JP2003330824A - Network device control apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network management software operated on a WWW server, for displaying information on a Web browser by using the function of a Web server when a network device has a built-in Web server, and collecting MIB information by SNMP protocol and displaying the information on the Web browser when it does not so. <P>SOLUTION: This network device control apparatus includes a receiving means for URL for obtaining network device information, a means for issuing an acquisition request for URL of the Web server incorporated in the network device itself, a means for receiving the above, a means for discriminating whether or not the received URL is effective, a means for creating temporary information for informing the Web browser of the received URL when the URL is determined to be effective and transmitting the same to the Web browser, a means for issuing an information acquisition request to the network device when the URL is determined to be ineffective, a means for receiving a coping measure, a means for shaping the received information into an HTML-form document. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer network, and more particularly to a network printer control apparatus and method including network management software.

[0002]

Computers can be connected to each other by a local area network (LAN). Local area networks can be interconnected for incorporation into larger systems, spanning floors or entire buildings, groups of buildings (regions), regions, or even larger areas, up to and including global systems.

Each LAN may have a variety of hardware interconnection technologies and several network protocols.

A simple LAN separated from the others can be managed by individual users. That is, the user can replace the device, install software,
You can diagnose problems.

On the other hand, a large-scale complex LAN or a large LAN group interconnected requires "management". "Administration" means management by both the human network administrator and the software used by that administrator. In the present application, “management” means management by software for managing the entire system, and “user” means a person who uses the network management software. This user is typically the system administrator. By using the network management software, the user can obtain management data on the network and change this data.

Large-scale network systems are usually dynamic systems that require constant addition and removal of equipment, software updates, and problem detection. In general, there will be different systems owned by different people and supplied by different vendors.

An example of a large-scale network that requires management will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a case where a network board (NEB) 101 for connecting the printer to a network is connected to a printer 102 having an open architecture. The NEB 101 connects to a local area network (LAN) 100, for example, an Ethernet (R) interface 10Ba having a coaxial connector.
L such as se-2 and 10Base-T with RJ-45
It is connected through the AN interface.

A plurality of personal computers (PCs) such as PC 103 and PC 104 are also connected to 100, and these PCs can communicate with NEB 101 under the control of the network operating system. One of the PCs, for example PC 103, can be designated for use as a network manager. P
A printer such as the printer 105 connected to the PC 104 may be connected to C.

The file server 1 is connected to the LAN 100.
06 is connected, which manages access to files stored in a large capacity (for example, 10 billion bytes) network disk 107. Print server 10
The printer 8 causes the connected printers 109a and 109b or the printer such as the printer 105 at a remote place to perform printing. In addition, another peripheral device (not shown) is LAN1.
00 may be connected.

More specifically, the network shown in FIG. 1 can use network software such as Novell or UNIX software to efficiently communicate between various network members. Any network software can be used, for example, Novell NetWar
e (trademark of Novell Inc., abbreviated below) software can be used. For detailed instructions on this software package, refer to the online documentation included in the NetWare package. It can be purchased with the NetWare package from Novell.

In brief, the file server 10
6 receives data files between LAN members,
Store, queue, cache, and send,
Functions as a file management unit. For example, PC1
The data files created by 03 and PC 104 are sent to the file server 106, and the file server 106 arranges these data files in order,
Then, according to the command from the print server 108, the arranged data files are transmitted to the printer 109a.

The PC 103 and the PC 104 respectively generate a data file and a LAN for the generated data file.
It is composed of a normal PC capable of transmitting data to the LAN 100, receiving files from the LAN 100, and displaying and / or processing such files. Figure 1
Although a personal computer device is shown in Figure 1, other computer devices suitable for executing network software may be included. For example,
If you are using UNIX (R) software,
UNIX workstations may be included in the network, and these workstations may be used with the illustrated PC under appropriate circumstances.

LANs, such as LAN 100, typically serve a rather local group of users, such as a group of users on one floor in a building or on multiple consecutive floors. For example, a wide area network (WAN) may be created as a user moves away from another user, such as when the user is in another building or another prefecture. A WAN is basically an aggregate formed by connecting several LANs by a high speed digital line such as a high speed integrated service digital network (ISDN) telephone line. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
, LAN110, and LAN120 are used for modulation / demodulation (M
ODEM) / transponder 130 and backbone 140 to form a WAN. These connections are simple electrical connections with several buses. Each LAN contains a dedicated PC and usually, but not necessarily, a file server, print server and WWW server. Here, the WWW server collects documents composed of hypertext, graphics, etc., and stores them in a URL (Uniform).
m WWW (World Wide Wee) that can be uniquely identified by m Resource Locators
b) It is for realizing a site, and usually has a role of providing various information to the personal computers PC111, PC112 and the like having a browsing program called a Web browser.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Is a PC111, a PC112, and a file server 1
13, network disk 114, print server 115, printer 116 and printer 117.
And a WWW server 118.

In contrast, LAN 120 has PC 121 and P
Includes only C122. LAN100 and LAN110
Then, the device connected to the LAN 120 can access the function of the device of another LAN through the WAN connection.

As a method for managing the devices on the network which compose the large-scale network system as described above, some attempts have been made by many standard organizations so far. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an open system interconnection (Open System In
We have provided a generic reference framework called the terconnection (OSI) model. The OSI model of the network management protocol is a common management information protocol (Common Management Information Protocol).
operation protocol (CMIP). CMIP is a European common network management protocol.

In the United States, a simpler network management protocol (Simple Network Manager) is used as a more common network management protocol.
C called "ment Protocol (SNMP)"
There is a variant of protocol related to MIP (Mars
hall T. Rose, The Simple Bo
ok, Prentice-Hall, 1991).

According to the SNMP network management technology,
The network management system includes at least one network management station (NMS), a number of managed nodes each including an agent, and a network management protocol used by the management station or agents to exchange management information. The user can obtain the data on the network and change the data by communicating with the agent software on the managed node using the network management software on the NMS.

An agent is software that runs as a background process for each target device. When a user requests management data from a device on the network, the management software sends the object identification information in a management packet or frame to the target agent. The agent interprets the object identification information, extracts the data corresponding to the object identification information, puts the data in a packet, and sends it back to the user. Sometimes the corresponding process is called to retrieve the data.

The agent holds data regarding its own status in the form of a database.

This database is referred to as MIB (Ma
management Information Basen
e). FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of the MIB. As shown in FIG. 4, the MIB has a tree-structured data structure, and all nodes are uniquely numbered.
In FIG. 4, the number written in parentheses is the identifier of that node.

For example, in FIG. 4, the identifier of the node 401 is 1. The identifier of the node 402 is the node 401
Since it is 3 below, it is written as 1.3. Similarly, the identifier of the node 403 is described as 1.3.6.6.2.

The identifier of this node is called an object identifier (OBJECT IDENTIFIER).

The structure of this MIB is the management information structure (SM
I: Structure of Management
Information), called RFCl155
Structure and Identitya
tion of Management Information
application for TCP / IP-based In
stipulated in ternets.

As an example of implementing the agent, it is conceivable to implement the agent on a network board for connecting the printer to the network. As a result, the printer can be managed by the network management software. The user can use the network management software to obtain information about the printer to be controlled and change the status. More specifically, for example, the character string displayed on the liquid crystal display of the printer can be acquired, and the default paper feed cassette can be changed.

An embodiment in which a network board (NEB) on which an agent is mounted is connected to a printer will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, preferably NEB1
01 is built in the internal expansion I / O slot of the printer 102, and the NEB 101 is an “embedded” network node having the processing and data storage functions shown below.

The configuration of the NEB 101 brings about an advantage of having a characteristic auxiliary function for controlling and managing a large multi-area WAN network. These auxiliary functions are used, for example, to control the printer from a remote location on the network (such as the office of the network administrator) and observe the status, and to provide a guaranteed initial environment for the next user after each print job. Includes printer logs or usage statistics that can be accessed through the network to automatically manage printer configuration and characterize printer load, or schedule toner cartridge replacement.

In recent years, due to the rapid progress of WWW technology, NEB 101 can have a Web server inside itself. In this case, NEB101
Has its own URL as well as the WWW server 118, and HTTP control the above printer control and status observation.
(Hyper Text Transfer Prot
ocol) protocol. The Web browser can perform printer control and status observation by designating this URL.

An important factor in the NEB design is that the NEB 10 is connected via a bidirectional interface such as a shared memory.
This is a function for accessing the printer control status from 1.
Besides the shared memory, an interface such as a SCSI interface can be used. Thus, printer operation information can be sent to the NEB 101 or an external network node so that a large number of convenient auxiliary function programs can be created. The blocks of print image data and control information are configured by the microprocessor on the NEB 101, written in the shared memory, and read by the printer 102. Similarly, printer status information is sent from printer 102 to shared memory from where it is read by the NEB processor.

FIG. 2 shows the NEB 101 and the printer 102.
It is sectional drawing which shows the state installed in.

As shown in FIG. 2, the NEB 101 is composed of a printed circuit board 101a on which a face plate 101b for network connection is installed, and a printer interface card 15 is provided via a connector 170.
It is connected to 0. The printer interface card 150 directly controls the printer engine of the printer 102.

The print data and printer status command are input from the NEB 101 to the printer interface card 150 via the connector 170, and
Printer status information is also obtained from printer interface card 150 via connector 170. NEB 101 sends this information to face plate 10
Communication is performed on the LAN 100 via the network connector 1b. At the same time, the printer 102 uses the conventional serial port 102a and parallel port 102b to
Print data can also be received.

FIG. 3 shows the NEB 101 and the printer 102.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing electrical connection between the LAN and the LAN 100. The NEB 101 is directly connected to the LAN 100 via a LAN interface and to the printer 102 via a printer interface card 150.

Microprocessor 151 is NEB10
The data is accessed to and from 1 through the shared memory 200 installed in the NEB 101. Microprocessor 151 also communicates with printer engine 160, which actually drives the printing mechanism.

On the other hand, the PC side on which the network management software operates will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a PC capable of operating the network management software.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 500 denotes a PC on which network management software operates, and 1 in FIG.
It is equivalent to 03. The PC 500 executes the network management program stored in the ROM 502 or the hard disk (HD) 511 or supplied from the floppy (R) disk drive (FD) 512.
The PU 501 is provided to collectively control each device connected to the system bus 504.

A RAM 503 functions as a main memory and a work area of the CPU 501. A keyboard controller (KBC) 505 is a keyboard (KB) 50.
9 and instruction input from a pointing device (not shown) or the like. 506 is a CRT controller (CRTC)
Controls the display of the CRT display (CRT) 510.

507 is a disk controller (DKC)
In addition, a hard disk (HD) 511 and a floppy (R) disk controller (FD) 51 that store a boot program, various applications, edit files, user files, a network management program, and the like.
Control access with 2. A network interface card (NIC) 508 bidirectionally exchanges data with an agent or a network device via the LAN 100.

The hard disk (HD) 511 stores the program of the network management software according to the present invention, which will be described in the flowchart described later. In the flowchart described later, the main body of execution is the CPU 501 on the hardware. On the other hand, the main body of control on software is network management software stored in the hard disk (HD) 511. In this embodiment, the OS is assumed to be Windows (R) NT (manufactured by Microsoft Corporation), but the OS is not limited to this.

Conventionally, network management software for managing a managed node, which is mainly a printer,
Although it was running on the above-mentioned PC, network management software has been upgraded to WW due to the rapid progress of WWW technology in recent years.
It runs on a W server (for example, WWW server 118), and CGI (Common Gateway Inte
There has been a movement to enable browsing from multiple PCs using an interface called "rface". The configuration of the WWW server 118 in this case is almost the same as the block diagram shown in FIG. 5, but the program for realizing the WWW site is stored in the hard disk (HD) 511, and the CPU 501 constantly executes it. It will be.

Next, the configuration of the network management software of the present invention which operates on the WWW server 118 will be described.

FIG. 6 is a module configuration diagram of the network management software according to the present invention, which operates on the WWW server 118.

The network management software according to the present invention is stored in the hard disk 511 in FIG. 5 and is executed by the CPU 501. At that time, CP
The U501 uses the RAM 503 as a work area.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 600 denotes the network management software itself according to the present invention, which is Web Ne
This is called tSpot. Reference numeral 601 denotes We, which is a WWW browsing program included in the PC 111, for example.
It is a browser. 602 indicates that the web browser 601 uses the network management software 6 through the WW server.
00 is a CGI interface for communication.

603 is called a device list,
Web browser 6 for devices connected to the network
01 is a module which is displayed as a list on the screen. 604
Is called overall control and controls other modules based on the instructions from the device list. Reference numeral 605 is a module called a configurator, which performs a special process regarding the network setting of the agent. Reference numeral 606 is a search module, which is a module for searching for devices connected to the network. The devices searched by this module are displayed as a list on the Web browser 601 by the device list 603. 60
7 shows the status of the print job by NetWare API
618 is a module to be acquired from a network server (note that the NetWare API is, for example, “Net issued by Novell Inc.”).
Ware Programmer * s Guide fo
rC "and the like. This book can be purchased from Novell Co., Ltd.). 608 and 609 show a device details window showing detailed information of a managed device, We.
It is a module for displaying on the b browser 601, and there is a module for each target model for which detailed information is displayed. 610 and 611 are called control modules,
This module is responsible for the control specific to the target model that acquires detailed information. These modules also have modules for each target model for which detailed information is displayed. 610 and 611 acquire MIB data from the device to be managed using the MIB module 612 and pass it to the module 608 or 609 for displaying the device detail window on the Web browser 601.

The MIB module 612 is a module for converting an object identifier and an object key. Here, the object key is a 32-bit integer that has a one-to-one correspondence with the object identifier. The object identifier is a variable-length identifier and is cumbersome to implement when implementing network management software. Therefore, the network management software according to the present application internally uses a fixed-length identifier that has a one-to-one correspondence with the object identifier. . MIB module 612
The higher-level module handles MIB information using this object key. This eases the implementation of network management software.

Reference numeral 613 is called an SNMP module, and S
It transmits and receives NMP packets. Reference numeral 614 is a common transport module, which is a module that absorbs a difference between lower-level protocols for carrying SNMP data. Actually, depending on the protocol selected by the user at the time of operation, the IPX handler 615 or the UDP handler 61
Any one of 6 is responsible for transferring data. Note that U
The DP handler uses WinSock 619 as an implementation (for WinSock, for example, Wind
ows (R) Socket API vl. See the specifications in 1. This document is available from multiple locations, but is included with Visual C ++, a Microsoft compiler, for example. ).

The current protocol 617 used by the configurator 605 indicates either the IPX protocol or the UDP protocol selected by the user during operation.

In the following description, the network management software according to the present application will be referred to as Web NetS.
Sometimes referred to as a pot.

Next, in the large-scale network system having the configuration as shown in FIG. 1, the Web NetSpot 600 running on the WWW server 118 follows the request from the Web browser 601 and manages the device (for example, the printer 102). The case of managing will be described in more detail.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram when the conventional Web NetSpot 600 acquires the information of the device to be managed and displays it on the Web browser 601 according to the request from the Web browser 601.

First, in step S701, the user sends a We browser on the WWW server 118 to a Web browser (for example, the Web browser 601) on an arbitrary PC.
The URL of the bNetSpot 600 is specified, and the information acquisition of the managed device is requested by the HTTP protocol.

Next, in step S702, WWW
Web NetSpot 600 on the server 118
The request of step S701 by the HTTP protocol is C
WWW server 118 via GI interface 602
Receive from

In step S703, Web NetS
The pot 600 issues an information acquisition request to the managed device using the SNMP protocol according to the instruction from the Web browser 601.

In step S704, the managed device responds to the request in step S703, collects its own information, and returns a response to the Web NetSpot 600.

In step S705, the Web NetSpot 600 receives the response from step S704.

Next, in step S706, step S
The information of the managed device received in 705 is written in HTML.
(HyperText Markup Languag
e) Format the document.

In step S707, step S706
The information of the managed device in the HTML format, which has been shaped in step 3, is transmitted to the web browser 601.

The Web browser 601 executes step S70.
8, the HTM transmitted in step S707
Receive information in L format.

Finally, in step S709, the Web browser 601 displays the information received in step S708, and this sequence ends.

[0064]

In recent years, as a mechanism for providing more detailed and unique information of a device to be managed,
A managed device (or a network board) having a Web server inside itself has existed on the network.

However, as described above, the conventional We
b NetSpot only uses the SNMP protocol to obtain a usable part of the information held by the managed device and displays it on the web browser. Therefore, it uses the function of the web server provided by the managed device. As a result, more detailed / specific information could not be displayed on the Web browser.

[0066]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a We
b The information acquisition request receiving step for receiving the URL specified by the browser, and the network device
A URL acquisition request issuing step for issuing a request for acquiring the URL of the Web server included in the network device itself, and a UR for receiving a response from the network device to the URL acquisition request issuing step.
L acquisition request reception step, URL determination step for determining whether the URL received by the URL acquisition request reception step is valid, and if the URL determination step determines that the URL is valid, the URL is received. If a temporary information for notifying the URL to the Web browser is created and the temporary information creation / transmission step for transmitting this to the Web browser and the URL determination step are invalid URLs, the network device An information acquisition request issuing step for issuing an information acquisition request, an information acquisition request receiving step for receiving a response from the network device to the information acquisition request issuing step, and an information acquisition request receiving step The formatted information into an HTML document And HTML document creation step, is created in the HTML document creation step HTML
HTML for sending a document to a web browser
And a document transmission step.

[0067]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A first embodiment will be described below.

In FIG. 8, the Web browser 601 displays the CGI
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram started by activating Web NetSpot 600 on WWW server 118 via interface 602.

Web executed according to this sequence
The program of NetSpot 600 is stored in the hard disk (HD) 511. This Web NetS
The main body of execution of the program of pot600 is C on hardware.
It is PU501. On the other hand, the main body of control on software is the Web stored in the hard disk (HD) 511.
It is NetSpot600. In this embodiment,
The OS is assumed to be, for example, Windows (R) NT (manufactured by Microsoft Corporation), but the OS is not limited to this.

In FIG. 8, steps S801 and S802 are exactly the same as steps S701 and S802 in FIG.

Next, in step S803, the Web
The NetSpot 600 uses the UR to acquire the URL of the Web server provided by the managed device itself.
Issue an L acquisition request to the managed device. Normally, this request is realized by the SNMP protocol, but is not limited to this.

In step S804, the managed device sends a UR response to the Web NetSpot 600.
Returns L response. If the managed device provides a Web server, the managed device has a valid value (for example, "http: //abc/index.ht.
ml ") to Web NetSpot 600. If no Web server is provided,
Will return an invalid value.

The Web NetSpot 600 receives the URL response from the managed device in step S805, and then determines in step S806 whether or not the value obtained in this URL response is valid. If a valid URL has been acquired, step S807 is executed. If an invalid URL can be acquired, step S810 is executed.

The Web NetSpot 600 sends the URL specified by the Web browser 601 in Step S 801 in Step S 807 to Step S 805.
The HTML-formatted document (temporary information) for switching to the URL of the Web server provided by the management target device received in (1) is created and transmitted to the Web browser 601. An example of an HTML document for realizing this step is as follows.

<HTML><HEAD><META HTTP-EQUIV = "refres
h "CONTENT ="1; url = http: // a
bc / index. html ”><META HTTP-EQUIV =” content
-Type "CONTENT =" text / html;
charset = X-Sjls ″></HEAD></HTML> The web browser 601 determines in step S808.
After receiving the temporary information in step S807, the URL of the Web server provided by the managed device is designated in step S809.

The device to be managed is the above-mentioned step S80.
When the URL of the Web server provided by the user is designated by 9, the information on the user is collected in step S811, the document is formatted in the HTML format, and the document is transmitted to the Web browser 601.

Finally, the Web browser 601 executes steps S815 and S816 similar to steps s708 and S709 in FIG. 7, and ends this sequence.

On the other hand, the invalid UR in step s806 above.
If L can be acquired, step S810 is executed.

Steps S810 to S816 include steps S703 to S7 in FIG.
The description is omitted because it is the same as that up to 09.

This is the end of the description of the present sequence.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When managing a managed device that does not have a web server inside, the Web NetSpot uses the MIB information of the managed device to display the information in the web browser, and manages it inside itself. Web
When managing a managed device having a server, by displaying the URL of the web server on the web browser, more detailed and unique information can be displayed on the web browser.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a case where a network board for connecting a printer to a network is connected to a printer having an open architecture.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment in which a network board on which an agent is mounted is connected to a printer.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing electrical connection between a network board, a printer, and a LAN.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of MIB.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PC capable of operating U network management software.

FIG. 6 is a module configuration diagram of network management software.

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a conventional method when the network management software acquires information on a device to be managed and displays the information on a Web browser.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a first embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

102 printer 103 personal computer 118 WWW server 600 network management software 601 Web browser 602 CGI interface

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A network device control method operating in a network system having a network device having at least a WWW server and a WWW server, wherein a URL designated by a Web browser is received to obtain information of the network device. An information acquisition request receiving step for issuing a URL acquisition request for issuing a URL acquisition request of a Web server incorporated in the network device to the network device, and a network device for the URL acquisition request issuing step URL acquisition request receiving step for receiving a response from the UR, and the UR received by the URL acquisition request receiving step
A URL determining step for determining whether or not L is valid, and when it is determined as a valid URL in the URL determining step, temporary information for notifying the received URL to the Web browser is created, Temporary information creation / transmission step for transmitting this to the browser, and information acquisition request issuing step for issuing an information acquisition request to the network device when the URL is determined to be invalid in the URL determination step And an information acquisition request receiving step for receiving a response from the network device to the information acquisition request issuing step, and the information received in the information acquisition request receiving step by the HTM.
An HTML document creating step for formatting into an L format document, and the HT created in the HTML document creating step.
HT for sending ML document to Web browser
ML document sending step, and a network device control method including: 2. A network device control device operating in a network system having at least a network device having a WWW server and a WWW server, which receives a URL designated by a Web browser to obtain information of the network device. Information acquisition request receiving means, a URL acquisition request issuing means for issuing to the network device an acquisition request for the URL of the Web server incorporated in the network device itself, and the network device for the URL acquisition request issuing means. URL acquisition request receiving means for receiving a response from the URL, URL determining means for determining whether the URL received by the URL acquisition request receiving means is valid, and UR effective in the URL determining means. If it is determined that the URL is invalid, the temporary information creating / sending unit for creating the temporary information for notifying the Web browser of the received URL and transmitting the temporary information to the Web browser is invalid. An information acquisition request issuing means for issuing an information acquisition request to the network device when the URL is determined, and an information acquisition request receiving means for receiving a response from the network device to the information acquisition request issuing means. An HTML document creating means for shaping the information received by the information acquisition request receiving means into an HTML format document; and an HTML created by the HTML document creating means.
HTML for sending a document to a web browser
A network device control apparatus having a document transmission unit. 3. A network device control program that operates in a network system that includes at least a network device having a WWW server and a WWW server, and receives a URL specified by a Web browser to obtain information about the network device. An information acquisition request receiving step for issuing a URL acquisition request for issuing a URL acquisition request of a Web server incorporated in the network device to the network device, and a network device for the URL acquisition request issuing step URL acquisition request receiving step for receiving a response from the UR, and the UR received by the URL acquisition request receiving step
A URL determining step for determining whether or not L is valid, and when it is determined as a valid URL in the URL determining step, temporary information for notifying the received URL to the Web browser is created, ⊥ Time information creation / transmission step for sending this to the browser, and if the URL determination step determines that the URL is invalid, issue an information acquisition request to issue an information acquisition request to the network device. Step, an information acquisition request receiving step for receiving a response from the network device to the information acquisition request issuing step, and the information received in the information acquisition request receiving step by the HTM.
An HTML document creating step for formatting into an L format document, and the HT created in the HTML document creating step.
HT for sending ML document to Web browser
A computer-readable storage medium storing a program including an ML document transmission step.