a list of target devices (target device list). Reference numeral 209 denotes a storage unit which holds a list of devices (device list) discovered by the device discover module 205. As these storage units, for example, a memory or files in the computer 102, tables in a database on the network, and the like can be used.
Reference numeral 210 denotes a network I/O module which is prepared by an operating system (OS) required to run the device management software 201. As the typical network I/O module 210, a socket interface is available.
The hardware arrangement of the computer 102 will be described below with reference to
Referring to
The RAM 1502 serves as a main memory, work area, or the like of the CPU 1501. The external storage device 1510, comprises a hard disk (HD), floppy® disk (FD), and the like. The external storage device 1510 stores a boot program, operating system, various applications including the device management software, database data, font data, user files, and the like.
Furthermore, in the computer 102, reference numeral 1505 denotes a keyboard controller (KBDC), which transmits input information from a keyboard (KBD) 1506 or pointing device (not shown) to the CPU 1501. Reference numeral 1507 denotes a video controller (VC), which controls display on a display device 1508 comprising a CRT, LCD, or the like. Reference numeral 1509 denotes a disk controller (DKC), which controls accesses to the external storage device 1510. Reference numeral 1511 denotes a communication controller (COMM I/F), via which the computer 102 is connected to the LAN 101.
The SNMP will be briefly explained below. As described above, the SNMP is a standard protocol required to manage devices (network devices) connected to a network. The device management software 201 acquires management information from a network device and sets it in the network device using the SNMP. The management information is defined by an MIB (Management Information Base). With the SNMP, one packet stores a plurality of pieces of management information, and a plurality of pieces of management information can be acquired or set at the same time.
Examples of acquisition and setting of management information from and in a network device using the SNMP will be described below with reference to
When the SNMP agent 302 implements all these pieces of management information and these pieces of management information are writable, the SNMP agent 302 executes a write process of these values on a self storage area, and returns a message indicating the success of the write process to the SNMP manager 301.
For example, assume that the SNMP agent 302 does not implement management information C, and management information E is read-only information. In this case, the SNMP agent 302 does not execute the requested write process at all, and returns a SET response 401 shown in
In the SET response 401 from the SNMP agent 302, an “index” row stores a number corresponding to management information in the SET request, which posed a problem first, and a “status” row stores the cause of the problem. If the SET request 303 from the SNMP manager 301 includes a plurality of problems, only information corresponding to the management information in the SET request, which posed a problem first, is included in the SET response 401. Therefore, when the SET request 303 has failed, the SNMP manager 301 cannot detect the number of problems included after the number indicated by the index in the SET response 401.
A management status setting window which allows the user to set setting values of management statuses to be written in a target device will be described below with reference to
On a management status setting window 500, management statuses that can be set are roughly classified into setting items “device information setting” 520, “TCP/IP print setting” 521, and “AppleTalk setting” 522.
The “device information setting” item 520 has an administrator input field 501 of the target device, a telephone number input field 502 of the administrator, a service person input field 503, and a telephone number input field 504 of the service person.
The “TCP/IP print setting” item 521 has a radio button 505 used to designate ON/OFF of LPD printing by the target device, a radio button 506 used to designate the presence/absence of a banner upon LPD printing, and a radio button 507 used to designate ON/OFF of RAW printing.
The “AppleTalk setting” item 522 has a pull-down menu 508 used to select a phase type used, and a zone name input field 509.
The user can input and select information for respective setting items using the keyboard 1505 or pointing device.
If the user presses a “cancel” button 510, the setting process is canceled. On the other hand, if the user presses an “OK” button 511, the setting contents on the management status setting window 500 are settled, and are stored as, e.g., management status setting values 207. Note that a configuration that attaches a check box to the left side of each setting item and allows the user to select a management status to be written in the target device is also available.
The implementation states of the set management statuses in correspondence with respective device types will be described below with reference to
Management information A and management information B are those which are common to all target devices. Management information C and management information D are management statuses that an MFP alone implements. Management information E and management information F are management statuses that a printer alone implements. When the device management software 201 sets management statuses using a single SET request of the SNMP, which combines all management status setting values of management information A to management information F, since this request includes management information that the MFP and printer do not implement, the SET request fails.
Hence, in the first embodiment, paying attention to the fact that the designated management status setting values can be classified into those which devices indispensably implement, and those which some devices do not implement, the management status setting values that all devices implement are set together using a single SET request. On the other hand, the management status setting values, the implementation states of which depend on devices, are set individually.
In other words, the set management status setting value group is classified into the management status setting values common to all target devices, and those which are common to each device type. Then, the management status setting values which belong to each class are simultaneously written (set) in a target device for that class.
The processing to be executed by the device management software 201 of the first embodiment will be described below.
Especially,
In step S701, the device management software 201 reads, for example, the management status setting values set on the management status setting window shown in
The processes in step S703 and subsequent steps will be described below.
In step S703, the device management software 201 writes management information common to all target devices. The management information common to all the target devices includes, e.g., management information A and management information B in
The device management software 201 checks in step S704 if the write process of the management information common to all the target devices has succeeded. If the write process of the management information common to all the target devices has failed (NO in step S704), the process jumps to step S711, and the software 201 records the log information with those contents, thus ending the processing for one target device.
On the other hand, if the write process of the management information common to all the target devices has succeeded (YES in step S704), the process advances to step S705 to update the log information by those contents.
After that, the device management software 201 repeats the write process of management information (step S708) for each device type in the subsequent process (S706). This process will be explained using the example of
The processes in step S706 and subsequent steps will be described below.
In step S706, the device management software 201 sequentially acquires a management information set for each device type. The software 201 checks in step S707 if acquisition of the management information set for each device type has succeeded. If the acquisition has failed (NO in step S707), i.e., if no more management information set to be acquired remains, the process jumps to step S711 to record the log information by those contents, thus ending the processing for one target device.
On the other hand, if the acquisition of the management information set for each device type has succeeded (YES in step S707), the process advances to step S708 to write the acquired management information set in the target device. The device management software 201 checks in step S709 if that write process has succeeded. If the write process has failed (NO in step S709), the process returns to step S706 to acquire the next management information set for each target device type.
On the other hand, if the write process has succeeded (YES in step S709), the device management software 201 updates the log information by those contents in step S710, and the process returns to step S706 to acquire the next management information set for each target device type.
As a practical example, exchange of SNMP packets between the device management software 201 and a printer upon writing the management status setting values shown in
Assume that the printer 107 in
Referring to
Next, the device management software 201 sequentially writes the management information for each device type. The software 201 writes a set of [management information C, management information D] common to the MFP first. However, since the printer 107 does not implement these pieces of management information, the write process fails. Then, the software 201 writes a set of [management information E, management information F] common to the printer 107. Since the printer 107 implements these pieces of management information, the write process succeeds.
As described above, according to the first embodiment, paying attention to the fact that the designated management status setting values can be classified into those which devices indispensably implement, and those which some devices do not implement, the management status setting values that all devices implement are set together using a single request. On the other hand, the management status setting values, the implementation states of which depend on devices, are set individually.
As a result, the processing efficiency associated with the setting processes can improve, thus reducing the network traffic.
The arrangement of the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals denote the same parts as in the arrangement of the first embodiment, a description of the first embodiment will be quoted, and only differences will be explained.
In
Respective pieces of management information that target devices implement are classified into the following four types:
1. a management status group that all target devices commonly and indispensably implement;
2. a management status group that all target devices commonly implement as an option;
3. a management status group that target devices of a specific type commonly and indispensably implement; and
4. a management status group that target devices of a specific type commonly implement as an option.
As for each management status group, the management statuses in that management status group are implemented together. That is, when the management status group includes management statuses 1, 2, and 3, if a given device implements management status 1, it implements all of management statuses 2 and 3. Conversely, if a given device does not implement management status 1, it implements neither management status 2 nor management status 3. The option means a management status which is not implemented in the standard implementation state of a given device but is implemented if a certain option is added to that device.
In
A set of [management information C, management information D] and a set of [management information E, management information F] are the management status groups “3” that target devices of a specific type commonly and indispensably implement. A set of [management information c, management information d] and a set of [management information e, management information f] are the management status groups “4” that target devices of a specific type commonly implement as an option.
Under such situation, for example, when one of target devices is an MFP, the write process of the management information groups [management information E, management information F] and [management information e, management information f] that the printers commonly implement fails. Since [management information E, management information F] are management statuses indispensable to printers, [management information e, management information f] as an option are never implemented without implementing indispensable [management information E, management information F].
The processing to be executed by the device management software 201 of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to
Especially,
The basic processing sequence is the same as that in the flowchart in
In step S1001, the device management software 201 reads, for example, the management status setting values set on the management status setting window shown in
The processes in step S1003 and subsequent steps will be described below.
In step S1003, the device management software 201 writes the management information group common and indispensable to all target devices. The management information group common and indispensable to all the target devices corresponds to, e.g., the set of [management information A, management information B] in
The device management software 201 checks in step S1004 if the write process of the management information group common and indispensable to all the target devices has succeeded. If the write process of the management information group common and indispensable to all the target devices has failed (NO in step S1004), the process jumps to step S1013, and the software 201 records the log information with those contents, thus ending the processing for one target device.
On the other hand, if the write process of the management information group common and indispensable to all the target devices has succeeded (YES in step S1004), the process advances to step S1005 to update the log information by those contents. Subsequently, in step S1006 the device management software 201 writes the management information group common and optional to all the target devices and updates the log information. In case of
Subsequently, the device management software 201 repeats the write process of management information (steps S1009 and S1012) for each device type in the subsequent process (S1007). This process will be explained using the example of
The processes in step S1007 and subsequent steps will be described below.
In step S1007, the device management software 201 sequentially acquires management information groups for each device type. In this case, the software 201 acquires the indispensable and optional management information groups for the type of the target device together. The software 201 checks in step S1008 if acquisition of the management information group for each device type has succeeded. If the acquisition has failed (NO in step S1008), i.e., if no more management information group to be acquired remains, the process jumps to step S1013 to record the log information by those contents, thus ending the processing for one target device.
On the other hand, if the acquisition of the management information group for each device type has succeeded (YES in step S1008), the process advances to step S1009 to write the indispensable management information group of the acquired management information groups in the target device. The device management software 201 checks in step S1010 if that write process has succeeded. If the write process has failed (NO in step S1010), the process returns to step S1007 to acquire the next management information group for each target device type.
On the other hand, if the write process has succeeded (YES in step S1010), the device management software 201 updates the log information by those contents in step S1011. In step S1012, the software 201 writes the optional management information group in the target device and updates the log information. The software 201 executes this step S1012 only when the optional management information group is available. After completion of the write process of the optional management information group, the process returns to step S1007 to acquire the next management information set for each target device type.
As a practical example, exchange of SNMP packets between the device management software 201 and printer upon writing the management status setting values shown in
Especially,
Referring to
Next, the device management software 201 writes [management information a, management information b] as management statuses common and optional to all the target devices in step S1005. Since the printer 106 implements these pieces of management information, the write process succeeds, and the printer 106 returns a message that advises accordingly to the device management software 201.
Subsequently, the device management software 201 sequentially writes the management information for each device type. The software 201 writes a set of [management information C, management information D] common and indispensable to the MFP first. However, since the printer 106 does not implement these pieces of management information, the write process fails. Therefore, the software 201 skips the write process of a set of [management information c, management information d] as management statuses common and optional to the MFP.
Then, the device management software 201 writes a set of [management information E, management information F] as management statuses common and indispensable to the printer 106. Since the printer 106 implements these pieces of management information, the write process succeeds. Since the write process of the management statuses common and indispensable to the printer has succeeded, the device management software 201 subsequently executes the write process of management statuses common and optional to the printer. Since the printer 106 does not implement these optional management statuses, the write process fails.
As described above, according to the second embodiment, even for setting values, whose implementation states depend on devices, a set of setting values, which is indispensably implemented as a set (for example, when setting value A1 is implemented, A2 and A3 are indispensably implemented) is set together. In this way, the processing efficiency associated with the setting processes can improve, thus reducing the network traffic.
The arrangement of the third embodiment is basically the same as that of the second embodiment. Therefore, in the description of the third embodiment, the same reference numerals denote the same parts as in the arrangement of the second embodiment, a description of the second embodiment will be quoted, and only differences will be explained.
When an identical management status has different pieces of management information for respective models, if the write process of management information for one model has succeeded, the write process of management information for another model need not be executed.
The processing to be executed by the device management software 201 of the third embodiment will be described below with reference to
Especially,
The basic processing sequence is the same as that in the flowchart in
In step S1301, the device management software 201 reads, for example, the management status setting values set on the management status setting window shown in
In step S1303, the device management software 201 acquires management statuses common to all target devices. In step S1304, the software 201 calls and executes “write management status and update log information” processing. Details of this processing will be described later with reference to
The device management software 201 checks in step S1305 if the write process in step S1304 has succeeded. If the write process has failed (NO in step S1305), the process jumps to step S1309, and the software 201 records the log information with those contents, thus ending the processing for one target device.
On the other hand, if the write process has succeeded (YES in step S1305), the device management software 201 subsequently repeats the write process of management statuses for each device type (especially, for each model in this case) (step S1308) in the subsequent process (step S1306).
In step S1306, the device management software 201 sequentially acquires management statuses for each device type. The software 201 checks in step S1307 if acquisition of the management statuses for each device type has succeeded. If the acquisition has failed (NO in step S1307), i.e., if no more management statuses to be acquired remain, the process jumps to step S1309 to record the log information by those contents, thus ending the processing for one target device.
On the other hand, if the acquisition of the management statuses for each device type has succeeded (YES in step S1307), the device management software executes “write management status and update log information” processing in step S1308. Details of this processing will be described later with reference to
Details of the processing in steps S1304 and S1307 in
Note that this processing is to be applied to the management statuses acquired in step S1303 or S1306 in
The device management software 201 checks in step S1402 if acquisition of the management information sets for each model has succeeded. If the acquisition has failed (NO in step S1402), i.e., if the sequential acquisition of the management information sets is complete, the software 201 returns “failure” to a call source of the processing. On the other hand, if the acquisition has succeeded (YES in step S1402), the process advances to step S1403.
Note that the following processes will be described under the assumption that the device management software 201 has acquired the first management information set [management information C1, management information D1, management information c1, management information d1]. Even when the software 201 has acquired the next management information set [management information C2, management information D2, management information c2, management information d2], the basic processing sequence is the same.
In step S1403, the device management software 201 separates the acquired management information set into an indispensable management information set ([management information C1, management information D1]) and optional management information set ([management information c1, management information d1]).
In step S1404, the device management software 201 writes the indispensable management information set. The software 201 checks in step S1405 if the write process has succeeded. If the write process has failed (NO in step S1405), the process returns to step S1401 to acquire the next management information set for each model.
On the other hand, if the write process has succeeded (YES in step S1405), the process advances to step S1406 to update the log information by those contents. In step S1407, the device management software 201 writes the optional management information set and updates the log information, and returns “success” to the call source of the processing.
As described above, according to the third embodiment, upon writing (setting) setting values in a target device, an attempt is made to execute a process for setting all designated setting values irrespective of implemented setting values of devices, thus obviating the need for model dependent processes. In this way, when a new device is to be coped with, the management load on the administrator upon changing management statuses can be reduced.
In each of the aforementioned embodiments, a target device may notify the management terminal as a write source of a message of the processing result including success/failure of the write process in that target device. This message includes, e.g., a dedicated dialog, e-mail, and the like.
On the other hand, the management terminal can output the management status setting values, which include the ON/OFF settings of target devices and are actually set, in the form of a table by merging the processing results returned from the respective target devices. In this way, the administrator can easily recognize the setting states of the management status setting values in the target devices.
Causes of the write failure of the management status setting values in a target device include troubles that have occurred on the network itself in addition to those depending on the target device. In such case, if the write process succeeds within a predetermined number of times while expecting removal of such troubles, that write process may be attempted a plurality of number of times.
Note that the present invention can be applied to an apparatus comprising a single device or to system constituted by a plurality of devices.
Furthermore, the invention can be implemented by supplying a software program, which implements the functions of the foregoing embodiments, directly or indirectly to a system or apparatus, reading the supplied program code with a computer of the system or apparatus, and then executing the program code. In this case, so long as the system or apparatus has the functions of the program, the mode of implementation need not rely upon a program.
Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the claims of the present invention also cover a computer program for the purpose of implementing the functions of the present invention.
In this case, so long as the system or apparatus has the functions of the program, the program may be executed in any form, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or scrip data supplied to an operating system.
Example of storage media that can be used for supplying the program are a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile type memory card, a ROM, and a DVD (DVD-ROM and a DVD-R).
As for the method of supplying the program, a client computer can be connected to a website on the Internet using a browser of the client computer, and the computer program of the present invention or an automatically-installable compressed file of the program can be downloaded to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Further, the program of the present invention can be supplied by dividing the program code constituting the program into a plurality of files and downloading the files from different websites. In other words, a WWW (World Wide Web) server that downloads, to multiple users, the program files that implement the functions of the present invention by computer is also covered by the claims of the present invention.
It is also possible to encrypt and store the program of the present invention on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distribute the storage medium to users, allow users who meet certain requirements to download decryption key information from a website via the Internet, and allow these users to decrypt the encrypted program by using the key information, whereby the program is installed in the user computer.
Besides the cases where the aforementioned functions according to the embodiments are implemented by executing the read program by computer, an operating system or the like running on the computer may perform all or a part of the actual processing so that the functions of the foregoing embodiments can be implemented by this processing.
Furthermore, after the program read from the storage medium is written to a function expansion board inserted into the computer or to a memory provided in a function expansion unit connected to the computer, a CPU or the like mounted on the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs all or a part of the actual processing so that the functions of the foregoing embodiments can be implemented by this processing.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-283145 filed on Oct. 17, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-283145 | Oct 2006 | JP | national |
