JP2007174201A - Information processor, and communication method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more surely transmit data to a desired transmission range while reducing the load of a user to determine the transmission range in the case of transmitting data to a device on a network. <P>SOLUTION: A device management software makes the user enter an input for specifying a device and determines a broadcast address to a network in which the device exists from the address information of the device specified by the input. Then, the device management software transmits data on the basis of the determined broadcast address. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of communicating with a device on a network and a communication method with a network device.

  A system is used in which devices such as a computer and a printer are connected via a network so that they can communicate with each other.

  When a plurality of devices are connected on the network, broadcast or multicast can be used as a method of transmitting data from a certain device to the plurality of devices at once.

  For example, in data transmission using broadcast, a network to be broadcasted can be specified and data can be transmitted to all devices existing in the network.

Further, according to Patent Document 1, when data is transmitted using multicast, the user arbitrarily sets a TTL (Time To Live) value in the transmission data packet, and multicast is performed for a desired transmission range. Data can be transmitted.
JP 2005-301670 A

  Conventionally, a user inputs a broadcast address as a destination for broadcast transmission of data and a TTL value for multicast transmission of data.

  Therefore, when a wrong broadcast address is input, data cannot be transmitted to a desired network device.

  Also, if the TTL value is smaller than the required value, data will not reach the desired device, and if it is larger than the required value, data will be transmitted to more devices than necessary. It will be.

  As described above, it is inconvenient for the user to input the broadcast address and the TTL value because there is a burden on the user and there is a possibility that the input is wrong.

  Therefore, the present invention reduces the load on the user for determining the transmission range or transmission destination when transmitting data to a device on the network, and more reliably transmits data to the desired transmission range or transmission destination. An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that enables transmission.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an input unit that causes a user to input an input for specifying a device; and the address information of the device specified by the input by the input unit. It has a determination means for determining a broadcast address for an existing network, and a transmission means for transmitting data based on the broadcast address determined by the determination means.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of the present invention includes an input unit that allows a user to input an input for specifying a device, a network in which a device specified by the input by the input unit exists, First determination means for determining the number of connected devices for connecting to the network in which the information processing apparatus exists based on data sent from the device, and data based on the determination by the first determination means And a transmission unit that transmits data based on the transmission range determined by the second determination unit.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an input unit that causes a user to input an input for specifying a device, and a first transmission range for the device specified by the input by the input unit. In response to receiving a response by the receiving means, a receiving means for receiving a response to the first data transmitted by the transmitting means, And second transmission means for transmitting second data in which the first transmission range is set.

  According to the present invention, when data is transmitted to a device on the network, the load on the user for determining the transmission range or transmission destination is reduced, and data is more reliably transmitted to the desired transmission range or transmission destination. Can be sent.

(Example)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a network system in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer, which is a computer on which device management software in this embodiment operates. Reference numerals 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, and 109 denote network devices, which are image processing apparatuses such as printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, and multifunction machines, or information processing apparatuses such as personal computers. In this embodiment, a case where a printer is used as a device will be described as an example. Reference numerals 103 and 106 denote routers as connection devices for connecting the sub-networks. These devices are connected to a network and can communicate with each other. The network communication protocol can be realized by an arbitrary protocol such as TCP / IP, Network, Appletalk, etc. In this embodiment, network communication using the TCP / IP protocol will be described as an example.

  The network configuration example in FIG. 1 is configured by three sub-networks connected by a router 103 and a router 106. Hereinafter, these sub-networks will be described more specifically.

  The subnetwork 110 is a network whose network address is 192.1.1.0. A computer 101, a printer 102, and a router 103 exist on the subnetwork 110. The computer 101 is assigned 192.1.1.1 as an IP address, the printer 102 is assigned 192.1.1.2, and the network I / F unit on the network 110 side of the router 103 has 192.1.1.3 is assigned.

  The subnetwork 111 is a network whose network address is 192.1.2.0. A printer 104, a printer 105, a printer 107, a router 103, and a router 106 exist on the subnetwork 111. The printer 104 is assigned 192.1.2.2 as an IP address, the printer 105 is assigned 191.2.2.3, and the printer 107 is assigned 192.12.4. . Further, 192.1.2.1 is assigned to the network I / F unit on the network 111 side of the router 103, and 192.1.2.5 is assigned to the network I / F unit on the network 111 side of the router 6. Is assigned.

  The subnetwork 112 is a network whose network address is 192.1.3.0. A printer 108 and a printer 109 exist on the sub-network 112. The printer 108 is assigned 192.1.3.2 as an IP address, the printer 109 is assigned 192.13.3, and the network I / F unit on the network 112 side of the router 106 has 192.1.3.1 is assigned.

  The device management software installed in the computer 101 transmits data such as a search packet for searching for a printer existing on the network, a request packet for acquiring printer status and device information found as a result of the search. To do. Further, it has a function of displaying the result on the screen of the computer 101.

  The device management software can transmit these data by unicast by designating the IP address of the printer as the transmission destination.

  In addition, when data is transmitted to all printers existing in a predetermined network, the broadcast can be transmitted by designating a broadcast address.

  Furthermore, when data is simultaneously transmitted to one or more printers registered with a multicast address, the multicast address can be designated and transmitted. In the example of FIG. 1, it is assumed that multicast addresses 1.2.3.4 are registered in advance in the printers 102, 104, 105, 108, and 109, and are not registered in the printer 107. In this case, when a multicast packet specifying the multicast address 1.2.3.4 arrives at each printer, the printers 102, 104, 105, 108, 109 can receive this packet, but the printer 107 receives it. I can't.

  Next, the hardware configurations of the computer 101 and the printer existing on the network of FIG. 1 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the computer 101 in this embodiment. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes a computer, which is equivalent to the computer 101 in FIG. The computer 200 includes a CPU 201. The CPU 201 executes a program stored in the ROM 202 or the hard disk (HD) 211 or stored in the floppy (registered trademark) disk drive (FD) 212. Then, each device connected to the system bus 204 is comprehensively controlled, and each unit of this embodiment is configured. A RAM 203 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 201. A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls instruction input from a keyboard (KB) 209 or a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown).

  Reference numeral 206 denotes a CRT controller (CRTC), which controls display on a CRT display (CRT) 210. A disk controller (DKC) 207 controls access to the hard disk (HD) 211 and the floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) 212. A hard disk (HD) 211 and a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) 212 store a boot program, a plurality of applications, an edit file, a user file, the device management software of the present invention, and the like. A network I / F control unit 208 performs bidirectional data exchange with other network devices such as a printer via the LAN 213. In this embodiment, the LAN 213 is the same as one of the networks 110, 111, and 112 in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the printers 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, and 109 in this embodiment. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 300 denotes a printer, which is equivalent to the printers 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109 in FIG. The printer 300 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301. The CPU 301 executes a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 302 or a hard disk 310 and controls each device connected to the system bus 304 in a general manner. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 303 functions as a main memory and work area for the CPU 301. A printer I / F control unit 305 is a device that controls the printer 306. Each unit of the present embodiment is configured by a program stored in the CPU 301, the ROM 302, or the hard disk 310 of the printer 300. Reference numeral 307 denotes a non-volatile memory NVRAM for storing various setting values of the printer, and stores data such as MIB exchanged in the SNMP protocol. The panel control unit 308 controls the operation panel 309 to display various information and input instructions from the user. The network I / F control unit 311 controls data transmission / reception with the LAN 312. In the present embodiment, the LAN 310 is the same as one of the sub-networks 110, 111, and 112 in FIG.

  Next, the module configuration of the device management software included in the computer 101 in this embodiment will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a module configuration of the device management software.

  The device management software includes a CGI interface 401 that communicates CGI parameters and HTML data via the WWW server program 114.

  Furthermore, an overall control module 402, a parameter module 403, a system module 404, and a template module 411 are provided. The overall control module 402 registers CGI parameters in a parameter module 403, which will be described later, and distributes control to each module in accordance with command parameters in the CGI parameters. The parameter module 403 stores and manages the CGI parameters registered by the overall control module 402 in a table format. The system module 204 displays and sets system parameters that define the operation of the device management software (for example, the expiration date of device management information), and controls device management information acquired from the device. System parameters are stored in a system setting database (DB) 205. The template module 411 generates an HTML document by using a template file 212 that stores a template of an HTML document and a template selected from the template file 212. The generated HTML document is transmitted to the WWW server program 114 via the CGI interface 201.

  The device management software includes an SNMP protocol module 413, an SLP protocol module 416, an HTTP protocol module 414, a device search module 407, and a device list module 406. Further, a device specific module 409a, a default module 409b, a device management module 408, a NetWhere job module 415, and a job module 410 are provided.

  The SNMP protocol module 413 controls an SNMP protocol for managing a MIB (management information database) of the device, transmitting / receiving an SNMP packet to / from the device, and the like.

  The SLP protocol module 416 controls the SLP protocol for transmitting and receiving multicast packet data specifying a multicast address registered in the device.

  The HTTP protocol module 414 controls the HTTP protocol.

  The device search module 407 acquires information from the devices searched via the SNMP protocol module 413 or the SLP protocol module 416.

  The device list module 406 generates a device list page from the information acquired by the device search module 407. The generated device list page is displayed by the CRT 210 via the Web browser, and the user can refer to the list of searched devices.

  The device specific module 409a and the default module 409b acquire information from the searched device via the SNMP protocol module 413 or the SLP protocol module 416. The device specific module 409a exists for each device model to which the device management software individually corresponds, and acquires necessary information from the device in response to a request from the device list module 406. Also, the setting value notified by the CGI parameter is converted into a value that can be interpreted by the device, and then transmitted to the device to set the device information. The default module 409b acquires information from devices that are not individually supported by the device management software, and sets device information. The basic operation is the same as that of the device specific module 409a, but the information handled by the default module 409b is general that does not depend on the device model.

  The device management module 408 generates a device management page from the information acquired by the device specific module 409a or the default module 409b. Further, it is determined whether or not a device management page unique to the device can be referred to via the HTTP protocol module 414. The generated device management page is a page for displaying more detailed device information than the device list page. The device management page is displayed on the CRT 210 in response to the device specified by the user from the device list page.

  The NetWare job module 415 acquires print job status information such as print history, pause, and deletion using the NetWare API.

  The job module 410 generates a job list from the print job status information acquired by the SNMP protocol module 413, the SLP protocol module 416, or the NetWare job module 415.

  The device list page and the device management page generated by the device list module 406 or the device management module 408 can access and refer to the Web server of the computer 101 from another computer having a Web browser.

  The device management software in this embodiment can broadcast a device search packet according to the SNMP protocol to the network by the SNMP protocol module 413. For example, the user searches for and finds a printer existing on the network, and uses the device management software to check the status of the found printer.

  FIG. 5 is a setting screen for performing a broadcast search, and is displayed on the CRT 210. The user can specify a transmission range in which the search packet is broadcast.

  If it is desired to search for a device on the local network (subnetwork in which the computer 101 exists), check “Search IP network for local broadcast” (501).

  For example, in the example of FIG. 1, when “IP broadcast search of the local network” is designated from the device management software included in the computer 101, a search packet designating the broadcast address 192.1.1.255 is transmitted. As a result, the printer 102 is searched.

  On the other hand, when searching for a device by specifying a subnetwork, check “Search for IP broadcast for specified network” (502), and enter the broadcast address in the IP broadcast address field.

  For example, when “IP broadcast search for specified network” is specified and the broadcast address 192.2.1.255 is input, the printers 104, 105, and 107 are searched.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a display screen that displays the result of searching for a device by the device management software in this embodiment. The device search result list displayed here is generated by the device list module 407. The example of FIG. 6 shows a search result when “search for IP broadcast of specified network” is specified in FIG. 5 and 192.1.255.255 is input to the broadcast address. That is, the result is a search for the printers 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, and 109 existing on the 192.1.0.0 network.

  Here, when the number of printers found as a result of the search is very large, it may be possible to narrow down the displayed printers so that only necessary devices are easily displayed. As an example of narrowing down, it may be possible to narrow down the number of printers displayed by specifying a search range. Specifically, the user may want to search for a printer that exists on the same subnetwork as the printer 104, for example.

  In that case, conventionally, it is necessary for the user to check the network address of the subnetwork in which the printer 104 exists, and to input the broadcast address for the subnetwork on the screen of FIG.

  However, this is burdensome for the user and easy to make mistakes, which is inconvenient for the user who does not have knowledge about the network.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, “Search for a device in the same network as the designated device” (601) is provided on the device search result screen in FIG. Can be specified.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the device search process performed by the device management software of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, upon receiving an instruction to start the device management software from a computer having the device management software of this embodiment or another computer having a Web browser, the flowchart of FIG. 7 starts.

  In step S701, the device management software transmits to the network a search packet for searching for a device on the network based on the currently set search setting.

  In step S702, upon receiving a response to the search packet, the device management software displays a search result on the CRT 210 based on information included in the response packet data. Specifically, the device search module 407 of the device management software acquires address information such as a device name and an IP address included in the response packet data and information indicating the device state. Thereafter, the device list module 406 generates a device list page from these pieces of information. The device list page generated here is displayed on the CRT 210 as a device search result.

  FIG. 6 is an example of the search result screen displayed at this time. In the example of FIG. 6, it is shown that the printers having the device names of printer A to printer F respond to the search packet.

  In step S703, the device management software detects that one of the printers in the search result screen in FIG. 6 has been designated by the user.

  In step S704, the device management software determines whether or not “Search for a device in the same network as the specified device” (601) in the search result screen of FIG. 6 has been selected by the user. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the search button 603 has been pressed while the check box corresponding to any printer on the search result screen is checked and the check box 601 is checked.

  If it is not determined in step S704 that an instruction “search for a device in the same network as the designated device” (601) is not issued, the process advances to step S709 to perform other predetermined processing. For example, search condition setting setting processing, detailed information display processing of the selected device, and the like are performed.

  If it is determined in step S704 that an instruction “search for a device in the same network as the designated device” (601) is issued, the process proceeds to step S705.

  In step S705, the device management software acquires a subnet mask which is one of the network setting information of the printer from the printer selected in step S703. Specifically, first, an IP address corresponding to the selected printer is read from the system setting DB 405. Then, the SNMP protocol module 413 transmits a request for acquiring a subnet mask to the read IP address. In response to this request, the SNMP protocol module 413 receives the subnet mask value of the selected printer.

  In step S706, the device management software calculates the network address of the printer from the IP address and subnet mask of the printer selected in step S703. Specifically, the network address is obtained by performing an AND operation on each digit of the bits of the IP address and the subnet mask.

  In step S707, the device management software determines a broadcast address for the network based on the network address calculated in step S706. Specifically, an address obtained by replacing the host address part (part other than the network address) of the IP address of the device selected in step S703 with 255 is determined as a broadcast address. For example, in the example of the network of FIG. 1, the broadcast address for the subnetwork 192.1.1 is 192.1.1.255.

  In step S708, the device management software transmits a search packet to the broadcast address determined in step S707. Specifically, the SNMP protocol module 413 of the device management software broadcasts a search packet on the network.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the subnet mask is acquired from the selected printer and the broadcast address is determined. However, the method is not limited to this method as long as the broadcast address for the network where the selected printer exists can be determined. .

  By performing the above processing, it is possible to search for a device that exists on the same subnetwork as the designated printer. At that time, the user does not need to input a broadcast address, and only has to specify a desired printer. Therefore, it is possible to provide a user-friendly environment for the user who does not have the knowledge about the network while reducing the labor of the user.

  In the description of FIG. 7, the device management software allows the user to specify a printer by checking the desired printer from the search result list screen (steps S701 to S703). However, the printer may be specified by allowing the user to arbitrarily input a desired IP address, or a printer name or the like may be input. In other words, information for specifying the printer may be input by selecting from the displayed printers, or information for specifying the printer may be input by inputting an IP address, a MAC address, a printer name, or the like. You may let them.

  When the user inputs the IP address, when the device management software is activated in the computer 101, instead of searching for a device and displaying the screen shown in FIG. 6, a screen for allowing the user to input the IP address is displayed.

  In this way, the printer targets that can be selected by the user are not limited to printers found based on preset search settings.

  In the description of FIG. 7 described above, the case where there is one printer designated by the user has been described, but a plurality of printers may be selected by the user. In this case, the processes in steps S705 to S707 are performed for each of the designated printers, and search packets are transmitted to the plurality of broadcast addresses.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the case where the device management software of the present embodiment performs a broadcast search has been described.

  Furthermore, the device management software of this embodiment can perform not only broadcast search but also multicast search.

  In the broadcast search, all printers existing in a predetermined network are searched by transmitting a search packet designating a broadcast address. On the other hand, in the multicast search, a search packet in which a multicast address is specified is transmitted to search only for printers in which the multicast address is registered in advance. When there are a plurality of printers registered with this multicast address, a plurality of printers can be searched.

  In general, a packet transmitted by multicast is often permitted to be routed by a router.

  Here, generally, whether or not a packet received by a router is transferred to another network is determined according to the following rules.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a packet structure. The TCP / IP packet has a structure 801, and the IP header portion 802 in the TCP / IP packet has a TTL 803 (Time To Live) area. The initial value of the TTL value is set by the device that is the transmission source of the packet. The router that has received this packet decrements the value by one and forwards it to another network. If the TTL value of the received packet is 1 or less, the router discards the packet without transferring it. As a result, it is guaranteed that a situation in which unnecessary packets continue to be transferred over the network forever does not occur. According to this rule, the packet transmission source can control the reach of the packet by first setting the TTL value of the packet transmitted by the packet to an appropriate value.

  The device search software in this embodiment can multicast a device search packet according to the SLP protocol to the network by the SLP protocol module 416.

  FIG. 9 is a setting screen for multicast search, and is displayed on the CRT 210. The user can instruct to perform a search using multicast by checking the check box 901.

  Further, by specifying the number of routers from the pull-down menu 902, the TTL value of the search packet transmitted by multicast can be set to a user's desired value.

  For example, in the example of the network configuration shown in FIG. 1, a case where a search packet addressed to the multicast address 1.2.3.4 is transmitted from the computer 101 will be described.

  First, when the value of TTL is set to 1, the router 103 discards the packet without transferring it because the TTL of the received packet is 1 or less. That is, as a result of this device search, only the printer 102 is found.

  When the value of TTL is set to 2, the router 103 decreases the TTL of the received packet by one and transfers the search packet to the subnetwork 111. The router 106 discards the packet without transferring it because the TTL of the received packet is 1 or less. That is, as a result of this device search, the printers 102, 104, and 105 are found. Here, since the multicast address 1.2.3.4 is not registered, the printer 107 does not respond to the search packet.

  When the TTL value is set to 3, the router 106 also transfers the packet, and as a result, the printers 102, 104, 105, 108, and 109 are found.

  As described above, the device management software of this embodiment can perform device search using multicast, and can limit the transmission range of the search packet by allowing the user to specify a desired TTL value.

  Here, a case where the user wants to search for a device within a search range up to a network where the printer 104 exists, for example, can be considered. In that case, conventionally, it was necessary for the user to check the TTL value for the packet to reach the printer 104, and to input the TTL value to 902 in FIG. However, this method places a burden on the user and is easy to make mistakes, which is inconvenient for a user who does not have knowledge about the network.

  Further, conventionally, the user has input a TTL value (for example, a sufficiently large value such as TTL = 100) that the packet is likely to reach the printer 104. However, in this method, when a search range that is too wide is specified, the number of printers displayed as a search result becomes very large, and it is difficult for the user to find a desired printer from the search result.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, “automatically set TTL” (603) is provided on the device search result screen of FIG. 6 so that the user can instruct to search the network including the specified device as a search range. did.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the device search process performed by the device management software of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, upon receiving an instruction to start the device management software from a computer having the device management software of this embodiment or another computer having a Web browser, the flowchart of FIG. 10 starts.

  In step S1001, the device management software transmits to the network a search packet for searching for a device on the network based on the currently set search setting.

  In step S1002, upon receiving a response to the search packet, the device management software displays a search result on the CRT 210 based on information included in the response packet data. Specifically, the device search module 407 of the device management software acquires address information such as a device name and an IP address included in the response packet data and information indicating the device state. Thereafter, the device list module 406 generates a device list page from these pieces of information. The device list page generated here is displayed on the CRT 210 as a device search result.

  FIG. 6 is an example of the search result screen displayed at this time. In the example of FIG. 6, it is shown that the printers having the device names of printer A to printer F respond to the search packet.

  In step S1003, the device management software detects that one of the printers in the search result screen in FIG. 6 has been designated by the user.

  In step S1004, the device management software determines whether “automatically set TTL” (602) in the search result screen of FIG. 6 has been selected by the user. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the search button 603 has been pressed while the check box corresponding to any printer on the search result screen is checked and the check box 602 is checked.

  If it is not determined in step S1004 that an instruction to “automatically set TTL” (602) has been issued, the process advances to step S1009 to perform other predetermined processing. For example, when the search condition setting setting process, the detailed information display process of the selected device, etc., or “search for a device in the same network as the specified device” (601) is designated, FIG. The process after step S705 is performed.

  If it is determined in step S1004 that an instruction to “automatically set TTL” (601) has been issued, the process proceeds to step S1005.

  In step S1005, the device management software transmits Ping to the device selected in step S1003. Ping is a command that is transmitted to diagnose whether or not an IP packet has reached a communication destination in a TCP / IP network. Specifically, first, an IP address corresponding to the selected printer is read from the system setting DB 405. Then, Ping is transmitted to the read IP address.

  In step S1006, the device management software calculates the number of routers between the computer 101 and the selected printer from the response to the transmitted Ping. The Ping transmitted in step S1005 is transmitted to the device in a state where a predetermined TTL value is set. The predetermined TTL value is generally 255, 128, 64, or the like, but may be other values. On the other hand, the printer that has received the Ping sent from the computer 101 returns a response to the Ping to the computer 101. Ping sent from the printer is also sent to the device in a state where a predetermined TTL value is set. When this Ping reaches the computer 101, the TTL value is actually reduced by the number of routers in between. For example, a ping transmitted from the printer with TTL = 128 has a value of TTL = 126 and reaches the computer 101. In this case, the number of routers between the Ping source and destination (computer and printer) is two.

  That is, when Ping is transmitted in step S1005, the number of routers between the computer 101 and the selected printer is obtained from the TTL value set in Ping sent from the printer as a response. In step S1006, the number of routers between the computer 101 and the selected printer is calculated by this method.

  In step S1007, the device management software determines the TTL value of the search packet for multicast search based on the number of routers calculated in step S1006. Specifically, a value obtained by adding 1 to the number of routers calculated in the column 902 in FIG. 9 is set as the TTL value.

  In step S1008, the device search software multicasts a search packet in which the TTL value determined in step S1007 is set. Specifically, the SLP protocol module 416 of the device management software transmits a search packet by multicast casting on the network.

  The method for determining the number of routers and the TTL value between the computer and the selected printer may not be limited to the above method. For example, in step S1005, a ping with TTL = 1 set may be transmitted from the computer to the selected printer, and a ping that is incremented by TTL may be transmitted until a response to the ping is received. . If a response is received for the first time with respect to Ping set to TTL = 3, the number of routers between the computer and the printer is determined to be two. In step S1007, the TTL value of the search packet is determined to be TTL = 3. That is, the number of routers between the computer and the printer is determined based on the response to Ping transmitted from the computer, and the TTL value of the search packet for multicast search is determined.

  As described above, by performing the processing shown in FIG. 10, it is possible to perform device search using the search range up to the sub-network where the designated printer exists. At that time, the user does not need to check the TTL value and input it by himself, and only has to specify a desired device. Therefore, it is possible to provide a user-friendly environment for the user who does not have the knowledge about the network while reducing the labor of the user.

  In addition, when the user inputs a sufficiently large TTL value, a very large number of printers are searched, and the user does not have difficulty finding a desired printer from the search result.

  In the description of FIG. 10, the device management software allows the user to specify a printer by checking the desired printer from the search result list screen (steps S1001 to S1003). However, the printer may be specified by allowing the user to arbitrarily input a desired IP address, or a printer name or the like may be input. In other words, information for specifying the printer may be input by selecting from the displayed printers, or information for specifying the printer may be input by inputting an IP address, a MAC address, a printer name, or the like. You may let them.

  When the user inputs the IP address, when the device management software is activated in the computer 101, instead of searching for a device and displaying the screen shown in FIG. 6, a screen for allowing the user to input the IP address is displayed. In this way, the printer targets that can be selected by the user are not limited to printers found based on preset search settings.

  In the description of FIG. 10 described above, the case where there is one printer designated by the user has been described, but a plurality of printers may be selected by the user. In this case, the processes in steps S1005 and S1006 are performed for each of the designated printers. As a result, the number of routers for each of the plurality of printers is calculated. Therefore, the device management software compares these router numbers and identifies the largest router number. In step S1007, the specified maximum number of routers is determined as a TTL value.

(Other examples)
In the above embodiment, the case of a search packet has been described as an example of data transmitted from a computer having device management software. However, data transmitted based on the present invention is not limited to a search packet.

  Further, although the case where the device management software is provided in the computer has been described, it may be provided in an image processing apparatus such as a printer, a multifunction peripheral, or a copying machine, and these image processing apparatuses may constitute the present invention.

  Note that the object of the present invention may be provided by supplying a recording medium recording a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus. That is, the present invention may be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like is used. be able to.

  Further, it is needless to say that an OS running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Yes.

  Further, the program code read from the recording medium is written into a memory provided in an extension function board inserted into the computer or a function extension unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions in the program code, the case where the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Needless to say.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the network system in a present Example. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the computer in a present Example. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a printer according to the present exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the module structure of the device management software in a present Example. It is an example of a setting screen when performing a broadcast search in the present embodiment. It is an example of the device search result screen in a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows the device search process in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the structure of a TCP / IP packet. It is an example of the setting screen in the case of performing a multicast search in a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows the device search process in a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

101 Computer 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109 Printer 103, 106 Router 110, 111, 112 Subnetwork

Claims (17)

An information processing apparatus,
An input means for allowing the user to input an input for identifying the device;
Determining means for determining a broadcast address for a network in which the device exists, from address information of the device specified by the input by the input means;
Transmitting means for transmitting data based on the broadcast address determined by the determining means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: Further comprising an acquisition means for acquiring information for specifying a network in which the device exists from the device specified by the input by the input means;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines a broadcast address based on the information acquired by the acquiring unit.   The acquisition unit acquires a subnet mask of the device from the device specified by the input by the input unit, and the determination unit is based on the address information and the subnet mask of the device specified by the input by the input unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a broadcast address is determined. An information processing apparatus,
An input means for allowing the user to input an input for identifying the device;
First determination for determining the number of connected devices for connecting a network in which a device specified by an input by the input unit exists and a network in which the information processing apparatus exists based on data sent from the device Means,
Second determining means for determining a data transmission range based on the determination by the first determining means;
Transmission means for transmitting data based on the transmission range determined by the second determination means;
An information processing apparatus comprising: A second transmission means for transmitting a command to the device specified by the input by the input means;
The first determination unit examines a response to the command transmitted by the second transmission unit, and connects the network where the device specified by the input by the input unit exists and the network where the information processing apparatus exists 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the number of connected devices to be determined is determined.   The response to the command transmitted by the second transmission means specifies the number of connected devices for connecting the network in which the device specified by the input by the input means exists and the network in which the information processing apparatus exists. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising information for performing the operation.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second determination unit determines a TTL value as a data transmission range. An information processing apparatus,
An input means for allowing the user to input an input for identifying the device;
First transmission means for transmitting first data in which a first transmission range is set to a device specified by input by the input means;
Receiving means for receiving a response to the first data transmitted by the transmitting means;
In response to receiving a response by the reception means, second transmission means for transmitting second data in which the first transmission range is set;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   If the response is not received by the receiving means, the third data is transmitted to the device specified by the input by the input means, the first data set a second transmission range different from the first transmission range The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: a transmitting unit.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the second transmission range is a transmission range wider than the first transmission range.   The first transmission range is information for designating how many connection devices for connecting the network in which the device specified by the input by the input unit exists and the network in which the information processing apparatus exists are passed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, characterized by: A communication method,
Accepting input to identify the device;
Determining a broadcast address for the network in which the device exists from the address information of the device specified by the input;
Transmitting data based on the determined broadcast address;
A communication method characterized by comprising: A communication method,
Accepting input to identify the device;
Determining the number of connected devices for connecting the network in which the device specified by the input exists and the network in which the information processing apparatus exists based on data transmitted from the device;
Determining a transmission range of data based on the determination;
Transmitting data based on the determined transmission range;
A communication method characterized by comprising: A communication method,
Accepting input to identify the device;
Transmitting first data in which a first transmission range is set to the device specified by the input;
Receiving a response to the transmitted first data;
Transmitting the second data in which the first transmission range is set in response to receiving the response;
A communication method characterized by comprising: A computer program for causing a computer to execute the following steps:
Accepting input to identify the device;
Determining a broadcast address for the network in which the device exists from the address information of the device specified by the input;
Transmitting data based on the determined broadcast address;
A program that causes a computer to execute. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the following steps:
Accepting input to identify the device;
Determining the number of connected devices for connecting the network in which the device specified by the input exists and the network in which the information processing apparatus exists based on data transmitted from the device;
Determining a transmission range of data based on the determination;
Transmitting data based on the determined transmission range;
A program that causes a computer to execute. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the following steps:
Accepting input to identify the device;
Transmitting first data in which a first transmission range is set to the device specified by the input;
Receiving a response to the transmitted first data;
Transmitting the second data in which the first transmission range is set in response to receiving the response;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

Images