JP2003241927A - Printer management program and printer management device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide printer managing technology allowing labor saving in managing printers to be connected to a network. <P>SOLUTION: A management server for managing the printers to be connected to the network detects the plurality of printers to be connected to the network and acquires their domain names. The plurality of printers PR are grouped in accordance with the domain names and indicated in a tree structure. The management server can set and change management information for the grouped printers in a lump for each of the domain names. This allows labor saving in managing the printers to be connected to the network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer management technique for managing a plurality of printers connected to a predetermined network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printer connected to a network using TCP / IP or the like, a user specifies a mail address of the printer and transmits print data such as a document, so that a printed matter is printed to a printer desired by the user. Can be output.

[0003]

However, when a large number of printers are connected to the above-mentioned network, if these large number of printers are individually managed, a great amount of labor is required for the management.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer management technique capable of saving the management of printers connected to a network.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is a printer management program executable by a computer, wherein the printer management program is (a) predetermined in the computer. A detecting step of detecting a plurality of printers connected to a network via the predetermined network; and (b) an acquiring step of acquiring a domain name for each of the plurality of printers,
(c) The plurality of printers are divided into groups based on the domain name, and a generation step of generating grouping information is executed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer management program according to the first aspect of the present invention, (d) based on the grouping information, a control for grouping and displaying information of each of the plurality of printers is performed. The display control process to be performed is further executed.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the printer management program according to the first or second aspect of the invention, (e) a holding step of holding management information for each domain name of the printer is further executed. .

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the printer management program according to the third aspect of the invention, the management information for each domain name is the setting information commonly set for each domain name in the printer. , Setting information set for each domain name in order to manage the printer in the computer.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer management apparatus, comprising: (a) a detecting means for detecting a plurality of printers connected to a predetermined network through the predetermined network; and (b) the plurality of printers. And (c) generating means for grouping the plurality of printers based on the domain name to generate grouping information.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <Main Configuration of Printer Management System> FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a printer management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 (a)
Shows an example of each department in the company,
FIG. 1 (b) illustrates the relationship between the networks constructed for each department.

The printer management system 1 has a network N for each department (for example, development department, production department and management department).
1 to N3, and these networks N1 to N
3 is separated by the router 10. Further, each of the networks N1 to N3 uses the TCP / IP protocol, and different domain names are set (DNS settings).

As described above, the printer management system 1
In the following, the printer management server (hereinafter simply referred to as "management server") provided on the network N3 of the management unit is connected to each network N1 and N2 of the development unit and the production unit, though it is a large scale. A specific method for managing a plurality of printers that will be described will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between the management server 2 and networks N1 and N2 of other departments.

Do is connected to each of the networks N1 and N2.
Main name system servers (hereinafter, simply referred to as “DNS server”) 3, 4 and network printers (hereinafter, simply referred to as “printer”) 5, 6 are connected to each other so that data can be transmitted.

The management server 2 has a processing unit 20 having a box shape, an operation unit 21, and a display unit 22 composed of, for example, a CRT.

The processing unit 20 is provided with a drive 201 for inserting the optical disk 9 on the front surface thereof.

The operation unit 21 has a mouse 211 and a keyboard 212, and receives an input operation to the management server 2 by an administrator.

The DNS servers 3 and 4 have the same configuration as the above-mentioned management server, and include processing units 30 and 40, operation units 31 and 41, and a display unit 3 including, for example, a CRT.
2 and 42.

The printers 5 and 6 include print engine units (hereinafter simply referred to as "engines") 51 and 61 for printing on a recording sheet based on print data, and an engine 51,
Paper feed units 52 and 62 for supplying recording sheets to 61, and recording sheets (printed matter) printed by the engines 51 and 61
And trays 53 and 63 for discharging.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the management server 2, the DNS server 3 and the printer 5.

The management server 2 is provided with a control unit 23 which is connected to the operation unit 21 and the display unit 22 so as to be able to transmit. Further, the management server 2 includes a communication I / F 24, an input / output unit 25, and a storage unit 26 that are communicatively connected to the control unit 23.

The communication I / F 24 is an interface for data transmission with the DNS server 3 and the printer 5 via the network.

The input / output unit 25 is an interface for inputting / outputting data to / from the optical disc 9 as a recording medium via the drive 201.

The storage unit 26 is configured as, for example, a hard disk, stores a printer management program (described later), and has a database 261 described below.

The database 261 holds management information for each domain regarding printers. This management information is setting information Da that is commonly set for each domain name in the printer, such as domain information set in the printer.
And setting information Db set for each domain name in order to manage the printer in the management server 2.

The printer setting information Da commonly set for each domain includes, for example, a domain administrator who is a notification destination at the time of error, location setting, server position for account management, printer standard setting, and the like. Information. The setting information Db used by the management server 2 to manage the printer is, for example, a timeout value or polling (Pollin) that should be set according to the distance to the printer.
g) Threshold information of the interval.

The control unit 23 has a CPU 231 functioning as a computer and a memory 232, and is a part for centrally controlling the operation of the management server 2. By executing the printer management program in the control unit 23, printer management can be performed for each domain as described later.

Program data such as a printer management program recorded on the optical disk 9 can be stored in the memory 232 of the control unit 23 via the input / output unit 25. As a result, the stored program can be reflected in the operation of the management server 2.

The DNS server 3 includes a control unit 33 that is connected to the operation unit 31 and the display unit 32 so as to be transmittable. The DNS server 3 also includes a communication I / F 34, an input / output unit 35, and a storage unit 36 that are connected to the control unit 33 so that they can be transmitted.
It has and. Each of these units has the same function as the management server 2 described above.

The printer 5 is provided with a control unit 55 which is communicably connected to the engine 51 via an engine interface (I / F) 54. Also, the printer 5
Is a communication I / F 56 that is communicatively connected to the control unit 55.
A communication management unit 57 and a storage unit 58.

The communication I / F 56 is an interface for data transmission with the management server 2 or the like via the network.

The communication management unit 57 is a unit that performs access management, data management, and notification management in communication with the management server 2 and the like.

The storage section 58 is a section for storing print data and the like transmitted via the network. The storage unit 58 also includes a database 581 that stores MIB information used in SNMP.

The control section 55 has a CPU 551 and a memory 552, and is a part that controls the operation of the printer 5 in a centralized manner.

The DNS server 4 and the printer 6 in the network N2 have the same configuration as the DNS server 3 and the printer 5 described above.

<Operation of Printer Management System 1> Next,
The operation of the printer management system 1 having the above-described configuration will be described, but in order to simplify the description, the network N
The operation of the management server 2 that manages 1 and N2 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the basic operation of the management server 2. This operation is performed by the storage unit 26.
The printer management program is executed by the control unit 23.

In step S1, the networks N1, N
Detect all printers 5, 6 connected to 2. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of printers existing in the network are detected by using, for example, SNMP / MIB.

In step S2, the unique information Dp (FIG. 5) of each printer detected in step S1 is collected,
It is stored in the storage unit 26. This unique information is, for example, information such as the presence / absence of color, speed, and the number of trays.

In step S3, as shown in FIG. 6, the domain names relating to the detected printers 5 and 6 are acquired from the DNS servers 3 and 4. At this time, the IP address and the mail address are also acquired and stored in the database 261 in the storage unit 26.

In step S4, the detected printers are divided into groups for each domain name based on the domain name acquired in step S3, and grouping information is generated.
Then, as shown in FIG. 7, based on this grouping information, the information PR of each printer is grouped and displayed on the display unit 22 in a tree structure. In this grouping, for example, the printers PR are grouped with the department SC of the company such as the development department (corresponding to “DEV” in FIG. 7) as the minimum unit.

Further, in grouping, U is added to the domain name.
The name indicating S cannot be set by default, so if the DNS server is in the United States, the name indicating US (for example, "U
The process of adding "S") to the domain name is automatically performed. In addition, the unique information Dp acquired from each printer is displayed as text or an icon in order to grasp a specific image and facilitate management.

Since the printers are grouped by the domain name by the operation of the above step S4, the administrator who manages each printer by the management server 2 can easily grasp the printer location and the like.

In step S5, it is determined whether to set management information for each domain for the printer. Specifically, it is determined whether the management information setting button or the like is clicked with the mouse 211 on the window screen displayed on the display unit 22. If the management information is set for each domain, the process proceeds to step S6. If not, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S6, management information for each domain is input. That is, for each printer group grouped in step S4, the administrator operates the operation unit 21 so that the printer setting information Da common to each domain and the management server 2 manage the printers. The setting information Db to be used is input. Then, the input setting information Da and Db are stored in the database 261 in the storage unit 26, and the setting information Da is transmitted to all printers in the domain.

When the management information is input, as shown in FIG. 9, the entire network, that is, the range of "level 1" to the minimum identifiable range, that is, "level 4" can be individually set. In this setting, the smaller the range (the higher the level value), the higher the priority.

By the operation of step S6, the printer setting information Da common to each domain name can be collectively changed or input, so that the setting process of each printer can be easily performed. Further, since the setting information Db used by the management server 2 to manage the printer can be set according to the distance to the domain, the setting can be optimized and the management accuracy is improved. Furthermore, it becomes easy to deal with the case where the network environment is changed. From the above, management of printers connected to the network can be saved.

In step S7, the setting information Db used by the management server 2 stored in the database 261 in the storage unit 26 to manage the printer is acquired.

In step S8, status information and the like are collected from each printer based on the setting information Db acquired in step S7, such as the timeout value and polling interval. At this time, the input operation of the step S6 makes it possible to collect information from each printer in an optimum state.

In step S9, it is determined whether or not information collection such as status information has been completed. If the information collection has not been completed, the process returns to step S8.

By the operation of the printer management system 1 described above, the printers connected to the network are grouped by domain name, so that the location of the printers can be easily grasped and centralized management is possible. As a result, the management of the network printer can be saved.

<Modification> ◎ Regarding the management server 2 in the above embodiment, when grouping the printers and the network is composed of one company organization, as shown in FIG. A customizing function for arranging the company name may be added to the route RT. In this case,
For example, the parts “CO” and “COM” indicating a company are deleted, and a company name, a country name, a department name, ...

In the above embodiment, it is not essential for the management server to manage the printer, and the printer management program may be managed by a network device such as an MFP (multi function peripheral) capable of executing the printer management program. May be.

Regarding the display of the printer information in the above embodiment, it is not essential to display it in a tree form.
The printer groups may be distinguished by assigning different window screens to each domain.

For the printer detection in the above embodiment, it is not essential to use SNMP / MIB, and Ping or the like may be used.

Regarding the acquisition of the domain name in the above embodiment, it is not essential to acquire it from the DNS server, but it may be acquired from the printer. In this case, the domain name is extracted from the mail address of the printer.

In the present invention, the “domain name” is a concept corresponding to the identification information of each layer in the address information expressed using the layered structure. That is, the identification information of each layer is not limited to being represented by characters, but may be represented by a numerical value, for example.

[0058]

As described above, according to the inventions of claims 1 to 5, a plurality of printers connected to a predetermined network are detected to acquire a domain name, and a plurality of printers are acquired based on the domain name. Group printers.
As a result, the management of printers connected to the network can be saved.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the control for displaying the information of each of the plurality of printers by grouping based on the grouping information is performed, it is possible to easily grasp the grouped printer group and Management can be further saved.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the management information for each domain name relating to the printer is held, the printer can be quickly managed for each domain name.

In the invention of claim 4, the management information for each domain name is set for each domain name in the printer and set for each domain name in order to manage the printer in the computer. Since the setting information is included, the printer can be properly managed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 2] Management server 2 and networks N1 and N of other departments
It is a figure which shows the relationship with 2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a management server 2, a DNS server 3 and a printer 5.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a basic operation of the management server 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an operation of detecting printers 5 and 6 on networks N1 and N2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an operation of acquiring a domain name from a DNS server.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an operation of grouping and displaying printers for each domain.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an operation of setting management information Da and Db for each domain in a printer.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an operation of setting management information Da and Db for each domain in a printer.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating grouping display of printers according to a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Printer Management System 2 Management Server 3, 4 DNS Server 5, 6 Printer 21 Operation Unit 22 Display Unit 23 Control Unit 261, 361, 461, 581, 681 Database Da, Db Setting Information for Each Domain N1 to N3 Network

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A printer management program executable by a computer, wherein the printer management program causes the computer to (a) detect a plurality of printers connected to a predetermined network via the predetermined network. And (b) an acquisition step of acquiring a domain name for each of the plurality of printers, and (c) a generation step of grouping the plurality of printers based on the domain name and generating grouping information,
A printer management program for executing the following. 2. The printer management program according to claim 1, further comprising: (d) a display control step of performing control to display information of each of the plurality of printers in groups based on the grouping information. A printer management program that is characterized by: 3. The printer management program according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: (e) a holding step of holding management information for each domain name related to the printer. program. 4. The printer management program according to claim 3, wherein the management information for each domain name includes setting information commonly set for each domain name in the printer, and management of the printer in the computer. A printer management program including setting information set for each domain name in order to perform the above. 5. A printer management apparatus, comprising: (a) detection means for detecting a plurality of printers connected to a predetermined network via the predetermined network; and (b) domain names for each of the plurality of printers. Acquisition means for acquiring, (c) generation means for grouping the plurality of printers based on the domain name, and generating grouping information,
A printer management apparatus comprising: