JP2008310472A - Server device, information acquisition method, information acquisition program, recording medium, client device, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of reducing a network load. <P>SOLUTION: This device is provided with a communication control part 111 for receiving an acquisition request of desired piece of related information, out of the plurality of pieces of related information related to a function provided by network equipment 300, an item determination means 114 for determining the respective pieces of related information included in the plurality of received acquisition requests, as the pieces of related information acquired collectively from the network equipment 300, and an equipment acquisition part 115 for acquiring collectively the determined related information from the network equipment 300. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a server device that acquires information related to a network device, an information acquisition method, an information acquisition program, a recording medium, a client device, and a communication system.

  In recent years, network devices (communication devices) that provide various functions (services) by communicating with a client device such as a personal computer connected to a network have been widely used. As such a communication apparatus, for example, a so-called MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) in which services such as a printer apparatus, a copier, a facsimile apparatus, a scanner apparatus, and services such as a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile machine, and a scanner are housed in a single casing. And an image forming apparatus (multifunction machine).

  Usually, an application on a client device that uses the service of such a communication device monitors the processing state of the service being used and controls various processes according to the processing state. For this reason, for example, a network device management system using a server device that acquires and manages device information of each network device is used. In such a network device management system, in order to provide device information of each network device to the client device, the server device periodically acquires device information (all information) of each network device, and the acquired device information is stored in the server. The device is cached in an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like of the device, and the cached device information is provided to the client device.

  In general, since a network device management system having such a mechanism requires immediacy, (1) the device information required by the client device is provided in real time, and (2) the content of the device information required by the client device is changed. However, it has a function of providing device information after the change in real time.

  Further, in Patent Document 1, regarding a system for inquiring a device, an inquiry is received in an optimum manner by sending out an inquiry received from a client using a method according to an inquiry policy selected from a plurality of inquiry policies. Techniques to do are proposed.

JP 2005-78631 A

  However, the conventional method such as Patent Document 1 has a problem that the number of packets related to the inquiry about the device information increases due to an increase in client devices and a request for immediacy, resulting in an increase in network load.

  Particularly in recent network devices and routers, a packet access attack stop function has been introduced. The access attack stop function is a function for temporarily stopping access to a network device when the number of packets accessing the network device exceeds a certain amount. With such a function, there is a concern that access to the network device is stopped and the device information cannot be inquired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to reduce a network load related to an inquiry about device information of a network device, a server device, an information acquisition method, an information acquisition program, a recording medium, a client device, And it aims at providing a communication system.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is a server device connected to a plurality of client devices and a communication device providing a function to the client devices via a network. And receiving means for receiving desired acquisition information of the related information from the plurality of client devices among the plurality of related information related to the function, and each of the related information included in the received plurality of acquisition requests. Determining means for determining the related information to be acquired from the communication device; acquiring means for acquiring the determined related information from the communication device; and transmitting means for transmitting the acquired related information to the client device And.

  Also, the invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means sends the acquisition request for the related information of a desired hierarchy among the related information classified in a hierarchical structure to the plurality of clients. And receiving the first related information requested by the first acquisition request included in the plurality of acquisition requests received by the second acquisition request included in the plurality of acquisition requests received from the apparatus. It is determined whether or not the related information is in an upper layer of the second related information, and when the information is in the upper layer, the first related information is determined as the related information to be acquired. .

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the reception unit further receives the acquisition request to which the desired related information is added from the client device, and the determination unit includes: Further, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time after the acquisition unit has acquired the related information exceeds a predetermined period, and if it does not exceed, the added related information is to be acquired as the related information It is characterized by determining.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein, in the invention according to claim 1, the transmission means transmits the related information requested by the acquisition request out of the acquired related information. And transmitting to the client device.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the determined related information from the communication device every elapse of a predetermined period. And

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein the receiving means further specifies the related information acquisition method for determining the related information to be acquired and a time interval for acquiring the related information. Is received from the client device, and the acquisition means acquires the related information determined by the specified acquisition method at the time interval determined by the specified acquisition method.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means further receives the acquisition request including a designation of a condition for transmitting the related information to the client device from the client device. The transmission means transmits the related information to the client device under the specified condition.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the determining means further determines whether or not the acquired related information is a predetermined specific value, and the specific value is determined. In this case, predetermined third related information related to the acquired related information is determined as the related information to be acquired.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit further acquires function information representing the type of the function from the communication device, and the determination unit is further acquired. The fifth related information determined in advance according to the function information is determined as the related information to be acquired.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit further acquires device information indicating a type of the communication device from the communication device, and the determination unit further acquires the information. The sixth related information determined in advance according to the device information is determined as the related information to be acquired.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the address information depends on storage means for storing address information of the communication device and whether or not the address information is stored in the storage means. Determining means for determining whether or not the communication apparatus is newly connected to the network, and the receiving means further receives a message including the address information from the communication apparatus, and the determining means Determines that the communication device of the address information is newly connected to the network when the address information included in the received message is not stored in the storage unit, and the transmission unit further includes: When it is determined that the communication device is newly connected to the network, the communication device newly Transmitting the notification information indicating that it is connected to the over-click on the client device, and wherein.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the invention according to claim 11, wherein the receiving means further receives a message including the address information from an external device connected via the network. And

  The invention according to claim 13 is an information acquisition method in a server device connected via a network to a plurality of client devices and a communication device providing a function to the client device. Receiving step of receiving desired acquisition request of related information from a plurality of client devices among a plurality of related information related to function, and determining means for each of the related information included in the received plurality of acquisition requests. Determining the related information to be acquired from the communication device; acquiring the related information determined by the acquisition unit from the communication device; and acquiring the related information acquired by the transmission unit. A transmission step of transmitting to the client device.

  The invention according to claim 14 is an information acquisition program for causing a computer to execute the information acquisition method according to claim 13.

  The invention according to claim 15 is a computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 14 to be executed by a computer is recorded.

  The invention according to claim 16 is a client device connected via a network to a communication device that provides a function and a server device that acquires related information related to the function from the communication device, Among the related information, a plurality of applications that request acquisition of the desired related information from the communication device, and each of the related information requested by the plurality of applications as the related information to be acquired from the communication device. It is characterized by comprising: a determining means for determining; and a transmitting means for transmitting the determined acquisition request for the related information to the server device.

  The invention according to claim 17 is a server device that acquires a plurality of client devices and related information related to the function from a communication device that is connected to the client device via a network and provides the function to the client device. The client apparatus includes a transmission unit that transmits an acquisition request for the desired related information among a plurality of pieces of related information related to the function to the server apparatus. Receiving means for receiving the acquisition requests from the plurality of client devices, and determining means for determining each of the related information included in the received plurality of acquisition requests as the related information to be acquired from the communication device; An acquisition means for acquiring the determined related information from the communication device; and Further comprising transmission means for transmitting to Ianto device, and characterized.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the network load related to the inquiry of the device information of the network device by integrating the inquiry requests from the respective clients.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the address information of the network device can be acquired by a simple method that does not increase the network load, it is possible to reduce the network load related to the inquiry of the device information of the network device. Play.

  Exemplary embodiments of a server device, an information acquisition method, an information acquisition program, a recording medium, a client device, and a communication system according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
The communication system according to the first embodiment includes a network device that provides various functions, and related information (hereinafter referred to as device information) related to the function of each network device transmitted from a plurality of client PCs (Personal Computers). ), The device information to be acquired is optimized, and the minimum necessary device information is acquired collectively.

  First, the outline of the information acquisition process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a network configuration of the communication system according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the communication system has a configuration in which a server PC 100, a plurality of client PCs 200a to 200c, and a plurality of network devices 300a to 300c are connected via a network.

  The server PC 100 optimizes the device information to be acquired based on the device information acquisition request from each client PC 200. Optimization refers to integrating a plurality of requested device information and obtaining the minimum necessary device information. The server PC 100 acquires only the optimized device information from each network device 300. Thereby, the network load at the time of apparatus information acquisition can be reduced.

  Next, the configuration of the communication system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the communication system according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the communication system has a configuration in which a server PC 100, client PCs 200a to 200c, and network devices 300a to 300c are connected by a LAN (Local Area Network) 400 as one form of network. .

  Note that the number of client PCs 200 and network devices 300 is not limited to the above, and one or more of them may be included. Further, the network is not limited to the LAN 400, and any network form conventionally used including the Internet, a wireless LAN, and the like can be applied.

  The network device 300 is a device that can provide device information via a network such as a printer, a facsimile, a copy, a scanner, or the like.

  Next, the detailed configuration of the server PC 100 will be described. The server PC 100 is a device that manages information related to the client PC 200 and the network device 300, and includes a storage unit 130, a communication I / F 120, a communication control unit 111, a client management unit 112, a server control unit 113, and item determination. Unit 114 and device information acquisition unit 115.

  The storage unit 130 stores address information of the client PC 200 and the network device 300, acquired device information, and the like, and is configured by any commonly used storage medium such as an HDD, an optical disk, or a memory card. Can do. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of device information stored in the storage unit 130. As shown in FIG. 3, in the device information, a category for classifying each device information, a device information name indicating the name of the device information, and a value of the device information are stored in association with each other.

  The communication I / F 120 is an interface that performs communication with an external device such as the client PC 200.

  The communication control unit 111 controls processing for transmitting and receiving address information and device information between the client PC 200 and the network device 300 via the communication I / F 120.

  The client management unit 112 manages address information such as the IP address of each client PC 200 and manages device information acquisition requests from each client PC 200.

  The server control unit 113 controls processing of the entire server PC 100.

  The item determining unit 114 refers to the device information acquisition request received from each client PC 200 and determines an item (device information) to be actually acquired from the network device 300.

  The device information acquisition unit 115 periodically acquires the device information determined by the item determination unit 114 from the network device 300 in a batch. The collective acquisition means that each piece of device information requested redundantly from a plurality of client PCs 200 is acquired from the network device 300 in one acquisition process. That is, it does not mean that all of the determined device information is acquired by a single acquisition process.

  For example, when acquisition of the device information A is requested from the client PCs 200a and 200b and acquisition of the device information B is requested from the client PCs 200b and 200c, both the device information A and the device information B are acquired in one acquisition process. There is no need. At least the device information A may be acquired by a single acquisition process, and the device information B may be acquired by a single acquisition process.

  The device information acquisition unit 115 may be configured to group device information and acquire the device information from the network device 300 by one acquisition process for each group. For example, the apparatus information can be grouped into two pieces of apparatus information related to a printer and apparatus information related to a facsimile, and the apparatus information can be acquired from the network apparatus 300 in two steps. As a result, device information acquisition processing can be executed in units of applications such as printers or facsimiles inside the network device 300, and the processing of the network device 300 can be made more efficient.

  Next, a detailed configuration of the client PC 200 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the client PC 200 includes applications 201a and 201b, a monitoring control unit 202, and a communication I / F 203.

  The application 201 is an application having a device management function for monitoring the network device 300 or a print instruction function for the network device 300. The application 201 monitors device information of the network device 300 using a monitoring control unit 202 described below.

  The monitoring control unit 202 controls the device information monitoring process of the network device 300 by communicating with the server PC 100. Specifically, the monitoring control unit 202 transmits a client registration request for registering the client PC 200 in the server PC 100 as a device information notification target and a device information acquisition request to the server PC 100. In addition, the monitoring control unit 202 notifies the application 201 of the processing result and device information transmitted from the server PC 100 in response to each request.

  The communication I / F 203 is an interface that performs communication with an external device such as the server PC 100.

  The monitoring control unit 202 is a component added to the PC 200 for the monitoring process of the present embodiment, and is provided as a program such as an SDK (Software Development Kit) and installed in the client PC 200. It can be constituted as follows.

  Next, a processing sequence of the communication system according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the communication system of the present embodiment, request registration processing for notifying the server PC 100 of device information that requests acquisition from each client PC 200, and periodic information that the server PC 100 periodically acquires and stores device information from the network device 300. Acquisition processing and device information acquisition processing for acquiring device information stored in the server PC 100 from each client PC 200 are executed.

  First, a processing sequence of request registration processing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an overall flow of request registration processing in the first embodiment.

  First, the monitoring control unit 202 of the client PC 200 notifies the server PC 100 of request information for the server PC 100 via the communication I / F 203 (step S401). The request information includes the device information name of the network device 300 necessary for the application 201 of each client PC 200 and the address information (IP address, etc.) of the client PC 200.

  For example, when monitoring the status of a print job instructed by the application 201 that performs printing, the monitoring control unit 202 receives request information including a device information name necessary for monitoring the print job status in response to an instruction from the application 201. create. The monitoring control unit 202 creates request information including four device information names, for example, a printer status, a paper feed tray status, a toner status, and a job status.

  Next, the communication control unit 111 of the server PC 100 analyzes the received packet contents, and when the packet is request information from the client PC 200, transmits the request information to the client management unit 112 (step S402).

  Next, the client management unit 112 analyzes the content of the request information, registers the analyzed content in the storage unit 130, and transmits an instruction to optimize the device information to be acquired to the server control unit 113 (step S403). . When receiving the optimization instruction, the server control unit 113 transmits the optimization instruction to the item determination unit 114 (step S404).

  Next, upon receiving the optimization instruction, the item determination unit 114 transmits an instruction to acquire request information of each client to the client management unit 112 in order to acquire device information requested by all client PCs 200 (step S405). .

  When receiving the request information acquisition request of each client, the client management unit 112 extracts the request information of each client PC 200 from the storage unit 130, and transmits the extracted request information to the item determination unit 114 (step S406).

  Next, when receiving the request information, the item determination unit 114 executes device information optimization processing from the received request information, and determines device information to be acquired from the network device 300 (step S407). Details of the optimization process will be described later.

  After the optimization process, the item determination unit 114 records the determined item in the storage unit 130 as information indicating the content to be communicated to the network device 300 (hereinafter referred to as communication content), and is optimal for the server control unit 113. The completion of conversion is notified (step S408). Upon receiving the optimization completion notification, the server control unit 113 notifies the client management unit 112 of the optimization completion (step S409).

  Upon receiving the optimization completion notification, the client management unit 112 notifies the communication control unit 111 of the optimization completion (step S410). Upon receiving the optimization completion notification, the communication control unit 111 notifies the monitoring control unit 202 of the client PC 200 that the request registration process has been completed (step S411).

  Next, details of the optimization process in step S407 will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an overall flow of the optimization processing in the first embodiment.

  First, the item determining unit 114 initializes an acquisition information item representing device information to be acquired from the network device 300 (step S501). Next, the item determination unit 114 selects one piece of request information from the request information of each client PC 200 notified from the client management unit 112, and acquires device information included in the selected request information (step S502).

  Next, the item determining unit 114 matches the acquired device information with any item of the acquired information item, or the acquired device information corresponds to the device information of the lower hierarchy of any item of the acquired information item It is determined whether to do so (step S503).

  If the device information does not match the acquired information item and is not a lower hierarchy of the acquired information item (step S503: NO), the item determining unit 114 further determines whether the device information is one of the items of the acquired information item. It is determined whether the device information corresponds to the upper layer device information (step S504).

  When it corresponds to the upper layer device information (step S504: YES), the item determination unit 114 adds the device information as an acquisition information item and deletes the added acquisition information item corresponding to the lower layer. (Step S505).

  If it is not higher-layer device information (step S504: NO), the item determining unit 114 adds the acquired device information as an acquired information item (step S506).

  If it is determined in step S503 that the device information matches the acquired information item or is a lower hierarchy of the acquired information item (step S503: YES), and after step S505 or step S506, the item determining unit 114 Determines whether all device information has been processed (step S507).

  If all device information has not been processed (step S507: NO), the item determination unit 114 acquires the next device information and repeats the processing (step S502). If all pieces of device information have been processed (step S507: YES), the optimization process ends.

  By such processing, the item determining unit 114 can determine device information to be acquired so that the device information requested by each client PC 200 is included without omission.

Here, a specific example of the optimization process will be described. For example, assuming that device information as shown in FIG. 3 can be acquired, it is assumed that request information requesting acquisition of device information as described below is received from each of the three client PCs 200a to 200c.
(1) Client PC 200a:
Printer status, paper tray status, toner status, job status (2) Client PC 200b:
Device status, paper feed tray information, toner information, paper discharge tray information (3) Client PC 200c:
Device status, supported features, options, and network information

  As in this example, each client PC 200 can request acquisition of all device information included in the category by designating the category of device information as shown in FIG.

  In this case, the item determination unit 114 optimizes the device information requested from each client PC 200, and the device status, paper feed tray information, toner information, paper discharge tray information, job status, supported functions, options, The network information is determined as device information that needs to be acquired from the network device 300.

  For example, since the “printer status” requested by the client PC 200a is included in the “equipment status” category requested by the client PCs 200b and 200c, the item determining unit 114 obtains “apparatus status” device information to be acquired. Determine as.

  Similarly, since the “paper feed tray status” requested by the client PC 200a is included in the “paper feed tray information” category requested by the client PC 200b, the item determination unit 114 acquires “paper feed tray information”. Determine as device information to be used.

  Further, since the “toner status” requested by the client PC 200a is included in the “toner information” category requested by the client PC 200b, the item determining unit 114 determines the “toner information” as device information to be acquired. .

  On the other hand, the “job status” requested by the client PC 200a is an item included in the “job information” category, but there is no other client PC 200 that has requested acquisition of “job information”. For this reason, the item determining unit 114 determines “job status” as device information to be acquired.

  In this way, the item determining unit 114 can determine the minimum necessary device information as device information to be acquired by determining the hierarchical relationship of the device information classified in the hierarchical structure. Note that the hierarchical structure is not limited to two layers as shown in FIG. 3, and device information may be represented by a hierarchical structure of three or more layers.

  Next, the processing sequence of the periodic information acquisition process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an overall flow of the periodic information acquisition process according to the first embodiment.

  First, the server control unit 113 starts regular information acquisition processing at predetermined intervals and transmits a device information acquisition instruction to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S601).

  Upon receiving the device information acquisition instruction, the device information acquisition unit 115 transmits a communication content acquisition instruction to the item determination unit 114 (step S602). Here, the communication content acquisition instruction refers to an instruction for instructing acquisition of communication content determined by the item determination unit 114 and stored in the storage unit 130.

  Upon receipt of the communication content acquisition instruction, the item determination unit 114 extracts the communication content from the storage unit 130 and transmits it to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S603).

  Upon receiving the communication content, the device information acquisition unit 115 extracts the address of each network device 300 from the storage unit 130, and transmits the extracted address and the received communication content to the communication control unit 111 (step S604). The device information acquisition unit 115 stores the address of the network device 300 in the storage unit 130 when a device registration instruction is received from the monitoring control unit 202 of the client PC 200 or when a device is found by device search processing by the server PC 100. Record in advance.

  Next, when receiving the address and communication content of each network device 300, the communication control unit 111 transmits a device information acquisition request to each network device 300 according to the communication content (step S605). That is, the communication control unit 111 requests the network device 300 at the received address to acquire device information represented by the received communication content.

  Upon receiving the device information acquisition request, the network device 300 acquires device information managed in its own device, and transmits it to the communication control unit 111 of the server PC 100 (step S606).

  When receiving the device information from the network device 300, the communication control unit 111 transmits the address of the network device 300 and the device information to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S607).

  Upon receiving the address and device information of the network device 300, the device information acquisition unit 115 records the received device information in the storage unit 130. When device information acquisition from all network devices 300 is completed, the device information acquisition unit 115 transmits device information acquisition completion to the server control unit 113 (step S608). In addition, the server control part 113 will wait until a fixed period passes, if the notification of apparatus information acquisition completion is received.

  In this way, the server PC 100 can collectively acquire the minimum necessary device information requested from each client PC 200 from the network device 300 and record it in the storage unit 130 every time a certain period of time elapses.

  Next, a processing sequence of device information acquisition processing will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an overall flow of the device information acquisition process according to the first embodiment.

  First, the monitoring control unit 202 of the client PC 200 transmits a device information acquisition request to the communication control unit 111 of the server PC 100 (step S701). For example, the monitoring control unit 202 receives an instruction to acquire the status of the latest print job from the application 201 that executed printing, generates a device information acquisition request, and transmits the request to the server PC 100.

  When receiving the device information acquisition request, the communication control unit 111 of the server PC 100 transmits the received device information acquisition request and the address of the requesting client PC 200 to the client management unit 112 (step S702).

  When the client management unit 112 receives the address of the client PC 200 and the device information acquisition instruction, the client management unit 112 checks whether or not the address of the client PC 200 is registered in the storage unit 130. A device information acquisition instruction is transmitted (step S703).

  Upon receiving the device information acquisition instruction, the server control unit 113 transmits the device information acquisition instruction to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S704). Upon receiving the device information acquisition instruction, the device information acquisition unit 115 acquires the device information from the storage unit 130 and transmits the acquired device information to the server control unit 113 (step S705).

  When the server control unit 113 receives the device information, the server control unit 113 transmits the received device information to the client management unit 112 (step S706). Upon receiving the device information, the client management unit 112 transmits the device information to the communication control unit 111 (step S707). In addition, the communication control unit 111 transmits the received device information to the monitoring control unit 202 of the client PC 200 (step S708).

  In this way, the client PC 200 can acquire necessary device information from the device information that is periodically and collectively acquired by the server PC 100. Therefore, if a certain period is appropriately set, the client PC 200 can acquire almost the latest device information in real time.

  On the other hand, since the server PC 100 collectively acquires device information at regular intervals instead of sequentially accessing the network device 300 in response to a request from each client PC 200 and acquiring device information as in the past, the device It becomes possible to reduce the network load related to the inquiry of information.

(Modification 1)
In the above embodiment, device information requested from a plurality of client PCs 200 is optimized on the server PC 100. On the other hand, when there are a plurality of applications 201 in the client PC 200, the device information requested from the plurality of applications 201 is optimized in the monitoring control unit 202 of the client PC 200 and then an acquisition request is transmitted to the server PC 100. You may comprise so that it may do.

For example, it is assumed that the monitoring control unit 202 receives request information requesting acquisition of device information as described below from each of two applications 201a and 201b as illustrated in FIG.
(1) Application 201a:
Printer status, paper tray status, toner status, job status (2) Application 201b:
Device status, paper tray information, toner information, paper output tray information

  In this case, the monitoring control unit 202 optimizes the device information requested from each application 201, and uses the device status, paper feed tray information, toner information, paper discharge tray information, and job status as device information to be acquired. decide.

  By transmitting the device information acquisition request optimized in this way to the server PC 100, the number of acquisition request transmissions can be reduced, and the network load can be further reduced.

(Modification 2)
In the above embodiment, for example, when the device information requested by a certain client PC 200 is changed, the request information is notified again from the client PC 200 (step S401), and the optimization process is executed again (step S407). .

  Here, when the request information is notified again, it is determined whether a certain period of time has passed since the previous device information acquisition process. If it has not elapsed, only the shortage of device information added by the change is optimal. It is also possible to configure so that only the device information determined by the optimization processing is acquired from the network device 300.

  Thereby, an increase in the amount of network packets can be suppressed to a minimum while responding to a request from the client PC 200 in real time.

  Note that the value of the certain period may be specified for each client PC 200, and the periodic information acquisition process may be executed every time the specified period elapses. Request information such as a specified period value may be stored in a RAM (Random Access Memory), or may be stored as a file in an HDD or the like.

(Modification 3)
In the above embodiment, when the client PC 200 acquires the device information of the network device 300, all the device information stored in the storage unit 130 of the server PC 100 is acquired. However, since the storage unit 130 may include device information requested only by the other client PC 200, there is a possibility that unnecessary information may be transmitted.

  Therefore, it is configured to pick up device information that matches the request of each client PC 200 from the device information stored in the storage unit 130 and return only the picked-up device information to the requesting client PC 200. Also good. Thereby, useless packet transmission can be reduced.

(Modification 4)
For example, in the case of a print job monitoring system, after starting a print job (during printing), it is desirable to monitor the job status at short time intervals so that it can follow changes in the job status. On the other hand, when the print job is not started (normal time), it is generally sufficient to monitor the printer status and the like with little fluctuation, and therefore the state monitoring may be performed at long time intervals.

  Therefore, each client PC 200 designates an acquisition method including designation of a time interval when the server PC 100 obtains device information of the network device 300, and a predetermined item at a predetermined time interval according to the designated acquisition method. You may comprise so that it may acquire.

For example, when monitoring a print job, the following designation is possible.
(Normal): Method to obtain printer status, paper tray status, toner status at long time intervals (long-term periodic instruction)
(During printing): A method of acquiring printer status, paper feed tray status, toner status, and job information at 1-second intervals from the start of printing to the end of printing (short-term periodic instruction)

  At the time of printing, a short-term periodic instruction is transmitted from the client PC 200 to the server PC 100 for the network device 300 to be monitored. When the server control unit 113 of the server PC 100 receives a short-term periodic instruction, the server control unit 113 executes a periodic information acquisition process as shown in FIG. 6 every 1 second, which is a predetermined time interval. On the other hand, when a long-term periodic instruction is received from the client PC 200, a periodic information acquisition process as shown in FIG. 6 is executed at a predetermined interval determined as a long-term time interval.

  In this way, by specifying the acquisition method, it becomes possible to acquire only necessary items at necessary timing, and the number of transmitted and received packets can be controlled appropriately.

(Modification 5)
Each client PC 200 may be configured to be able to request a condition for returning the device information, and transmit the device information under the requested condition.

  As the condition, for example, notification can be specified only when the status is changed. Further, it may be configured to specify whether all device information is notified at once or only requested device information is notified.

  As a result, only necessary information can be transmitted in response to a request from the client PC 200, and the number of useless packets can be reduced.

(Modification 6)
In the above-described embodiment, an example in which optimization is performed by integrating device information requested from a plurality of client PCs 200 has been described. The method for optimizing device information is not limited to this, and the following method may be applied.

  In the sixth modification, a method for optimizing device information by focusing on the relationship between a plurality of device information representing various statuses will be described. For example, among the device information shown in FIG. 3, the device status includes five types of system status, printer status, facsimile status, copy status, and scanner status. Since these statuses represent the statuses of the functional units of the devices, they are hereinafter referred to as simplified statuses.

  On the other hand, in the device information shown in FIG. 3, the device information for each component determined for the components such as the paper feed tray and the toner includes a status in units of components. For example, the paper feed tray information includes a paper feed tray status, the toner information includes a toner status, the paper discharge tray information includes a paper discharge tray status, and the job information includes a job status. Hereinafter, such a status for each component is referred to as a detailed status.

  The simplified status and the detailed status have a relationship that information represented by the simplified status may include information represented by the detailed status.

  For example, when a tray (referred to as Tray 1) is not fed, the printer status, which is a simplified status, stores “no feed error”, and the detailed feed status, “Tray” “No paper feed error” is stored in “1”.

  Also, for example, when a paper jam occurs near the paper output tray, the printer status stores “paper jam error”, and the paper output tray status contains “paper jam error at the ○○ part of the paper output tray”. Stored.

  Further, for example, when there is no remaining black toner, “no toner remaining” is stored in the printer status, and “no black toner remaining” is stored in the toner status.

  In Modification 6, using such a relationship, the device information is optimized so that the detailed status is acquired only when necessary. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of optimization processing in the sixth modification.

  First, the item determination unit 114 acquires a simplified status from the network device 300 using the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S801). Next, the item determining unit 114 determines whether or not the acquired simplified status is an error (step S802). In the case of an error (step S802: YES), the item determining unit 114 adds a detailed status corresponding to the content of the error to an acquisition information item representing device information to be acquired (step S803).

  If it is not an error (step S802: NO), or after adding an acquisition information item in step S803, the item determination unit 114 adds another common item representing device information to be acquired in common to the acquisition information item (step S804).

  In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not to acquire the detailed status with reference to the simplified status value. That is, by acquiring the detailed status only when necessary, waste of network access can be eliminated.

(Modification 7)
In the modified example 7, a method for optimizing device information according to the functions of the network device 300 will be described. For example, the network device 300 may include a device having all functions of a printer, a facsimile, a copy, and a scanner, or a device having only a copy function. In the modified example 7, the device information to be acquired is optimized according to the configuration of each device.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of optimization processing in the seventh modification. First, the item determining unit 114 acquires device function information including a function name included in the network device 300 from the network device 300 (step S901).

  Next, the item determining unit 114 determines whether or not the acquired device function information includes a printer function, that is, whether or not the network device 300 has the printer function (step S902). If the printer function is included in the device function information (step S902: YES), the item determining unit 114 adds device information about the printer as an acquisition information item (step S903).

  When the printer function is not included in the device function information (step S902: NO), or after the acquisition information item is added in step S903, the item determination unit 114 determines whether the acquired device function information includes a copy function. Is determined (step S904).

  When the copy function is included in the device function information (step S904: YES), the item determining unit 114 adds device information related to copying as an acquisition information item (step S905).

  Similarly, the item determination unit 114 determines whether or not the device function information includes the scanner function and the FAX function, and adds the corresponding device information to the acquired information item (step S906 to step S906). S909).

  Next, the item determination unit 114 determines whether or not device information is included in the acquired information item (step S910). If included (step S910: YES), the common item is added to the acquired information item. (Step S911). Note that the item determination unit 114 may be configured to further optimize device information by the same method as in the first embodiment, according to the request information received from each client PC 200.

  If device information is not included in the acquired information item in step S910 (step S910: NO), the optimization processing is terminated because there is no device information to be transmitted.

  Through such processing, for example, for a device having only a copy function, only system status, copy status, paper feed tray information, toner information, and paper discharge tray information can be determined as device information to be acquired.

(Modification 8)
In Modification 8, a method for optimizing device information in accordance with the functions of the network device 300 in an expanded manner will be described. For example, it is assumed that a printer, a copy, and a scanner are prepared as standard configurations of the network device 300, and a facsimile is prepared as an option. In Modification 8, device specific information including a model name for identifying a standard configuration and an optional configuration is acquired, and the device information is optimized with reference to the acquired device specific information.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of optimization processing in the eighth modification. First, the item determination unit 114 acquires device-specific information of the network device 300 from the network device 300 (step S1001).

  Next, the item determining unit 114 adds device information corresponding to the model name included in the device-specific information as an acquisition information item (step S1002). For example, the item determination unit 114 stores information defining the standard function for each model name in the storage unit 130 or the like, and acquires the standard function corresponding to the model name with reference to this information. And the item determination part 114 adds the apparatus information according to the acquired function as an acquisition information item by the method as described in the modification 7.

  Next, the item determining unit 114 determines whether or not the option-specific configuration is included in the device-specific information (step S1003). If included (step S1003: YES), the device information regarding the option configuration is used as an acquisition information item. Further, it is added (step S1004). The device information related to the option configuration can be acquired by storing information defining the device information for each option configuration in the storage unit 130 or the like and referring to this information.

  For example, the model name of the network device 300 is “ABC”, and the standard device configuration of the model name “ABC” is a copy, a scanner, and a printer. In addition, it is assumed that the device configuration that can be expanded by this model is a facsimile and an expansion tray.

  In this case, the optimization process as described above, for example, acquires device status information (meaning that all statuses including the facsimile status are acquired), paper feed tray information, toner information, and paper discharge tray information. It can be determined as device information to be acquired.

  Note that the item determination unit 114 may be configured to further optimize device information by the same method as in the first embodiment, according to the request information received from each client PC 200.

  As described above, in the communication system according to the first embodiment, the device information to be acquired is optimized by referring to the device information acquisition request of the network device transmitted from the client PC, and the minimum necessary device information is obtained. Can be acquired in a batch. Thereby, the network load related to the inquiry of the device information of the network device can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, a server PC detects a network device from which device information can be acquired and can notify a client PC.

  As a method for searching for network devices connected to the network from the server PC, a broadcast method or a PingSweep method is known.

  Since the broadcast method requires only one packet transmission, no unnecessary packets are generated. However, in many cases, a router is set so as not to accept a device search by a broadcast method to another network.

  The PingSweep method is a method of determining a range of IP addresses to be searched and checking a device with a function such as Ping for each IP address. The PingSweep method is not preferable because it causes an increase in the amount of packets.

  As a method for solving these problems, there is a method for registering device information from a network device to a server PC. For example, a method of registering a host in a DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name System) server, a method of notifying by UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), and the like are known. However, this method has a problem that a unique protocol must be installed on the network device side.

  On the other hand, broadcast packets may periodically flow through network devices. For example, host registration packet to DDNS server, notification to host by UPnP when power is turned on, IP address acquisition request and release confirmation to DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, inquiry by Arp (Address Resolution Protocol) protocol Etc.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, when such a packet is received, the address information of the device is extracted from the header of the packet and the device information is registered, so that wasteful communication that occurs in the broadcast method or the PingSweep method. To avoid.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication system according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the communication system has a configuration in which a server PC 1100, client PCs 1200a to 1200c, and network devices 300a to 300c are connected by a LAN 400.

  In the second embodiment, the detailed configurations of the client PC 1200 and the server PC 1100 are different from those of the first embodiment. First, the configuration of the server PC 1100 will be described.

  The server PC 1100 according to the second embodiment includes a storage unit 130, a communication I / F 120, a communication control unit 1111, a client management unit 1112, a server control unit 1113, an item determination unit 114, and a device information acquisition unit. 115.

  In the second embodiment, the functions of the communication control unit 1111, the client management unit 1112, and the server control unit 1113 are different from those in the first embodiment. Other configurations and functions are the same as those in FIG. 2, which is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the server PC 100 according to the first embodiment, and thus are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted here.

  When the communication control unit 1111 receives a broadcast packet transmitted from the network device 300, a function for extracting the address information (device address) of the network device 300 from the received packet and notifying for registration is added. This is different from the communication control unit 111 of the first embodiment. Specifically, the communication control unit 1111 extracts the MAC address and the IP address from the header of the packet received from the network device 300.

  When a new network device 300 is discovered, the client management unit 1112 has a function of transmitting a device discovery notification for notifying the discovery to the client PC 1200 via the communication control unit 1111. This is different from the client management unit 112 of the first embodiment.

  The server control unit 1113 is different from the server control unit 113 of the first embodiment in that a function for controlling registration processing of the device address extracted by the communication control unit 1111 is added.

  Next, the configuration of the client PC 1200 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the client PC 1200 includes applications 201 a and 201 b, a monitoring control unit 1202, and a communication I / F 203.

  In the second embodiment, the function of the monitoring control unit 1202 is different from that of the first embodiment. Other configurations and functions are the same as those in FIG. 2 which is a block diagram showing the configuration of the client PC 200 according to the first embodiment, and thus the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted here.

  The monitoring control unit 1202 is different from the monitoring control unit 202 of the first embodiment in that it receives a device discovery notification from the server PC 1100. Note that the monitoring control unit 1202 notifies the received application discovery notification to the application 201 or holds it so that it can be referred to from the application 201.

  Next, the processing sequence of the device information registration processing according to the second embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. The device information registration process refers to a process of discovering the network device 300 through packet analysis and registering related information. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an overall flow of the device information registration process according to the second embodiment.

  First, the network device 300 periodically transmits a broadcast (step S1201). When receiving a packet flowing on the network, the communication control unit 1111 of the server PC 1100 extracts a device address from the received packet, and transmits the extracted device address to the server control unit 1113 (step S1202). As the device address, for example, an IP address and a MAC (Media Access Control) address are extracted.

  Next, when receiving the device address, the server control unit 1113 transmits a device address and a device information acquisition instruction to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S1203).

  Upon receiving the device address and the device information acquisition instruction, the device information acquisition unit 115 transmits a communication content acquisition instruction to the item determination unit 114 (step S1204). Upon receiving the communication content acquisition instruction, the item determination unit 114 extracts the communication content from the storage unit 130 and transmits it to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S1205).

  Upon receiving the communication content, device information acquisition unit 115 transmits the device address and the received communication content to communication control unit 1111 (step S1206).

  Next, when receiving the device address and the communication content, the communication control unit 1111 transmits a device information acquisition request to the network device 300 according to the communication content (step S1207).

  Upon receiving the device information acquisition request, the network device 300 acquires device information managed in its own device and transmits it to the communication control unit 1111 of the server PC 1100 (step S1208).

  Upon receiving device information from the network device 300, the communication control unit 1111 transmits the address and device information of the network device 300 to the device information acquisition unit 115 (step S1209).

  Upon receiving the address and device information of the network device 300, the device information acquisition unit 115 records the received device information in the storage unit 130, and transmits device information acquisition completion to the server control unit 1113 (step S1210).

  Next, when the server control unit 1113 receives a notification of device information acquisition completion, the server control unit 1113 transmits a device discovery notification to the client management unit 1112 (step S1211). Note that the device discovery notification is not transmitted if it has already been registered in the storage unit 130.

  Next, when receiving the device discovery notification, the client management unit 1112 extracts the request information of each client PC 200 from the storage unit 130, and sends the device discovery notification to the client PC 200 that matches the request information via the communication control unit 1111. Transmit (step S1212, step S1213).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, a mechanism for receiving all packets including a periodic broadcast from a network device and a mechanism for acquiring a device address from the header of the packet are provided, and it is determined that the device is a network device from the device address. Device information can be acquired and registered. That is, by reusing an existing packet transmitted from a network device, it is possible to search for the device without transmitting a device search packet from the server PC to the network device. Therefore, it is possible to search for devices without increasing the network load.

(Modification)
In the second embodiment, only packets flowing on the network to which the server PC 1100 is connected can be acquired. Therefore, in order to acquire information on a network device connected to another network, it is necessary to acquire a packet flowing on the other network.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a network configuration example of a communication system according to a modification example of the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the communication system according to the present modification includes a plurality of server PCs 1100a and 1100b and is connected to different networks 400a and 400b, respectively.

  A network device 300a is connected to the network 400a, and a network device 300z is connected to the network 400b. Each network is connected through a router 1250.

  As described above, in this modification, the server PC 1100 is installed for each network, and the device address of the network device 300z discovered in the other network is transmitted from the server PC 1100 of the other network. Instead of configuring the server PC 1100 as a normal PC, the server PC 1100 may be realized as an embedded device having the same function.

  Next, a processing sequence of device information registration processing according to this modification will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an overall flow of the device information registration process according to the modification of the second embodiment. This figure shows the device information registration process executed by the server PC 1100a of FIG.

  First, the network device 300z connected to the network 400b, which is a different network from the network 400a to which the server PC 1100a is connected, transmits a broadcast packet in the network 400b (step S1401).

  The server PC 1100b in the network 400b receives the broadcast packet by the communication control unit 1111, extracts a device address from the received packet, and transmits the extracted device address to the server PC 1100a (step S1402).

  The communication control unit 1111 of the server PC 1100a transmits the received device address to the server control unit 1113 (step S1403).

  Steps S1404 to S1414 are the same as steps S1203 to S1213 in FIG. 12 representing the device information registration process according to the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Thus, according to this modification, it is possible to search for devices without increasing the network load, targeting network devices connected to other networks.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the server PC according to the first and second embodiments will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server PC.

  The server PC according to the first and second embodiments communicates with a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51 and a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 and a RAM 53 by connecting to a network. A communication I / F 120 to be performed, an external storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and a CD drive device, a display device such as a display device, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a bus 61 that connects each unit are provided. The hardware configuration uses a normal computer.

  The information acquisition program executed by the server PC according to the first and second embodiments is an installable or executable file, which is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD ( And recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a digital versatile disk.

  The information acquisition program executed by the server PC according to the first and second embodiments is stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and is provided by being downloaded via the network. You may do it. The information acquisition program executed by the server PC according to the first and second embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  Further, the information acquisition programs of the first and second embodiments may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The information acquisition program executed by the server PC according to the first and second embodiments is a module including the above-described units (communication control unit, client management unit, server control unit, item determination unit, device information acquisition unit). As actual hardware, a CPU (processor) reads and executes an information acquisition program from the storage medium, and the respective units are loaded onto the main storage device. The respective units are stored on the main storage device. It is to be generated.

  As described above, the server device, the information acquisition method, the information acquisition program, the recording medium, the client device, and the communication system according to the present invention have the device information of the network device having functions such as a printer, a facsimile, a copy, and a scanner. Suitable for apparatus, method and program for acquiring and managing.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the network structure of the communication system concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system concerning 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the data structure of apparatus information. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole flow of the request | requirement registration process in 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole flow of the optimization process in 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole flow of the regular information acquisition process in 1st Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole flow of the apparatus information acquisition process in 1st Embodiment. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of optimization processing in Modification 6. 18 is a flowchart showing a flow of optimization processing in Modification 7. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of optimization processing in Modification 8. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system concerning 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole flow of the apparatus information registration process in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the network structural example of the communication system concerning the modification of 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the whole flow of the apparatus information registration process in the modification of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the hardware constitutions of server PC.

Explanation of symbols

51 CPU
52 ROM
53 RAM
61 Bus 100 Server PC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 Communication control part 112 Client management part 113 Server control part 114 Item determination part 115 Device information acquisition part 130 Storage part 201 Application 202 Monitoring control part 203 Communication I / F
300 Network equipment 400 Network 1100 Server PC
1111 Communication control unit 1112 Client management unit 1113 Server control unit 1200 Client PC
1202 Monitoring control unit 1250 router

Claims (17)

A server device connected via a network to a plurality of client devices and a communication device providing a function to the client device,
Receiving means for receiving, from a plurality of the client devices, an acquisition request for the related information desired among a plurality of pieces of related information related to the function;
Determining means for determining each of the related information included in the plurality of received acquisition requests as the related information to be acquired from the communication device;
Obtaining means for obtaining the determined related information from the communication device;
Transmitting means for transmitting the acquired related information to the client device;
A server device comprising: The receiving means receives the acquisition request for the related information of a desired hierarchy among the related information classified in a hierarchical structure from a plurality of the client devices,
The determination means includes a second association requested by a second acquisition request included in the plurality of received acquisition requests, wherein the first related information requested by the first acquisition request included in the plurality of received acquisition requests Determining whether it is the related information in an upper layer of information, and determining the first related information as the related information to be acquired in the case of an upper layer;
The server device according to claim 1. The receiving means further receives the acquisition request to which the desired related information is added from the client device,
The determination means further determines whether or not an elapsed time after the acquisition means has acquired the related information exceeds a predetermined period, and if not, acquires the added related information. Determining the relevant information to be
The server device according to claim 1. The transmission means transmits the related information requested by the acquisition request among the acquired related information to the client device that is a transmission source of the acquisition request;
The server device according to claim 1. The acquisition means acquires the determined related information from the communication device for each elapse of a predetermined period;
The server device according to claim 1. The receiving means further receives, from the client device, designation of an acquisition method of the related information that defines the related information to be acquired and a time interval for acquiring the related information.
The acquisition means acquires the related information determined by the specified acquisition method at the time interval determined by the specified acquisition method;
The server device according to claim 5. The receiving means further receives the acquisition request including designation of a condition for transmitting the related information to the client device from the client device,
The transmission means transmits the related information to the client device under the specified condition;
The server device according to claim 1. The determining means further determines whether or not the acquired related information is a predetermined specific value, and when the acquired related information is the specific value, the predetermined means related to the acquired related information is determined. Determining third related information as the related information to be acquired;
The server device according to claim 1. The acquisition unit further acquires function information representing the type of the function from the communication device,
The determining means further determines, as the related information to be acquired, fifth related information that is predetermined according to the acquired function information;
The server device according to claim 1. The acquisition means further acquires device information representing the type of the communication device from the communication device,
The determining means further determines, as the related information to be acquired, sixth related information predetermined according to the acquired device information;
The server device according to claim 1. Storage means for storing address information of the communication device;
Judgment means for judging whether or not the communication device of the address information is newly connected to the network according to whether or not the address information is stored in the storage means;
The receiving means further receives a message including the address information from the communication device,
The determination unit determines that the communication device of the address information is newly connected to the network when the address information included in the received message is not stored in the storage unit;
The transmission means further transmits notification information indicating that the communication apparatus is newly connected to the network to the client apparatus when it is determined that the communication apparatus is newly connected to the network. ,
The server device according to claim 1. The receiving means further receives a message including the address information from an external device connected via the network;
The server device according to claim 11. An information acquisition method in a server device connected via a network to a plurality of client devices and a communication device providing a function to the client device,
A receiving step of receiving, from a plurality of client devices, an acquisition request for desired related information among a plurality of related information related to the function by a receiving unit;
A determination step of determining, by the determination means, each of the related information included in the plurality of received acquisition requests as the related information to be acquired from the communication device;
An acquisition step of acquiring the related information determined by the acquisition unit from the communication device;
A transmission step of transmitting the related information acquired by the transmission means to the client device;
An information acquisition method comprising:   An information acquisition program for causing a computer to execute the information acquisition method according to claim 13.   The computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon the program according to claim 14 to be executed by a computer. A client device connected via a network to a communication device that provides a function and a server device that acquires related information related to the function from the communication device,
Among the related information, a plurality of applications that request to obtain the desired related information from the communication device;
Determining means for determining each of the related information requested by the plurality of applications as the related information to be acquired from the communication device;
Transmitting means for transmitting the determined related information acquisition request to the server device;
A client device comprising: A communication system comprising: a plurality of client devices; and a server device that is connected to the client devices via a network and obtains related information related to the function from a communication device that provides the function to the client device. ,
The client device is
A transmission unit configured to transmit an acquisition request for the desired related information among the plurality of related information related to the function to the server device;
The server device
Receiving means for receiving the acquisition requests from a plurality of the client devices;
Determining means for determining each of the related information included in the plurality of received acquisition requests as the related information to be acquired from the communication device;
Obtaining means for obtaining the determined related information from the communication device;
Transmitting means for transmitting the acquired related information to the client device;
A communication system characterized by the above.

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