JP2010211523A - Apparatus management device, apparatus management system, apparatus management method, apparatus management program and recording medium recording the program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus management device, an apparatus management system, an apparatus management method and an apparatus management program capable of performing apparatus monitoring processing without extending a monitoring time even in a state that many management target apparatuses do not respond, and to provide a recording medium recording the program. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus management device 100 acquiring apparatus information including state information from the plurality of apparatuses 200 connected via a prescribed data transmission line 90 and managing the plurality of apparatuses 200 based on a plurality of pieces of the acquired apparatus information has: information acquisition-update means Th performing the acquisition processing of the apparatus information and/or the update processing of the apparatus information held as management data 31; an apparatus response decision means 247 deciding whether one or a plurality of apparatuses 200 are in monitoring waiting states until a prescribed time lapses after a response is extinguished; and a processing control means 244 controlling a plurality of the information acquisition-update means Th which are simultaneously executed based on a decision result by the apparatus response decision means 247. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a device management apparatus and device management system for managing one or more devices connected via a data transmission path such as a network, and more particularly to a technique for controlling device monitoring according to a response state of a device. It is.

  In order to efficiently manage one or a plurality of image processing devices (hereinafter referred to as “managed devices”) connected to the network, the managed devices are centrally managed by a device management device (device management server). Device management systems are known.

  In such a device management system, when there are many managed devices, it is important to perform efficient data communication between the device management apparatus and each managed device and monitor the managed device. Come.

  Therefore, there is a device management system that activates a plurality of threads that perform data communication with a device to be managed in the device management apparatus and realizes device monitoring processing in a short time. In addition, since the device to be managed is not always activated for 24 hours, in the device monitoring processing by the plurality of threads, if there is no response at the time of data communication due to power off or the like, the management is performed according to a predetermined timeout value. End data communication with the target device.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a network connection device detection apparatus that performs an ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) search and determines whether there is a response from a network connection device. Patent Document 2 discloses a network monitoring system that prevents a throughput from being lowered by omitting unnecessary polling from a master agent to a slave agent that is not installed on the network.

  However, in the conventional device monitoring control, when many managed devices are in a no-response state, the processing time for device monitoring may be extended.

  When the managed device is in a no-response state, the plurality of threads that perform device monitoring processing are in a standby state for the timeout time.

  The thread that performs the device monitoring process has a limited number of activations in consideration of the communication load between the management target device and the device management apparatus. Therefore, when all the threads with the maximum number of activations are in a standby state, the device monitoring process is temporarily stopped until the standby state thread is terminated. In this case, for example, when the power of many managed devices is turned off at night, the device monitoring process is temporarily stopped due to the absence of a response from each managed device. The processing time for monitoring is extended.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. The object of the present invention is to perform device monitoring processing without extending the monitoring time even if many managed devices are in a non-response state. An object of the present invention is to provide a device management apparatus, a device management system, a device management method, a device management program, and a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

  In order to achieve the above object, a device management apparatus according to the present invention acquires device information including state information from a plurality of devices connected via a predetermined data transmission path, and based on the acquired plurality of device information. A device management apparatus that manages the plurality of devices, wherein the device information acquisition process and / or the information acquisition / update means for updating the device information held as management data, and one or more devices , A device response determination unit that determines whether or not a monitoring standby state has elapsed from when no response has passed until a predetermined time elapses, and a plurality of the information acquisition / execution to be executed simultaneously based on the determination result by the device response determination unit Processing control means for controlling the updating means.

  With such a configuration, the device management apparatus according to the present invention checks the state until the managed device finally determines that there is no response step by step. The device management apparatus controls activation of a thread that performs device monitoring processing based on the confirmation result. Specifically, the device management apparatus determines the managed device whose monitoring standby state has been confirmed when the monitoring standby state from when the response is lost until a certain time elapses (timeout) is confirmed. Do not wait for response. The device management apparatus activates a new thread for performing device monitoring processing on other managed devices. In other words, the device management device does not wait for the final determination of the state of no response due to timeout, and at the time of confirming the state where no response is likely to occur, a new thread that performs device monitoring processing on other managed devices Start up. In this way, the device management apparatus performs control so that a standby time for device monitoring processing, which is a cause of extending the monitoring time, does not occur.

  As a result, the device management apparatus according to the present invention can perform device monitoring processing without extending the monitoring time even when many managed devices are not responding.

  In order to achieve the above object, a device management system according to the present invention acquires a plurality of devices and device information including status information from the plurality of devices, and the plurality of devices based on the acquired plurality of device information. Is a device management system that is connected to a device management apparatus that manages the device information via a predetermined data transmission path, and performs information acquisition processing of the device information and / or update processing of the device information held as management data An acquisition / update unit, a device response determination unit that determines whether or not one or a plurality of devices are in a monitoring standby state until a predetermined time elapses after no response is received, and a determination result by the device response determination unit And a process control means for controlling the plurality of information acquisition / update means to be executed simultaneously.

  In order to achieve the above object, a device management method according to the present invention acquires device information including status information from a plurality of devices connected via a predetermined data transmission path, and based on the acquired plurality of device information. A device management method in the device management apparatus for managing the plurality of devices, wherein the device response determines whether one or a plurality of devices are in a monitoring standby state until a predetermined time elapses after no response is received. Based on the determination procedure and the determination result of the device response determination procedure, control is performed to simultaneously execute a plurality of information acquisition / update processes for acquiring the device information and / or updating the device information held as management data And a processing control procedure to be performed.

  By such a procedure, the device management method according to the present invention, in the device management apparatus, when the state that is likely to be unresponsive is confirmed without waiting for the final determination of the unresponsive state due to timeout. An operation of starting a new thread for performing device monitoring processing on a management target device is realized.

  As a result, the device management method according to the present invention can provide an environment in which device monitoring processing can be performed without extending the monitoring time even when many managed devices are not responding.

  According to the present invention, in a managed device, a new thread for performing device monitoring processing on another managed device when a monitoring standby state from when no response is received until a certain time elapses (timeout) is confirmed. Device management apparatus, device management system, device management method, device management program, and device management process capable of performing device monitoring processing without extending the monitoring time even when many managed devices are in a no-response state, and A recording medium on which the program is recorded can be provided.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the apparatus management apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the software structural example of the apparatus management apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the apparatus management function which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of data of the apparatus information which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of data of the control information which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence example (with a response) of the equipment monitoring which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence example (no response: the 1) of the equipment monitoring which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process sequence example (no response: the 2) of the equipment monitoring which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
A configuration of the device management system according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a device management system 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the device management system 1 includes one or more managed devices 200 such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) or LP (Laser Printer), one or more client PCs (Personal Computer) 300 (hereinafter simply “ PC ”) and the device management apparatus 100 are connected to each other via a data transmission path 90 such as a network.

  With such a system configuration, the device management apparatus 100 monitors and manages the state of the management target device 200 using a device management function that operates in the device. In addition, the device management apparatus 100 provides the PC 300 with various types of information related to the state of the management target device 200.

<Hardware configuration>
Next, the hardware configuration of the device management apparatus 100 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the device management apparatus 100 includes an input device 101, a display device 102, a drive device 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 105, a CPU 106, an interface device 107, and an HDD ( (Hard Disk Drive) 108 are provided, and each is connected to each other by a bus.

  The input device 101 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and is used to input each operation signal to the device management apparatus 100. The display device 102 includes a display or the like, and displays a processing result (for example, “device status information”) by the device management device 100.

  The interface device 107 is an interface that connects the device management apparatus 100 to a predetermined data transmission path 90 such as a network. Therefore, the device management apparatus 100 can perform data communication with the management target device 200 via the interface device 107.

  The HDD 108 is a non-volatile storage device that stores various programs and data. The stored programs and data include, for example, an OS (Operating System) that is basic software such as an information processing system (for example, “Windows (registered trademark)” or “UNIX (registered trademark)”) that controls the entire device management apparatus 100. ), And an application that provides various functions (for example, “device management function”) on the information processing system. The HDD 108 manages the stored program and data by a predetermined file system and / or DB (Data Base).

  The drive device 103 is an interface with a removable recording medium 103a. As a result, the device management apparatus 100 can read and / or write to the recording medium 103 a via the drive apparatus 103.

  The ROM 105 is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that can retain internal data even when the power is turned off. The ROM 105 stores data such as a basic input / output system (BIOS) executed when the device management apparatus 100 is activated, system settings of the device management apparatus 100, and network-related settings.

  The RAM 104 is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) that temporarily stores programs and data read from the various storage devices. The CPU 106 executes the program read out on the RAM 104 to realize the overall control of the device management apparatus 100 and the operation of various installed functions.

  With such a hardware configuration, for example, the device management apparatus 100 can implement a device management function by executing a program (device management program) read from the HDD 108 onto the RAM 104 by the CPU 106.

<Software configuration>
Next, a software configuration in the device management apparatus 100 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a software configuration example of the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, a software component group including an httpd (HyperText Transfer Protocol Daemon) 21, a WebPage generation unit 22, a FrontEnd unit 23, a device management unit 24, and the like is mounted (installed) on the device management apparatus 100. Yes.

  httpd21 is a program on a Web server that is resident in the information processing system, accepts an operation request from a browser, and transmits content stored in the server in response to the request.

  The WebPage generation unit 22 generates a Web page to be displayed on the browser based on the request received at httpd21.

  The FrontEnd unit 23 acquires data necessary for generating a Web page by the WebPage generation unit 22 from a device management unit 24 described later, and processes the data into Web page generation data based on the acquired data.

  In order to realize the device management function, the device management unit 24 performs various data management such as monitoring of the management target device 200, acquisition of device information, and management of acquired information, and various searches and updates according to requests. Perform data manipulation.

  That is, the device management unit 24 corresponds to a software component that realizes a device management function that operates on the device management apparatus 100. The httpd 21, WebPage generation unit 22, front end unit 23, and the like correspond to software components for realizing an information providing function for the PC 300.

<Device management function>
Next, a device management function according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the state until the management target device 200 is finally determined not to respond is checked step by step. The device management apparatus 100 controls activation of a thread that performs device monitoring processing based on the confirmation result. Specifically, the device management apparatus 100 manages the management target device 200 in which the monitoring standby state is confirmed when the monitoring target state in the management target device 200 is confirmed until a certain time elapses (timeout) after no response is received. The device 200 is excluded from a response waiting target. The device management apparatus 100 activates a new thread for performing device monitoring processing on another managed device 200. The device management apparatus 100 has such a device management function.

  In the device management function according to the present embodiment, for example, when many managed devices 200 are in a no-response state such as at night, an extension of processing time for device monitoring is prevented.

  Therefore, the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment does not wait for a final determination of a no-response state due to a timeout, and confirms a state in which no response is likely to occur. Starts a new thread that performs device monitoring processing. The device management apparatus 100 performs control so that a standby time for device monitoring processing, which is a cause for extending the monitoring time, does not occur.

  As a result, even when many managed devices 200 are not responding, device monitoring processing can be performed without extending the monitoring time.

The configuration and operation of the device management function will be described below.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the device management function according to the present embodiment. 4, in the device management apparatus 100, a device information providing unit 241, a device information holding unit 242, a monitoring timer unit 243, a polling control unit 244, a MIB (Management Information Base) information acquiring unit 245, a device information updating unit. The device management unit 24 including the device response determination unit 246, the device response determination unit 247, and the control information holding unit 248 operates.

  The device management function mainly obtains MIB information from the management target device 200 and updates the device information of one or a plurality of management target devices 200 held as management data, and This is broadly classified into “information acquisition control function” for controlling information acquisition from the management target device 200. The device management function performs monitoring (device monitoring processing) of the management target device 200 by these functional operations.

  The “information acquisition / update function” is realized by the device information providing unit 241, the device information holding unit 242, the MIB information acquiring unit 245, and the device information updating unit 246 among the above functional units. The “information acquisition control function” is realized by the monitoring timer unit 243, the polling control unit 244, the device response determination unit 247, and the control information holding unit 248.

  Hereinafter, the “information acquisition / update function” and the “information acquisition control function” will be described in order.

<< Information acquisition / update function >>
The MIB information acquisition unit 245 acquires MIB information from the management target device 200 in response to the information acquisition request from the device information update unit 246. The MIB information acquisition unit 245 acquires MIB information from each managed device 200 connected by a predetermined data transmission path 90 via the communication control unit 31.

  The MIB information is information that a network device managed by SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) discloses in order to inform the outside of the device state. In the management target device 200, the MIB information is held by the MIB information holding unit 32.

  For example, based on the IP address of the management target device 200, the MIB information acquisition unit 245 makes a MIB information acquisition request to the management target device 200 using an SNMP Get command. As a result, the management target device 200 responds with MIB information by a Request command.

  The device information update unit 246 updates the device information of each managed device 200 held by the device information holding unit 242 based on the acquired MIB information.

  The device information holding unit 242 holds, for example, device information 41 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data example of the device information 41 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the device information 41 has a configuration in which information items such as “IP address”, “model name”, and “status” are associated with each other. The “IP address” is device specifying data for specifying the management target device 200. “Model name” is model specifying data for specifying the model of the management target device 200. “Status” is device state data representing the state of the management target device 200.

For example, the device information update unit 246 refers to the device information 41 based on the device identification data and the model identification data included in the MIB information, and selects MIB information from among a plurality of registered management target devices 200 ₁ to 200 _n. The management target device 200 that acquired the ID is specified. The device information update unit 246 updates the device status data of the identified management target device 200 based on the acquired MIB information.

  The device information 41 updated in this way is provided to the request source by the device information providing unit 241 in response to a request from the device list display information acquiring unit 231 included in the FrontEnd unit 23. As a result, the device list display information acquisition unit 231 acquires device list display information. The acquired information is transferred from the FrontEnd unit 23 to the WebPage generation unit 22, and the WebPage generation unit 22 generates a Web page for device list display. In the PC 300, for example, the Web page can be browsed through a browser.

<< Information acquisition control function >>
The monitoring timer unit 243 controls the start timing of the device monitoring process by instructing the polling control unit 244 to start the polling process according to a certain time interval.

  The monitoring of the management target device 200 is processing for detecting a change in the device state. Therefore, in the device monitoring process, the state change of the management target device 200 is detected based on the latest device information 41.

  Therefore, in order to monitor the management target device 200, it is necessary to periodically acquire MIB information from the management target device 200 and update the held device information 41 to the latest information. Therefore, in the device management apparatus 100, the polling control unit 244 that has received an operation start instruction from the monitoring timer unit 243 starts polling processing, and information acquisition and information update are performed.

  In response to the operation start instruction from the monitoring timer unit 243, the polling control unit 244 activates a thread that operates as an information acquisition / update function and starts polling processing.

  Here, the thread will be briefly described. A thread is an execution unit of software on an OS that supports multithreading. One program has at least one thread. Threads belonging to the same program share resources such as a work area on the RAM 104. In addition, a plurality of activated threads can be apparently executed simultaneously by occupying the CPU 106 alternately. In other words, it can be processed in parallel.

  Therefore, the polling control unit 244 activates a plurality of threads in response to an operation instruction from the monitoring timer unit 243. The number of threads activated by the polling control unit 244 is determined in advance as an appropriate value (hereinafter referred to as “maximum number of threads”) that allows communication between the management target device 200 and the device management apparatus 100. .

  The polling control unit 244 manages the number of currently activated threads (hereinafter referred to as “number of activated threads”), and activates a new thread based on the maximum number of threads. In this way, the information acquisition / update function is executed in parallel by a plurality of threads.

  The number of activated threads is managed by adding the number of activated threads when the threads are activated and subtracting when an end notification is received. Thus, the number of activated threads is updated according to the increase or decrease of threads.

  A thread activated by the polling control unit 244 (hereinafter referred to as “information acquisition / update thread” for convenience) sends a device response to the device response determination unit 247 before making an information acquisition request to the management target device 200. Make a confirmation request.

  The device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not there is a response from the management target device 200 to the request. For example, the device response determination unit 247 makes a request for checking a response (dummy request) before making an information acquisition request, and determines whether there is a response from the management target device 200.

  In addition, the device response determination unit 247 checks the state until the management target device 200 is finally determined not to respond step by step. Normally, the no-response state of the management target device 200 is determined based on the elapse of a preset timeout value (elapse of a certain time). Specifically, if there is no response even after the timeout value has elapsed since the first request was made, it is determined that there is no response.

  Therefore, the device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not the management target device 200 is in a monitoring standby state (a state in which no response is likely to occur) until a certain time elapses (timeout) after no response is received. As a result, the device response determination unit 247 checks the state until the management target device 200 is finally determined not to respond step by step.

  The device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not the monitoring standby state is established by the following method.

(Dummy request judgment)
If there is no response to the dummy request, the device response determination unit 247 determines that the management target device 200 is in the monitoring standby state.

(Judgment based on multiple timeout values)
For example, two timeout values are prepared. One is a first timeout value for finally determining a no-response state, and the other is a second timeout value (temporary timeout value) that is smaller (shorter time) than the first timeout value. is there.

  In this way, by setting the timeout value in stages, for example, it is possible to make a determination in consideration of a response delay due to a communication load.

  The device response determination unit 247 determines that the managed device 200 is in the monitoring standby state if there is no response even after the second timeout value has elapsed since the dummy request was made.

  As described above, the device response determination unit 247 determines not only the presence / absence of a response from the management target device 200 but also the management target device 200 in the monitoring standby state until the final determination of the no response state.

  The device response determination unit 247 responds to the information acquisition / update thread of the request source with the confirmation result of the device response described above.

  The information acquisition / update thread manages the confirmation status of device responses based on the number of managed devices 200 waiting for responses (hereinafter referred to as “number of devices waiting for responses”). The information acquisition / update thread adds the number of devices waiting for a response when making a device response confirmation request. Further, the information acquisition / update thread subtracts the number of devices waiting for a response when the device response confirmation result is “response received” or “monitoring standby state (a state in which no response is likely to occur)”. That is, the number of devices waiting for a response is the number of devices 200 to be managed that are not determined to be in the monitoring standby state among the devices 200 that are waiting for a response.

  In the information acquisition / update thread, when the device response confirmation result is "monitoring standby state", the number of devices waiting for response is subtracted, and when the monitoring standby state is confirmed, the management target whose monitoring standby state is confirmed The device 200 is not subject to response waiting. As described above, the number of devices waiting for a response is updated according to the confirmation result of the device response.

  The information acquisition / update thread controls the execution of the information acquisition / update function based on the confirmation result of the device response (result of response presence / absence). The information acquisition / update thread executes information acquisition by the MIB information acquisition unit 245 and information update by the device information update unit 246 only when the confirmation result of the device response is “response”. The information acquisition / update thread executes only information update by the device information update unit 246 when the device response confirmation result is “no response”.

  After the information update, the information acquisition / update thread notifies the polling control unit 244 of the end of the thread.

  The monitoring timer unit 243 confirms a change in the number of devices waiting for a response after instructing the polling control unit 244 to start polling processing. As described above, the number of devices waiting for a response is updated by the information acquisition / update thread based on the confirmation result of the device response by the device response determination unit 247.

  When it is confirmed that the number of devices waiting for response has been updated, the monitoring timer unit 243 requests the polling control unit 244 to determine whether a new thread can be activated. In other words, the monitoring timer unit 243 confirms whether there is a management target device 200 that has been confirmed as being in a monitoring standby state and is not a response waiting target, from the change in the number of devices waiting for a response.

  Based on the maximum number of threads, the number of activated threads, and the number of devices waiting for a response, the polling control unit 244 determines, for example, whether a new thread can be activated according to the following conditional expression (thread activation condition). .

(Conditional expression)
[Number of activated threads] <[Maximum number of threads] + [Number of devices waiting for response]
In the case of the above conditional expression, it is determined that a new thread can be activated while the number of activated threads is smaller than the sum of the maximum number of threads and the number of devices waiting for response. Note that an upper limit value that can be provided by a service related to device management is provided for the number of activated threads according to the conditional expression. This upper limit value is the maximum number of activated threads in consideration of response-waiting devices, and is a value in consideration of resource resources including hardware performance of the device management apparatus 100.

  As a result, the polling control unit 244 does not wait for the final determination of the no-response state due to timeout, and at the time of confirming the state that is likely to be no response, performs the device monitoring process on the other managed devices 200. Start a new thread to do. Also, the polling control unit 244 can increase the number of threads to be processed in parallel (simultaneously executed) while the start condition is satisfied by the start control of the new thread using the conditional expression.

  Note that the control data including the first timeout value, the second timeout value, the maximum number of threads, the number of activated threads, the number of devices waiting for a response, and the like are, for example, as shown in FIG. It is held by the holding unit 248.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data example of the control information 42 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the control information 42 has a configuration in which information items such as “setting item” and “control value” are associated with each other. “Setting item” is item identification data representing an item that can be set as a control value, and “control value” is actual data of each item.

  For example, the default values are set for the actual data corresponding to the setting items “temporary timeout value”, “timeout value”, and “maximum number of threads”, and the setting can be changed later using a predetermined tool or command. it can. On the other hand, the actual data corresponding to the setting items “number of activated threads” and “number of devices waiting for response” are initially set to the initial value “0”, and are updated dynamically when the process is executed.

  Such control information 42 is referred to or updated by the monitoring timer unit 243 and the polling unit 244 (including the activation thread) as described above.

  The device information holding unit 242 and the control information holding unit 248 are functions of a nonvolatile storage device such as the HDD 108 provided in the device management apparatus 100, for example.

  As described above, the device management function according to the present embodiment is realized by the above-described functional units linking to each other.

  Next, a detailed operation of the device management function (operation of function unit group) will be described with reference to a flowchart showing a processing procedure.

  In the device management function, a device management program (software component) installed (installed) in the device management apparatus 100 is read from the storage location (for example, “ROM”) onto the RAM 104 by the CPU 106, and the following processing is executed. It is realized by doing.

  Hereinafter, in the device monitoring process, two cases of a response from the management target device 200 (A) and a case of no response (B) will be described in order.

(A) Case of Response FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a device monitoring process procedure (with a response) according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, in the device management apparatus 100, first, the monitoring timer unit 243 waits for a predetermined time (step S101), and then instructs the polling control unit 244 to start polling processing (step S102).

  The polling control unit 244 activates the information acquisition / update thread Th (step S201), and adds (+1) the number of activated threads held by the control information holding unit 248 (step S202).

  The activated information acquisition / update thread Th makes a device response confirmation request to the device response determination unit 247 (step S203), and adds (+1) the number of response-waiting devices stored in the control information storage unit 248 (+1) ( Step S204).

  In response to the request, the device response determination unit 247 confirms the device response with respect to the management target device 200 (step S205). At this time, the device response determination unit 247 confirms the device response by issuing a dummy request to the management target device 200.

  The device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not there is a response from the management target device 200 in response to the request (step S206).

  When the device response of the management target device 200 is confirmed, the device response determination unit 247 passes the determination result determined as “response received” in step S206 to the information acquisition / update thread Th of the confirmation request source (step S207). ).

  As a result, the information acquisition / update thread Th subtracts (-1) the number of devices waiting for a response (step S208).

  Subsequently, the information acquisition / update thread Th makes a device information update request to the device information update unit 246 based on the determination result “response received” (step S209).

  In response to the request, the device information update unit 246 makes a device information acquisition request to the MIB information acquisition unit 245 (step S210).

  The MIB information acquisition unit 245 acquires MIB information from the management target device 200 (step S211), and passes the acquired MIB information to the acquisition request source device information update unit 246 (step S212).

  Thereby, the device information update unit 246 updates the device information held by the device information holding unit 242 to the latest information based on the received MIB information (step S213), and updates the update request source information acquisition / update information. The update thread Th is notified (step S214).

  The information acquisition / update thread Th receives the update completion notification, notifies the polling control unit 244 of the end of the thread, and ends the operation of the information acquisition / update function (step S215).

  Upon receiving the thread end notification, the polling control unit 244 subtracts (−1) the number of activated threads (step S216).

  Further, after instructing the start of polling processing, the monitoring timer unit 243 periodically accesses the control information holding unit 248 (step S301), and checks whether or not the number of devices waiting for response has been updated (step S301). S302). That is, the monitoring timer unit 243 monitors changes in the number of devices waiting for a response that are updated by the information acquisition / update thread Th.

  When the update of the number of devices waiting for a response is confirmed, the monitoring timer unit 243 requests the polling control unit 244 to determine whether or not to activate the thread (step S303).

  The polling control unit 244 determines whether a new thread can be activated according to a predetermined conditional expression based on the maximum number of threads, the number of activated threads, and the number of devices waiting for a response. (Step S304).

  As a result, the polling control unit 244 activates a new thread that performs device monitoring processing on another managed device 200 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Note that the number of new threads Th activated by the above determination is up to the upper limit (the maximum number of activated threads in consideration of response-waiting devices) that can be provided by a service related to device management provided in advance.

(B) Case of No Response FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processing procedure for device monitoring according to the present embodiment (no response: part 1). As shown in FIG. 8, in the device management apparatus 100, first, the monitoring timer unit 243 waits for a predetermined time (step S401), and then instructs the polling control unit 244 to start polling processing (step S402).

  The polling control unit 244 activates the information acquisition / update thread Th (step S501), and adds (+1) the number of activated threads held by the control information holding unit 248 (step S502).

  The activated information acquisition / update thread Th makes a device response confirmation request to the device response determination unit 247 (step S503), and adds (+1) the number of response-waiting devices held in the control information holding unit 248 ( Step S504).

  In response to the request, the device response determination unit 247 confirms the device response to the management target device 200 (step S505). At this time, the device response determination unit 247 confirms the device response by issuing a dummy request to the management target device 200.

  The device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not there is a response from the management target device 200 in response to the request (step S506).

  If the device response of the management target device 200 is not confirmed, the device response determination unit 247 obtains the information obtained from the confirmation request source based on the determination result determined as “monitoring standby state (a state in which no response is likely to occur)” in step S506. Pass to update thread Th (step S507).

  As a result, the information acquisition / update thread Th subtracts (-1) the number of devices waiting for a response (step S508).

  Further, the device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not there is a response from the management target device 200 until a predetermined time elapses (timeout) (step S509). At this time, the device response determination unit 247 refers to the first timeout value (timeout value for performing the final determination) held in the control information holding unit 248, and for a certain time according to the first timeout value ( Until the first timeout value elapses), the presence or absence of a response is determined.

  As a result, if the device response of the management target device 200 is not confirmed even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the device response determination unit 247 displays the determination result determined as “no response” in step S509 as the confirmation request source. The information is passed to the information acquisition / update thread Th (step S510). In this way, the final no-response state is determined.

  The information acquisition / update thread Th makes a device information update request to the device information update unit 246 based on the determination result “no response” (step S511).

  In response to the request, the device information update unit 246 updates the device information held by the device information holding unit 242 to the latest information (status: no response) (step S512), and updates the update request source information acquisition / update information. The update thread Th is notified (step S513). As described above, when the final no-response state is determined, the device status data is changed to “no response” without performing the information acquisition to the management target device 200, and only the information update is performed.

  The information acquisition / update thread Th receives the update completion notification, notifies the polling control unit 244 of the end of the thread, and ends the operation of the information acquisition / update function (step S514).

  Upon receiving the thread end notification, the polling control unit 244 subtracts (−1) the number of activated threads (step S515).

  In addition, after instructing the start of polling processing, the monitoring timer unit 243 periodically accesses the control information holding unit 248 (step S601), and checks whether the number of devices waiting for response has been updated (step S601). S602). That is, the monitoring timer unit 243 monitors a change in the number of devices waiting for a response that is updated by the information acquisition / update thread Th.

  When the update of the number of devices waiting for a response is confirmed, the monitoring timer unit 243 requests the polling control unit 244 to determine whether the thread can be activated (step S603).

  The polling control unit 244 determines whether a new thread can be activated according to a predetermined conditional expression based on the maximum number of threads, the number of activated threads, and the number of devices waiting for a response. (Step S604).

  As a result, the polling control unit 244 activates a new thread that performs device monitoring processing on another managed device 200 when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  As described above, in the device management apparatus 100, a plurality of threads (information acquisition / update thread Th) are activated at regular time intervals, and device monitoring processing is performed in parallel on the plurality of managed devices 200. . Further, the device management apparatus 100 repeats the activation and termination of the thread by the number of managed devices 200.

  Conventionally, after making an information acquisition request to the management target device 200, a no-response state is finally determined due to a timeout, and a new thread is activated when the activated thread is terminated. As a result, a waiting time of device monitoring processing (waiting time until a new thread is activated) due to a non-response state of the management target device 200 occurs.

  Therefore, the device management apparatus 100 activates a new thread according to the thread activation condition when the device response by the dummy request is confirmed without waiting for the thread termination notification of the activated thread to prevent the waiting time of the device monitoring process. Decide whether or not to do.

  FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a processing procedure example (no response: part 2) of device monitoring according to the present embodiment. The difference from the processing procedure shown in FIG. 8 is that the device response is determined using two timeout values. Therefore, in the following description, only the process related to the above difference (steps S803 to S814) will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the activated information acquisition / update thread Th makes a device response confirmation request to the device response determination unit 247 (step S803), and the number of response-waiting devices held by the control information holding unit 248 Are added (+1) (step S804).

  In response to the request, the device response determination unit 247 confirms the device response with respect to the management target device 200 (step S805). At this time, the device response determination unit 247 confirms the device response by issuing a dummy request to the management target device 200.

  The device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not there is a response from the management target device 200 to the request for a predetermined time until the provisional timeout value elapses (step S806). At this time, the device response determination unit 247 refers to the second timeout value held in the control information holding unit 248, and determines whether or not there is a response for a certain time according to the second timeout value (temporary timeout value). To do.

  If the device response of the management target device 200 is not confirmed even after a certain period of time has elapsed, the device response determination unit 247 determines that the “monitoring standby state (a state in which there is no response)” is determined in step S806. Is passed to the information acquisition / update thread Th of the confirmation request source (step S807).

  As a result, the information acquisition / update thread Th subtracts (-1) the number of devices waiting for a response (step S808).

  In addition, the device response determination unit 247 determines whether or not there is a response from the management target device 200 for a certain period of time until the first timeout value elapses (step S809). At this time, the device response determination unit 247 refers to the first timeout value held in the control information holding unit 248, and responds for a certain time according to the first timeout value (timeout value for final determination). The presence or absence of is determined.

  As a result, if the device response of the management target device 200 is not confirmed even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the device response determination unit 247 displays the determination result determined as “no response” in step S809 as the confirmation request source. The information is passed to the information acquisition / update thread Th (step S810). In this way, the final no-response state is determined.

  The information acquisition / update thread Th makes a device information update request to the device information update unit 246 based on the determination result “no response” (step S811).

  In response to the request, the device information update unit 246 updates the device information held in the device information holding unit 242 to the latest information (status: no response) (step S812), and updates the update request source information acquisition / The update thread Th is notified (step S813). As described above, when the final no-response state is determined, the device status data is changed to “no response” without performing the information acquisition to the management target device 200, and only the information update is performed.

  The information acquisition / update thread Th receives the update completion notification, notifies the polling control unit 244 of the end of the thread, and ends the operation of the information acquisition / update function (step S814).

  As described above, the device management apparatus 100 does not simply determine the presence / absence of a response to the dummy request in the device response confirmation, and among them, the time is shorter than the time for finally determining the no response state. Then, it waits for a response from the management target device 200. Thereby, even when a response delay occurs due to a communication load or the like, the device response can be confirmed step by step.

<Summary>
As described above, according to the device management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, a monitoring standby state from when no response is received until a certain time elapses (timeout) without waiting for a final determination of a no-response state due to timeout. Upon confirming (a state in which no response is likely to occur), a new thread for performing device monitoring processing on another managed device 200 is activated. The device management apparatus 100 performs control so that a standby time for device monitoring processing, which is a cause for extending the monitoring time, does not occur.

  As a result, the device management apparatus 100 can perform device monitoring processing without extending the monitoring time even when many managed devices 200 are not responding, such as when the power is turned off at night.

  Although the above embodiment has been described so far, the “device management function” of the device management apparatus 100 according to the above embodiment describes each processing procedure described with reference to the drawing in accordance with the operating environment (platform). A program coded in a programming language suitable for the above is executed by the CPU 106 and realized.

  The program can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium 103a. Examples of the recording medium 103a include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD memory card (SD Memory Card), and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory.

  Therefore, the program can be installed in the device management apparatus 100 via the drive device 103 that can read the recording medium 103a, an external storage I / F (not shown), or the like. In addition, since the device management apparatus 100 includes the interface device 107, the program can be downloaded and installed using a telecommunication line such as the Internet.

  In the above embodiment, the device information 41 and the control information 42 are stored in a storage device (for example, “HDD”) included in the device management apparatus 100 (a configuration including the device information holding unit 242 and the control information holding unit 248). However, this is not the case. For example, if the device management apparatus 100 includes an external storage I / F device (not shown), the recording medium 103a including the SD memory card and the USB memory may be held. Furthermore, a configuration may be employed in which an external device connected by a predetermined data transmission path 90 holds via an interface device 107 provided in the device management apparatus 100. In the case where the device information 41 and the control information 42 are held externally, it is assumed that the device management unit 24 can specify the storage destination of each information.

  Finally, the present invention is not limited to the requirements shown here, such as combinations of other elements with the shapes and configurations described in the above embodiments. With respect to these points, the present invention can be changed within a range that does not detract from the gist of the present invention, and can be appropriately determined according to the application form.

1 Device management system 21 httpd
22 WebPage generation unit 23 FrontEnd unit 231 Device list display information acquisition unit 24 Device management unit 241 Device information provision unit 242 Device information holding unit 243 Monitoring timer unit 244 Polling control unit 245 MIB information acquisition unit 246 Device information update unit 247 Device response Determination unit 248 Control information holding unit 31 Communication control unit 32 MIB information holding unit 41 Device information 42 Control information 90 Data transmission path 100 Device management device 101 Input device 102 Display device 103 Drive device (a: recording medium)
104 RAM (volatile semiconductor memory)
105 ROM (nonvolatile semiconductor memory)
106 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
107 Interface device (NIC: Network I / F Card)
108 HDD (nonvolatile storage device)
200 Device to be managed (image processing device)
300 Client PC (information processing device)

JP 2004-247866 A JP 2008-125009 A

Claims (11)

A device management apparatus that acquires device information including status information from a plurality of devices connected via a predetermined data transmission path, and manages the plurality of devices based on the acquired plurality of device information,
An information acquisition / update unit for performing an acquisition process of the device information and / or an update process of the device information held as management data;
A device response determination means for determining whether or not one or a plurality of devices are in a monitoring standby state until a certain time elapses after no response is received;
And a processing control unit that controls a plurality of the information acquisition / update units to be executed simultaneously based on a determination result by the device response determination unit. The processing control means includes
When it is determined by the device response determination means that the monitoring standby state,
2. The apparatus management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of the information acquisition / update means to be executed simultaneously is increased and the information acquisition / update means is executed. The processing control means includes
The information acquisition / update that is executed simultaneously is added to the maximum number of information acquisition / update means that can be executed at the same time, and the number of devices that are not determined to be in the monitoring standby state among the devices waiting for a response is added. The device management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the number of means is increased. The processing control means includes
In accordance with a predetermined condition, determine whether to execute the information acquisition / update means,
4. The device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition / update unit is executed based on a determination result. The processing control means includes
The number of the information acquisition / update means currently being executed is the maximum number of the information acquisition / update means that can be executed at the same time. The device management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information acquisition / update unit determines that the information acquisition / update unit can be executed when the number is smaller than a value obtained by adding the number of the device. The device response determination means is
Before the device information acquisition process and / or the device information update process by the execution of the information acquisition / update means,
2. A request for confirming a device response is issued to the management target device, and it is determined whether or not the monitoring standby state is based on the presence or absence of a response to the request. The device management apparatus according to claim 5. The device response determination means is
A request for confirming a device response is issued to the management target device, and the monitoring standby state is based on the presence or absence of a response to the request when a time shorter than the time-out value that is the predetermined time has elapsed. The device management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein it is determined whether or not A plurality of devices and a device management apparatus that acquires device information including state information from the plurality of devices and manages the plurality of devices based on the acquired plurality of device information, via a predetermined data transmission path Connected device management system,
An information acquisition / update unit for performing an acquisition process of the device information and / or an update process of the device information held as management data;
Device response determination means for determining whether or not the device is in a monitoring standby state until a certain time elapses after no response is received;
And a process control unit that controls a plurality of the information acquisition / update units to be executed simultaneously based on a determination result by the device response determination unit. A device management method in a device management apparatus that acquires device information including status information from a plurality of devices connected via a predetermined data transmission path, and manages the plurality of devices based on the acquired plurality of device information. There,
A device response determination procedure for determining whether or not one or a plurality of devices are in a monitoring standby state until a predetermined time elapses after no response is received;
A process control procedure for controlling to simultaneously execute a plurality of information acquisition / update processes for acquiring the device information and / or updating the device information held as management data based on the determination result by the device response determination procedure And a device management method. A device management program in a device management apparatus that acquires device information including status information from a plurality of devices connected via a predetermined data transmission path, and manages the plurality of devices based on the acquired plurality of device information. There,
Computer
An information acquisition / update unit for performing an acquisition process of the device information and / or an update process of the device information held as management data;
A device response determination means for determining whether or not one or a plurality of devices are in a monitoring standby state until a certain time elapses after no response is received;
A device management program that functions as a processing control unit that controls a plurality of the information acquisition / update units to be executed simultaneously based on a determination result by the device response determination unit.   A computer-readable recording medium storing the program according to claim 10.

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