JP2008065490A - Image forming apparatus, log management method for the same and log management program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus, and the log management method and program of the image forming apparatus, for storing an audit log as the use history of the use of an image forming apparatus without omission. <P>SOLUTION: Whether or not the audit log storage capacity of a storage means 12 for storing an audit log has reached a predetermined reference value is determined by a determination means 15, and the use of the image forming apparatus by an access user is limited in accordance with the determined result and an identification result from an identification means 14 which identifies the attributes of the access user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multi function peripherals) that is a multifunction digital multi-function peripheral, and stores an audit log that is a usage record of the apparatus without omission, and a log management method for the image forming apparatus And a log management processing program.

  In some cases, confidential documents etc. are stored in the MFPs used in offices. For this reason, in order to ensure security, it is necessary to strictly manage the device. As a method, all usage histories of the device are audit logs (the usage history is used during normal processing such as image copying). There are two types of logs: a job log that is a history and various operation / setting logs that are usage histories of various operations and settings. In this specification, these two logs are collectively referred to as an audit log) in the memory in the apparatus. Saving is done.

   However, because there is a limit to the memory area for storing audit logs, audit logs are dumped by the administrator user to transfer audit logs to other terminals at an appropriate timing. When the memory area is full, there is a problem that no more audit logs can be saved even though the apparatus is used.

  In addition, prepare two error log files to save the error log, and when one error log is full during normal error processing, save it in the other error log file and overwrite when both are full Set to the cyclic mode to save, expand the logging file at the time of emergency error processing, and set to the automatic extension mode to stop all processing halfway and notify the user when this file is full The technique of performing is provided (for example, refer patent document 1).

Also, by registering the types of logs that the user records and the types of logs that are not recorded in advance, only important logs are saved, and the storage capacity has reached the upper limit, making it impossible to save more logs. In such a case, a technique is provided in which important logs are not lost by checking low-importance jobs from the recorded job history and deleting erasable job logs (for example, patents). Reference 2).
JP-A-9-305445 JP 2006-41764 A

   However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is intended only for storing error logs, and does not support the case where the audit log becomes full during normal processing such as copying.

  In the cyclic mode, when the storage area becomes full, the log is overwritten and cannot be left completely. Furthermore, in the automatic extension mode, when the storage area becomes full, log storage is stopped at the same time as job processing, and therefore, there is a problem that it is not possible to record a log of subsequent processing.

  The technique described in Patent Document 2 has a problem in that when the storage capacity reaches the upper limit, logs with low importance are deleted, and thus all logs cannot be saved.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus log management method, and a log management processing program that can store an audit log without omission.

  The above object is achieved by the following means.

(1) storage means for storing an audit log including an operation / setting log and a job log;
An identification means for identifying an attribute of an access user who uses the apparatus, a management means for managing a used capacity of the storage means, and a used capacity of the storage means is determined in advance near an upper limit of a usable capacity. A determination unit that determines whether or not a reference value has been reached; and when the determination unit determines that the used capacity has reached the reference value, the use of the access user according to the identification result of the identification unit An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that restricts
(2) When it is determined by the determination means that the used capacity of the storage means has reached the reference value, when the access user is determined to be a general user by the identification means, the control means 2. The image forming apparatus according to item 1, wherein execution is prohibited.
(3) The image forming apparatus according to (2), wherein the control unit further prohibits an access user from executing an operation log for a target to save an audit log.
(4) Accepting means for accepting an instruction from the user as to whether or not audit log overwriting is permitted, and setting means for setting overwriting permission or non-overwriting according to the user instruction accepted by the accepting means And an image forming apparatus according to item 1 above.
(5) In the case where overwrite permission is set by the setting means, the control means is instructed by the access user when the determination means determines that the used capacity of the storage means has reached the reference value. If the access user is a general user in the case where the access user is a general user when the setting unit has been set to not permit overwriting, the execution of the job instructed by the access user is prohibited. The image forming apparatus described.
(6) a transmission unit that transmits an audit log stored in the storage unit to a destination designated by a user when the determination unit determines that the used capacity of the storage unit has reached a reference value; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a deletion unit that deletes the audit log transmitted to the destination by the transmission unit from the storage unit.
(7) If it is determined by the identification unit that the access user is an administrator, a job log is not stored in the storage unit for at least one of a test job, an adjustment job, a report print job, and a charge job 2. The image forming apparatus according to item 1.
(8) The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein when the access user is identified as a general user by the identification unit, display of a job log executed by an administrator and stored in the storage unit is prohibited.
(9) A storage step for storing an audit log including an operation / setting log and a job log in a storage unit, an identification step for identifying an attribute of an access user using the apparatus, and a management for managing a used capacity of the storage unit Determining whether the used capacity of the storage means has reached a predetermined reference value near the upper limit of the usable capacity, and determining whether the used capacity is the reference value by the determining step. A log management method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a control step for restricting access user use in accordance with an identification result of the identification step.
(10) A storage step for storing an audit log including an operation / setting log and a job log in a storage unit, an identification step for identifying an attribute of an access user who uses the apparatus, and a management for managing a used capacity of the storage unit Determining whether the used capacity of the storage means has reached a predetermined reference value near the upper limit of the usable capacity, and determining whether the used capacity is the reference value by the determining step. A log management processing program for causing a computer of the image forming apparatus to execute a control step of restricting access user use according to the identification result of the identification step.

  According to the invention described in (1) above, when the used capacity of the storage means for storing the audit log reaches a predetermined reference value close to the upper limit, the use is restricted according to the attribute of the access user who uses the apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to prevent inconvenience that a large number of logs are generated and cannot be stored while leaving a room for storing only the minimum necessary logs. Therefore, the audit log can be stored without omission and an image forming apparatus with high security can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in the item (2) above, by prohibiting the execution of the job of the general user, it is possible to avoid storing the audit log related to the normal process of the general user in the storage unit.

According to the invention described in item (3) above, it is possible to secure a storage area for saving an audit log when the administrator uses the apparatus by further prohibiting various operations and settings by general users.
According to the invention described in item (4) above, the administrator can select whether or not to overwrite the audit log.
According to the invention described in item (5) above, by changing the setting for whether or not to overwrite, the administrator can perform management according to the usage status, installation status, and the like of the device.
According to the invention described in item (6) above, the audit log stored in the storage unit can be sent to the external terminal device, and the sent audit log is deleted from the storage unit. All processing of the device is possible.
According to the invention described in item (7) above, since a predetermined job is prohibited from being stored in the log storage unit, it is possible to ensure execution of important operations and settings of the apparatus.
According to the invention described in the preceding item (8), by prohibiting the display of the log for the general user, it is possible to prevent information regarding important operations and settings of the apparatus from leaking to the outside.
According to the invention described in the preceding item (9), whether the audit log storage capacity stored in the storage means by the storage step is managed in the management step, and whether the audit log storage capacity in the previous period has reached a predetermined reference value Access is made by a restricting step that restricts the use of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the judgment step for judging whether or not, and depending on the judgment result and the identification result in the identifying step for identifying the attribute of the access user The use of the device by the user can be restricted. Thereby, the inconvenience that the audit log cannot be stored in the storage unit can be prevented.
According to the invention described in (10) above, a storage step for storing the audit log in the storage unit, an identification step for the access user, a management step for managing the storage unit, a determination step, and the access user according to the result of the determination It is possible to cause the computer to execute each process of the limiting step for limiting the use.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a network system in which an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used.

  In this system, a plurality of terminals 1 to 3 and the image forming apparatus 4 are connected to each other via a network 5.

  The terminal devices 1 to 3 are composed of personal computers or the like, and one of them (terminal device 3) is used as an audit log sucking terminal 3 for sucking out an audit log stored in the image forming apparatus 4.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 4.

  The image forming apparatus 4 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a management unit 13, an identification unit 14, a determination unit 15, an operation / display unit 16, and a communication unit 17, and each unit other than the control unit 11 is a control unit. 11 is connected.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (not shown), a ROM (not shown) for storing a program executed by the CPU and other data, a RAM serving as a work area when the CPU executes the program, etc. (not shown). And overall control of the image forming apparatus 4.

  For example, when the audit log storage capacity of the storage unit 12 decreases, at least a part of various operations / setting processes and instructed job processes is performed according to the attribute of the access user who intends to use the apparatus. Restrict. The specific control will be described later.

  The storage unit 12 is a memory medium such as a hard disk, and stores an audit log that is a user's usage history and other data.

  As shown in the audit log 20 of FIG. 3, the audit log includes operation / setting logs such as authentication, user registration and password registration, and job logs such as scan mode setting, scan destination setting, scan execution, and logout. There is.

  The management unit 13 manages the used capacity of the log storage area of the storage unit 12 that stores the audit log, deletes the audit log, and the like.

  The identification unit 14 identifies the attribute of the access user who uses the device. Specifically, in this embodiment, whether the access user is a general user or an administrator is identified. The manager includes a service person (specific manager).

  The determination unit 15 determines whether or not the used capacity of the audit log stored in the storage unit 12 has reached a predetermined reference value near the upper limit. In other words, it is determined whether the used capacity of the audit log storage area has become near-full and the remaining capacity has decreased.

  The operation / display unit 16 displays various messages and input screens and selection screens for the user, and the user performs various input operations. The operation / display unit 16 includes a key input unit such as a numeric keypad and a touch panel type liquid crystal display unit. ing.

The communication unit 17 is for performing transmission / reception with the terminal 1, the terminal 2, and the audit log sucking terminal 3 via the network 5.
(Audit log save / overwrite settings)
The audit log storage / overwrite setting will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The image forming apparatus 4 can set whether or not to acquire and save the audit log according to the user's selection.

  Further, when the log storage area of the storage unit 12 becomes full, it is possible to set whether or not to overwrite the audit log that has already been stored with a new audit log.

  That is, in the audit log setting screen 21 shown in FIG. 3, an enable button 22 and an invalid button 23 are displayed for obtaining and saving the audit log, and a permit button 24 and a disallow button 25 are displayed for overwriting the audit log. ing. For example, when the valid button 22 and the permission button 24 are selected, the control unit 11 performs log acquisition / storage setting and overwrite permission setting, acquires the audit log, and stores it in the log storage area of the storage unit 12. Take control. Further, when the log storage area of the storage unit 12 becomes full, the overwriting is performed.

  When overwriting permission is set, determination by the determination unit 15 as to whether or not the used capacity of the log storage area of the storage unit 12 has reached a reference value near an upper limit predetermined by the administrator; The function of the image forming apparatus 4 is not restricted by the control unit 11.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the valid button 22 and the non-permission button 25 are selected on the audit log setting screen 21, the control unit 11 performs the log acquisition / storage setting and the overwriting non-permission setting, and the audit log Is acquired and stored in the storage unit 12. Also, overwriting is prohibited.

  When overwriting disapproval is set, the determination unit 15 determines whether or not the used capacity of the log storage area of the storage unit 12 has reached the reference value. The unit 11 determines whether various operations / settings and job execution are possible according to the attribute of the access user. Further, based on the determination result, the control unit 11 partially restricts the functions of the image forming apparatus.

As described above, the administrator can perform management by selecting whether or not to overwrite the audit log according to the installation status and usage status of the image forming apparatus 4. Further, by restricting the use of the device according to the used capacity of the log storage area of the storage unit 12, the log storage area becomes full, and an audit log of processing instructed by the access user is stored in the storage unit 12. You can avoid situations where you can't.
(Relationship between memory capacity and usage restrictions)
The relationship between the used capacity of the log storage area in the storage unit 12 and the process whose use is restricted will be described with reference to FIG.

  Reference numerals 12a to 12d shown in FIG. 5 are diagrams showing the used capacity of the storage area of the audit log allocated to the storage unit 12, where the colored portion is already used, and 12a is the audit log. A state in which the used capacity is not stored at all, and 12d indicates a state in which the used capacity reaches the upper limit of the usable capacity (memory full state).

  The reference value 20 is a value close to the upper limit value of the storage capacity, and is determined in advance by an administrator or the like. All processing that the user wants to perform is permitted until the used capacity reaches this reference value. The That is, when the used capacity of the stored audit log is less than the reference value 20, the user can perform all processing. On the other hand, when the used capacity of the log storage area reaches the reference value 20, some processing is prohibited.

  In 12a, the audit log is not stored at all, and the control unit 11 accepts all processes by all access users. That is, all access users can perform various operations / settings and execute all jobs.

  Also in 12b, since the used capacity of the log storage area does not exceed the reference value 20, the control unit 11 accepts all processes.

  12 c is a state where the used capacity has reached the reference value 20. In this case, when the access user is a general user, various operations / settings and execution of all jobs are prohibited, and even in the case of an administrator, execution of jobs other than those related to audit log dumping is prohibited.

  Also in 12d, since the used capacity exceeds the reference value 20, similar to 12c, various operations / settings of general users and execution of all jobs are prohibited, and audit logs are also dumped in the case of an administrator. Execution of jobs other than those related to is prohibited.

However, in the case of 12c and 12d, if the job instructed by the general user does not need to be saved as an audit log such as introduction of various settings, the processing can be executed. As a result, a general user can execute a job that does not need to save an audit log.
(Operation of Image Forming Apparatus 4)
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 4 using the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 will be described.

  This operation is realized by the CPU of the control unit 11 executing a program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  A login screen 70 shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the operation / display unit 16 for the user who wants to use the image forming apparatus 4 (step S51). When the user inputs in the user ID box 71 and the password box 72 and presses the “login” button, the control unit 11 performs authentication, and accepts this if the user is a regular user (step S52).

  This authentication identifies whether the access user is a general user or an administrator user. Next, when the user performs input for executing various operations / settings or jobs, this is accepted in step S53.

  After acceptance, the control unit 11 determines whether the log acquisition / save setting has been made (step S54).

  If it is determined that the log acquisition / storage setting has not been made (invalid in step S54), the process proceeds to step S62.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S54 that the log acquisition / storage setting has been made (valid in step S54), the process proceeds to step S55.

  Next, in step S55, the control unit 11 determines whether or not audit log overwrite permission is set.

  If it is determined that permission is set (permitted in step S55), the process proceeds to step S62.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that permission has not been set (not permitted in step S55), the process proceeds to step S56.

  In step S56, the control unit 11 determines whether the used capacity of the log storage area of the storage unit 12 that stores the audit log has reached the reference value via the determination unit 15.

  If it is determined that the used capacity has not reached the reference value (NO in step S56), the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, if it is determined that the used capacity has reached the reference value (YES in step S56), the process proceeds to step S57.

  Next, in step S57, the control unit 11 determines whether the access user is an administrator or a general user via the identification unit 14.

  If it is determined that the access user is an administrator (administrator in step S57), the process proceeds to step S58. On the other hand, when the access user is determined to be a general user (general user in step S57), the process proceeds to step S59.

  In step S58, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the process instructed by the access user is a process related to the audit log.

  If it is determined that the process instructed by the access user is a process related to the audit log (a process related to the audit log in step S58), the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, when it is determined that the process instructed by the access user is not a process related to the audit log (other process in step S58), the process proceeds to step S60.

  In step S <b> 59, the control unit 11 determines the processing content instructed by the general user.

When it is determined that the processing content is processing outside the audit log recording target (in step S59, processing outside the audit log recording target), the process proceeds to step S62. On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing content is the processing subject to audit log recording (other processing in step S59), the process proceeds to step S60. In step S60, the control unit 11 performs various operations / settings instructed by the access user. Alternatively, it is determined that the job cannot be processed, and a process impossible screen 74 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the operation / display unit 16 (step S61), and the process is terminated.

  In step S62, the control unit 11 determines that various operations / settings or jobs instructed by the access user can be processed (step S62), and starts processing the instructed various operations / settings or jobs (step S62). Step S63).

  In step S64, the control unit 11 determines whether the used capacity of the log storage area of the storage unit 12 has reached the reference value during execution of the instructed process.

  Management that prompts the administrator to notify that the storage area of the storage unit 12 is full when it is determined that the used capacity has reached the reference value during execution of the process (YES in step S64) After the person contact screen 75 (shown in FIG. 9) is displayed on the operation / display unit 16 (step S65), the process proceeds to step S66. However, the processing being executed is executed until completion without being stopped. In this case, since the log storage area is not completely full, an audit log for the process being executed can be stored in the storage unit 12.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S64 that the used capacity of the audit log has not reached the reference value during execution of the designated process (NO in step S64), the process proceeds to step S66.

  In step S66, after the designated process ends, a process end screen 76 (shown in FIG. 10) indicating that the process has ended is displayed on the operation / display unit 16, and the process ends.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the used capacity of the storage unit for storing the audit log reaches a predetermined reference value close to the upper limit, the use is restricted according to the attribute of the access user who uses the apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that a large number of logs are generated and cannot be stored while leaving a room for storing only the minimum necessary logs. Therefore, the audit log can be stored without omission and an image forming apparatus with high security can be obtained.
(Operation when audit log is dumped)
The operation of the image forming apparatus at the time of audit log suction will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  This operation is realized by the CPU of the control unit 11 executing a program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  The control unit 11 displays the audit log transmission destination setting screen 90 shown in FIG. 12 on the operation / display unit 16 (step S80), and the mail of the audit log sucking terminal 3 where the user transmits the audit log to the transmission destination box 91. When the address is input and the execute button 92 is pressed, the control unit 11 accepts this (step S81). And the control part 11 starts transmission of the audit log preserve | saved at the memory | storage part 12 to the audit log extraction terminal 3 via the communication part 17 (step S82).

  During the transmission, the control unit 11 displays the transmission-in-progress screen 93 shown in FIG. 13 on the operation / display unit 16 (step S83). After the transmission is completed, the control unit 11 uses the management unit 13 to extract the audit log. The audit log transmitted to the terminal 3 is deleted from the storage unit 12 (step S84), and the device use restriction is released (step S85). Finally, after the restriction release display screen 94 shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the operation / display unit 16, the process ends.

By such an operation, the audit log stored in the storage unit 12 of the image forming apparatus 4 is sent to the audit log sucking terminal 3, and the sent audit log is deleted from the storage unit 12, so that the log storage area The unused capacity is expanded, and then all processing by each access user becomes possible.
(Operation during specific job processing)
Here, an operation at the time of processing a specific job (test, adjustment, report printing, billing, etc.) performed by a specific administrator (for example, a service person) of the image forming apparatus 4 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. .

  This operation is realized by the CPU of the control unit 11 executing a program stored in a ROM (not shown).

  After the access user logs in, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the access user is a specific administrator (step S100).

  If it is determined in step S100 that the access user is a specific administrator (specific administrator in step S100), the process proceeds to step S101.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S100 that the access user is not a specific administrator (other users in step S100), the process proceeds to step S103.

Next, in step S101, the control unit 11 determines the processing content instructed by the access user. When it is determined in step S101 that the job instructed by the access user is a specific job (specific job in step S101), the control unit 11 performs an audit log of the job after executing the processing of the instructed job. The process is terminated without saving in the storage unit 12 (step S102).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S101 that the designated job is not a specific job (other job in step S101), the process proceeds to step S103, and the control unit 11 transmits the designated job via the management unit 13. After execution, the job log is stored in the storage unit 12 (step S103), and the process is terminated.

  With this operation, when a specific administrator executes a job that the general user does not want to know, such as test, adjustment, report printing, and billing of the image forming apparatus, the log of these jobs is audited. Can be prevented from being stored in the storage unit 12.

  In this embodiment, when a specific administrator processes a specific job, the job log is not stored in the storage unit 12. However, even when the specific administrator processes a specific job, the job log When the person other than the specific administrator displays the audit log on the operation / display unit 16, the log of the specific job is displayed as shown in the audit log display screen 110 shown in FIG. The data may be modified and displayed on the operation / display unit 16 so that the contents cannot be grasped. Even with such a configuration, users other than the service person cannot know the log contents of the specific job, so that the same effect as that shown in FIG. 15 can be obtained.

1 is a configuration diagram of a log management system in which an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of an audit log. It is a setting screen at the time of audit log setting. As in FIG. 4, it is a setting screen when setting an audit log. It is a figure showing the relationship between memory capacity and use restrictions. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2. It is a reception screen that accepts input of a user ID and password from a user. It is a screen informing the user that the instructed process cannot be performed. It is a screen informing the user that the memory area for storing the audit log is full during processing. It is a screen which notifies a user that the instruct | indicated process was complete | finished. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus when audit log is sucked out. It is a screen for setting a transmission destination where a user transmits an audit log. 14 is a screen showing that an audit log is being transmitted to the transmission destination specified in FIG. 13. It is a screen showing that the use restriction has been released after audit log dumping is completed. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus when executing a specific job process. It is a figure which shows an example of the display method which does not display the audit log of a specific job.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 ... Terminal device 3 ... Audit log suction terminal device 4 ... Image forming device 11 ... Control part 12 ... Storage part 13 ... Management part 14 ... Identification part 15 ... Determining unit 16 ... Operation / display unit 17 ... Communication unit

Claims (10)

Storage means for storing audit logs including operation / setting logs and job logs;
An identification means for identifying an attribute of an access user using the device;
Management means for managing the used capacity of the storage means;
Determining means for determining whether the used capacity of the storage means has reached a predetermined reference value near the upper limit of the usable capacity;
Control means for restricting the use of the access user according to the identification result of the identification means when it is determined by the determination means that the used capacity has reached the reference value;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   When it is determined by the determination means that the used capacity of the storage means has reached the reference value, if the access user is determined to be a general user by the identification means, the control means prohibits execution of the job. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit further prohibits an access user from executing an operation log for a target for saving an audit log. An accepting means for accepting an instruction from the user as to whether or not to permit overwriting of the audit log;
A setting means for setting overwriting permission or non-overwriting permission in accordance with a user instruction received by the receiving means;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   In the case where the overwrite permission setting has been made by the setting means, and the determination means determines that the used capacity of the storage means has reached the reference value, the control means performs the job specified by the access user. The execution of a job instructed by the access user is prohibited when the access user is a general user in the case where the execution is permitted and overwriting non-permission is set by the setting unit. Image forming apparatus. A transmission unit that transmits the audit log stored in the storage unit to a destination designated by the user when the determination unit determines that the used capacity of the storage unit has reached a reference value;
A deletion unit for deleting the audit log transmitted to the destination by the transmission unit from the storage unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The job log is not stored in the storage unit for at least one of a test job, an adjustment job, a report print job, and a charging job when the access unit is determined to be an administrator by the identification unit. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the access unit is identified as a general user by the identification unit, display of a job log executed by an administrator and stored in the storage unit is prohibited. A storage step for storing an audit log including an operation / setting log and a job log in a storage unit;
An identifying step for identifying an attribute of an access user using the device;
A management step of managing the used capacity of the storage means;
A determination step of determining whether the used capacity of the storage means has reached a predetermined reference value near the upper limit of the usable capacity;
When it is determined that the used capacity has reached the reference value by the determination step, a control step for restricting access user use according to the identification result of the identification step;
A log management method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: A storage step for storing an audit log including an operation / setting log and a job log in a storage unit;
An identifying step for identifying an attribute of an access user using the device;
A management step of managing the used capacity of the storage means;
A determination step of determining whether the used capacity of the storage means has reached a predetermined reference value near the upper limit of the usable capacity;
When it is determined that the used capacity has reached the reference value by the determination step, a control step for restricting access user use according to the identification result of the identification step;
Log management processing program for causing the computer of the image forming apparatus to execute.

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