JP7218146B2 - Management system, management device, method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology for acquiring information via a network in a management apparatus that manages network devices such as printers, scanners, and multi-function peripherals that can be connected to a network.

There are network devices that have an operation unit that can be operated by a user and that can be connected to a network such as a LAN. There is also a management apparatus that manages network devices by acquiring and setting information from the plurality of network devices via a network.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-140242

When the user is operating the operation unit such as the panel of the network device, the management device acquires data from the network device, which may cause conflicts in the internal processing of the network device. Conflicts can occur between specific operations on the panel and specific types of data requested from the management device. Conflicts may interfere with the user's interaction with the panel.

Normally, the processing of requests for data acquisition from management devices is performed in the background to user operations in network devices. In other words, it is difficult for the user to interrupt the panel operation in accordance with data acquisition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for suppressing obstruction of a user's operation of an operation unit of a network device due to processing of a data acquisition request from a management apparatus.

The present invention is a management system including a network device and a management apparatus that manages the network device, wherein the management apparatus includes selection means for receiving a selection for determining the type of data to be acquired; requesting means for transmitting an acquisition request to the network device for acquiring the type of data from the network device, the network device, when processing the acquisition request, the operation unit of the network device a first transmission means for transmitting a response including predetermined error information to the management device when is operated; and when the operation unit is not operated when processing the acquisition request. second execution means for executing an acquisition process for acquiring the data to be requested for acquisition, and a response including the data acquired in response to the acquisition process, to the management apparatus; and transmission means, wherein the request means of the management apparatus retransmits the acquisition request when receiving a response including the predetermined error information from the network device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism for suppressing obstruction of a user's operation on the operation unit of a network device due to processing of a data acquisition request from a management apparatus.

It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions for implementing this invention. It is a figure which shows the software configuration for implementing this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of an SNMP transmission/reception packet; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a task setting screen in the software of the present invention; 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing of a network device in Embodiment 1; 4 is a flowchart for explaining information acquisition processing in a network device according to the first embodiment; 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing of the management device 101 in Embodiment 1; FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining information acquisition processing in a network device according to the second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining cache processing in a network device in Example 3; FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining information acquisition processing in a network device according to the third embodiment; It is a figure which shows the confirmation screen of the schedule change in a management apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen during information acquisition in the network device; FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a screen for search setting provided by the management device in the fourth embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a software configuration in Example 4; FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining search processing for a management device in the fourth embodiment; FIG.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

(Example 1)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of each device in a management system including network devices and a management device that manages the network devices.

A management apparatus 101 in FIG. 1 communicates with a network device 102 such as a printing apparatus connectable to the network via the network 103 and acquires information from the network device 102 . The management device 101 internally has a CPU 111 , a memory 112 , an HDD 113 , an input device 114 , an output device 115 and a network interface 116 , which are connected by a bus 117 . The CPU 111 loads the program (device management software) and data in the present invention saved in the HDD 113 into the memory 112 and executes the program loaded into the memory 112 . The input device 114 acquires information input by the user. The output device 115 also displays information necessary for operating the program. Network interface 116 transmits and receives signals to and from network device 102 via network 103 .

The network device 102 internally includes a CPU 121 , a memory 122 , an HDD 123 , an operation unit 124 and a network interface 125 , which are connected via a bus 126 . The CPU 121 loads the programs and data of the present invention stored in the HDD 123 into the memory 122 and executes the programs loaded into the memory 122 . The operation unit 124 acquires information input by the user and displays information necessary for user operation. A network interface 125 transmits and receives signals to and from the management apparatus 101 via the network 103 .

Examples of the network device 102 include printers, scanners, multi-function peripherals, and the like. For example, in the case of a printer or multi-function peripheral, the hardware configuration further includes a print engine (not shown) for realizing print processing. In the case of a scanner or a multifunction machine, the hardware configuration further includes a scanner (not shown) for realizing scanning processing.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of software for implementing the present invention.

The device information processing unit 201 , the transmission/reception unit 202 , the UI control unit 204 , and the task management unit 205 are functional modules implemented by the program (device management software) according to the present invention executed by the CPU 111 of the management apparatus 101 .

A storage unit 203 is a data storage area stored in the memory 112 or HDD (hard disk) 113 . The device information processing unit 201 generates an acquisition request to the network device 102 . The device information processing unit 201 also processes information received from the network device 102 . The transmission/reception unit 202 controls transmission/reception of information between the management apparatus 101 and the network device 102 . A UI control unit 204 generates a screen to be displayed on the output device 115 and controls input information from the input device 114 . A task management unit 205 generates tasks, executes tasks, and manages schedules of tasks, which will be described later.

The device information acquisition unit 211 , the transmission/reception unit 212 , and the UI control unit 214 are functional modules realized by the program according to the present invention executed by the CPU 121 of the network device 102 .

The storage unit 213 is a data storage area stored in the memory 122 or HDD 123 . The device information acquisition unit 211 generates response information in response to an acquisition request from the network device 102 . The transmission/reception unit 212 controls transmission/reception of information between the network device 102 and the management apparatus 101 . The UI control unit 214 generates a screen displayed on the operation unit 124 and controls information input by the user through the operation unit 124 . A protocol called SNMP is used for information transmission/reception between the management apparatus 101 and the network device 102 . SNMP is a protocol for managing network devices 102 such as printers that can be connected to a network.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of an SNMP transmission/reception packet. The example in FIG. 3 shows a packet configuration in SNMP version 1, which consists of version information 301, community name 302, PDU type 303, request ID 304, error status 305, error index 306, object name 307, and object value 308. FIG. The SNMP version 301 is SNMP version information, and in the case of version 1, a numerical value of 1 is entered. When the management apparatus 101 acquires one piece of information from the network device 102, the value GetRequest (0xA0) indicating acquisition of one piece of information is entered, and the name of the value to be acquired is entered in the object name 307. FIG. If the response packet of the network device 101 indicates an error, a value indicating the error is entered in the error status. If there is no error, the object value 308 corresponding to the object name 307 is entered.

For example, the device information processing unit 201 of the management device 101 generates an acquisition request to the network device 102 to acquire data regarding the capacity of a storage device such as the HDD 123 in accordance with an instruction from the network administrator. When the device information acquisition unit 211 of the network device 102 that has received this acquisition request internally calculates the data and generates a response, the operation of the operation unit 124 of the network device 102 is forced. should be interrupted. This is to prevent malfunctions due to competition with operations via the operation unit. In the present invention, a method for suppressing such manipulation inhibition will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a task setting screen accompanied by an acquisition request in the device management software of the present invention. A network administrator designates a network device to be managed by the management apparatus 101, a processing content, and an execution timing (date and time) as a task. can be executed. Processing contents include acquisition of data necessary for management, distribution of applications, address books, and setting information. FIG. 4 explains the setting screen of the data acquisition task.

FIG. 4A shows a network device list display screen 401 for displaying a list of network devices and allowing the user to select one. In order to display the network device list display screen 401, the device information processing unit 201 of the management apparatus 101 searches for the network devices 102 on the network in advance using a protocol such as SNMP shown in FIG. A list of network devices 102 such as Table A is stored in the storage unit 203 .

FIG. 4B shows a task setting screen 411 for allowing the user to select items for which information is to be acquired. The UI control unit 204 stores setting information regarding information acquisition selected by the user in the storage unit 203 . The setting information according to the selection here determines the type of data to be requested for acquisition. When executing a task, the device information processing unit 201 acquires task setting information from the storage unit 203 and performs task processing. If "Other information" is selected, a request is generated to acquire predetermined data necessary for management other than status information and counter information from the network device, and data related to the capacity of the storage device mentioned above is also acquired. Be eligible.

FIG. 4(c) is a screen 421 for inputting a schedule of when to execute the process. When "execute at specified date and time" is selected, the administrator can arbitrarily specify the date and time. If "execute periodically" is selected, the administrator can arbitrarily specify the schedule. For example, designation such as "every day at 10:00" or "every Friday at 10:00" is possible.

The task management unit 205 confirms whether or not the task execution time has been reached, and if the task execution time has been reached, the task execution for data acquisition according to the designation in FIG. 4B is started.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the network device 102. FIG. This processing starts when a user operation on the operation unit 124 of the network device 102 is detected.

In S<b>101 , the UI control unit 214 acquires the value of the operation flag stored in the memory 122 and determines whether the value of the operation flag is 0 or 1. The operation flag has a value of "0" (OFF) or "1" (ON), and the initial value is zero. In S101, when the value of the operation flag is determined to be 1, the process proceeds to S105, and when the value of the operation flag is determined to be 0, the process proceeds to S102.

In S<b>102 , the UI control unit 214 acquires the information acquisition flag stored in the memory 122 and determines whether the value of the information acquisition flag is 1 or 0. The information acquisition flag has a value of "0" (OFF) or "1" (ON), and the initial value is zero. The information acquisition flag is "1" (ON) when a data acquisition request from the management apparatus 101 is being processed. In S102, when the value of the information acquisition flag is determined to be 1, the process proceeds to S103, and when the value of the information acquisition flag is determined to be 0, the process proceeds to S104.

In S<b>103 , the UI control unit 214 passes a cancellation command of information acquisition currently being executed to the device information acquisition unit 211 to cancel the information acquisition process. In S104, the UI control unit 214 sets the value of the operation flag to "1" (ON). In S<b>105 , the UI control unit 214 stores the processing content processed by the CPU 121 corresponding to the detected user operation on the operation unit 124 in the memory 122 . For example, when the copy button is pressed, an instruction to execute copying is stored.

In S<b>106 , the UI control unit 214 determines whether an execution instruction is stored in the memory 122 . In S106, if the execution instruction is stored in the memory 122, the process proceeds to S107, and if the execution instruction is not stored in the memory 122, the process proceeds to S108. In S107, the CPU 121 processes the execution command stored in the memory 122, initializes the elapsed time from the end of panel processing execution to 0, and proceeds to S106.

In S108, the UI control unit 214 starts measuring the elapsed time when the elapsed time from the end of panel processing execution stored in the memory 122 or the HDD 123 is 0, which is the initial value. In S109, the UI control unit 214 determines whether or not the measured elapsed time has reached a specified time or longer. If it is determined in S109 that the elapsed time has reached the specified time or longer, the process proceeds to S110, and if it is determined that the elapsed time has not reached the specified time or longer, the process proceeds to S106.

In S110, the UI control unit 214 sets the value of the operation flag to "0" (OFF), and ends the process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a process (information acquisition process) in the network device 102 for acquiring, from the HDD 123, data to be requested by the device information acquisition unit 211 received from the management apparatus 101. As shown in FIG. The transmission/reception unit 212 of the network device 102 receives the acquisition request from the management apparatus 101 via the network 103 . The device information acquisition unit 211 stores this acquisition request in the memory 122, and this process is started.

In S201, the device information acquisition unit 211 determines whether or not the value indicated by the operation flag stored in the memory 122 is "1" (ON). In S201, when it is determined that the value of the operation flag is 1, the process proceeds to S202, and when it is determined that the value of the operation flag is 0, the process proceeds to S203.

In S203, the device information acquisition unit 211 changes the value of the information acquisition flag on the memory 122 from "0" (OFF) to "1" (ON). In S204, the device information acquisition unit 211 retrieves the acquisition request from the memory 122 and performs acquisition processing of the data targeted for the acquisition request. Here, necessary data stored in the HDD 123 is acquired by communicating with various services in the network device 102 that handles data to be acquired. The time required for acquisition processing varies depending on the size and type of data to be acquired. In S205, the device information acquisition unit 211 determines whether or not all of the data for which the acquisition request has been acquired from the memory 122 has been acquired. If it is determined in S205 that all the target data have been acquired, the process proceeds to S206, and if it is determined that all the target data has not yet been acquired, the process proceeds to S207.

In S207, as interrupt processing, the device information acquisition unit 211 determines whether or not the cancel command generated in S103 of FIG. 5 has been received. If it is determined in S207 that the cancel command has not been received, the information acquisition process started in S204 is continued. If it determines that it has received a cancel command, it stops the information acquisition process. When the process is stopped here, the value of the information acquisition flag is set to "0" (OFF), and then the process proceeds to S202.

In S<b>202 , the device information acquisition unit 211 generates error information indicating that the data acquisition process for which the acquisition request was made was not performed. A value included in the error information is a value indicating a pending error, and for example, the error status 305 in FIG. 3 is GenErr(5). The transmitting/receiving unit 212 generates a packet including error information and transmits it to the management device 101 via the network 103 as a response.

In S206, the device information acquisition unit 211 generates a response including the data for which the acquisition request is made. The transmitting/receiving unit 212 transmits the packet including the response to the management device 101 via the network 103 . After that, the device information acquisition unit 211 sets the value of the information acquisition flag on the memory 122 to “0” (OFF), and terminates the process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining processing when the management apparatus 101 transmits an acquisition request to the network device 102 via the network 103. FIG. The device information processing unit 201 acquires the task information from the memory 112, and starts this process when the start time described in the task information is reached.

In S<b>301 , the transmission/reception unit 202 generates an acquisition request packet whose acquisition target is data according to the settings in FIG. In S<b>302 , the transmission/reception unit 202 determines whether or not there is a response from the network device 102 . In S302, when it is determined that there is a response, the process proceeds to S304, and when it is determined that there is no response, the process proceeds to S303.

In S303, if the waiting time for receiving a response from the network device 102 is the initial value 0, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 starts measuring the waiting time, and proceeds to S305. In S305, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 determines whether or not the waiting time has elapsed for a certain period of time or more. If it is determined that the time has elapsed, a history indicating that the acquisition request has failed is recorded in the HDD 113, and this process ends. If not, the process of S302 is repeated.

In S304, the device information processing unit 201 determines whether the response from the network device 102 includes error information. In S304, when it is determined that the response contains error information, the process proceeds to S306, and when it is determined that the response does not include error information, the process proceeds to S308. In S308, the device information processing unit 201 writes the data included in the response from the network device 102 to the memory 112 or HDD 113, and ends the information acquisition process. The data acquired here is the data according to the settings in FIG. 4(b).

In S306, the device information processing unit 201 determines whether or not the error is an error waiting to be processed (the error status 305 is GenErr(5)). If it is determined in S306 that there is an error waiting to be processed, the process proceeds to S307, and if it is determined that it is not an error waiting to be processed, the process ends.

In S307, the task management unit 205 reschedules the timing of retransmitting the acquisition request transmitted in S301. Specifically, the schedule is written in memory 112 or HDD 113 so as to transmit after a specified time. The specified time is set to several seconds to several tens of seconds, and is desirably designed so that information acquisition can be started quickly after the user finishes operating the network device 102 .

When the schedule is changed in S307, the UI control unit 204 may display the confirmation screen shown in FIG. On the confirmation screen 901 of FIG. 11, the input device 114 detects that the OK button 903 has been pressed, reads the numerical value 902 indicating how many hours later the task will be executed, and stores the task information in the memory 112 .

(Application example)
As a means for solving the conflict between the panel operation of the network device 102 and the response processing to the information acquisition requested by the management apparatus 101, in addition to the above, a method of using a web service, unlike protocols such as SNMP, is used. There is

Specifically, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 of the management apparatus 101 generates a packet requesting information acquisition through a web service, and transmits the packet to the network device 102 . The network device 102 is provided with an interface for transmission/reception by the web service in the transmission/reception unit 212, and receives the information acquisition request by the web service. Then, when the information acquisition request is for a web service, the device information processing unit 211 performs information acquisition processing so as not to conflict with panel operations inside the network device 102 .

(Example 2)
This embodiment is an extension of the first embodiment. Processing different from the first embodiment will be described in detail. Descriptions of the processes common to the first embodiment, such as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, when "perform periodically" is set on the input screen 421 shown in FIG. Set the forced acquisition flag. The management apparatus 101 uses the non-forced acquisition flag to control whether or not to force the network device to acquire information even during user operation. For example, in a case where information acquisition is not forced, that is, the user's operation on the operation unit 124 is prioritized, the management device 101 includes a value such as "GetUnconstraint" as a non-forced acquisition flag in the object name 307 shown in FIG. Submit a retrieval request.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining information acquisition processing in the network device 102 according to the second embodiment. This is an extension of FIG. 6, and the same reference numerals are assigned to steps that perform the same processing as in FIG. The parts different from FIG. 6 will be described in detail below.

Unlike the first embodiment, when the device information acquisition unit 211 determines in S201 that the value of the operation flag is 1, the process proceeds to S221.

In S221, the device information acquisition unit 211 determines whether or not the received acquisition request includes a value indicating a non-forced acquisition flag. In S221, when the non-forced acquisition flag is included, the process proceeds to S202, and when the non-forced acquisition flag is not included, the process proceeds to S222.

In S<b>222 , the UI control unit 214 displays the information acquisition screen 1001 shown in FIG. 12 on the operation unit 124 . The UI control unit 214 restricts the operation input by the user while the information acquisition screen 1001 is displayed. Specifically, the network device 102 operates so as not to accept input from the operation unit. In S223, the device information acquisition unit 211 executes information acquisition processing in the same manner as in S204. When the acquisition process is completed, the device information acquisition unit 211 generates a response including the data for which the acquisition request is made. The transmitting/receiving unit 212 transmits the packet including the response to the management device 101 via the network 103 .

In S<b>224 , the UI control unit 214 clears the information acquisition screen 1001 .

According to the second embodiment, by using the non-forced acquisition flag, it becomes possible for the management device to control whether or not to give priority to the user's operation to the network device. When the administrator designates a designated date and time or immediate execution, data can be acquired from the network device 102 in real time regardless of whether the user is operating or not.

(Example 3)
In the third embodiment, a modification focusing on a predetermined acquisition request that hinders an operation for the operation 124 will be described. A description of the processing common to the first embodiment is omitted.

In this embodiment, some data that may interfere with user operations due to execution of acquisition processing is stored as a cache prior to an acquisition request from the management device.

Table B shows an example of data targeted in this process. In the example of Table B, MIB values in SNMP show MIB values named hrStorageAllocationUnits and hrStorageSize in the category of HOST-RESOURCE MIB. The values of the items shown in Table B can be added, deleted, or changed from the operation unit 124 of the network device 102 or the like.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining cache processing that is executed when the network device 102 is started.

In S401, the device information acquisition unit 211 reads Table B at startup, and if there are multiple processes, divides and saves the contents of the processes.

In S<b>402 , the device information acquisition unit 211 acquires the operation flag from the memory 122 and determines whether it is 0 or 1. In S402, when the operation flag is determined to be 1, the process proceeds to S403, and when the operation flag is determined to be 0, the process proceeds to S404. In S403, the device information acquisition unit 211 waits for a predetermined period of time, and proceeds to S402.

In S404, the device information acquisition unit 211 acquires data for each item in Table B from the HDD 123, and stores the data in the memory 122 as cache information. In S405, the device information acquisition unit 211 determines whether all the acquisition processes have been completed. If it is determined that all the acquisition processes have not been completed, the process proceeds to S402. If the device information acquisition unit 211 determines in S405 that all the acquisition processes have been completed, it ends the process.

The processing shown in FIG. 9 may be executed according to a predetermined schedule other than when the network device 102 is started.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining information acquisition processing in the network device 102 according to the third embodiment. There is a change from FIG. 6, and steps that perform the same processing as in FIG. 6 are given the same reference numerals. As in FIG. 6, this process is started when a packet including an acquisition request for acquiring the data shown in Table B is received. The parts different from FIG. 6 will be described in detail below.

In S201, when the device information acquisition unit 211 determines that the value of the operation flag is 1, the process proceeds to S231. If the device information acquisition unit 211 determines in S207 that it has received a cancel command, it terminates the information acquisition, sets the value of the information acquisition flag to 0, and proceeds to S231.

In S231, the device information acquisition unit 211 acquires the cache information stored in the memory 122 in S404 shown in FIG. 9 as data to be requested for acquisition. The device information acquisition unit 211 generates a response including the acquired data. The transmitting/receiving unit 212 transmits the packet including the response to the management device 101 via the network 103 . After that, the device information acquisition unit 211 sets the value of the information acquisition flag on the memory 122 to “0” (OFF), and terminates the process.

(Example 4)
In this embodiment, processing for the management apparatus 101 to execute search processing on the network and detect network devices will be described in detail. 1 to 3, etc., which are common to the first embodiment, will be omitted from the description.

As for search processing, the management apparatus 101 receives prtAlertTable (object name is 1.3.6.1.2.1.43.18), prtMarkerLifeCount (object name is 1.3.6.1.2. 1, 4, 3, 10, 2, 1, 4), etc., a similar problem may arise, such as obstruction of the user's operation on the operation unit of the network device.

In this embodiment, a solution will be described that can suppress user's manipulation of the operation unit of the network device from being hindered due to search processing.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen provided by the management device 101 for allowing the user to set a search task. When the search task setting is started, the task management unit 205 causes the output device 115 to display a search range designation screen 1301 .

The input device 114 waits for input of input information including one or more IP addresses, a range of IP addresses separated by "-", and one or more host names separated by commas in the input box 1302 of FIG. . When the next button 1303 in FIG. 13 is pressed, the input information is stored in the storage unit 203 of the management apparatus 101 .

Further, when the next button 1303 in FIG. 13 is pressed, the output device 115 displays a screen similar to the schedule input screen 421 in FIG. 4c. The task management unit 205 stores the schedule input information in the schedule input screen 421 in the storage unit 203, and the search task setting process ends.

FIG. 14 shows the configuration of software for implementing this embodiment, which is an improvement of FIG.

In FIG. 14, a network device 102b further having a web service provider 1401 is added as compared to FIG. A web service providing unit 1401 is a module for providing a web service that responds with a message in a predetermined format in response to a request that follows a protocol such as HTTP via the network 103 . The information included in the message to which the web service providing unit 1401 responds is managed asynchronously with external requests. The managed information includes various operational information about network devices, including data corresponding to prtAlertTable, prtMarkerLifeCount. The web service provider 1401 responds by including necessary operation information in the message according to the specification in the request.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining search task processing in the management apparatus 101 . The task management unit 205 detects that the schedule of the search task reaches the execution start time, and starts task execution.

In step S1501, the device information processing unit 201 acquires search range information from the storage unit 203, and decomposes a plurality of comma-delimited IP addresses or host names and range-specified IP addresses into individual addresses. and stored in the storage unit 203 as a search target list (not shown). At that time, the host name is converted to an IP address. In S1502, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 retrieves the sysObjectID (object name is 1.3.6.1.2.1.1. 2), ifType (object name is 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.3), ifPhysAddress (object name is 1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2. 1.6) and hrDeviceDescr (object name is 1.3.6.1.2.1.25.3.2.1.3). Then, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 transmits the packet. In S1503, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 waits for a response to the packet for a predetermined period of time. In S1504, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 determines whether or not a prescribed timeout value has been exceeded. If the transmission/reception unit 202 determines in S1504 that the timeout value has been exceeded, the processing ends. If the transmitting/receiving unit 202 determines in S1504 that the timeout value has not been exceeded, the process proceeds to S1505. In S1505, the transmitting/receiving unit 202 determines whether or not a response packet has been received. If the transmitting/receiving unit 202 determines in S1505 that the response packet has not been received, the process proceeds to S1503. If the transmitting/receiving unit 202 determines in S1505 that the response packet has been received, the process proceeds to S1506.

In step S1506, the transmission/reception unit 202 passes the acquired information to the device information processing unit 201, and the device information processing unit 201 extracts device type information from sysObjectID, hrDeviceDescr, etc. in the received information. Then, the device information processing unit 201 acquires a correspondence table (not shown) indicating whether the device type is compatible with the web service or not from the storage unit 203, and determines whether the network device 102 that has responded is compatible with the web service. . If the device information processing unit 201 determines in S1506 that the device is web service compatible (for example, the network device 102b in FIG. 14), the process proceeds to S1507. If the device information processing unit 201 determines in S1506 that the device does not support web services (for example, the network device 102a in FIG. 14), the process proceeds to S1508. Although the network device itself has a configuration for providing web services, it may not support requests for acquiring values such as alert information and counter information from the management apparatus 101. obtain. For such a network device, it is determined in S1506 to proceed to S1508.

Furthermore, in S1506, it may be determined whether the network device is a printer, a copier, a multi-function peripheral, or the like having a print function based on the device type information, in addition to whether the network device is web service compatible. In such a case, if the device is determined to be a printer, a copier, or a multi-function device, and if the device is compatible with web services, the process advances to step S1507. On the other hand, if it is determined that the device is not a printer, copier, or multi-function device, the processing shown in S1507 and S1508 is skipped, and the process returns to S1505.

In step S<b>1507 , the transmitting/receiving unit 202 generates a request packet for acquiring values such as alert information and counter information through the web service, and transmits the packet to the network device 102 . For example, a request uses a message using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Upon receiving this request, the web service providing unit 1401 of the network device 102b generates a message containing values such as alert information and counter information specified in the request, and sends a response to the management device 101 via the transmission/reception unit 212. will do.

In step S<b>1508 , the transmitting/receiving unit 202 generates an SNMP acquisition request packet for information such as prtAlertTable and prtMarkerLifeCount, and transmits the packet to the network device 102 .

After the processing of S1507 and S1508, the process proceeds to S1505.

It should be noted that, depending on the setting of the management apparatus 101, in the process of step 1508, it is possible to proceed to the next process without acquiring information using SNMP.

By the above processing, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of processing conflicts inside the network device 102 .

(Application example)
As an extension of the fourth embodiment, when the process of S1508 is executed, the network device 102 can further execute the processes described in the first and third embodiments. With the above processing, it is possible to further reduce the occurrence of processing conflicts inside the network device 102 due to acquisition of specific information using SNMP.

(Other examples)
The present invention also includes an apparatus or system configured by appropriately combining the above-described embodiments, and a method therefor.

Here, the present invention is a main device or system that executes one or more software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-described embodiments. A method for realizing the above-described embodiments executed by the device or system is also one aspect of the present invention. Also, the program is supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and read and executed by one or more computers (CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device. In other words, one aspect of the present invention includes the program itself or various computer-readable storage media storing the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments.

101 management device 102 network device 103 network

Claims (5)

A management system including a network device and a management device that manages the network device,
The management device
selection means for receiving a selection for determining the type of data to be acquired;
request means for transmitting an acquisition request to the network device for acquiring from the network device the type of data according to the selection;
The network device is
a first transmission means for transmitting a response including predetermined error information to the management apparatus when an operation unit of the network device is being operated when processing the acquisition request;
an execution means for executing an acquisition process for acquiring data targeted by the acquisition request when the operation unit is not operated when the acquisition request is processed;
a second transmission means for transmitting a response including data acquired in accordance with the acquisition process to the management device;
A management system according to claim 1, wherein the request means of the management device retransmits the acquisition request when a response including the predetermined error information is received from the network device. A method in a management system including a network device and a management device for managing the network device, comprising:
The management device
a selection step of receiving a selection to determine the type of data to be acquired;
sending an acquisition request to the network device to acquire from the network device the type of data according to the selection;
The network device is
a first transmission step of transmitting a response including predetermined error information to the management device when the operation unit of the network device is being operated when processing the acquisition request;
an execution step of executing an acquisition process for acquiring data targeted by the acquisition request when the operation unit is not operated when processing the acquisition request;
a second transmission step of transmitting a response including the data acquired according to the acquisition process to the management device;
The method, wherein the management device resends the acquisition request when a response including the predetermined error information is received from the network device. A management device that manages a network device,
selection means for receiving a selection for determining the type of data to be acquired;
request means for transmitting an acquisition request to the network device for acquiring from the network device the type of data according to the selection;
receiving means for receiving a response to the acquisition request from the network device;
The receiving means receives a response including the data acquired by the acquisition process when the acquisition process based on the acquisition request is executed by the network device because the operation unit of the network device is not operated. death,
The request means retransmits the acquisition request when the receiving means receives a response including predetermined error information due to the operating unit being operated when the acquisition request is processed by the network device. do
A management device characterized by: 4. The management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said data to be acquired is data relating to capacity of a storage device of said network device. selection means for receiving a selection for determining the type of data to be acquired;
request means for transmitting an acquisition request to the network device to acquire from the network device the type of data according to the selection;
A program for causing a computer to function as receiving means for receiving a response to the acquisition request from the network device,
The receiving means receives a response including the data acquired by the acquisition process when the acquisition process based on the acquisition request is executed by the network device because the operation unit of the network device is not operated. death,
The request means retransmits the acquisition request when the receiving means receives a response including predetermined error information due to the operating unit being operated when the acquisition request is processed by the network device. A program characterized by:

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