JP2005135333A - Program monitoring device, program monitoring method, program, storage medium, and information acquisition system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a trouble that a load on a monitoring process for a monitoring object program is increased like a conventional one even when the number of monitoring object programs is increased, and to smoothly carry out a restart process of the monitoring object program. <P>SOLUTION: A remote monitoring system is provided with an information collection device 1, a base management sever 2, a center-side management server 6, an information management device 7, and image formation devices 3, 4, 5 and 12. The information collection device 1 is equipped with a CPU 201, a monitoring program, a flash ROM 204 with a monitoring object program stored, network I/Fs 205 and 206, and a serial IF 207. The monitoring program of the information collection device 1 determines whether a message is received within a monitoring interval set from the monitoring object program or not, and restarts the monitoring object program according to a set restart method when the message is not received within the monitoring interval from the monitoring object program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a program monitoring apparatus, a program monitoring method, a program, a storage medium, and an information acquisition system suitable for monitoring a program for managing devices such as an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus.

Conventionally, as a technology related to unattended recovery of a program that restarts the program without human intervention and operates normally, the program monitoring program monitors the resident program to be monitored, thereby detecting and recovering from the failure of the resident program. The technique which performs is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 2002-259141 A

  However, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-259141, a method in which a program monitoring program periodically monitors the state of each process of a program to be monitored is a normally operating program. It is necessary to issue an event every time. Therefore, in the prior art, the load of the program monitoring program increases with the increase in the number of programs to be monitored, and there is a problem that the operation of the entire system may be affected. In the prior art, since the program cannot be restarted within a designated monitoring interval, there is a possibility that a situation in which, for example, information is missed may occur.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the problem of increasing the load of monitoring processing on a monitoring target program as in the past even when the number of monitoring target programs increases, and to smoothly restart the monitoring target program. It is possible.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the program monitoring apparatus of the present invention includes a setting unit that sets a monitoring interval and a restart method of a monitoring target program, and whether a notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval. Determining means for determining whether or not a notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval, and restarting means for restarting the monitoring target program according to the restart method. .

  The monitoring target program includes a program having a function of acquiring information from a device capable of communicating with the program monitoring apparatus, and the setting unit considers an information acquisition interval from the device in the monitoring target program. The monitoring interval is set.

  Further, the setting means sets the smaller one of the monitoring interval and a restart check interval for performing recovery processing after the restart of the monitoring target program.

  The restarting unit restarts the program monitoring device itself when the monitoring target program cannot be restarted.

  The notification from the monitoring target program includes a notification requesting to start monitoring of the monitoring target program, a notification requesting to end monitoring of the monitoring target program, and a notification indicating the survival of the monitoring target program. And

  The devices capable of communicating with the program monitoring apparatus include an image forming apparatus, an image reading apparatus, an image transmitting / receiving apparatus, and an information processing apparatus.

  The program monitoring method of the present invention includes a setting step for setting a monitoring interval and a restart method for a monitoring target program, a receiving step for receiving a notification from the monitoring target program, and a notification received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval. A determination step for determining whether or not the monitoring target program has been received, and a restarting step for restarting the monitoring target program in accordance with the restart method when no notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval. Features.

  The program of the present invention includes a reception function for receiving a notification from a monitoring target program, a determination function for determining whether a notification is received within a monitoring interval set from the monitoring target program, and the monitoring interval from the monitoring target program. When the notification is not received within, the computer is provided with a restart function for restarting the monitoring target program according to the set restart method.

  The storage medium of the present invention stores the program.

  The information acquisition system of the present invention is characterized in that the program monitoring apparatus and a device capable of communicating with the program monitoring apparatus are connected by a communication medium.

  Furthermore, the present invention determines whether or not a notification has been received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval, and if the notification has not been received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval, according to the restart method. The process for restarting the monitoring target program may be executed by the number of monitoring target programs.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, prior to restarting the monitoring target program, an instruction to forcibly terminate the monitoring target program may be transmitted to the monitoring target program.

  According to the present invention, it is determined whether a notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval, and when the notification is not received within the monitoring interval, the monitoring target program is restarted according to the set restart method. Therefore, even when the number of monitoring target programs increases, the monitoring target program can be restarted smoothly.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the monitoring interval is set in consideration of the information acquisition interval from the device in the monitoring target program, even when the number of monitoring target programs increases, the conventional monitoring processing required for the monitoring target program It is possible to solve the problem that the load increases.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the smaller one of the monitoring interval and the restart check interval for performing recovery processing after the restart of the monitored program is failed, the restart check of the monitored program is also performed. When it is performed at the same interval as the monitoring interval for monitoring the monitoring target program, it is possible to prevent a problem that the time until the recovery processing is performed after the failure of restarting the monitoring target program is prevented.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the monitoring target program cannot be restarted, the program monitoring apparatus itself is restarted, so that the program monitoring apparatus can be operated in a stable state.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the monitoring start request notification or the monitoring end request notification or the survival notification is not received within the monitoring interval from the monitoring target program, in order to restart the monitoring target program according to the set restart method, Even when the number of monitoring target programs increases, the restart processing of the monitoring target programs can be performed smoothly.

  Further, according to the present invention, the monitoring target is set in consideration of the information acquisition interval from the devices (including the image forming apparatus, the image reading apparatus, the image transmitting / receiving apparatus, and the information processing apparatus) in the monitoring target program. Even when the number of programs increases, it is possible to solve the problem of increasing the load of monitoring processing required for the monitoring target program as in the prior art.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a remote monitoring system according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, the remote monitoring system includes an information collection device 1, a base side management server 2, a center side management server 6, an information management device 7, and devices 3, 4, 5, and 12.

  In the remote monitoring system, a base side management server 2 and a center side management server 6 are connected to a communication line 8 such as the Internet. A center side management server 6 and an information management device 7 are connected to a network 13 such as a LAN. A network 14 such as a LAN is connected to an information collecting apparatus 1, a base side management server 2, and devices 3, 4, and 5.

  The base-side management server 2 is a server installed on the base side of the remote monitoring system. The center-side management server 6 is a server installed on the center side of the remote monitoring system, and includes a storage device 11 such as a hard disk. The center side management server 6 and the site side management server 2 are communicably connected via a communication line 8 using a predetermined protocol 10. In FIG. 1, only one base-side management server 2 is shown, but a plurality of base-side management servers 2 and a center-side management server 6 that centrally manages the plurality of base-side management servers 2 are connected to the communication line 8. Communication is possible. The information management device 7 manages information collected by the information collection device 1.

  In the remote monitoring system, a general protocol (for example, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)) is used to prevent unauthorized access and to pass through a firewall between the communication line 8 and the network 9 and the network 13. ) And an authentication mechanism.

  The devices 3, 4, 5, and 12 are configured as, for example, an image forming apparatus (including an electrophotographic system, an ink jet system printer, and a copying machine). In addition to a printer and a copying machine, a digital multifunction peripheral having a scanner function, a printer function, and a facsimile function, a scanner, a facsimile, a personal computer, a print server, and the like can be installed in the remote monitoring system. Hereinafter, the devices 3, 4, 5, and 12 are referred to as image forming apparatuses. Details of the image forming apparatus will be described later.

  The information collection device 1 collects information such as the device status (for example, whether a paper jam or an error has occurred), the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge, the number of printed sheets, and the like from the image forming devices 3, 4, and 5 via the network 9. . Further, the information collecting apparatus 1 collects information such as the number of printed sheets from the image forming apparatus 12 via a serial interface (hereinafter referred to as I / F) 14.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the information collecting apparatus 1 of FIG.

  2, the information collection device 1 includes a CPU 201, a bus 202, a RAM 203, a flash ROM 204, a network I / F (1) 205, a network I / F (2) 206, a serial I / F 207, and a debug I / F 208. Yes.

  The CPU 201 controls the entire information collecting apparatus. A bus 202 is a transmission path for transferring data between the above-described units. The RAM 203 is a rewritable memory that can electrically store information. The flash ROM 204 is a memory that can electrically rewrite information and can store information even when the power supply is cut off. Various programs described later (failure information confirmation program, response confirmation program, counter information acquisition program, counter An information transmission program, a counter information collection program, and a program monitoring program (hereinafter abbreviated as monitoring program: program monitoring device, setting unit, determination unit, restart unit) are stored.

  A network I / F (1) 205 and a network I / F (2) 206 are interfaces for exchanging information with the outside of the information collection apparatus via the network. Note that the number of installed network I / Fs is not limited to two and can be set to an arbitrary number. The serial I / F 207 is an interface for exchanging information with the outside of the information collection device by, for example, RS232C serial communication. The debug I / F 208 is an interface for serial communication used for debugging purposes.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration centering on the controller of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus includes a document feeding device control unit 502, an image reader control unit 503, an image signal control unit 504, a printer control unit 505, an external I / F 506, a CPU circuit unit 507, an operation unit 511, and a display unit. 512, a sorter control unit 513, a finisher control unit 514, and a state detection unit 515.

  A controller that controls the entire image forming apparatus includes a CPU circuit unit 507, and the CPU circuit unit 507 further includes a CPU 516, a ROM 508, a RAM 509, and a hard disk 510. The ROM 508 stores a control program. The CPU 516 comprehensively controls the document feeder control unit 502 to the state detection unit 515 based on a control program stored in the ROM 508. The RAM 509 temporarily stores control data and is used as a work area for arithmetic processing associated with control. The hard disk 510 stores information necessary for the control program and information received from the document feeder control unit 502 to the state detection unit 515.

  A document feeder control unit 502 controls driving of a document feeder (not shown) that feeds a document to be read onto a document table based on an instruction from the CPU circuit unit 507. An image reader control unit 503 performs drive control on a scanner unit (not shown) that scans a document on a document table, an image sensor (not shown) that converts an image read from the document into an electrical signal, and the like, and outputs from the image sensor. The analog image signal thus obtained is transferred to the image signal control unit 504. The image signal control unit 504 converts each analog image signal into a digital image signal, performs each process, converts the digital image signal into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to the printer control unit 505. The processing operation by the image signal control unit 504 is controlled by the CPU circuit unit 507.

  The printer control unit 505 drives an exposure control unit (not shown) that controls the exposure of the photosensitive member with laser light based on the input video signal. The external I / F 506 performs various processes on the digital image signal input from the computer 501 via the LAN interface, converts the digital image signal into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to the printer control unit 505. The external I / F 506 communicates with the information collection device 1 and the site side management server 2 via a LAN interface.

  An operation unit 511 displays a plurality of keys for performing settings related to various functions of the image forming apparatus (for example, settings such as the number of printed sheets, copy magnification, paper size, copy density, and the like) and information indicating a setting state. A display unit or the like is provided, and a key signal corresponding to each key operation is output to the CPU circuit unit 507, and information corresponding to each key operation is displayed on the display unit 512 based on a control signal from the CPU circuit unit 507. To display. The display unit 512 displays various information.

  The sorter control unit 513 sorts the sheets on which image formation has been completed based on a control signal from the CPU circuit unit 507 based on an input signal from the computer 501 or the like via the external I / F 506 or a setting via the operation unit 511. Controls processing. The finisher control unit 514 binds a sheet on which image formation has been completed based on a control signal from the CPU circuit unit 507 based on an input signal from the computer 501 or the like via the external I / F 506 or a setting via the operation unit 511. Controls the finishing process.

  The status detection unit 515 collects status information from the document feeder control unit 502 to the finisher control unit 514, determines whether there is an abnormality based on the collected status information, and the determination result is sent to the CPU circuit. Notification to the unit 507. In accordance with this notification, the CPU circuit unit 507 displays the notification content on the display unit 512 or transmits the notification content to the computer 501 or the like via the external I / F 506.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the image forming apparatus.

  In FIG. 4, a task manager A-101 is for managing a plurality of tasks simultaneously. A paper transport task group A-102 is a task group that controls transport of a document and paper on which an image is formed. A sequence control task A-103 is a task for managing the entire image forming apparatus. The communication task A-104 is a task for communicating with the information collection device 1 and the base management server 2.

  The management data creation task A-105 is a task for creating the remote management data of the present embodiment. In the image forming apparatus, for each image formation, printing by paper size (for example, A4, B4, etc.), mode (for example, copy job mode, print job mode, etc.), paper type (for example, plain paper, OHP paper, etc.), and printing by color The number of sheets is counted, and these count results are managed by the management data creation task A-105 and stored in a storage device such as the hard disk 510 in the image forming apparatus. Similarly, status information such as paper jam, error occurrence, and alarm occurrence is stored in the storage device in a predetermined data format.

  Furthermore, the image forming apparatus includes a counter (not shown, hereinafter referred to as a component counter) indicating the replacement life and the frequency of use of the consumable parts corresponding to each part in the image forming apparatus. It is managed by the management data creation task A-105 and stored in the storage device.

  When the state monitoring task A-106 detects an abnormality (paper jam, error occurrence, alarm occurrence) in the image forming apparatus or detects a status change of a preset device in the image forming apparatus, the detected abnormality is detected. And the status change are stored in the storage device by the management data creation task A-105.

  Next, various processes of the information collection apparatus 1 of the remote monitoring system having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. Information transmission between the information collection device 1 and the site side management server 2 and the center side management server 6 and between the information collection device 1 and the information management device 7 is performed by, for example, SMTP, and information reception is performed by, for example, POP (Post Office Protocol). ).

  First, the failure monitoring process of the information collecting apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The fault monitoring process includes a fault information confirmation program process (FIG. 5) and a response confirmation program process (FIG. 6).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the failure information confirmation program of the information collecting apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 5, the information collection device 1 starts the failure information confirmation program, and acquires failure information (for example, information indicating paper jam, error occurrence, etc.) of the image forming devices 3 to 5 by a specific protocol via the network 9. (Step S301). If it is determined that the failure information has been acquired (YES in step S302), the information collection device 1 transmits the acquired failure information to the site management server 2 or the center management server 6 (step S303). If the information collection device 1 determines that failure information could not be acquired (NO in step S302), the information collection device 1 performs the processing from step S305.

  The information collection device 1 activates a response confirmation program (FIG. 6) in order to confirm that the failure information has been correctly transmitted to the base management server 2 or the center management server 6 (step S304), and the specified time ( For example, it waits for 1 minute (step S305). If the information collecting apparatus 1 determines that there is an end instruction to the failure information confirmation program (YES in step S306), the information collecting apparatus 1 ends this process, and if it determines that there is no end instruction (NO in step S306), Returning to step S301, the subsequent processing is performed.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of the response confirmation program of the information collection device 1.

  In FIG. 6, the information collecting apparatus 1 waits for a specified time (for example, 30 seconds) (step S307), and checks whether there is a response from the base side management server 2 or the center side management server 6 by the activated response confirmation program. A check is made by making an inquiry to a POP server (not shown) (step S308). If the information collection device 1 determines that there is a response from the base management server 2 or the center management server 6, that is, if it receives a response e-mail (YES in step S309), it ends this processing.

  If the information collection device 1 determines that there is no response from the base management server 2 or the center management server 6 (NO in step S309), it determines whether or not a predetermined response confirmation maximum time (for example, 30 minutes) has been exceeded. Determination is made (step S310). If the information collection device 1 determines that the response confirmation maximum time has not been exceeded (NO in step S310), the information collection device 1 performs the processing after step S307, that is, the response check processing.

  If the information collection device 1 determines that the response confirmation maximum time has been exceeded (YES in step S310), whether or not the failure information transmission count to the base management server 2 or the center management server 6 is a specified count (for example, once). Is determined (step S311). When the information collection device 1 determines that the failure information transmission count is the specified number (YES in step S311), the information collection device 1 retransmits the failure information to the base management server 2 or the center management server 6, and the processing after step S307 is performed. I do. When the information collection device 1 determines that the number of failure information transmissions exceeds the specified number (NO in step S311), the information collection device 1 ends this processing.

  Next, the counter information collection processing of the information collection device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The counter information collection process includes a counter information acquisition program process (FIG. 7) and a counter information transmission program process (FIG. 8).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing of the counter information acquisition program of the information collecting apparatus 1 (the program for acquiring the counter information of the image forming apparatuses 3 to 5 via the network 9).

  In FIG. 7, the information collecting apparatus 1 starts a counter information acquisition program, acquires counter information (number of printed sheets) of the image forming apparatuses 3 to 5 by a specific protocol via the network 9 (step S401), and acquires the counter information. The counter information is saved in a file on the RAM 203 or the flash ROM 204 (step S402). The information collecting apparatus 1 waits for a predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes), and when it is determined that there is an end instruction to the counter information acquisition program (YES in step S404), this process ends, and it is determined that there is no end instruction. If so (NO in step S404), the process returns to step S401 to perform the subsequent processing.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the counter information transmission program of the information collecting apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 8, the information collecting apparatus 1 starts a counter information transmission program and checks whether there is an e-mail requesting transmission of counter information from the base side management server 2 or the center side management server 6 to a POP server (not shown). An inquiry is made (step S405). When it is determined that there is a request for transmitting counter information (YES in step S406), the information collecting apparatus 1 performs the processing from step S407 onward, and when it is determined that there is no request for transmitting counter information (NO in step S406). Then, the processing after step S410 is performed.

  The information collection device 1 determines whether the counter information is stored in the file (step S407). If the information collection device 1 determines that the counter information is stored in the file (YES in step S407), the information collection device 1 transmits the counter information stored in the file to the base management server 2 or the center management server 6. (Step S408) When it is determined that the counter information is not stored in the file (NO in Step S407), information indicating that the counter information is not collected is transmitted to the base side management server 2 or the center side management server 6. (Step S409).

  Next, the information collecting apparatus 1 waits for a specified time (for example, 3 minutes) (step S410), and when it is determined that there is an end instruction to the counter information transmission program (YES in step S411), this processing is ended. If it is determined that there is no termination instruction (NO in step S411), the process returns to step S405, and the subsequent processing is performed.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of a counter information collection program (a program for collecting counter information of the image forming apparatus 12 via the serial I / F 207) of the information collection apparatus 1.

  The counter information collection program is a program that collects counter information of the image forming apparatus 12 that does not have an ability to accept a request for obtaining a count value in which the number of printed sheets is accumulated, but has only an ability to notify that printing has been performed one by one at the time of printing. Yes, it operates as a resident program. The information collecting apparatus 1 is connected to the image forming apparatus 12 through a serial I / F 207.

  In FIG. 9, the information collecting apparatus 1 waits for a notification from the image forming apparatus 12 by means of a counter information collecting program (step S701). The information collecting apparatus 1 determines the type of the notified information when notified from the image forming apparatus 12, and counts the number of printed sheets based on the print notification when it is determined that it is a print notification (YES in step S702). Up (step S703).

  The above is the basic configuration of the remote monitoring system of this embodiment and the operation of the information collecting apparatus 1. Next, the program monitoring method in the information collecting apparatus 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of program monitoring information setting related to the monitoring target program of the information collecting apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 10, the information collection apparatus 1 stores program monitoring information related to a monitoring target program (failure information confirmation program, response confirmation program, counter information acquisition program, counter information transmission program, counter information collection program) in, for example, a file on the flash ROM 204. Hold as. The program monitoring information can be set from the operation unit of the information collecting apparatus 1 or the like.

  The character string that follows to the right of “name =” is the name of the monitoring target program. The character string that follows to the right of “wait =” is a numerical value that represents the monitoring interval for the monitoring target program by the monitoring program, and the unit is seconds. The character string that follows to the right of “exec =” is a command for restarting the monitored program. The monitoring target program monitored by the monitoring program is added by adding a file including all of “name =”, “wait =”, and “exec =”.

  The “wait =” value (monitoring interval) in the program monitoring information is set in consideration of the information acquisition (collection) interval for the image forming apparatus of the monitoring target program. Setting the monitoring interval for the monitoring target program by the monitoring program without considering the information acquisition (collection) interval of the monitoring target program unnecessarily increases the load on the monitoring program, and thus increases the load on the information collection device 1. Will be allowed to.

  For example, the counter information collection program (FIG. 9) receives one or more print notifications per second from an image forming apparatus with a high printing speed when printing is being performed by the image forming apparatus, and the counter information collecting program is activated. Otherwise, the print notification cannot be received from the image forming apparatus, and the actual number of printed sheets by the image forming apparatus and the number of printed sheets held by the counter information collecting program are inconsistent. Therefore, the monitoring interval for the counter information collection program by the monitoring program needs to be as short as possible. Since the counter information acquisition program (FIG. 7) operates once an hour, the monitoring interval for the counter information acquisition program by the monitoring program is appropriately about 600 seconds.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring target program information table held in the RAM 203 when the monitoring program of the information collecting apparatus 1 is executed.

  In FIG. 11, “the number of programs to be monitored” is set to 0 as an initial value when the information collecting apparatus 1 is started. “Program name” has the same value as that specified in “name =” in FIG. The “monitoring interval” has the same value as that specified for “wait =” in FIG. The “start command character string” has the same value as that specified in “exec =” in FIG.

  The “monitoring interval counter” has the same initial value as that specified in “wait =” in FIG. 10, but is subtracted by the monitoring program or returned to the initial value. When the “counter” becomes 0, the monitoring program determines that the monitoring target program is not operating normally, and performs a restart process with reference to the command and parameter specified in the “start command character string”. The “restart counter” stores the number of restarts of the monitoring target program.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a message transmitted from the monitoring target program to the monitoring program.

  In FIG. 12, the character string specified in “name =” in FIG. 10 is designated as “program name”, and is used to specify the monitoring target program information table held in the format of FIG. There are three types of “message type”: a monitoring start request START, a survival notification ALIVE, and a monitoring end request STOP.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing message reading processing of the monitoring program of the information collecting apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 13, the information collecting apparatus 1 waits for a message transmitted from the monitoring target program by the monitoring program, reads the message when the message is transmitted (step S1101), and determines the message type (step S1102). . When the information collection device 1 determines that the message type is the monitoring start request START (“START” in step S1102), the information collection device 1 searches the RAM 203 using the program name in the message as a search key.

  If there is a monitoring target program information table having a program name that matches the program name in the message, the monitoring interval is set in the monitoring interval counter, the restart counter is set to 0, and the program name in the message matches If there is no monitoring target program information table having a program name, a monitoring target program information table in the format of FIG. 11 is created (added), 1 is added to the number of monitoring programs, a monitoring interval is set in the monitoring interval counter, The restart counter is set to 0 (step S1103), and the process returns to step S1101 to wait for a message.

  When the information collection apparatus 1 determines that the message type is the survival notification ALIVE by the monitoring program (“ALIVE” in step S1102), the information collection apparatus 1 searches the RAM 203 using the program name in the message as a search key, and the program in the message The monitoring interval is set in the monitoring interval counter of the monitoring target program information table having the program name that matches the name, the restart counter is cleared to 0 (step S1104), and the process returns to step S1101 to wait for a message.

  If the information collection device 1 determines that the message type is the monitoring end request STOP (“STOP” in step S1102), the information collection device 1 searches the RAM 203 using the program name in the message as a search key, and An entry (program name to restart counter) in the monitoring target program information table having a program name that matches the program name is deleted, 1 is subtracted from the number of monitoring target programs (step S1105), and the process returns to step S1101 to wait for a message.

  Further, the information collecting apparatus 1 determines whether or not the message is received within the monitoring interval set from the monitoring target program by the monitoring program, and when it is determined that the message is not received within the monitoring interval, The monitoring target program is restarted according to the restarting method using the startup command character string of 11 monitoring target program information table.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a monitoring process for the monitoring target program by the monitoring program of the information collecting apparatus 1.

  In FIG. 14, the information collection device 1 waits for a predetermined time (step S1201). In the present embodiment, since the designated unit of the monitoring interval is the second unit, the standby is performed for, for example, 1 second as a standby time suitable for monitoring the monitoring target program by the monitoring program. Thereafter, the processing from step S1202 to step S1206 is executed for the number of monitoring target programs.

  The information collecting apparatus 1 subtracts 1 from the monitoring interval counter of the monitoring target program information table by the monitoring program (step S1202). Next, when the monitoring program determines that the monitoring interval counter of the monitoring target program information table is 0 (YES in step S1203), the information collecting apparatus 1 sets the restart counter to a specified value (for example, 5). If it is determined that the above is not true (NO in step S1204), the monitoring target program is restarted using the startup command character string in the monitoring target program information table (step S1205).

  When the monitoring interval counter becomes 0, the monitoring target program has terminated abnormally, so that the survival notification ALIVE cannot be sent from the monitoring target program to the monitoring program. There are two cases: a case where it is stopped (or control is not transferred to message transmission). Since the latter is mainly taken into account, the monitoring target program is completely terminated before the monitoring target program is restarted.

  As a complete termination process of a monitored program, in Unix (registered trademark), a file (/ managed by an operating system for holding a program name, process ID, process start source process ID, and managing the process) proc) is referred to, the IDs of all processes constituting the program are referred to from the program name, and the termination process is performed by sending a forced termination signal to the monitoring target program. In Microsoft Windows (registered trademark), the termination process is performed by sending a message WM_QUIT to the monitoring target program.

  The information collecting apparatus 1 adds 1 to the restart counter of the monitoring target program information table with the restart of the monitoring target program by the monitoring program. Next, the information collection apparatus 1 sets the smaller one of the monitoring interval for monitoring the monitoring target program and the interval for restart check as the monitoring interval set in the monitoring interval counter of the monitoring target program information table by the monitoring program. (Step S1206).

  The restart check interval prepared separately from the monitoring interval is an interval that is set in order to quickly perform the recovery process when the restart process of the monitoring target program fails. The reason for setting the restart check interval is as follows.

  As an example, the monitoring program detects that the monitoring target program whose monitoring interval is 600 seconds, for example, is not operating normally is when 600 seconds have elapsed since the monitoring program stopped operating normally. Furthermore, when the restart of the monitoring target program is also checked at the same interval, 1200 seconds will elapse until recovery processing is performed after the monitoring target program fails to restart. That is, one of the monitoring target programs constituting the system does not operate for 1200 seconds. The monitoring interval 600 seconds is a value that is set based on the determination that no problem occurs even if the monitoring target program is not operating up to 600 seconds. Therefore, it may take 1200 seconds from the end of the monitoring target program to startup. The system requirements cannot be met. In order to prevent such a situation, a restart check interval is set separately.

  On the other hand, the information collection apparatus 1 determines that the monitoring interval counter of the monitoring target program information table is 0 (YES in step S1203) and determines that the restart counter is greater than or equal to the specified value by the monitoring program. If this is the case (YES in step S1204), it means that the monitored program cannot be activated even though the monitored program is restarted several times, so that restarting the monitored program alone does not solve the problem. And the information collection device itself is restarted (step S1207).

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing message transmission processing from the monitoring target program of the information collecting apparatus 1 to the monitoring program.

  In FIG. 15, the information collecting apparatus 1 starts the monitoring target program, and immediately after starting the monitoring target program, transmits a monitoring start request message to the monitoring program (step S1301). Thereafter, the information collecting apparatus 1 transmits a survival message to the monitoring program within the monitoring interval while causing the monitoring target program to perform the original process (step S1302).

  Although not shown in FIG. 15, the monitoring target program is terminated when it is no longer necessary to operate because the image forming apparatus that is the target of information collection is excluded from the monitoring target. Send a monitoring end request message to the monitoring program before. By transmitting the monitoring end request message, it is possible to prevent the monitoring target program from being restarted after the monitoring target program is ended, even though the monitoring target program does not need to be started.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the information collection apparatus determines whether or not a message is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval by the monitoring program, and receives the message within the monitoring interval. If not, the monitoring target program is restarted according to the set restart method, so even if the number of monitoring target programs increases, the conventional problem of increasing the monitoring processing load required for the monitoring target program can be solved. In addition, the monitoring target program can be restarted smoothly, and the information collecting apparatus can be operated in a stable state.

  Also, because the monitoring interval set in the monitoring interval counter of the monitoring target program information table is set to the smaller of the monitoring interval for monitoring the monitoring target program and the restart checking interval, the restart check of the monitoring target program is also performed. When it is performed at the same interval as the monitoring interval for monitoring the monitoring target program, it is possible to prevent a problem that the time until the recovery processing is performed after the failure of restarting the monitoring target program is prevented.

[Other embodiments]
In the above embodiment, the case of monitoring a program for obtaining counter information of an image forming apparatus by the monitoring program of the information collecting apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to the case of monitoring a program for acquiring information on devices such as servers.

  According to the present invention, a software program (flowcharts in FIGS. 13 to 15) for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a computer or CPU, and the computer or CPU reads and executes the supplied program. Can be achieved.

  In this case, the program is directly supplied from a storage medium storing the program, or downloaded from another computer or database (not shown) connected to the Internet, a commercial network, a local area network, or the like. Supplied.

  The form of the program may be in the form of object code, program code executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to an OS (operating system), and the like.

  The present invention also supplies a computer or CPU with a storage medium storing a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the computer or CPU reads and executes the program stored in the storage medium. Can also be achieved.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for storing the program code, for example, ROM, RAM, NV-RAM, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk (registered trademark), magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, MO, CD-R, CD -RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, etc.

  The function of the above-described embodiment is not only by executing the program code read from the computer, but the OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. Can also be realized.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be achieved by downloading a software program that implements the above-described embodiment from a database on a network or a homepage by a communication program, and reading and executing this program.

  The above program can also be supplied by connecting to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client computer and downloading the computer program itself or a compressed file including an automatic installation function from the homepage to a storage medium such as a hard disk. .

  The above program distributes a storage medium such as a CD-ROM stored after encrypting the program code to the user, and provides a key for decrypting the encryption from the homepage via the Internet to the user who has cleared a predetermined condition. It can also be provided by downloading the information and using the key information to execute the encrypted program code and install it on the computer.

  The functions of the embodiments described above can also be realized by dividing the program code into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different home page. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer also constitutes the present invention.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiment are obtained by writing a program read from a storage medium into a function expansion board inserted in a computer or a memory provided in a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and It can also be realized by the CPU or MPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit executing part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the remote monitoring system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of an information collection device. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration centering on a controller of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the failure information confirmation program of an information collection device. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the response confirmation program of an information collection device. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the counter information acquisition program of an information collection device. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the counter information transmission program of an information collection device. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the counter information collection program of an information collection device. It is a figure which shows an example of the program monitoring information setting regarding a monitoring object program. It is a figure which shows an example of the monitoring object program information table which the monitoring program of an information collection device hold | maintains at RAM at the time of execution, (a) is the number of monitoring object programs, (b) is a program name, a monitoring interval, a starting command character string, A monitoring interval counter and a restart counter. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of the message transmitted to a monitoring program from a monitoring object program. It is a flowchart which shows the message reading process of a monitoring program. It is a flowchart which shows the monitoring process with respect to the monitoring object program by a monitoring program. It is a flowchart which shows the message transmission process with respect to a monitoring program from a monitoring object program.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information collection apparatus 2 Base management server 3, 4, 5, 12 Image forming apparatus 6 Center side management server 7 Information management apparatus 8 Communication line 9 Network 14 Serial I / F
201 CPU
204 Flash ROM
205, 206 Network I / F
207 Serial I / F

Claims (10)

  Setting means for setting a monitoring interval and a restart method of the monitoring target program, determination means for determining whether a notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval, and within the monitoring interval from the monitoring target program And a restarting unit that restarts the monitoring target program according to the restarting method when no notification is received.   The monitoring target program includes a program having a function of acquiring information from a device communicable with the program monitoring apparatus, and the setting unit considers the information acquisition interval from the device in the monitoring target program. 2. The program monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an interval is set.   2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the setting means sets the smaller one of the monitoring interval and a restart check interval for performing recovery processing after a restart failure of the monitoring target program. Monitoring device.   2. The program monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the restarting unit restarts the program monitoring apparatus itself when the monitoring target program cannot be restarted.   The notification from the monitoring target program includes a notification requesting to start monitoring of the monitoring target program, a notification requesting to end monitoring of the monitoring target program, and a notification indicating the survival of the monitoring target program. The program monitoring apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The program monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the devices that can communicate with the program monitoring apparatus include an image forming apparatus, an image reading apparatus, an image transmitting / receiving apparatus, and an information processing apparatus.   A setting step for setting a monitoring interval and a restart method of the monitoring target program, a receiving step for receiving a notification from the monitoring target program, and a determination for determining whether a notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval And a restarting step of restarting the monitoring target program according to the restarting method when no notification is received from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval.   A reception function for receiving a notification from the monitoring target program, a determination function for determining whether the notification is received within the monitoring interval set from the monitoring target program, and a notification from the monitoring target program within the monitoring interval If not, a program for causing a computer to implement a restart function for restarting the monitored program according to a set restart method.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 8.   An information acquisition system, wherein the program monitoring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and a device capable of communicating with the program monitoring apparatus are connected by a communication medium.

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