JP5044007B2 - Information processing apparatus, control method for information processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that performs settings for a network device that performs predetermined processing via a network, a control method for the information processing apparatus, and a program.

  In recent years, a local area network (LAN) in which computers are connected to each other has become widespread, and such a LAN can be constructed over a building floor, an entire building, a region, or a larger area. Such networks are further connected to each other and can be connected to global networks. Each such interconnected LAN may have a variety of hardware interconnection technologies and a number of network protocols.

  In such a LAN, each network device is identified, operated and managed by a network address specific to each network protocol.

  There have been several methods for managing devices on a network connected to such a network.

  For example, a technique for defining a unique communication procedure or protocol, and managing a network equipment device prompted by the protocol, or a technique for managing a network equipment device with a standardized protocol such as SNAP (for SNAP, (It is defined in RFC1157 of Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) which is an Internet standardization organization).

  The implementation is described in Non-Patent Document 1 below.

  In such a network management technique, when a network management software or application displays a list of devices to be managed on a monitor or the like, a broadcast packet or a multicast packet is often used. A broadcast packet is a packet transmitted to all devices on the network, and a multicast is a packet transmitted to a specific set of devices on the network. A network device that receives such a broadcast packet or multicast packet returns a response to the application that transmitted it.

  That is, the network management software can receive the response from all devices connected on the network by transmitting the broadcast packet onto the network. As a result, the network management software can obtain a list of devices to be managed.

“Introduction to TCP / IP Network Management” T.A. Rose = work / Takeshi Nishida = translation Toppan publishing August 20, 1992 first edition

  In order to make a device newly connected to the network constituting the network system as described above and making it usable, it is necessary to make an appropriate setting on the network board of the device.

  When performing this setting, for example, for a network board that supports broadcasting of a certain protocol, a network board that is displayed regardless of whether or not the corresponding network board has already been set, and that does not require setting by the user In order to force the user to select a network board that needs to be set up in a state that includes, it has been pointed out that the user is confused by the setting, and the burden of confirmation becomes heavy and the operability is poor.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The object of the present invention is to perform network setting without displaying network devices that are already connected to the network and need not be set. It is to provide a mechanism for efficiently presenting a network setting process that is convenient and presents a necessary newly connected network device to a user as a setting target and can freely set intended network information. .

The information processing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object has the following configuration.
An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a network device via a network, a holding unit that holds network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device in advance, and a network device on the network that is currently set to the network device Receiving means for receiving the network setting information, and the network setting information currently set for the network device received by the receiving means at the time of factory shipment of the network device held in advance in the holding means A determination unit that determines whether or not the network setting information matches, and the network setting information currently set in the network device received by the reception unit as a result of the determination by the determination unit is held in the holding unit in advance. Said ne If the network is determined to match the network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the device, and a presenting means for presenting to a user the network device as a network device need to be configured.

  According to the present invention, a newly connected network device that requires network setting is presented to the user as a setting target without displaying network devices that are not already set among the network devices connected on the network. As a result, it is possible to efficiently perform network setting processing excellent in convenience and capable of freely setting intended network information.

It is a figure explaining the structure of the printing system which can apply the network control apparatus which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure of the network system which can apply the network control apparatus which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the control structure of PC shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure of the packet in the network system shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a data portion of a packet in the configurator protocol shown in FIG. It is the schematic explaining the flow of the packet in the network system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the network interface board setting screen displayed on PC shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 1st data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a network interface board addition setting screen displayed on PC shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 2nd data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining the memory map of the storage medium which stores the various data processing program which can be read by the network system which can apply the information processing apparatus which concerns on this invention.

[LAN Configuration] A network system to which devices managed by the network setting software are connected will be described.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a printing system to which the network control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention can be applied, and corresponds to an example of a printing system in which a network board 101 is connected to a printer 102, for example.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a network board, which is a network device connected to a local area network (LAN) 100. The connection to the LAN is via an interface such as 10Base-T having RF-45. A personal computer (PC) 103 is also connected to the LAN 100, and the PC 103 can communicate with the network board 101 via the LAN 100.

  Typically, a LAN such as LAN 100 provides services to a somewhat local group, such as a user group on one floor in a building, or on multiple consecutive floors.

  For example, when the user is in another building, a wide area network (WAN) may be used according to the distance between the users. A WAN is basically an aggregate formed by connecting several LANs with high-speed digital lines such as high-speed integrated services digital network (ISDN) telephones.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a network system to which the network control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention can be applied. For example, a plurality of printers each having a network board connected to a printer and a host computer are connected This corresponds to an example network system.

  In FIG. 2, reference numerals 201 to 206 denote printers connected to a network board, which are connected to the LAN 100 via a network. In this embodiment, when the PC 103 transmits a search broadcast packet to the LAN 100, the network boards from the printers 201 to 206 connected to the LAN 100 return the response.

  In addition, any of the printers 201 to 206 may be configured so that a network board recommended by the printer manufacturer or a network board supplied by a third party can be connected, and a network board recommended by the printer manufacturer can also be selected. In some cases, a plurality of network boards can be selected depending on the number of protocols.

[Configuration of PC]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining a control configuration of the PC 103 shown in FIG. 1, and corresponds to a case where the PC 103 has a configuration capable of operating the network setting software.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 103 denotes a PC on which network setting software runs, which is equivalent to the PC 103 in FIG. The PC 103 includes a CPU 301 that executes a network setting program stored in a ROM 302 or a hard disk (HD) 311 or supplied from a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) 312. Each device connected to the system bus 304 is connected to the PC 103. Overall control.

  The hard disk (HD) 311 stores setting information at the time of factory shipment of a network board that can be referred to by the network setting program, and is referred to and compared in accordance with the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 303 denotes a RAM whose RAM capacity can be expanded, and functions as a main memory and work area of the CPU 301. A keyboard controller (KBC) 305 controls an instruction input from a keyboard (KB) 309 or a pointing device (not shown).

  A CRT controller (CRTC) 306 controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 310. A disk controller (DKC) 307 controls access to a hard disk (HD) 311 and a floppy disk (FD) 312 that store a boot program, various applications, editing files, user files, a network setting program, and the like. Reference numeral 308 denotes a network board (NIC), which exchanges data bidirectionally with an agent or a network device via the LAN 100.

[Configurator packet]
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a packet configuration in the network system shown in FIG. 1, and is an example of a packet header when the unique setting reference protocol is implemented in the TCP / IP protocol.

  The unique setting reference protocol in this embodiment is called a configurator protocol. In this embodiment, the configurator protocol is mounted on UDP.

  In particular, the configurator protocol uses 0x83b6 as the UDP port number, the destination IP address (Dest IP) of the request packet is “255.255.255.255”, and the MAC address (Dest MAC) is 0xffffffffffff.

  The MAC address here is a physical address unique to the network. In the case of Ethernet, the leading 3 bytes are 6 bytes long and are managed / assigned by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, American Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) as vendor code. The remaining 3 bytes are codes managed independently by vendors (to avoid duplication).

  As a result, there are no network devices having the same physical address in the world, and all different addresses are assigned. When this address is 0xffffffffffff, it is handled as a broadcast packet, and all the devices connected on the network receive this packet.

  With such a configurator protocol, the network board 101 can be set, referred to, reset, and searched from the PC 103.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the data portion of the packet in the configurator protocol shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, the details of each parameter of the data portion of the packet are as follows.
Version (2 bytes), this version is 0x0300 (version 3.00). Request Code (2 bytes) is a code indicating the function requested in this packet, “0” is Set (setting), “1” is Get (reference), “2:” is NVRAM-Reset (NVRAM value). "Reset", "3" indicates Factory-Reset (reset with factory default value), and "4" indicates Discovery.

  The Result Code (2 bytes) is a code indicating the requested result. For example, “0x0000” indicates success, “0x0001” indicates a media type error, “0x0002” indicates no specified protocol stack, and “0x0003” indicates a version error. "0x0100" indicates protocol setting error details unknown), "0x0101" indicates protocol setting error (NetWare IPX), "0x0102" indicates protocol setting error (TcpIp), and "0x0104" indicates protocol setting error (AppleTalk). “0x0108” indicates a protocol setting error (TokenRing).

  Further, Media Type (2 bytes) is a communication medium, “0” indicates EtherNet, and “1” indicates TokenRing.

Protocol Info is a flag corresponding to each protocol information, and when the Request Code is “0 (set)”, only information related to the protocol whose corresponding byte is “1” is set.
NetWare Info is a field for setting and referencing information related to NetWare. FrameType (2 bytes) indicates a frame type used in NetWare. When <EtherNet> is set, “0” is Disable (NetWare cannot be used). “1” indicates 802.3, “2” indicates 802.2, “4” indicates EtherNet II, “8” indicates 802.2 SNAP, and “16” indicates AutoSense.

  In the case of <TokenRing>, “0” indicates Disable (cannot use NetWare), “1” indicates TOKENRING, and “2” indicates TOKEN_SNAP.

  TcpIp Info is a field for setting and referencing information related to TcpIp. It is composed of FrameType (2 bytes) and the frame type used in Tcpip. The frame type used in Tcpip is “Disable” (TcpIp is used). "4" indicates EtherNet II.

IP mode (2 bytes) is an IP address determination method, and the following values are ORed at the time of reference: “0” is IP fixed (rising from NVRAM value), “1” is BOOTP valid, “2” is RARP valid, “4” indicates DHCP valid.

  IP address (4 bytes) is the IP address of the network board. Gateway address (4 bytes) is the gateway address of the network board, and Subnetmask (4 bytes) is the subnet mask of the network board.

  In addition, AppleTalk Info is a field for setting and referring to information related to AppleTalk (registered trademark), and is composed of FrameType (2 bytes) and a frame type used in AppleTalk, and “0” is Disable (Cannot use AppleTalk). “1” indicates Phase 1, “2” indicates Phase 2, and “3” indicates Phase 1 and Phase 2.

  MAC address (6 bytes) is the MAC address of the board. If RequestCode is other than “4 (Discovery)” and the value of this field does not match the MAC address of the network board, the packet is ignored.

[Setting sequence]
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a packet flow in the network system according to the present invention, and corresponds to a network setting flow by the configurator protocol according to the embodiment.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a network interface board setting screen displayed on the PC 103 shown in FIG. 1, and corresponds to a case where setting fields for NetWare, TCP / IP, and AppleTalk are provided.

  In this embodiment, when the search request packet 701 is broadcast on the LAN 100 from the network setting software with the time axis set in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 6, the network board 101 receives the request packet and returns a response packet. To do.

  The PC 103 receives the response packet, and the network setting software displays a list of devices that allow the user to make settings in the device list shown in FIG. The user selects a device from the device list and inputs necessary setting items on the screen shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the network management software transmits a setting request packet (Set request) 703 to the target device. The network board 101 performs the setting, and returns the result to the PC 103 with a Set response 704.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a first data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, which corresponds to the processing procedure for receiving a response packet returned from the network board in response to the broadcast and displaying the device list. . S1001 to S1006 indicate each step.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a network interface board addition setting screen displayed on the PC 103 shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1001, the network setting software transmits a Discover packet, and receives a response packet from the network board corresponding to the configurator packet according to the present embodiment.

  In step S1002, the network setting software reads the IP address and subnet mask in the TcpIp Info in the configurator packet for all received response packets, and the network part of the IP address of the network board (NIC) is read from them. obtain.

In step S1003, the network part of the IP address of the PC 103 is acquired. In step S1004, it is determined whether or not the network part of each IP address obtained in steps S1002 and S1003 is the same. If it is determined that they are the same, the process is terminated and it is determined that they are different. In this case, since the network board that has returned step S1002 cannot operate on the network of the PC 103, it is determined that the network board needs to be set, and in step S1005, as shown in FIG. Display in device list. Next, in step S1006, the user makes settings and ends the process.

  As a result, only the network boards that need to be set can be displayed as a list on the display device on the PC 103.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a second data processing procedure in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, which corresponds to the processing procedure for receiving a response packet returned from the network board in response to the broadcast and displaying the device list. . S1101 to S1104 indicate each step.

  First, in step S1101, the network setting software transmits a Dlscover packet and receives a response packet from the network board corresponding to the configurator packet according to the present embodiment.

  In step S1102, the network setting software compares the setting information in the configurator packet with respect to all received response packets by comparing the factory setting value of the network board that the network setting software has in advance. If it is determined that the network board does not match, the process is terminated. If it is determined that the network board matches, it is determined that the matching network board is a network board that needs to be set, and in step S1103, FIG. Displayed in the exemplified device list. In step S1104, the user makes settings and ends the process.

  As a result, only the network boards that need to be set can be displayed as a list on the display device on the PC 103.

  According to the above embodiment, by using the information of the network part of the IP address of the PC on which the network board and the network setting software are running, it is possible to display only a list of network boards that need to be set. It is not necessary to check which network board needs to be set, and the operation confirmation processing burden when setting the network device by the user can be greatly reduced.

  The configuration of a data processing program that can be read by a network system to which the information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied will be described below with reference to the memory map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a memory map of a storage medium for storing various data processing programs that can be read by a network system to which the information processing apparatus according to the present invention can be applied.

Although not particularly illustrated, information for managing a program group stored in the storage medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.
Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, a program for installing various programs in the computer, and a program for decompressing when the program to be installed is compressed may be stored.

  The functions shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 in the present embodiment may be performed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external storage medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, an EEPROM, or the like is used. it can.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Needless to say, a new embodiment in which the network systems shown in the first embodiment and the second embodiment are effectively combined as appropriate is also within the scope of the present invention.

  Further, the case where a printer device is taken as an example of the network device has been described. However, even a multi-function device that performs a plurality of image processing such as scanner function processing, print function processing, facsimile communication function processing, etc. Needless to say, the present invention is applicable.

100 Local Area Network (LAN)
101 Network board (NB)
102 Printer 103 Personal Computer (PC)
201-206 Printer 301 CPU
302 ROM
303 RAM

Claims (7)

An information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a network device via a network,
Holding means for holding in advance network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device;
Receiving means for receiving network setting information currently set in the network device from the network device on the network;
Determination to determine whether the network setting information currently set in the network device received by the receiving unit matches the network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device held in advance in the holding unit Means,
As a result of the determination by the determination unit, the network setting information currently set in the network device received by the receiving unit matches the network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device held in advance in the holding unit. Then, when it is determined, a presentation unit that presents the network device to the user as a network device that needs to be set;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   2. The display unit according to claim 1, wherein the presenting unit causes the display unit to display information indicating a network device that has been determined that the currently set network setting information matches the factory default network setting information. Information processing device.   3. The presenting means does not cause the display means to display information indicating a network device that has been determined that the currently set network setting information does not match factory default network setting information. The information processing apparatus described.   The presenting means displays information indicating the plurality of network devices on the display means when there are a plurality of network devices determined that the currently set network setting information matches the network setting information at the time of shipment from the factory. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a list is displayed.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a setting unit configured to perform network setting via the network for a network device selected by a user from the network device presented by the presenting unit. An information processing apparatus control method capable of communicating with a network device via a network,
A holding step for holding network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device in advance;
Receiving from the network device on the network the network setting information currently set in the network device;
Determination step of determining whether the network setting information currently set in the network device received in the receiving step matches the network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device held in advance in the holding step. When,
As a result of the determination in the determination step, when the network setting information currently set in the network device received in the reception step matches the network setting information at the time of factory shipment of the network device previously held in the holding step A presentation step of presenting the network device to a user as a network device that needs to be configured if determined;
An information processing apparatus control method comprising: A program for causing a computer to execute the control method of the information processing apparatus according to claim 6.

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