JP2003345622A - Maintenance system for customer system, device to be maintained, device and method for maintenance, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a maintenance operation by providing a registering means for constitution information including the type name, the manufacture number, and the version of a device in a customer system and automatically calling a service engineer in charge when a diagnosis is taken remotely according to the constitution information and abnormality of a diagnostic result is detected. <P>SOLUTION: A server device 11 in the customer system 10 as one of devices to be maintained has a constitution registration part 51 which gathers constitution information including the manufacture number, the version, an address, and a customer name and sends them to a maintenance device 20 and a diagnosis execution part 52 which executes a diagnostic program and sends the diagnostic result back to the maintenance device 20; and the maintenance device 20 has a constitution DB 21 which holds the constitution information, a maintenance DB 22 which holds execution conditions of the diagnostic program, a DB registration part 24 which registers the constitution information in the constitution DB, and a diagnostic processing part 25 when once detects a diagnostic execution condition from the maintenance DB 22, sends the diagnostic program to the server device 11, receives the diagnostic result, and informs a corresponding service engineer terminal 30 of abnormality when detecting it. <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 maintenance system of a customer system, a maintenance target device, a maintenance device, a maintenance method, and a program, and more particularly to a maintenance technique by automatically registering configuration information of a customer system and executing a remote diagnosis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a large number of devices are installed in one customer such as a client / server system, a person in charge of setting up the entire system is required to further provide information for future maintenance such as a customer name and manufacturing of each device. Register the number on the maintenance computer. Conventionally, in this work, a person in charge reads a serial number and a version number for each device, writes the serial number and the version number on paper, and manually registers it on a computer for maintenance management.

[0003] For a device for which a maintenance contract has been made, the customer is required to perform periodic maintenance and to prevent a failure based on the operation status of the device. The diagnosis is performed by visiting the system, the diagnosis result is analyzed, and maintenance such as prevention by predictive replacement of parts is performed.

[0004]

In a conventional system, maintenance and management of equipment information such as a serial number and a version number of each apparatus necessary for maintaining a customer system and customer configuration information such as system configuration information are performed. When registering in the device, there is a problem that a registration person is likely to make a registration error.

[0005] In addition, since it is not possible to automatically execute a diagnosis or the like from a remote place when performing maintenance, it is necessary for a maintenance worker to visit a site at an appropriate time and execute a diagnosis program to collect information. If an abnormality was found, he would go to the site to take measures such as replacing parts.

An object of the present invention is to provide a means for registering configuration information including a model name, a serial number, and a version number of a device in a customer system, execute a diagnosis remotely based on the configuration information, and detect an abnormality in the diagnosis result. An object of the present invention is to provide a maintenance method, a maintenance target device, a maintenance device, a maintenance method, and a program that automatically call a maintenance person in charge when the detection is detected and perform maintenance work.

[0007]

A first maintenance method according to the present invention is a maintenance method in which a customer system including a device to be maintained and a maintenance device for executing and managing the maintenance of the customer system are connected to each other via a network. A configuration registration unit that collects configuration information including a serial number and a version number of the device to be maintained and devices connected thereto and an address and a customer name for accessing from the maintenance device, and transmits the configuration information to the maintenance device. And the maintenance device has a configuration D that holds the configuration information.
B and a DB that receives the configuration information and registers the configuration information in the configuration DB
A registration unit.

A second maintenance system according to the present invention is a maintenance system in which a customer system including a device to be maintained and a maintenance device for executing and managing the maintenance of the customer system are connected to each other via a network. A diagnosis execution unit that executes a diagnosis program and transmits a diagnosis result to a maintenance device, wherein the maintenance device has a configuration DB that holds configuration information including a serial number, a version number, an address, and a customer name of the device to be maintained; ,
Maintenance DB that holds the execution conditions of the diagnostic program for each customer
A diagnostic program for detecting an abnormality in the maintenance target device;
When a diagnosis execution condition is detected with reference to the maintenance DB, the configuration DB
And a diagnostic processing unit that extracts a device to be maintained, transmits a diagnostic program corresponding to the extracted device to be maintained to the device to be maintained, and receives a diagnosis result.

A third maintenance system according to the present invention is a maintenance system in which a customer system including a device to be maintained and a maintenance device for executing and managing the maintenance of the customer system are connected to each other via a network. A configuration registration unit that collects configuration information including the serial number and version number of each device connected thereto and its subordinates, an address and a customer name for access from the maintenance device, and transmits the configuration information to the maintenance device, and executes a diagnostic program. And a diagnosis execution unit for transmitting a diagnosis result to the maintenance device, wherein the maintenance device has a configuration D that holds the configuration information.
B, a maintenance DB that holds the execution conditions of the diagnostic program for each customer, a diagnostic program that detects an abnormality in the maintenance target device, and a DB that receives the configuration information and registers the configuration information in the configuration DB
When a diagnostic execution condition is detected by referring to the registration DB and the maintenance DB, a maintenance target device is extracted by referring to the configuration DB, a diagnostic program corresponding to the extracted maintenance target device is transmitted to the corresponding maintenance target device, and a diagnosis result is obtained. And a diagnostic processing unit for receiving.

[0010] A fourth maintenance method according to the present invention is the second or third maintenance method.
In the maintenance method, the network connects a maintenance terminal for notifying information to the maintenance person, the maintenance DB also holds an address of the maintenance terminal for designating a maintenance person in charge for each customer, and performs the diagnostic processing. The unit analyzes the received diagnosis result and, when an abnormality is detected, refers to the maintenance DB and notifies the corresponding maintenance staff terminal of the occurrence of the abnormality.

[0011] The fifth maintenance method of the present invention is the second or third maintenance method.
Wherein the diagnostic program includes a computer virus detection program.

[0012] The sixth maintenance method of the present invention is the second or third maintenance method.
In the above maintenance method, the diagnostic program is provided for each version number of the device to be maintained, and is selected according to the version number read from the configuration DB.

The first maintenance target device of the present invention is connected via a network to a maintenance device that executes and manages the maintenance of the customer system, and the serial number and version number of each device connected to itself and the subordinates, and the maintenance device. A configuration registration unit that collects configuration information including an address and a customer name for accessing from the storage device and transmits the configuration information to the maintenance device, and a diagnosis execution unit that receives and executes a diagnostic program from the maintenance device and transmits a diagnosis result to the maintenance device. It is characterized by having.

A second maintenance target device according to the present invention is the first maintenance target device, wherein the diagnosis program includes a computer virus detection program.

A first maintenance device of the present invention is connected via a network to a maintenance target device installed in a customer system and a maintenance staff terminal for notifying maintenance personnel of information, and provides a serial number of the maintenance target device. A configuration DB that stores configuration information including a version number, an address, and a customer name; a maintenance DB that stores diagnostic program execution conditions for each customer and an address of a maintenance staff terminal that specifies a maintenance staff to be in charge; A diagnostic program for detecting a device abnormality and a diagnostic program for detecting a diagnostic execution condition with reference to the maintenance DB, transmitting a diagnostic program for the relevant maintenance target device to the relevant maintenance target device, receiving a diagnosis result, and detecting an abnormality in the diagnosis result. And a diagnostic processing unit that refers to the maintenance DB and notifies the corresponding maintenance staff terminal of the abnormality.

According to a second maintenance device of the present invention, in the first maintenance device, the diagnosis program includes a computer virus detection program.

According to a third maintenance device of the present invention, in the first maintenance device, the diagnostic program is provided for each version of the device to be maintained, and is selected according to the version read from the configuration DB. Features.

According to a first maintenance method of the present invention, configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected thereunder, an address on a network, and a customer name is collected. And transmitting the configuration information from the diagnosis target device to the maintenance device via the network and registering the transmitted configuration information in the configuration DB in the maintenance device.

According to a second maintenance method of the present invention, configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected under the device, an address on a network, and a customer name is collected. Then, the diagnosis target device transmits to the maintenance device via the network, the maintenance device receives the transmitted configuration information, registers the configuration information in the configuration DB, and holds the configuration information. When a diagnostic execution condition is detected with reference to a maintenance DB that holds a maintenance target, a maintenance target device included in the detected customer system is configured DB
And sends a diagnostic program corresponding to the read maintenance target device, the maintenance target device receives and executes the transmitted diagnostic program, returns a diagnostic result, and the maintenance device receives the returned diagnostic result. It is characterized by having a procedure.

According to a third maintenance method of the present invention, configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected thereunder, an address on a network, and a customer name is collected. The diagnostic target device transmits to the maintenance device via the network, the maintenance device receives the transmitted configuration information, registers and stores the configuration information in the configuration DB,
The maintenance target device included in the customer system detected when the maintenance device detects the diagnostic execution condition by referring to the maintenance DB that stores the execution condition of the diagnostic program for each customer and the address of a maintenance staff terminal that specifies the maintenance staff in charge. Is transmitted from the configuration DB, a diagnostic program corresponding to the read maintenance target device is transmitted, the maintenance target device receives and executes the transmitted diagnostic program, returns a diagnosis result, and the maintenance device returns the returned diagnosis. It is characterized in that it has a procedure of referring to the maintenance DB and notifying the corresponding maintenance staff terminal of the abnormality detection when the result is analyzed and an abnormality is detected.

[0021] The fourth maintenance method of the present invention comprises the second or third maintenance method.
In the maintenance method of (1), the diagnostic program is provided for each version number of the maintenance target device, and has a procedure selected according to the version number read from the configuration DB.

A first program according to the present invention collects configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected under the device, an address on a network, and a customer name. And transmitting the diagnostic program from the maintenance device to the maintenance device via the network, and returning the diagnosis result to the maintenance device.

A second program according to the present invention detects a diagnosis execution condition by referring to a maintenance DB which holds the execution condition of the diagnosis program for each customer and the address of a maintenance staff terminal which designates a maintenance staff in charge. When a diagnostic program is transmitted to the maintenance target device by referring to the configuration DB holding the configuration information including the serial number, the version number, the address, and the customer name of the maintenance target device, and the diagnosis result is received from the maintenance target device. When the diagnosis result is analyzed and an abnormality is detected, the computer is caused to execute a procedure for notifying the corresponding maintenance staff terminal of the abnormality detection with reference to the maintenance DB.

A third program according to the present invention includes, in addition to the second program, a procedure in which the diagnostic program is provided for each version of the maintenance target device and is selected according to the version read from the configuration DB. Let the computer run.

[0025]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the present invention. The configuration of the present invention is based on the customer system 10
, A maintenance device 20, a maintenance terminal 30, and the Internet 40 connected thereto. The Internet 40
May be another type of network, and is not limited to the Internet.

The customer system 10 is a system including one or more maintenance target devices, for example, a server device and a terminal device, and is connected to the Internet 40. However, the small-scale customer system 10 may be connected to the Internet via an Internet service provider (not shown), but the connection method with the Internet 40 is not particularly limited.

The maintenance device 20 is an information processing device having a function of connecting to the Internet 40, and includes a configuration DB 21
(DB will be used afterwards as an abbreviation of database)
, A maintenance DB 22, a diagnosis program unit 20, a DB registration unit 24, and a diagnosis processing unit 25. DB registration unit 24
The diagnosis processing unit 25 is a program normally executed on the maintenance device 20.

The configuration DB 21 is a database for storing, for each device, the configuration information of the device to be maintained of the customer system 10 and the subordinate devices to be maintained which are connected under the device. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration DB 21. In the customer company A, six devices to be maintained are registered.
A device name, a serial number for physically identifying each device, an address such as an IP address for accessing the maintenance device 20 via the Internet 40, a device model name, and a device version number And an attribute indicating a subordinate device, such as an HDD (hard disk drive) device, which is connected under a server device or the like and is connected from the maintenance device 20 via a device such as the server device 11.

Here, the configuration of the customer system 10 of company A in the configuration DB 21 of FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 shows A in FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a company customer system 10. A
Company's customer system 10
It has an AN 18 (Local Area Network), and a server device 11 used as a server and a terminal device 12 used as a client are connected to the LAN 18. HDD device 13
, HDD device 14 and printer device 15 are connected to server device 11
, And the HDD device 16 is connected under the terminal device 12.

When the configuration registration is started by the maintenance staff, the server device 11 collects the configuration information necessary for registering the configuration DB 21 of the server device 11 and the subordinate devices under the server device 11 and sends the configuration information to the maintenance device 20. And a diagnosis execution unit 52 that receives a diagnosis program from the maintenance device 20, executes diagnosis of the corresponding device, and returns a result of the diagnosis to the maintenance device 20.

The configuration information collected by the configuration registration unit 51 includes individual information including a model name, a serial number, and a version number of the server device 11, and model names of the HDD devices 13 and 14 and the printer device 15 connected thereunder. Individual information consisting of the serial number and edition number,
The address of the server device 11 to be accessed from the maintenance device 20 is included. Similarly, the terminal device 12 also has the configuration registration unit 5
1 and a diagnosis execution unit 52. The configuration registration unit 51 and the diagnosis execution unit 52 are functionally the same, but are adapted according to the hardware configuration and software of the device to be mounted.

Here, the gateway 19 is excluded from the maintenance target, but if it is the maintenance target, the configuration registration unit 51
Configuration DB 21 including the same functions as the
You only need to register for.

Now, the description returns to the maintenance device 20. Maintenance D
B22 is a database that stores information on maintenance conditions for notifying diagnosis execution conditions and abnormality detection, and FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example thereof. According to FIG. 4, the diagnosis of Company A is set to be executed every Monday from 12:00 to 13:00, and when an abnormality is detected in the diagnosis result, the contact address is Shinji Nakata and the address is XX. Become. The contact address may be an office such as a maintenance center or a branch of a maintenance company instead of a specific maintenance person.

The diagnostic program section 23 mainly stores individual diagnostic programs corresponding to each device model and version number. For example, for the server device 11, the model name N901
For example, in addition to version number = K (new), version number = K '(old)
The diagnostic program may be stored, and the number of corresponding versions is not limited, but is usually provided so as to cover the versions of the devices to be maintained.

The diagnostic program is a program for confirming the normality of the function of each device. Test items are set according to the function of the device, each test has an expected value, and a normal value is compared with the value of the test result. It is determined whether or not. In addition, a computer virus check program may be included as a diagnostic program. Since computer viruses frequently occur new, always keep the virus check program stored in the diagnostic program unit 23 up-to-date, and work load or download to update the virus check programs built in each device. Communication volume can be reduced.

The DB registration unit 24 receives the notification of the configuration registration from the device (for example, the configuration registration unit 51) in the customer system 10, executes the registration in the configuration DB 21, and executes the maintenance DB 2
2 is registered. Although not shown, the registration instruction of the maintenance DB 22 may be input by an operator from an input device of the maintenance device 20 or may be input from a device connected to the Internet 40, and is not particularly limited. The DB registration unit 24 also edits changes, deletions, and the like in addition to the registration.
22.

The diagnostic processing unit 25 refers to the execution condition of the maintenance DB 22 and the configuration information of the configuration DB 21 to read out a diagnostic program corresponding to a corresponding time from the diagnostic program unit 23 and for each device in the corresponding customer system 10. When the transmission is performed, and there is an abnormality in the execution result of each device, the maintenance DB 2
The occurrence of the abnormality is notified to the maintenance person in charge with reference to step 2.

The maintenance staff terminal 30 is, for example, a portable terminal device carried by the maintenance staff or a mobile phone having a mail function, or a personal computer in a maintenance staff office. Has the ability to receive Mobile terminal devices and mobile phones are usually indirectly connected to the Internet 40 via a wireless telephone network.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a registration procedure of the configuration DB 21. First, the operation of registering the configuration DB 21 will be described with reference to FIG. As a device to be registered, the server device 11 of the customer system 10 of Company A shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described as a specific example.

First, the person in charge of the installation of the customer system 10 of company A has completed the work of incorporating the server device 11 into the customer system 10 of company A, and is ready to communicate with the maintenance device via the Internet 40. Later, the server device 11
To start the configuration registration unit 51 (S61).

When activated, the configuration registration unit 51 displays a configuration information registration screen (not shown), and prompts the user to input the IP address and customer name of the maintenance device 20 to which the registration is notified (S6).
2). Next, the configuration registration unit 51 stores the individual information including the model name, version number, and serial number of the device recorded in a non-volatile storage unit such as a ROM (read only memory) or a flash memory, and the server device 11. The IP address, which is the assigned Internet address, is collected (S
63).

Further, the configuration registration unit 51 accesses a device connected under the server device 11 with reference to a configuration table held by a main device such as the server device 11 or the terminal device 12 in general, and Individual information including the model name, version number, and serial number of each device is collected (S63). The configuration table is a table in which information on the configuration of the main device such as the main storage capacity of the device and the number of CPUs, and information on input / output devices and peripheral devices connected to the main device are stored.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information collected from the server apparatus 11 is: model name = N901, version number = K,
The serial number is D01, the address is A001, and the model name = N888 and the version number are from the HDD device 13 connected to the subordinate.
M, serial number = E02 are collected.

The configuration registration unit 51 receives the input of the IP address of the maintenance device 20 of the registration notification destination and the input of the customer name.
When a registration instruction is received from the registration screen, the collected information and the input customer name are transmitted as configuration information to the maintenance device 20 (S64).

The DB registration unit 24 of the maintenance device 20 stores the configuration information received from the server device 11 in the configuration DB 21 as shown in FIG.
(S64). At this time, the server device 11
The device under the server registers the address as the same as the server device 11. This is because it is the diagnosis execution unit 52 of the server device 11 that performs the diagnosis of the devices under the server device 11.

As described above, since the registration of the configuration information can be automatically executed, an input error caused by manually inputting the serial number attached to the apparatus can be avoided. In addition, since the person in charge only needs to input the customer name and the notification destination address, the burden of the registration work is reduced, and the registration work can be executed quickly and reliably.

Next, the operation of the diagnosis execution will be described with reference to FIG. The diagnostic processing unit 25 of the maintenance device 20 refers to the maintenance DB 22 at appropriate intervals and monitors whether there is a customer system 10 or device for which the diagnostic execution conditions such as the diagnostic execution time are satisfied (S71). The appropriate interval may be one hour if the time of the diagnosis execution condition is registered in units of one hour, or may be 10 minutes if registration is performed in units of ten minutes, so that the detection of the execution condition can be performed immediately without delay. It is good to keep it.

Here, the execution of diagnosis of the server device 11 will be described. At 12:00 on Monday, the diagnosis processing unit 25 detects establishment of the diagnosis condition of the customer system 10 of the company A including the server device 11 (S71). Step 71 is executed at regular intervals.

When the diagnostic execution condition is satisfied, the diagnostic processing unit 25
Is, referring to the configuration DB 21, the model name of the server device 11 = N
901, version number = K, and address = A001 are read, and a diagnostic program corresponding to type name = N901 and version number = K is read from the diagnostic program unit 23, and address = A
001 (S72). In this case, the configuration DB 21
Since the HDD device 13, HDD device 14, and printer device 15 are connected under the server device 11, it can be seen that the model name and version number (N888 · M, N89)
The diagnostic program corresponding to 9 · N) is transmitted together with the diagnostic program of the server device 11.

The gateway 19 of the customer system 10 and L
When the server device 11 receives the transmitted diagnostic program via the AN 18, the server device 11 activates the diagnostic execution unit 52, and the diagnostic execution unit 52 executes the received diagnostic program on each device, and transmits the diagnostic result to the maintenance device 20. Reply (S7
3). Each diagnostic program is executed by the server device 11 and ends before 13:00 of the designated time, and the presence / absence of an abnormality and, if an abnormality occurs, the contents of the abnormality and the like are collectively returned for each device.

The content of the diagnosis is not particularly limited. For example, it is generally more detailed to execute an application or the like to be mounted, ending the operation, temporarily disconnecting the LAN 18 and executing the offline state, and returning to the online state after the end. However, it may be executed as a normal application in an online state. For this selection, for example, the contents of the diagnosis are determined at the time of the maintenance contract, the execution method is registered in the maintenance DB 22, added to the diagnosis program and transmitted, and the diagnosis execution unit 51 sets the predetermined execution environment for construction. You may.

On the other hand, after transmitting the diagnostic program, the diagnostic processing unit 25 waits for the return of the diagnostic result until 13:00 of the specified time (S74, S75). If the diagnosis result is not returned by 13:00 of the specified time, it is determined to be abnormal (S7).
5) Then, the process proceeds to step S77.

When the diagnosis result is returned within the specified time, the diagnosis processing unit 25 analyzes the diagnosis result and determines whether there is an abnormality (S76). If there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step S77 and refers to the maintenance DB 22. Then, the address of the maintenance staff of the customer system 10 of the company A including the server device 11 = Shinji Nakata = ○ is read and the abnormality information is transmitted (S77).

Normally, the abnormality information is notified by using an e-mail. However, when the maintenance person terminal 30 does not have an e-mail function like a pager, only the call is made, and the maintenance person contacts a predetermined contact. There is also a way to get information. The predetermined contact address is a web page on the WWW (World Wide Web) provided in the maintenance device 20 and posting the abnormality information.
The abnormality information may be obtained by accessing the web page using a password given in advance.

The abnormality information includes, for example, information on the customer device including the customer name (company A), the model name and the serial number of the customer in which the abnormality occurred, and the failure information such as the content of the diagnosis in which the abnormality occurred and the content of the error. Is included. In addition, instead of failure information,
A means for automatically analyzing the failure information may be provided to notify the analysis result.

If the maintenance staff is designated by the individual, the diagnosis processing unit 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a maintenance terminal 3 such as a mobile phone having an e-mail function.
0 is notified of abnormal information by e-mail, and if the maintenance staff designates an office such as a maintenance center, the diagnostic processing unit 25
Notifies abnormality information to a maintenance staff terminal 30 such as a personal computer or a server device installed in an office. After being notified to the office, a maintenance person is appointed by a person in the office.

The maintenance person in charge prepares for repairs and predictive replacement of parts by analyzing the abnormal information, adjusts the maintenance time with the customer, goes to the company A customer system 10, and replaces the part. Carry out maintenance work by using a similar method. In the maintenance work, for example, if an abnormality that is considered to be a cause of hardware is detected in the HDD device 13, the storage contents of the HDD device 13 are shifted to alternative products as much as possible, and necessary software is re-mounted. For example, if a virus is detected by computer virus diagnosis, parts are not replaced and the virus is removed locally as maintenance work.

In addition, since the terminal device 12 and the HDD device 16 are also to be diagnosed in the customer system 10 of Company A, the corresponding diagnostic program is executed in the same procedure for the terminal device 12 as well as the server device 11. It is transmitted to the terminal device 12 and waits for the return of the diagnosis result. If there is an abnormality, the abnormality information is notified to the maintenance staff in charge.

As described above, the automatic execution of the diagnosis by the maintenance device eliminates the need for the maintenance staff to periodically go to the customer system 10 and execute the diagnosis, and analyze the contents only when an abnormality is detected. It is sufficient to go to the customer after preparing in advance, so that the work related to maintenance is greatly reduced. In addition, by automatically executing a diagnosis such as a virus check from the maintenance device, the customer can always disinfect the virus with the latest version.

In the above description, the diagnostic program corresponding to the device registered in the configuration DB 21 has been prepared in the diagnostic program unit 23. If the connection device is open to the public, the connection product is put on the market by an unspecified number of manufacturers, so it is practically difficult to prepare a diagnostic program for all the connection products. is there.

Accordingly, the configuration DB 21 is stored in the customer system 10
In the case where a device is connected to the gateway 19 or the server device 11 in FIG. 3 but does not have a diagnostic program, these devices are registered in the configuration DB 21 and whether or not to execute the diagnosis is stored in the configuration DB 21. May be stored, and the diagnosis may be performed only on the device having the diagnostic program, or the diagnosis may be performed only on the device having the diagnostic program corresponding to the diagnostic program unit 23 at the time of performing the diagnosis. Absent.

Although the use of the serial number registered in the configuration DB 21 has not been described, the serial number can be used when the same type of device is individually managed when the history information of each device is left. When analyzing the abnormality information, it can be used, for example, by referring to the history information of the device having the corresponding serial number, but the use method is not particularly limited.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The provision of the means for registering the configuration of the customer system has the effects of significantly reducing the number of worker registration operations and enabling accurate registration.

Further, by performing a remote diagnosis using the Internet, the maintenance staff can go to the customer site and perform maintenance work when an abnormality occurs, so that the maintenance work time is greatly reduced. effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration DB 21 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a customer system 10 of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a maintenance DB 22 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of configuration registration of the customer system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a diagnosis execution operation of the customer system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Customer system 11 Server device 12 Terminal device 13 HDD device 14 HDD device 15 Printer device 16 HDD device 18 LAN 19 Gateway

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A maintenance system in which a customer system including a maintenance target device and a maintenance device that executes and manages maintenance of the customer system are connected to each other via a network, wherein the maintenance target device is connected to itself and its subordinates. A configuration registration unit that collects configuration information including the serial number and version number of the device, an address for accessing from the maintenance device, and a customer name and transmits the configuration information to the maintenance device, wherein the maintenance device holds the configuration information And a DB registration unit that receives the configuration information and registers the configuration information in the configuration DB. 2. A maintenance system in which a customer system including a maintenance target device and a maintenance device for executing and managing maintenance of the customer system are connected to each other via a network, wherein the maintenance target device executes a diagnosis program and receives a diagnosis result. A diagnostic execution unit that transmits the diagnostic program to the maintenance device, wherein the maintenance device has a configuration DB that holds configuration information including a serial number, a version number, an address, and a customer name of the device to be maintained; A maintenance DB that holds the conditions, a diagnostic program that detects an abnormality in the maintenance target device, and, when the diagnostic execution condition is detected with reference to the maintenance DB, extracts the maintenance target device with reference to the configuration DB and assigns the extracted maintenance target device to the maintenance target device. A diagnostic processing unit for transmitting a diagnostic program to a maintenance target device and receiving a diagnostic result. 3. A maintenance system in which a customer system including a maintenance target device and a maintenance device for executing and managing maintenance of the customer system are connected to each other via a network, wherein the maintenance target device is connected to itself and its subordinates. A configuration registration unit that collects configuration information including the serial number and version number of the device, an address for accessing from the maintenance device, and a customer name and transmits the collected information to the maintenance device, and executes a diagnostic program and transmits a diagnosis result to the maintenance device. A maintenance DB that retains the configuration information, a maintenance DB that retains the execution conditions of the diagnostic program for each customer, and a diagnostic program that detects an abnormality of the maintenance target device. A DB registration unit that receives the configuration information and registers the configuration information in the configuration DB, and extracts a maintenance target device by referring to the configuration DB when detecting a diagnosis execution condition with reference to the maintenance DB. A diagnostic processing unit for transmitting a diagnostic program corresponding to the issued maintenance target device to the maintenance target device and receiving a diagnosis result. 4. The network is connected to a maintenance terminal for notifying a maintenance person of information. The maintenance DB also holds an address of a maintenance terminal for designating a maintenance person in charge of each customer. 4. The maintenance system according to claim 2, wherein the analysis unit analyzes the received diagnosis result and, when an abnormality is detected, refers to the maintenance DB and notifies the corresponding maintenance staff terminal of the occurrence of the abnormality. 5. The maintenance method according to claim 2, wherein the diagnosis program includes a computer virus detection program. 6. The maintenance method according to claim 2, wherein the diagnostic program is provided for each version number of the device to be maintained, and is selected according to the version number read from the configuration DB. 7. A serial number and a version number of each device connected to a maintenance device for executing and managing the maintenance of the customer system via a network, and the devices connected thereto and its subordinates, and an address and a customer name for accessing from the maintenance device. A customer registration system having a configuration registration unit that collects and transmits configuration information including the following to a maintenance device, and a diagnosis execution unit that receives and executes a diagnostic program from the maintenance device and transmits a diagnosis result to the maintenance device. Installed maintenance target device. 8. The diagnostic program according to claim 6, wherein the diagnostic program includes a computer virus detection program.
Device to be maintained. 9. A maintenance target device installed in a customer system and a maintenance staff terminal for notifying information to maintenance personnel are connected via a network, and a serial number, a version number, an address, a customer name, and the like of the maintenance target device are provided. D that holds configuration information including
B, a maintenance DB that holds the execution conditions of the diagnostic program for each customer and an address of a maintenance personnel terminal that specifies a maintenance personnel to be in charge, a diagnostic program that detects an abnormality of the maintenance target device, and the maintenance DB. The diagnostic execution condition is detected, the diagnostic program of the applicable maintenance target device is transmitted to the applicable maintenance target device, the diagnosis result is received, and if there is an abnormality in the diagnosis result, the abnormality is reported to the corresponding maintenance personnel terminal by referring to the maintenance DB. And a diagnostic processing unit for notifying the maintenance device. 10. The maintenance device according to claim 8, wherein the diagnosis program includes a computer virus detection program. 11. The maintenance apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the diagnostic program is provided for each version number of the maintenance target apparatus, and is selected according to the version number read from the configuration DB. 12. Collecting configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected under the system, an address on the network, and a customer name, and connects the network from the device to be diagnosed. A maintenance method, wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the maintenance device via the maintenance device, and the transmitted configuration information is registered in the configuration DB in the maintenance device. 13. Collecting configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected thereunder, an address on a network and a customer name, and allowing the device to be diagnosed to connect to a network. The maintenance device receives the transmitted configuration information, registers and retains the transmitted configuration information in the configuration DB, and refers to the maintenance DB in which the maintenance device stores the execution conditions of the diagnostic program for each customer. When the diagnostic execution condition is detected, the maintenance target device included in the detected customer system is read from the configuration DB, and the diagnostic program corresponding to the read maintenance target device is transmitted, and the maintenance target device receives the transmitted diagnostic program. A maintenance method, wherein the maintenance device receives the returned diagnosis result. 14. Collecting configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected thereunder, an address on a network and a customer name, and allowing the device to be diagnosed to connect to a network. The maintenance apparatus receives the transmitted configuration information, registers the configuration information in the configuration DB, and stores the configuration information in the configuration DB. When the diagnostic execution condition is detected by referring to the maintenance DB holding the address of the service terminal, the maintenance target device included in the detected customer system is read out from the configuration DB and the diagnostic program corresponding to the read maintenance target device is transmitted. The maintenance target device receives and executes the transmitted diagnostic program, returns a diagnosis result, and the maintenance device analyzes the returned diagnosis result and detects an abnormality. In this case, the maintenance method refers to the maintenance DB and notifies the corresponding maintenance staff terminal of the abnormality detection. 15. The maintenance method according to claim 13, wherein the diagnostic program is provided for each version number of the device to be maintained, and is selected according to the version number read from the configuration DB. 16. A maintenance device that collects configuration information including a serial number and a version number of a device to be diagnosed included in a customer system and devices connected under the device, an address on a network, and a customer name, and via the network. And a procedure for causing a computer to execute a procedure of transmitting the diagnostic program from the maintenance device, executing the procedure, and returning a diagnostic result to the maintenance device. 17. When a diagnosis execution condition is detected by referring to a maintenance DB that stores the execution condition of the diagnosis program for each customer and the address of a maintenance staff terminal that specifies the maintenance staff in charge, the serial number of the maintenance target device is determined. The corresponding diagnostic program is transmitted to the maintenance target device by referring to the configuration DB holding the configuration information including the version number, the address, the customer name, and the customer name. When the diagnosis result is received from the maintenance target device, the diagnosis result is analyzed and the abnormality is analyzed. A program that, when detected, causes a computer to execute a procedure of referring to the maintenance DB and notifying the corresponding maintenance personnel terminal of abnormality detection. 18. The program according to claim 18, wherein the diagnostic program is provided for each version of the maintenance target device and is selected according to the version read from the configuration DB.