JPH08287015A - Information system and management method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an information system and its management method capable of collectively managing plural resources and absorbing or easing a difference between resources in the collected group. CONSTITUTION: Each of desk top managers(Desk top mgr.) 108, 109 is a server prepared in each user and manages each user environment including the support of the start, stop, co-operation, etc., of various applications to be used for the user. Each of cession controllers(Session Ctr.) 110, 111 is a server for providing an interface for using the function of a cession manager(Session Mgr.) 112 and is included in each host to manage information specific to the host. The manager 112 is only a server existing on a LAN and manages the information of the whole network by the absorption or ease of a difference between resources based upon group information 511 and user information 512.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information system and a management method thereof, and more particularly to an information system in which a plurality of resources are connected via a network and a management method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as LANs and WANs have become widespread in OA systems, it is possible to use multiple computers connected in a network as if they were one machine by cooperating with each other. Attempts to do so have become active. The following are typical examples of such attempts.

Distributed office equipment operating environment This is to operate the external equipment via the network by opening the operation interface of the external equipment such as the printer and the facsimile connected to the computer on the LAN. is there. At the same time, there is also an attempt to realize a wide office equipment operating environment by providing a user interface for operating these office equipment by a computer on a network.

Groupware Computer software intended to support a collaborative work by a plurality of people. It is an attempt to collaborate through a network with the spread of the network.
By providing a video conferencing function that uses video images and a co-authoring editor, etc., it enables collaborative work and meetings with remote locations.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned technique has the following problems.

It is generally said that the computers connected in a network such as LAN / WAN are the same machine.
Very rare. In many cases, different machines have different hardware (device / external device),
It is operating in a software environment. In particular, in recent years, a de facto standard has been established at the OS level, but with the enhancement of the functions of the OS, various variations can exist in the software environment at the user level.

In such an environment, in order to realize cooperative operation of all resources existing on the network (generic name of the computer itself, peripheral devices connected to the computer and software operating on the computer),
It is necessary to absorb or cancel these differences well. However, in the past, since a framework for handling multiple computers or software environments as one environment has not been clearly stated, resources existing on the network can be freely combined to dynamically configure the environment. Lack of flexibility. Therefore, it is difficult to eliminate the difference between resources.

The present invention is for solving the above-mentioned problem, and provides an information system and a management method thereof capable of collectively managing a plurality of resources and absorbing or mitigating a difference between the resources in the group. The purpose is to provide.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] and

The present invention has the following structure as one means for achieving the above object.

An information system according to the present invention is an information system capable of operating a plurality of resources connected via a network via the network, and is a management for collectively managing the plurality of resources. It is characterized in that the management means absorbs or alleviates a characteristic difference between resources based on characteristic information of each of the plurality of resources.

Further, an information system management method according to the present invention is an information system management method capable of operating a plurality of resources connected via a network via the network. The resources are collectively managed, and the characteristic difference between the resources is absorbed or alleviated based on the characteristic information of each of the plurality of resources.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An information system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0013]

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a groupware system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This groupware is a database management system (hereinafter referred to as "DBMS").
It supports a collaborative work in which a plurality of users operate the shared data managed by, for example, the work is advanced.

In FIG. 1, 104 to 106 are operating systems such as UNIX
Workstations running Ethernet with each other
Connected via network 107 such as / FDDI / CDDI, one L
Forming the AN. In practice, several more workstations are combined. Further, the present embodiment can be applied to a computer network such as a WAN.

Each workstation (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "host") has one user (10
1 to 103) exist, and the basic software group that constitutes the groupware system is operating. Desktop managers (DesktopMgr) 108 and 109 are servers that exist for each user, and manage each user environment including support for starting, stopping, and coordinating various applications used by the user. To do. Reference numeral 112 denotes a session manager (SessionMgr), which is a server that exists only on the LAN and manages information of the entire network. 110 and 111
Is the session controller (SessionCtr) and SessionMgr
It is a server that provides an interface for using the functions of 112, one for each host, and also manages information unique to that host.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the above groupware system is used.
It shows how two users are collaborating on 05. In the figure, 203 to 208 are user interfaces of applications used in this collaborative work. In this embodiment, these applications are called tools. In FIG. 2, the database access tools 203 and 204, the text editor tool 20
5 and 206 and draw tools 207 and 208 are used in pairs. Then, each pair of tools formed between the hosts shares the same data. However, each tool does not have to be the same application program, and different application programs can be used according to the user's preference as long as they have the ability to process the same data in the same manner.

The difference in the user environment in the groupware system of this embodiment lies in whether or not certain data can be processed, and this results in the presence or absence of a tool for processing that data. This embodiment provides some tool activation methods that absorb the presence or absence of tools.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a normal tool starting procedure. In the figure, two users 101 and 102
But they are about to start collaborating with hosts 104 and 105 respectively. The fact that the users 101 and 102 collaborate is said that these two users belong to one "group", and the information is managed by SessuinMgr112. In this example, one group consists of two users, but more users can belong to one group, or one user can belong to multiple groups at the same time.

Here, the user 101 requests the Desktop Mgr 108 to start the joint editing of the shared data 306 in order to start the joint editing of the shared data 306 managed by the draw tool 207 in the database 305. The user name of the user who issued the request and the identifier of the group that executes this joint work are added to the start request.

Upon receiving the start request, the DesktopMgr 108 extracts the information of the specified user and group from the information managed by itself, and extracts the type of data, such as plain text or bitmap image, from the information. Check the correspondence of tools. As a result,
If the draw tool 307 is associated with the shared data 306, the DesktopMgr 108 activates the draw tool 207 to load the shared data 306.

Next, the DesktopMgr 108 enables the SessionMgr 112 via the SessionCtr 110 to allow other users belonging to the same group to edit the shared data 306.
To another user, a request to start editing shared data is sent to another user.

When SessionMgr 112 receives a request to start editing shared data to another user, SessionMgr 112 checks another user who belongs to the same group as user 101 (in this example, user 102).
Only). SessionMgr112 is currently network 107
It manages the host name and SessionCtr running on that host for all users working on it. From this information, the user 102 can know that the host 105 is being used, and therefore instructs the SessionCtr 111 operating on the host 105 to start editing the shared data 306.

Ses instructed to start editing the shared data 306
sionCtr111 is the shared data in DesktopMgr109 of user 102.
Request to start editing 306.

The DesktopMgr 109 activates the draw tool 208 and loads the shared data 306 based on the correspondence between the data type and the tool defined by the user 102.

Usually, the tools are started and the collaborative work is started by the above procedure, but this embodiment provides a plurality of tool starting methods in addition to this.

Starting method # 0 The tool 208 is started as it is.

Start-up method # 1 Start the tool 208 after copying it from another host.

Starting method # 2 The tool 208 is started on another host (for example, the host 106), and its user interface is displayed on the display 105d of the host 105. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of the state of the tool started by the startup method # 2. The user interface of the tool 208 running on the host 106 is displayed on the display 105d of the host 105, and based on the display. The tool 208 can be operated from the host 105. further,
Tool 208 shares data with tool 207 on host 104.

Starting method # 3 The tool 207 used by the user 101 is started.

● Startup method # 4 (window sharing) The user interface of the tool 207 operating on the host 104 is shared. The user 102 can operate the tool 207 running on the host 104 via a window sharing tool that enables sharing of the user interface.
FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of how the user interface is shared by the window sharing tool. The screen of the tool 207 is displayed on the displays 104d and 105d, and the user operation based on this display is performed by the window sharing tool 209. Is properly distributed by. The display 104d is the display of the host 104. This makes it possible to share the user interface even in the case of a tool that is not specifically designed for data sharing.

Starting method # 5 (screen sharing) Only the screen display of the tool 207 operating on the host 104 is displayed on a window of an appropriate size on the display 105b. FIG. 4C is a diagram showing an example of this screen display. The screen sharing tool 210 (not shown) is the display 104.
The bitmap image of the screen of the tool 207 displayed in d is captured and displayed on another display 105d.
Unlike the window sharing tool 209, the screen sharing tool used here cannot process a user operation or an input from the user.
Cannot directly operate the tool 207.

Which of the above activation methods is used is determined by user's preference and restrictions of the tool itself. In order to manage these constraints, this embodiment introduces tool information / user information / group information described below. Therefore, the tool activation procedure described with reference to FIG. 3 is controlled based on these pieces of information.

[Tool Information] The tool information has the following attributes (properties) and is managed by DesktopMgr for each user.

Tool name Register the name of the tool. This is an identifier when DesktopMgr operates a tool. Use the names of common tools such as "Text Editor".

Path The path name of the execution image of the tool on the file system of the OS such as UNIX is registered. For example, "/ usr / loc
It is a character string such as "al / bin / nemacs".

Copy enable / disable flag This flag indicates whether or not a copy of the execution image of the tool can be created, and takes a binary value of “on” or “off”. When this flag is "off", startup method # 1 (copy and start the tool) cannot be executed.

● Window sharing enable / disable flag A flag indicating whether or not the user interface of the tool can be shared by the window sharing tool,
Takes a binary value of "on" or "off". If this flag is "of
When "f", startup method # 4 (sharing tools with window sharing tools) cannot be executed.

Tool server Register the name of the host for which the existence of the tool is guaranteed. It is possible to register multiple hosts as a list. Start method # 1 (copy and start the tool) and start method # 2 (start on another host) use the tool on the host registered in this tool server.

Sharing Tool (Sharing Tool) The name of the window sharing tool used when the user interface needs to be shared with other users is registered. If you want to execute startup method # 4 (window sharing), use Sh
The window sharing tool registered in the aring tool is used. Of course, tool information is also defined in the window sharing tool. In many cases, the window common tool is started on the tool server.

Peeping Tool (Screen Sharing Tool) Register the name of the screen sharing tool that can be used to peep at the display. Startup method # 5
When executing (Screen sharing), the screen sharing tool registered in the Peeping tool is used. Of course, tool information is also defined in the screen sharing tool. Like window sharing tools, they are often launched on a tool server.

[User Information] User information has the following properties and is collectively managed in SessionMgr.

User name This is an identifier of a user in the groupware system. It is desirable to match the user name in the OS such as UNIX.

Current host (current host) This is the name of the host currently used by the user.

Group list This is the name of the group to which the user belongs. If you belong to multiple groups, register the group names as a list.

[Group Information] Group information has the following properties and is collectively managed by SessionMgr.

Group name This is an identifier of a group in the groupware system. It has nothing to do with the group name in the OS such as UNIX.

User list A list of names of users belonging to the group.

Tool list This is a list of names of tools used in the group.

● availability list (availability list) This is a list of numbers showing the availability level of the tool for all tools under the control of each user of the group. Here, the availability level indicates how to use the tool in each user's environment. The availability list is managed in an associative array with user names and tool names as keys, and is registered for each tool when a user is registered in a group. In this embodiment, the following levels are prepared as availability levels, and the activation method of each tool is selected based on the availability level in the group of the tools.

Level 0: Indicates that activation is possible and no special processing needs to be performed. Corresponds to startup method # 0.

Level 1: Indicates that the execution image can be copied and started from the tool server. Corresponds to startup method # 1.

Level 2: Indicates that it is possible to start on the tool server and use the user interface. Corresponds to startup method # 2.

Level 3: Indicates that the substitute tool can be activated. Corresponds to startup method # 3.

Level 4: Indicates that the window sharing tool can be used to use the user interface of the tool started by another user. Startup method # 4
Corresponding to. However, the window sharing tool avaiabil
Affected by ity level.

Level 5: Indicates that it is possible to share only the screen display of the tool started by another user by using the screen sharing tool. Corresponds to startup method # 5. However, it is affected by the availability level of the screen sharing tool.

Next, how the tool information, the user information, and the group information are used in the tool starting procedure described with reference to FIG. 3 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of the tool starting process, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing an example of the process shown in FIG. 5. In particular, FIG. 6 shows the process of SessionMgr, and FIG.
It shows the processing of DesktopMgr.

Also in FIG. 5, as in the description of FIG. 3, two users 101 and 102 are about to start collaborative work using the hosts 104 and 105, respectively. And user 101
In response to the command from, SessionMgr 112 starts collaborating with other users in the group.

In FIG. 6, when the user 101 requests the start of the collaborative work, the SessionMgr 112 proceeds to Des in step S601.
Receive the request via ktopMgr 108 and SessionCtr 110. Next, in step S602, the group information 511 of the group name specified by the user 102 is retrieved, and in step S602
At 603, the user list of the retrieved group information 511 is referred to and the names of other users in the group are retrieved.

Subsequently, the SessionMgr 112 executes the step S604.
Then, the user information 512 can be retrieved using the retrieved user name as a key, and the host name used by the user can be known from the Current host of the retrieved user information 512. Start communication with DesktopMgr109 that manages the environment. Then, in step S605, the DesktopC via the SessionCtr111
Send a tool start request to Mgr109. The tool activation request is added with the tool list of the group information 511 and the corresponding availability list.

Subsequently, SessionMgr 112 starts from step S603 for all users registered in the user list.
When the process of S606 is repeated and the processes of all the users are completed, the process waits for a command to be received in step S607, and then the process returns to step S601.

On the other hand, DesktopMgr 109 sets S in step S701.
When a tool start request is received from essionMgr112, the step
In S702, retrieve the tool list from the tool start request,
For each tool registered in the tool list, the process of determining the tool to be used is started based on the tool information and the availability level.

First, in step S703, one tool name is extracted from the tool list, and in step S704, the availability level of the tool is extracted from the tool activation request, and then step
Select startup method # 0 in S705. Then, step S706.
Compare the activation method with the availability level. If it is availabi rather than the level of the boot method (eg # 0 or # 1)
If the lity level is low, that is, if the level is high, it is determined that the startup has failed, the process proceeds to step S707, error processing is performed, and the process returns to step S701. Otherwise, step S708.
Proceeding to, the determination method will be described later, but it is determined whether or not the tool can be activated by the selected activation method. If it is impossible to start the tool by the selected starting method, the process proceeds to step S711, the starting method level is lowered by one (for example, # 1 is changed to # 2), and then the process returns to step S706.

If the tool can be activated by the selected activation method, the tool is activated in step S709, and it is determined in step S710 whether the tool was activated. If the tool could not be started, step S7
Proceed to 11 to execute the above-mentioned processing. If the tools can be started, DesktopMgr109 repeats the processing from steps S703 to S712 for all the tools registered in the tool list, and when the startup processing of all the tools is completed, the DesktopMgr 109 waits for a command to be received in step S713. After becoming
Return to step S701.

The determination in step S708 is made on the basis of each property of the tool information, and specifically, it is as follows. Copy enabled / disabled flag is "off": Startup method # 1 cannot be used Window sharing enabled / disabled flag is "off": Startup method # 4 cannot be used Tool server is not registered: Startup methods # 1 and # 2 are used No Sharing tool unregistered: Launch method # 4 not available Peeping tool unregistered: Launch method # 5 not available

As described above, the activation process of the tool is repeated until the activation of the tool is successful or the availability level is reached. And usually,
The tool will be started with the availability level startup method, but due to incorrect tool information etc., availablity
When the level is exceeded, the DesktopMgr 109 regards it as a failure to start and displays a dialog for notifying an error on the display 105d, for example.

Thus, in addition to the mechanism for automatically starting the tool, the groupware of this embodiment results in the "difference" in the user environment depending on whether the tool can be used or not,
The result of the reduction is defined in the tool information, and group information and user information for managing the "difference" are introduced. In addition, group information manages the availability level, which indicates the level of tool availability, and
It provides a method to determine the activation mechanism of the tool from the availability level. Therefore, a collaborative work environment that is less dependent on a specific user environment can be realized, and each user can increase the degree of freedom in customizing his or her environment. Further, it becomes possible to manage the tool in consideration of the constraint conditions (copy prohibition, etc.) of the tool itself. These will be particularly effective when applied to an environment where it is difficult to realize a unified environment such as a machine connected on a WAN.

[0068]

Second Embodiment An information system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. It should be noted that in the second embodiment, substantially the same configurations as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the above-described first embodiment, the example in which the groupware according to the present invention is applied to the software environment has been described. However, the present invention is applicable to service management of hardware such as peripheral devices controlled by software. It can also be applied to. In the second embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the operating environment of peripheral devices distributed in a network will be described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of the environment for operating the peripheral equipment in this embodiment. In the figure, 802 to 8
Reference numerals 04 are workstations (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "hosts"), which are connected to each other via a LAN 801. A communication camera (any one of 805, 806, 808) is connected to each workstation, printers 807 and 809 are connected to workstations 803 and 804, respectively, and these peripheral devices (805 to 809) are connected from any of the three workstations. It is possible to operate.

Now, in such an operating environment in which peripheral devices are dispersed, it is necessary to set usage rights for these peripheral devices for each user. For example, if the use right of the communication camera 805 is unlimited, anyone can freely obtain the image near the workstation 802, which may cause various problems such as leakage of confidential information. The usage right (or operation right) of the peripheral device is determined for each user in consideration of preventing the occurrence of such a problem, but by applying the present invention, more flexible access control can be achieved. Will be possible.

The system of this embodiment manages devices that are closely related in some sense as one group.
For example, printers can be grouped together into one group regardless of their performance, or devices that are placed together in a certain place can be handled as one group, but in the following, the communication camera shown in Fig. 8 is handled. The case will be described as an example.

In the case of a communication camera, for example, it is appropriate to handle cameras installed in one room or a part of the room as one group.
The group information for this communication camera is roughly as follows.

Group name Register a name that serves as a group identifier. Name it “Com Camera Group # 1” or “Meeting Room # 1”.

● Member type Register the type of peripheral device that will be a member (member) of the group. In this description, the type is “communication camera”.

Member list Register a list of identifiers of peripheral devices that are members. For example, use a peripheral device number that is unique on the LAN.

● Protection Level Register the protection level for access. Access control to peripheral devices uses general ring protection. Here, the protection level set for each peripheral device can be regarded as abstracting the resource difference of this embodiment. In this property, a natural number representing the protection level set in the group for each member is managed in an associative array with the resource name as a key.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the processing procedure in the system shown in FIG. 8. Two hosts 802 and 804 are installed in the conference room 911, and communication cameras 805 and 808 are installed in each host. It is connected. And
The users 901 to 903 of each host can operate these communication cameras (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “cameras”) via the camera server (CameraServer) 910 running on the host 802. .

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure of the Camera Server 910. The cameras 908 and 90 in the conference room 911 are shown in FIG.
9 is managed as one group.

In step S1001, the CameraServer 910 starts the process when it receives an operation request for the camera 808 from the user 901, for example. After referring to the group information corresponding to the conference room 911 in step S1002, the CameraServer 910 checks the protection level of the camera 808 and the access right of the user 901 in step S1003. And step S10
In 04, the process branches based on the matching result. That is, when the user 901 determines from the matching result that the camera 808 can be operated, the process branches to step S1005 to notify the user 901 that the camera 808 can be operated and to activate the camera operation tool. After that, the process returns to step S1001.
As a result, the user 901 can freely operate the camera 808.

On the other hand, when the CameraServer 910 rejects the operation of the camera 808 based on the access right of the user 901, the process branches to step S1006 and notifies the user 901 that the operation request of the camera 808 is rejected. Offer alternative services. The proxy service that can be provided here is, for example, as follows, but is not limited thereto.

(1) Change to an operation request to another camera in the same group (hereinafter referred to as "Workaround # 1")

(2) Enable contact with another user who has access to the camera 808 (hereinafter, "Workaround"
# 2 ")

Next, the CameraServer 910 proceeds to step S1007.
Then, the user 901 is asked which proxy service to select, and the process branches depending on the selection of the user 901. User 9
If 01 selects Workaround # 1, CameraServer910
After selecting another camera (camera 805 in the case of FIG. 9) by referring to the member list of the group information, returns to step S1003 and executes the above-described processing again. Therefore, if the camera 805 can be used by the access right of the user 901, the user 901 can use the camera 805 by the process of step S1005.

When the user 901 selects Workaround # 2, the CameraServer 910 activates a contact tool such as a conversation tool to enable contact between the user 903 and the user 901 of the camera 808, and then proceeds to step S1001. Return.
Therefore, the user 901 can perform a procedure such as delegating the right to use the camera 808 or delegating the operation of the camera 808 to the user 903 by contacting the user 903.

If the user 901 has not selected any proxy service, the CameraServer 910 does nothing and returns to step S1001.

As described above, in this embodiment, each peripheral device is grouped from an appropriate viewpoint based on its use, installation environment, etc., and the protection information of each peripheral device is included in the group information to access the peripheral device. Manage and control.
The access right to the peripheral device is availab in the first embodiment.
It corresponds to the ility level and represents the device's ability as seen from the user. In addition, in order to provide the service as the entire peripheral device group, it is possible to provide a method of coping with access denied.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the services provided by the individual peripheral devices can be collected and provided as a service for the entire group. As a result, it becomes possible to realize a system capable of continuing service as a group even if a peripheral device fails. Also, in access control of peripheral devices, by further dividing access rights into levels,
It is possible to perform finer control, for example, to limit the range that can be captured by the camera to only the rear view, or to set a specific blind spot.

As described above, according to each of the above-described embodiments, a “group” is introduced as a unit for collectively managing a plurality of resources such as tools and peripheral devices,
It is possible to classify the capacity difference of each resource into levels and further provide a mechanism for absorbing or mitigating the difference corresponding to each level. Therefore, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) The environment difference existing between a plurality of resources can be flexibly resolved by considering its own constraint condition and the constraint condition peculiar at a certain time point.

(2) The service provided by the resource can be provided as a service for the entire group, and the flexibility and reliability of the system can be improved.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.

Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0094]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information system which manages a plurality of resources collectively and absorbs or alleviates a difference between the resources in the group, and a management method thereof. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a groupware system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how the groupware system shown in FIG. 1 is used,

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a normal tool starting procedure,

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for starting a tool supported by the present embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for starting a tool supported by the present embodiment;

FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of starting a tool supported by the present embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of a tool starting process,

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of an environment for operating a peripheral device in a second embodiment according to the present invention;

9 is a diagram for explaining the operation procedure of peripheral devices in the system shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of Camera Server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 108,109 Desktop Manager (DesktopMgr) 110,111 Session Controller (SessionCtr) 112 Session Manager (SessionMgr) 910 Camera Server

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An information system capable of operating a plurality of resources connected via a network via the network, comprising management means for collectively managing the plurality of resources, The means absorbs or alleviates the characteristic difference between the resources based on the characteristic information of each of the plurality of resources. 2. An information system capable of operating a plurality of resources connected via a network via the network, comprising: management means for managing the plurality of resources in a predetermined unit. The means absorbs or alleviates the characteristic difference between the resources included in the predetermined unit based on the characteristic information of each of the plurality of resources. 3. The information system according to claim 2, wherein the resource can be included in the plurality of predetermined units. 4. The information system according to claim 1, wherein the management means includes a plurality of means as means for absorbing or relaxing the characteristic difference. 5. The management means manages information for selecting the best means from a plurality of means for absorbing or relaxing the characteristic difference in association with information on each resource. Information system described in. 6. The management unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the management unit includes a unit that makes available a resource in place of each resource as a unit that absorbs or alleviates the characteristic difference. Information system. 7. The characteristic information of the resource is availability of the resource as seen from a user side.
Alternatively, the information system according to claim 2. 8. The information system according to claim 7, wherein the management unit manages information about the resource in association with information about the user. 9. A management method of an information system capable of operating a plurality of resources connected via a network via the network, wherein the plurality of resources are collectively managed, and the plurality of resources are managed together. A method for managing an information system, characterized by absorbing or mitigating a characteristic difference between resources based on characteristic information of each resource.