The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a device, and a control method of the information processing apparatus, which are used in a network system for searching for a device on a network.
Conventionally, a device such as a printer or the like which is connected on a network can be used by a client PC (personal computer) via the network. At that time, it is necessary for the client PC to first find the intended device on the network, and then install the driver software for using the found device. Here, there are several techniques for searching for the device on the network. One of these techniques is to transmit a search request packet by using broadcasting or multicasting. Here, it should be noted that the broadcasting and the multicasting are widely and generally known as methods of transmitting data to plural devices provided on a network. In such device search techniques as described above, the client PC transmits the search request packet by using the broadcasting or the multicasting, and the device which received the search request packet transmits a search response packet to the client PC, whereby the client PC searches for the device.
Further, it is possible to constitute a large-scale network by mutually connecting plural small-scale networks via a connection device such as a router or the like. In the large-scale network like this, since the broadcasting and the multicasting generally affect entire traffic of the network, the router is often used in such a setting of invalidating the broadcasting and the multicasting. The network which has been partitioned by the router is called a subnet, and the broadcasting and the multicasting are generally used only in each subnet. If a network device search technique using the broadcasting and/or the multicasting is applied to such a circumstance, a search request packet transmitted by a client PC cannot pass the router. Consequently, in the network circumstance in which the plural subnets are mutually connected via the router, it is impossible for the client PC of one subnet to find a device existing in another subnet.
To solve such a problem as described above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-097057 proposes a technique of providing a server for each subnet and thus exchanging device information and search requests among the respective servers.
In the above-described conventional technique, to make an inquiry to a server, a client PC has to previously know the network address of the relevant server. In other words, a user has to previously register the network address of the relevant server to each client PC. Further, it is necessary to previously register information of devices on the network. Therefore, it is troublesome for the user, a system administrator and the like to perform such registration operations, since the number of servers increases if the number of subnets increases and an operation load increases according as the numbers of devices and client PCs increase.
The present invention has been completed in consideration of such conventional problems as described above, and thus aims to reduce, in a case where a search server for searching for a device is set, troublesomeness of setting operations for the purpose of use of the search server by the client PC and the device.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus which comprises: a management unit adapted to manage plural network addresses; an allocation unit adapted to, according to a request from an apparatus newly connected to a network, allocate, from among the network addresses managed by the management unit, the network address not allocated to other apparatus; a storage unit adapted to store the network address of a search server of performing a search according to a search request for searching for a device on the network and of responding to the search request by a searched result; and a transmission unit adapted to transmit the network address allocated by the allocation unit and the network address stored in the storage unit to the apparatus.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device, connected to a network, which comprises: a transmission unit adapted to transmit a request on the network so as to acquire a network address of the device from an information processing apparatus provided on the network; a reception unit adapted to receive, from the information processing apparatus, the network address of the device and a network address of a search server of performing a search according to a search request for searching for the device on the network and of responding to the search request by a searched result; and a second transmission unit adapted to transmit device information of the device itself to the search server, based on the network address of the search server received by the reception unit.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus, connected to a network, which comprises: a transmission unit adapted to transmit a request on the network so as to acquire a network address of the information processing apparatus from a server provided on the network; a reception unit adapted to receive, from the server, the network address of the information processing apparatus and a network address of a search server of performing a search according to a search request for searching for a device on the network and of responding to the search request by a searched result; and a second transmission unit adapted to transmit the search request to the search server based on the network address of the search server received by the reception unit.
Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate the exemplary first embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.
The network device search system includes a subnet 1 to which a DHCP server 101 and a DP (Discovery Proxy) 102 acting as a search server are connected, a subnet 2 to which a client PC 103 and an image forming apparatus 104 are connected, and a subnet 3 to which an image forming apparatus 105 is connected. Further, the subnet 1 and the subnet 2 are mutually connected to each other via a router 106, the subnet 1 and the subnet 3 are mutually connected to each other via a router 107, and one LAN (local area network) is constituted by the subnets 1, 2 and 3. Thus, all the terminals connected to the subnets 1, 2 and 3 can mutually communicate resultingly. However, each of the routers 106 and 107 does not pass broadcasting and multicasting from one subnet to the other subnet. Consequently, communication by use of broadcasting and/or multicasting can be performed only within each subnet. Here, it should be noted that each of the image forming apparatuses 104 and 105, which is an example of the device in the present invention, is a printer, a copying machine, a scanner, a multifunctional machine, a facsimile machine, or the like. Also, it should be noted that, as described later, a general-purpose PC can be used as each of the DHCP server 101, the DP 102 and the client PC 103, which is an example of the information processing apparatus in the present invention. In the network device search system illustrated in
Subsequently, a method of distributing setting information such as an IP (Internet Protocol) address and the like by using a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) will be described. The DHCP is the protocol in which a scheme for distributing setting information to respective terminals connected to a network, and the detail of the DHCP has been defined by the RFC2131 (Request For Comment 2131). The DHCP adopts a client/server method, the DHCP server unitarily controls various kinds of setting information, and a network terminal acting as the DHCP client receives the setting information.
The DHCP client, which received the DHCP OFFER message, broadcasts a DHCP REQUEST message for using the IP address included in the DHCP OFFER message (S2003). Then, the DHCP server, which received the DHCP REQUEST message, transmits a DHCP ACK message (S2004). Subsequently, the DHCP client, which received the DHCP ACK message, performs network communication by using the distributed IP address and the distributed setting information.
Besides, an available period (lease time) has been set to the IP address distributed by the DHCP server. Therefore, if the DHCP client wishes to continuously use the acquired IP address after the lease time, the DHCP client transmits the DHCP REQUEST message to the DHCP server before the lease time lapses (S2005). The DHCP server, which received the DHCP REQUEST from the DHCP client at the already-allocated IP address, updates the lease time for the relevant IP address, and again transmits the DHCP ACK message to the relevant DHCP client (S2006).
If the DHCP client stops using the IP address, the DHCP client transmits a DHCP RELEASE message to the DHCP server (S2007). The DHCP server, which received the DHCP RELEAASE message, releases the allocation of the relevant IP address, and enables to allocate the relevant IP address to another DHCP client.
Further, if the DHCP server does not receive the DHCP REQUEST message from the DHCP client at the already-allocated IP address and then the lease time lapses, the DHCP server releases the allocation of the relevant IP address. Then, the DHCP server enables to allocate the relevant IP address to another DHCP client.
Incidentally, in the flow illustrated in
On the other hand, in the network in which the plural subnets are connected via the routers as illustrated in
First, the router 106 having the relay agent function has previously stored the IP address of the DHCP server 101. Then, the client PC 103 acting as the DHCP client broadcasts the DHCP DISCOVER message and the DHCP REQUEST message to the subnet 2. If the router 106 receives the DHCP DISCOVER message and the DHCP REQUEST message, the router 106 transfers these messages in unicast to the DHCP server 101 which has previously stores these messages. If the DHCP server 101 receives the DHCP DISCOVER message and the DHCP REQUEST message in unicast from the router 106, the DHCP server 101 transmits the DHCP OFFER message and the DHCP ACK message in unicast to the router 106. Then, if the router 106 receives the DHCP OFFER message and the DHCP ACK message from the DHCP server 101, the router 106 broadcasts these messages to the subnet 2.
As just described, since the router having the relay agent function receives the broadcasted DHCP message and transfers this message in unicast to the DHCP server, the DHCP client comes to be able to receive the information from the DHCP server.
In the present embodiment, the options field 301 is expanded and used. If the tag representing the IP address of the DP is defined and the IP address of the DP is set as the data, the IP address information of the DP can be distributed to the DHCP clients such as the client PC, the device and the like by using the DHCP. Further, in a case where the plural DPs exist on the network, if the IP addresses of the plural DPs are set in the options field 301, the IP address information of these DPs can be distributed.
Further, in a case where the relay agent transfers the DHCP message to the DHCP server, the IP address of the relay agent itself is set to a giaddr field 302. Thus, in a case where the DHCP server receives the DHCP message, if the received DHCP message is the message transmitted from the relay agent, the DHCP server can identify the subnet to which the DHCP client belongs, by confirming the giaddr field 302. Furthermore, the IP address to be allocated by the DHCP server to the DHCP client is set to a yiaddr field 303.
Subsequently, in the configuration of the network device search system illustrated in
In
In the DP 102, a device information notification reception unit 511 receives a notification of a registration request, an update request or a deletion request of device information from the image forming apparatus 104, and performs a process of the device information held by a device information holding unit 514 on the basis of the kind of received notification. Then, if it is judged as the result of the process that it is necessary to acquire the device information, a device information acquisition unit 512 transmits a device information acquisition request to the image forming apparatus 104, and holds the returned device information in the device information holding unit 514. Subsequently, a device information search processing unit 513 receives a device information search request from the client PC 103, searches for the device information in the device information holding unit 514 on the basis of the designated search condition. Then, the device information search processing unit 513 transmits a searched result to the client PC 103. Here, it should be noted that the device information held by the device information holding unit 514 will be described later.
In the client PC 103, a DHCP client processing unit 521 performs the above-described process as the DHCP client. Since the IP address and various setting information delivered from the DHCP server are held and stored in a setting information storage unit 522, the user can appropriately refer to and use them. A device search request processing unit 523 transmits a device search request to the DP 102, and a search information display unit 524 displays a result thereof.
In the image forming apparatus 104, a DHCP client processing unit 531 performs the above-described process as the DHCP client. Since the IP address and various setting information delivered from the DHCP server are held and stored in a setting information storage unit 532, the user can appropriately refer to and use them. A device information management unit 534 manages the device information of the image forming apparatus 104 itself. A device information notification unit 533 transmits a registration request, an update request or a deletion request of the device information to the DP 102 if a notification of the device information is necessary. Then, if a device information acquisition request is received via the network, a device information transmission unit 535 transmits to the request source the device information managed by the device information management unit 534.
In
The ID 601 indicates an ID for identifying the device in the DP, the UUID 602 indicates a UUID for globally identifying the device, and the version 603 indicates a version of the device information. The device type 604 indicates a type of the device such as “MFP” implying a multifunction peripheral, “Printer” implying a printer, or the like. The model name 605 indicates a model name of the device such as “LBP XXXX” or the like. The device name 606 indicates a name which is set to the device by a device manager, the URL 607 indicates a URL for acquiring the device information, and the IP address 608 indicates an IP address of the device.
Subsequently, a process to be performed in a case where the DHCP server 101 distributes the setting information such as the IP address and the like to the DHCP client will be described with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
Initially, in a step S2201, the DHCP DISCOVER message transmitted by the DHCP client or the relay agent is received via the NIC 3008. Then, in a step S2202, the setting information to be allocated to the DHCP client is identified by the CPU 3001 in a later-described method.
In a step S2203, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not the setting information is identified by the process in the step S2202. If it is judged that the setting information is not identified, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is judged that the setting information is identified, the flow advances to a step S2204 to further judge whether or not an unallocated IP address (that is, the IP address which is not yet allocated) remains in the identified setting information. Then, if it is judged that the unallocated IP address does not remain, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is judged that the unallocated IP address remains, the flow advances to a step S2205 to generate the DHCP OFFER message. At that time, the IP address to be distributed is set to the yiaddr field 303 in
In a step S2207, the DHCP REQUEST message transmitted by the DHCP client or the relay agent is received via the NIC 3008. The IP address set in the yiaddr field of the DHCP OFFER message is included in the options field 301 of the DHCP REQUEST message. Then, in a step S2208, it is set by the CPU 3001 that the corresponding IP address in the distribution information DB 503 has been allocated. Next, in a step S2209, the request option further included in the options field 301 of the DHCP REQUEST message is confirmed by the CPU 3001, and the DHCP ACK message to which the requested option information is set is generated by referring to the distribution information DB 503. Subsequently, the generated DHCP ACK message is transmitted to the DHCP client via the NIC 3008, and the process ends.
Initially, in a step S2301, the value of the giaddr filed included in the DHCP DISCOVER message received in the step S2201 is acquired by the CPU 3001. Next, in a step S2302, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not the value of the giaddr filed is “0”. Then, if it is judged that the value of the giaddr filed is “0”, this implies that the DHCP DISCOVER message is directly transmitted from the DHCP client which exists in the subnet same as that the DHCP server exists in. Consequently, in a step S2303, the subnet 1 setting 2101 is identified by the CPU 3001 as the setting information to be distributed. On the other hand, if it is judged in the step S2302 that the value of the giaddr filed is other than “0”, the flow advances to a step S2304. In the step S2304, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not the value of the giaddr field is within the scope of the subnet 2 setting information. More specifically, it is judged in this step whether or not the network address of the giaddr field coincides with the network address of the relevant scope. If it is judged in the step S2304 that the network address of the giaddr field coincides with the network address of the relevant scope (that is, “YES” in the step S2304), the flow advances to a step S2305. In the step S2305, the subnet 2 setting information 2102 is identified by the CPU 3001 as the setting information to be distributed. On the other hand, if it is judged in the step S2304 that the network address of the giaddr field does not coincide with the network address of the relevant scope (that is, “NO” in the step S2304), the flow advances to a step S2306. In the step S2306, it is further judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not the value of the giaddr is within the scope of the subnet 3 setting information. Then, if it is judged that the value of the giaddr is within the scope of the subnet 3 setting information (that is, “YES” in the step S2306, the flow advances to a step S2307. In the step S2307, the subnet 3 setting information 2103 is identified as the setting information to be distributed. On the other hand, if it is judged in the step S2306 that the value of the giaddr is not within the scope of the subnet 3 setting information (that is, “NO” in the step S2306), the flow advances to a step S2308 to end the process without identifying the setting information.
Subsequently, a process of registering the device information of the image forming apparatus 104 to the DP 102 will be described. The image forming apparatus 104 operates as the DHCP client, and the DHCP server 101 performs the processes of the flow charts illustrated in
In a case where the image forming apparatus 104 starts its operation or the device information varies, the image forming apparatus 104 notifies the DP 102 of its existence by transmitting in unicast a Hello message of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) format as illustrated in
The Hello message illustrated in
The header section 701, which acts as a common header which does not depend on the content of the message, includes an <Action> tag, a <MessageID> tag and a <To> tag. Here, it should be note that the <Action> tag is to identify a kind of message, the <MessageID> tag is to uniquely identify the message, and the <To> tag is to identify a transmission destination of the message. On the other hand, the structure of the body section 702 varies according to the content of the message. In
The DP 102 extracts, from the Hello message, the value of the <Address> tag in the <EndpointReference> tag as the UUID for globally identifying the device, extracts the value of the <Types> tag as the device type, extracts the value of the <MetadataVersion> tag as the version of the device information, and further extracts the value of the <XAddrs> as the URL for acquiring the device information. Then, the DP 102 stores the extracted information in the device information holding unit 514. At the same time, the DP 102 stores the IP address of the transmission source of the Hello message in the device information holding unit 514.
After then, the DP 102 transmits in unicast a Get message of XML format as illustrated in
If the Get message is received, the device information transmission unit 535 of the image forming apparatus 104 transmits a Get Response message as illustrated in
In the Get Response message illustrated in
The value of the <FriendlyName> tag and the value of the <ModelName> tag are extracted from the received device information by the DP 102 respectively as the device name and the model name, and the extracted values are stored in the device information holding unit 514.
In a step S1401, the Hello message transmitted from the image forming apparatus is received by the DP 102 via the NIC 3008. Next, in a step S1402, the UUID is extracted from the received Hello message by the CPU 3001. Then, in a step S1403, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not a record having the UUID same as the extracted UUID exists in the device information holding unit 514. If it is judged that the record does not exist, the flow advances to a step S1404. In the step S1404, the record is newly added to the device information of
Subsequently, a process in which the device information registered in the DP 102 is deleted by the image forming apparatus 104 will be described.
If the operation of the image forming apparatus 104 stops (for example, if the image forming apparatus 104 is shut down), the image forming apparatus 104 transmits in unicast a Bye message as illustrated in
In the Bye message illustrated in
The UUID information is extracted from the Bye message by the DP 102, and thus the corresponding device information is deleted from the device information holding unit 514.
In a step S1501, the Bye message transmitted from the image forming apparatus is received by the DP 102 via the NIC 3008. Next, in a step S1502, the UUID is extracted from the received Bye message by the CPU 3001. Then, in a step S1503, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not a record having the UUID same as the extracted UUID exists in the device information holding unit 514. If it is judged that the record exists, the flow advances to a step S1504. In the step S1504, the record is deleted from the device information holding unit 514 by the CPU 3001. On the other hand, if it is judged in the step S1503 that the record does not exist, the process ends immediately.
Subsequently, a process in which the client PC 103 searches for the image forming apparatus by using the DP 102 will be described. The client PC 103 operates as the DHCP client, and the DHCP server 101 performs the processes of the flow charts illustrated in
The client PC 103 transmits in unicast a Probe message of XML format as illustrated in
If the Probe message is received by the DP 102, the <Types> tag is extracted to search for, in the device information holding unit 514, the device which conforms to the search condition, and a Probe Match message as illustrated in
In the client PC 103, the URL described by an <XAddrs> tag is extracted from the Probe Match message, and the Get message as illustrated in
If plural searched results are included in the Probe Match message, the Get message is repeatedly transmitted from the client PC 103 so as to acquire all the device information.
In a step S1601, the Probe message transmitted from the client PC 103 is received by the DP 102 via the NIC 3008. Next, in a step S1602, the value of the <Types> tag in the received Probe message is extracted by the CPU 3001. Then, in a step S1603, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not the value of the <Types> tag is “zero”. If it is judged that the value is not “zero”, the flow advances to a step S1604. In the step S1604, the records of the device information held in the device information holding unit 514 are searched by the CPU 3001 to judge whether or not the record having the same device type (value) as the extracted value exists. If it is judged that the record having the same device type as the extracted value exists (that is, if the device types are coincident), the flow advances to a step S1605. In the step S1605, the response data corresponding to the relevant record is generated by the CPU 3001. Then, in a step S1606, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not confirmation for all the records ends. If it is judged that the confirmation ends, the flow advances to a step S1607. In the step S1607, the response data generated up to this time are united by the CPU 3001, the Probe Match message as illustrated in
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to search for the device even if the relevant device exists over the subnet. Further, since it becomes possible to easily register the device search server to the client PC and the device, it is possible to reduce a labor hour for the system administrator and the user. That is, in case of distributing the address from the DHCP server to the client PC and the device, since it is possible for the DHCP server to also distribute the address of the device search server, it becomes unnecessary to again register the address of the device search server to the client PC and the device.
Next, an example of another system configuration will be described as the second embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the device information to be held in the device information holding unit 514 of the DP 102 is updated not based on reception of the notification from the image forming apparatus but based on reception of a notification from the DHCP server.
Incidentally, it should be noted that the network configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment illustrated in
In
A distribution situation reception unit 1711 of the DP 102, which received the notification from the DHCP server 101, performs, based on a kind of received notification, a process by using the device information held in the device information holding unit 514. If it is necessary to acquire the device information, the device information acquisition unit 512 transmits a device information acquisition request to the image forming apparatus 104, and then holds the returned device information in the device information holding unit 514.
The image forming apparatus 104 does not have a unit corresponding to the device information notification unit 533 as in the first embodiment. Consequently, even if the IP address of the DP 102 is distributed from the DHCP server 101, the image forming apparatus 104 does not directly notify the DP 102 of the distributed IP address.
First, such a notification message as illustrated in
Further, if it is judged in the step S1902 that the type is “2”, the flow advances to a step S1909. In the step S1909, the Probe message is transmitted from the DP 102 to the IP address included in the received notification message via the NIC 3008. Then, the Probe Match message as the response for the Probe message is received in a step S1910, and the UUID is extracted by the CPU 3001 from the Probe Match message in a step S1911. Then, in a step S1912, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not a record having the UUID same as the extracted UUID exists in the device information holding unit 514. If it is judged that the record does not exist, the flow advances to a step S1913. In the step S1913, a record is newly added to the device information holding unit 514 by the CPU 3001. Then, the Get message is transmitted in a step S1914, the device information as the response for the Get message is acquired in a step S1915, the record added to the device information holding unit 514 is updated by the CPU 3001 in a step S1916, and then the process ends. On the other hand, if it is judged in the step S1912 that the record exists, the flow advances to a step S1917. In the step S1917, the version information is extracted from the Probe Match message by the CPU 3001. Next, in a step S1918, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not the version information extracted in the step S1917 is the same as the version information in the record of which the UUID is coincident. If it is judged that the version information is not the same, the flow advances to the step S1914. In the step S1914, the device information is updated by the CPU 3001. On the other hand, if it is judged that the version information are the same, the process ends immediately.
Furthermore, if it is judged in the step S1902 that the type is “3”, the flow advances to a step S1919. In the step S1919, it is judged by the CPU 3001 whether or not a record having the IP address included in the notification message exists in the device information held in the device information holding unit 514. If it is judged that the record exists, the flow advances to a step S1920. In the step S1920, the record is deleted from the device information holding unit 514 by the CPU 3001. On the other hand, if it is judged that the record does not exist, the process ends immediately.
Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the apparatuses capable of deleting the device information held in the device information holding unit 514 can be limited. In other words, it is possible to set that only a specific apparatus can delete the device information held in the device information holding unit 514 of the DP 102.
In
In the above constitution, the apparatus capable of deleting the device information held in the DP 102 can be limited only to, for example, the DHCP server 101.
As described above, according to the second embodiment, it becomes unnecessary for the client PC 103 or the image forming apparatus 104 to notify the DP 102 of own information. Therefore, even in the condition that the client PC or the image forming apparatus cannot notify the DP 102 of own information, the DHCP server instead of the client PC or the image forming apparatus can notify the DP 102 of the device information. For example, if the image forming apparatus cannot transmit the Bye message to the DP because the power supply of the image forming apparatus was turned off, the DHCP server can know the fact that the image forming apparatus cannot be used, because the an update of the IP address is not requested. In such a case, the DHCP server instead of the image forming apparatus can transmit a notification for requesting deletion of the information of the image forming apparatus from the device information of the DP 102. Therefore, the DP can manage more accurate device information even in such a condition.
Next, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
It should be noted that, although only one DP is disposed on the network in the above-described embodiments, the DP is disposed for each of the subnets in the present embodiment.
In the system configuration like this, according to the present embodiment, distribution setting as illustrated in
Subsequently, a process to be performed in a case where the DHCP server 101 distributes the setting information such as the IP address and the like to the DHCP client will be described with reference to a flow chart illustrated in
Initially, in a step S2701, the DHCP DISCOVER message transmitted by the DHCP client or the relay agent is received by the DHCP server 101. Then, in a step S2702, the setting information to be allocated is identified by the CPU 3001 in the method of the first embodiment illustrated in
By the above process, the IP address of the DP 102 is distributed to the image forming apparatus 104, and IP address of the DP 108 is distributed as the DP address to the image forming apparatus 105.
As a result, the image forming apparatus 104 comes to notify the DP 102 of its existence, and the image forming apparatus 105 comes to notify the DP 108 of its existence. After then, by performing the message exchange same as that in the first embodiment, the device information of the image forming apparatus 104 is held in the DP 102, and the device information of the image forming apparatus 105 is held in the DP 108.
On the other hand, the IP addresses of the DPs 102 and 108 are distributed as the DP address to the client PC 103. Then, the client PC 103 repeatedly performs the process same as that in the first embodiment to both the DPs 102 and 108, thereby enabling to acquire the device information of the image forming apparatuses 104 and 105. Further, the IP address of the DP 108 is distributed as the DP address to the client PC 110. Thus, the client PC 110 performs the process same as that in the first embodiment to the DP 108, thereby enabling to acquire the device information of the image forming apparatus 105. However, the client PC 110 cannot acquire the device information of the image forming apparatus 104 because it is impossible to know existence of the DP 102. Consequently, it is possible to control the client PC on the subnet 2 to acquire the device information of the image forming apparatuses existing on all the subnets and to control the client PC on the subnet 3 to acquire only the device information of the image forming apparatus existing on the subnet 3. Moreover, in
The present invention may be applied to a system including plural devices or to an apparatus including a single device.
Further, in the present invention, the storage medium storing the computer program codes of software for achieving the functions of the flow charts of the above embodiments may be supplied to a system or an apparatus. Thus, the present invention can be achieved, if a computer {CPU or MPU (microprocessor unit)} in the system or the apparatus reads and performs the program codes stored in the storage medium.
In this case, since the program codes themselves read from the storage medium achieve the functions of the above embodiments, the storage medium storing these program codes constitutes the present invention.
As the storage medium for supplying the program codes, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetooptical disk, a CR-ROM (compact disk read only memory), a CD-R (compact disk recordable), a DVD-ROM (digital versatile disk read only memory), a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM (read only memory), or the like can be used.
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-330953 filed Dec. 21, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007-330953 | Dec 2007 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP2008/071599 | 11/20/2008 | WO | 00 | 4/26/2010 |