JP2006268354A - Information processor and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for acquiring information managed by a device before restarting with a simple method at the time of restarting in the case of restarting the device. <P>SOLUTION: When an instruction to turn off the power of this information processor 201 is detected, management information is transmitted to an external device for managing e-mail transmission and reception together with e-mail with the information processor 201 as a transmission destination, and when an instruction to turn on the power of the information processor 201, the e-mail is received from the external device and the management information is restored on the basis of the received e-mail. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information management technique.

  Even if the function of the device itself is not in failure, it may be necessary to power cycle or restart the device due to internal or external causes. In that case, it may be more convenient for the state of the apparatus until immediately before to operate continuously even after rebooting. For that purpose, before stopping the apparatus, it is necessary to store the current state in the nonvolatile memory, and to return to the state before the restart from the information stored in the nonvolatile memory after the restart.

In general, as a means for storing information stored in a volatile memory when the device is connected to a network and does not have a non-volatile memory or has a very small capacity. There is a method of storing data in another device having a file system connected to a network. For example, in the case of a personal computer or workstation, the means is stored in an external file server, stored in the storage of another device mounted with NFS, or stored in a Web-based file system such as WebDAV.
JP 05-127770 A

  The conventional method of using external storage requires an external device having a storage function outside.

  In addition, there is a problem in that additional equipment and programs are required, such as a dedicated program for operating a protocol used when communicating with a device having the external storage function.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when restarting an apparatus, the information managed by the apparatus before restarting can be acquired by a simple method even after the restart. The purpose is to provide technology.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an information processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, an information processing apparatus connected to an external apparatus that manages transmission and reception of electronic mail,
When detecting an instruction to turn off the power of the information processing device, transmission means for transmitting management information managed by the information processing device to the external device together with an e-mail addressed to the information processing device;
When detecting an instruction to turn on the information processing apparatus, receiving means for receiving the e-mail from the external apparatus;
And a restoring unit that restores the management information based on the electronic mail received by the receiving unit.

  In order to achieve the object of the present invention, for example, an information processing method of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.

That is, an information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus connected to an external apparatus that manages transmission and reception of e-mails,
When detecting an instruction to turn off the power of the information processing device, a transmission step of transmitting management information managed by the information processing device to the external device together with an e-mail addressed to the information processing device;
Upon receiving an instruction to turn on the information processing device, a receiving step of receiving the e-mail from the external device;
A restoration step of restoring the management information based on the electronic mail received in the reception step.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, when the device is restarted, information managed by the device before restarting can be acquired by a simple method even after restarting.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail according to preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
In general, in a company or the like, individual terminal devices arranged in the company do not directly connect to the Internet, but generally connect to the Internet via a firewall. As is well known, a firewall is designed to allow only specific ports to pass through. Therefore, only services that use that specific port can be accessed beyond the firewall. For example, the services that can be used are limited to Web browsers, e-mails, FTP, and some other services. The most commonly used protocol is electronic mail. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that electronic mail can be used across the Internet.

  This embodiment is applied to a system in such a general network environment.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to the present embodiment. The configuration shown in the figure is an example, and the number of devices and the network configuration are not limited to this.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 201 denotes an information processing apparatus according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the information processing apparatus can send and receive the electronic mail 250, and also relates to the device X203 and the device Y204 connected to the information processing apparatus 201 directly or via a network such as a LAN. It is assumed that information (management information) is managed.

  Reference numeral 202 denotes a mail server B, which controls transmission / reception when the information processing apparatus 201 transmits / receives e-mail via the Internet 205. The e-mail transmitted from the information processing apparatus 201 is once sent to the mail server B202. And transmitted to the transmission destination at a predetermined timing. Conversely, an e-mail transmitted to the information processing apparatus 201 via the Internet 205 is once held in the mail server B 202 and sent to the information processing apparatus 201 at a predetermined timing. As described above, the mail server B 202 controls transmission / reception of mail between the information processing apparatus 201 and the Internet 205. Since the operation of such a mail server is general, further explanation is omitted.

  Reference numerals 203 and 204 denote a device X and a device Y, which are connected to the information processing apparatus 201 directly or via a network such as a LAN, and are peripheral devices such as a printer, a multifunction peripheral, and a scanner. Note that these devices are not limited to devices that are separate from the information processing apparatus 201, and may be devices provided in the information processing apparatus 201, or may be combined with the information processing apparatus 201. It may be a device.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes the Internet as an example of a network. In addition, a LAN or the like may be used as the network. The network can be wired or wireless.

  Reference numeral 206 denotes a mail server A, which performs the same processing as that of the mail server B202. That is, when the PC-A 207 transmits / receives e-mails via the Internet 205, this e-mail is controlled. The e-mails transmitted from the PC-A 207 are once held in the mail server A206, Sent to the destination at the timing. Conversely, an e-mail transmitted to the PC-A 207 via the Internet 205 is once held in the mail server A 206 and sent to the PC-A 207 at a predetermined timing. As described above, the mail server A 206 controls transmission / reception of mail between the PC-A 207 and the Internet 205.

  Therefore, the mail server A 206 and the mail server B 202 can send and receive mail between the information processing apparatus 201 and the PC-A 207.

  PC-A 207, which is a general PC (personal computer), is composed of a CPU, a memory, a hard disk drive device, and the like.

  Next, the information processing apparatus 201 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 201.

  Reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU that controls the entire information processing apparatus 201 using programs and data stored in the RAM 302 and the ROM 303 and executes each process described later performed by the information processing apparatus 201. In this embodiment, the CPU 301 performs power control such as power on / off control of the information processing apparatus 201. However, a new power control unit is provided, and the CPU 301 controls the power control unit so that the power control unit Power on / off control may be performed.

  A RAM 302 appropriately provides various areas such as an area for temporarily storing information related to the devices X203 and Y204, so-called management information, and a work area used when the CPU 301 executes each process. be able to.

  In the present embodiment, the CPU 301 monitors the state of the device X203 and device Y204 connected to the information processing apparatus 201 via the network interface 304, and records the monitored result in the RAM 302 at every predetermined timing. . This is management information. Examples of the monitored state include the device type, device name, installation location, IP address, MAC address, status, and counter for each monitored device.

  Therefore, the CPU 301 monitors the state for each device, and records the monitored result in the RAM 302 at every predetermined timing. In this way, management information is recorded in the RAM 302.

  Reference numeral 303 denotes a ROM that stores programs and data for causing the CPU 301 to control the entire information processing apparatus 201 and programs and data for causing the CPU 301 to execute processes described below performed by the information processing apparatus 201.

  Reference numeral 304 denotes a network interface. The information processing apparatus 201 can monitor the device X 203 and the device Y 204 and perform data communication with the mail server B 202 via the network interface 304.

  A power switch 305 is operated by an operator of the information processing apparatus 201 and can input an instruction for switching the power of the information processing apparatus 201 on / off to the CPU 301.

  Here, as described above, the CPU 301 of the information processing apparatus 201 having the above-described configuration monitors the state for each device and records the monitored result in the RAM 302 at every predetermined timing. However, although the information recorded in the RAM 302 is held in the RAM 302 while the information processing apparatus 201 is turned on, the information stored in the RAM 302 remains in the RAM 302 when the information processing apparatus 201 is turned off. Not retained.

  Therefore, if the information processing apparatus 201 has a problem or the like, the information processing apparatus 201 is recorded in the RAM 302 before turning off the power supply when the power supply is turned off and then the power supply is turned on. Since the management information will be lost, the state of the device X203 and the device Y204 before the restart cannot be known after the restart.

  In this embodiment, in view of this point, even if the information processing apparatus 201 is restarted, the management information held before the restart is acquired again.

  FIG. 1A is a flowchart of processing performed by the information processing apparatus 201 when an operator operates the power switch 306 to turn off the power of the information processing apparatus 201 that is in a power-on state. Note that programs and data for causing the CPU 301 to execute the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 are stored in the ROM 303, and the CPU 301 executes processing using this, whereby the information processing apparatus 201 performs each process described below. Processing will be executed.

  First, when the operator operates the power switch 306 to instruct power off, the CPU 301 detects this, and converts the management information recorded in the RAM 302 into a data format that can be attached to an e-mail, thereby converting the file. Create (step S11). Note that this file may be appropriately subjected to processing such as encryption and compression.

  Then, a character string for indicating that “this file is attached to this e-mail” is inserted into the subject of the e-mail to which the created file is attached (step S12). For example, a character string “management information mail” is inserted as the subject.

  Next, the e-mail address of the information processing apparatus 201 is inserted into the transmission destination address so that the e-mail transmission destination is the information processing apparatus 201 (step S13).

  Then, the electronic mail is transmitted with the file attached (step S14). Therefore, the transmitted electronic mail is temporarily held in the mail server B 202 as described above.

  Thereafter, the CPU 301 performs a power-off process to turn off the information processing apparatus 201.

  Through the above processing, before turning off the power of the information processing apparatus 201, the management information can be attached to the e-mail and transmitted to the outside as the transmission destination. In the above processing, all the management information is attached to the e-mail, but all the information included in the management information may not be necessary after the restart. Therefore, only information necessary after restarting among the information included in the management information may be attached to the e-mail data.

  Next, FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the information processing apparatus 201 when the operator operates the power switch 306 in order to turn on the information processing apparatus 201 that is in a power-off state. Will be described below. Note that programs and data for causing the CPU 301 to execute the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 10 are stored in the ROM 303, and the CPU 301 executes processing using this, whereby the information processing apparatus 201 performs each process described below. Processing will be executed.

  First, when the operator operates the power switch 306 to instruct power-on, the CPU 301 detects this, performs each initialization process, accesses the mail server B202, and sends the e-mail sent to itself. Since the acquisition request is transmitted, if the mail server B 202 holds an email having the information processing apparatus 201 as a transmission destination, the mail server B 202 transmits this to the information processing apparatus 201.

  Therefore, when an email is transmitted from the mail server B 202, the CPU 301 advances the processing from step S21 to step S22, and stores the transmitted emails in the RAM 302. However, the subject of each email is stored. Referring to FIG. 5, the electronic mail to which the management information file is attached is searched (step S22). For example, when an e-mail whose subject is “management information mail” is found, the e-mail is set as “an e-mail to which a management information file is attached” as a processing target.

  As a result of the search process, if an e-mail attached with a management information file is found, the process proceeds to step S23, and the original management information is restored from the file attached to the e-mail. The mail server B 202 is accessed and a request is made to delete the e-mail data (step S23). In addition, when encryption or compression is performed when creating a file based on management information, it is necessary to perform a decryption process corresponding to the encryption or compression.

  With the above processing, even if the information processing apparatus 201 does not have a non-volatile memory, for example, information held before the restart can be acquired after the restart.

  In the present embodiment, the management information is information related to the peripheral device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is not particularly limited as long as the information is necessary after restart.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, a file is created by converting management information into a data format that can be attached to an e-mail, and this file is attached to the e-mail and transmitted. In addition to this, the process for transmitting to can be considered. For example, the contents of the management information are expanded in the body of the e-mail, and then the e-mail is transmitted to the mail server B202. The subject and destination of this mail are the same as in the first embodiment. In step S23, the management information is acquired by searching for the subject of “e-mail to which a file of management information is attached” and extracting the character string in the body of the searched e-mail.

  Further, as long as the management information is transmitted to itself after the information processing apparatus 201 is activated, the management information is not limited to being attached to an e-mail. You may make it transmit to.

[Other Embodiments]
A software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied directly from a recording medium or to a system or apparatus having a computer that can execute the program using wired / wireless communication. The present invention includes a case where an equivalent function is achieved by a computer executing the supplied program.

  Accordingly, the program code itself supplied and installed in the computer in order to implement the functional processing of the present invention by the computer also realizes the present invention. That is, the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention is also included in the present invention.

  In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, a magnetic recording medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD- There are optical / magneto-optical storage media such as RW, and non-volatile semiconductor memory.

  As a program supply method using wired / wireless communication, a computer program forming the present invention on a server on a computer network, or a computer forming the present invention on a client computer such as a compressed file including an automatic installation function A method of storing a data file (program data file) that can be a program and downloading the program data file to a connected client computer can be used. In this case, the program data file can be divided into a plurality of segment files, and the segment files can be arranged on different servers.

  That is, the present invention includes a server device that allows a plurality of users to download a program data file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to the user, and key information for decrypting the encryption for a user who satisfies a predetermined condition is provided via a homepage via the Internet, for example. It is also possible to realize the program by downloading it from the computer and executing the encrypted program using the key information and installing it on the computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on an instruction of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of them and performing the processing.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU of the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by the processing.

10 is a flowchart of processing performed by the information processing apparatus 201 when an operator operates the power switch 306 in order to turn off the power of the information processing apparatus 201 in a power-on state. 10 is a flowchart of processing performed by the information processing apparatus 201 when an operator operates the power switch 306 to turn on the power of the information processing apparatus 201 in a power-off state. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus 201. FIG.

Claims (6)

An information processing device connected to an external device that manages transmission and reception of e-mails,
When detecting an instruction to turn off the power of the information processing device, transmission means for transmitting management information managed by the information processing device to the external device together with an e-mail addressed to the information processing device;
When detecting an instruction to turn on the information processing apparatus, receiving means for receiving the e-mail from the external apparatus;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a restoring unit that restores the management information based on an e-mail received by the receiving unit. The transmission means includes
Means for creating a file by converting the management information into a data format that can be attached to an e-mail;
Means for inserting a character string for indicating that the file is attached to the email in the subject of the email to which the file is attached;
Means for setting the transmission destination of the e-mail as the information processing apparatus;
Means for attaching the file to the e-mail and transmitting to the external device;
The restoration means includes
Means for checking whether the subject of the e-mail received by the receiving means from the external device is a character string for indicating that the file is attached to the e-mail;
When the subject of the email received by the receiving unit from the external device is a character string indicating that the file is attached to the email, the management information is restored based on the file The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management information is information related to a peripheral device connected to the information processing apparatus. An information processing method performed by an information processing apparatus connected to an external apparatus that manages transmission and reception of electronic mail,
When detecting an instruction to turn off the power of the information processing device, a transmission step of transmitting management information managed by the information processing device to the external device together with an e-mail addressed to the information processing device;
Upon receiving an instruction to turn on the information processing device, a receiving step of receiving the e-mail from the external device;
An information processing method comprising: a restoration step of restoring the management information based on the email received in the reception step.   A program causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 4.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 5.

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