JP2014170275A - Management server device, client device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a management server device which enables a client device to generate an appropriate print port and change a current print port.SOLUTION: A management server device comprises: selection means which selects client device information from client list information stored in a storage device; editing means which edits print port information associated with the client device information selected by the selection means; creation means which creates a task for setting a print port on the basis of the print port information edited by the editing means; and transmission means which transmits task information about the task created by the creation means to the client device indicated by the client device information.

Description

  The present invention relates to a management server device, a client device, an information processing method, and a program.

A client device connected to an office network uses a driver when printing is performed by a device such as a printing device. Here, the driver is software for forming print data corresponding to a device to be output in accordance with a print instruction from an application. Furthermore, the image data formed by the driver is transmitted to a device from a print port (hereinafter simply referred to as a print port) using a protocol such as IP (Internet Protocol) and printed.
With regard to IP, in recent years, IPv6, which can allocate more addresses, has become widespread in addition to conventional IPv4. Along with this, there are IP support modes of devices and client apparatuses connected on the office network, such as an IPv4 only mode, an IPv6 only mode, and a mode using both IPs. In addition, as an IP format used in the office, even if both IPv4 and IPv6 can be used, from the viewpoint of security other than restrictions due to physical specifications of the device or client device, Only one of these IPs may be used.
When a client device using such a print port prints on a device, a driver corresponding to the device and the print port must be installed in the client device in advance, and various installation methods have been provided in the past It has been.
For example, as a method for generating a print port, there is a method using an installer having a function of installing a driver. First, an installer (hereinafter simply referred to as an installer) activated by a user in a client device searches for a device on the network supported by the driver. Next, the installer acquires support information for the print port of the searched device. Next, the installer displays a device list screen including information on the searched device and the print port selection function supported by the device. Then, the installer installs the print port selected by the user on the device list screen together with the driver. (Patent Document 1)

JP 2008-77513 A

However, the technique of Patent Document 1 generates a print port supported by a device regardless of the protocol running on the client device that generates the print port. Therefore, for example, when an IPv6 print port is installed in a client device in which only IPv4 is valid, the client device cannot perform printing via the print port. In the technique of Patent Document 1, when a print port once installed is changed according to a protocol change of a device or a client device, it is necessary to delete the installed driver and the print port. And the technique of patent document 1 needs to restart an installer again and to install a driver and a printing port again. Alternatively, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires a user to manually delete an existing print port and then generate a new print port.
Here, the protocol change means that the protocol effective in the device or the client apparatus is changed from only IPv4 to only IPv6, or changed so that both IPs can be used.
As described above, the conventional print port management method cannot generate or change an appropriate print port according to the effective protocol of the device or the client apparatus.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to generate or change an appropriate print port.

  Therefore, the management server device of the present invention includes a selection unit that selects client device information from client list information stored in a storage device, and print port information associated with the client device information selected by the selection unit. The client device information indicates editing means for editing, creation means for creating a task relating to setting of a print port based on print port information edited by the editing means, and task information of the task created by the creation means Transmitting means for transmitting to the client device.

  Further, the client device of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives task information related to editing of print port information from the management server device, an acquiring unit that acquires protocol information of the own device, and the task information received by the receiving unit. Specifying means for specifying the print port information of the print port to be generated by referring to the rule information stored in the storage device based on the print port information included in the information and the protocol information acquired by the acquisition unit; Print port generation means for generating a print port based on the print port information specified by the specifying means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to generate or change an appropriate print port.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a printing environment (part 1). FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a printing environment (part 2); It is a figure which shows an example of a system configuration. It is a figure which shows an example of a hardware constitutions. It is a figure which shows an example of a software structure etc. FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a device list. It is a figure which shows an example of a driver list. FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a client list. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a process of a management server apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a menu selection screen. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a client apparatus selection process. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a client device selection screen (part 1); It is a figure which shows an example of a driver selection screen. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a setting screen for a printer and a print port (part 1); 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of print port information editing processing. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an edit screen for print port information. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the setting process of a registration task. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting screen of a registration task. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the task transmission process in a management server apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the task execution process in a client apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of printing port specific information. It is a figure (example 2) which shows an example of a client list. FIG. 10 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a device list. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a client device selection screen (part 2); FIG. 10 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a printer and print port setting screen. FIG. 10 is a third diagram illustrating an example of a printer and print port setting screen. FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a client list (part 3);

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing environment including a device 2000 and a client device 3000.
Here, a device DevA (hereinafter simply referred to as DevA), DevB, DevC, and DevD such as a printing apparatus are collectively referred to as a device 2000. Further, the client device PC-A1 to the client device PC-An (hereinafter simply referred to as PC-A1 to An), PC-B1 to Bn, and PC-C1 to Cn are collectively referred to as a client device 3000.
The device 2000 and the client device 3000 are connected to each other via a communication line 4000.
The device 2000 is a printing apparatus having a print processing function, and may be an SFP having only a print function, or may be an MFP having a scanner, a copy and fax function in addition to the print function.
The client device 3000 can control a driver by an application and can print on the device 2000 via a print port.
PC-A1 to An use DevA and DevB. PC-B1 to Bn use DevC. PC-C1 to Cn use DevD.

DevA has device information 2010. DevB has device information 2020. DevC has device information 2030. DevD has device information 2040.
Here, the address is an IP address of the device 2000 that can receive print data from the client device 3000. For example, IPv4_A means the IP address of DevA in the IPv4 form, and IPv6_A means the IP address of DevA in the IPv6 form. That is, a print port corresponding to this address is generated on the client device 3000.
In the present embodiment, a print port generated in the client device 3000 corresponding to IPv4_A, which is an IP address of DevA's IPv4 form, is also referred to as IPv4_A. Hereinafter, when a print port using an IP address such as IPv4_A or IPv6_A is distinguished from a local port, it is referred to as an IP port.

The PC-A1 to An have protocol information 3010. The PC-B1 to Bn have protocol information 3020. The PC-C1 to Cn have protocol information 3030.
Here, the protocol information means a protocol operating on the client device 3000. In FIG. 1A, as the operating status of each protocol, a valid protocol is described as “Enable”, and an invalid protocol as “Disable”. That is, in FIG. 1A, PC-A1 to An are environments in which both protocols of IPv4 and IPv6 are effective. As for PC-B1-Bn, IPv4 is an effective environment, but IPv6 is an invalid environment. In PC-C1 to Cn, IPv6 is an effective environment, but IPv4 is an invalid environment.

The print information 5010, 5020, and 5030 are print information indicating the optimum print environment of the client apparatus 3000 based on the above-described device information and protocol information.
The print information 5010, 5020, and 5030 includes driver information and print port information.
The driver information includes information on a driver name, version, printer name, and corresponding device name. Here, the driver name is the name of the driver. The version is the version of the driver. The printer name is the name of the printer object generated by the above driver. The supported device name is a device name of the device 2000 supported by the driver, and may correspond to a plurality of devices 2000 depending on the driver.
The print port information includes information on the print port and the output device name. Here, the print port is a port for sending print data to the device 2000 having the protocol corresponding to the address of the device information and the IP address. The output device name corresponds to the corresponding device name in the driver information described above, and is the name of the device 2000 that prints the print data sent from the print port. The output device name is an example of output destination device information (the same applies to the following).

The driver information for DevA of PC-A1 to An indicates that the driver to be installed is driver name DrvA, the version is v1.0, the printer name to be generated is PrnA, and the print port to be used is IPv4_A.
Here, both the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols are effective for PC-A1 to An, and both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are effective for DevA. Therefore, PC-A1 to An can construct both IPv4 and IPv6 print ports, but in this embodiment, if both protocol print ports can be constructed, an IPv4 protocol print port is generated. To do.
In the communication between the device 2000 currently used in the market and the device management unit 30 of the management server apparatus 1000 described later, the conventional IPv4 protocol has higher operational stability than the new IPv6. It is. Therefore, when both the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols can be used, the device 2000 often prioritizes IPv4. Therefore, when both protocols are valid in generating the print port, the IPv4 print port generation is prioritized. It shall be.
The driver information for DevB of PC-A1 to An indicates that the driver to be installed is driver name DrvB, the version is v2.0, the printer name to be generated is PrnB, and the print port to be used is IPv4_B.
Here, both the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols are effective for PC-A1 to An, but only an IPv4 address is effective for DevB. Therefore, the print port used by PC-A1 to An is IPv4_B.

Similarly, the driver information for DevC of PC-B1 to Bn indicates that the driver to be installed is driver name DrvC, the version is v1.0, the printer name to be generated is PrnC, and the print port to be used is IPv4_C.
Here, although both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are effective for DevC, only IPv4 protocol is effective for PC-B1 to Bn. Therefore, the print port used by PC-B1 to Bn is IPv4_C.
Similarly, the driver information for DevD of PC-C1 to Cn indicates that the driver to be installed is driver name DrvD, the version is v1.0, the printer name to be generated is PrnD, and the print port to be used is IPv6_D.
Here, although both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are valid for DevD, only the IPv6 protocol is valid for PC-C1 to Cn. Therefore, the print port used by the PC-C1 to Cn is IPv6_D.

Next, a case where the printing environment of the client device 3000 in FIG. 1A is changed to the printing environment as shown in FIG. 1B will be described.
The changes in the printing environment are as follows.
-In the printing environment of PC-A1 to An, the IPv4 address of DevA is changed to invalid.
In the printing environment of PC-B1 to Bn, the effective protocol of PC-B1 to Bn is changed to IPv6 only.
-In the printing environment of PC-C1 to Cn, the effective protocol of PC-C1 to Cn is changed to IPv4 only. In DevD, only the IPv4 address is effectively changed.
The print information 5010, 5020, and 5030 of the client device 3000 illustrated in FIG. 1B indicates an optimal printing environment when the above-described changes are made.
That is, the user needs to change the print port for DevA of PC-A1 to An from IPv4_A to IPv6_A. On the other hand, the user does not need to change the print port for DevB of PC-A1 to An. Further, the user needs to change the print port for DevC of PC-B1 to Bn from IPv4_C to IPv6_C. Similarly, the user needs to change the print port for DevD of PC-C1 to Cn from IPv6_D to IPv4_D.
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment for realizing the above will be described in detail.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of the system according to the present embodiment.
The system according to the present embodiment includes a management server apparatus 1000, DevA to Devn (collectively referred to as a device 2000), PC-A1 to An, PC-B1 to Bn, and PC-C1 to Cn (collectively referred to as a client apparatus 3000). Including). The management server device 1000, the device 2000, and the client device 3000 are connected to each other via a communication line 4000.
Here, the management server apparatus 1000 is a server apparatus having a device management unit 30 shown in FIG. 4 to be described later for managing the device 2000 and the client apparatus 3000. The management server apparatus 1000 also creates, registers, and manages a printer addition task and a print port switching task in the client apparatus 3000.
The device 2000 is a printing apparatus that executes printing based on an instruction from the client apparatus 3000.
The client apparatus 3000 is an information processing apparatus that can execute printing with the device 2000 via a print port. Further, the client device 3000 can execute a task managed by the management server device 1000.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the management server apparatus 1000 and the client apparatus 3000.
Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the management server apparatus 1000 will be described.
The CPU 10 of the management server apparatus 1000 uses the RAM 12 as a work area to execute a program stored in the ROM 11 and the HDD 19 to execute processing related to the function (software configuration) of the management server apparatus 1000 and a flowchart of the management server apparatus 1000 described later. Realize. More specifically, the CPU 10 realizes the function of the device management unit 30 of the management server apparatus 1000 by executing a program stored in the ROM 11 and the HDD 19, and further, the device management unit 30 executes each function of the management server apparatus 1000. Function is realized. Note that a program for the CPU 10 to realize the device management unit 30 is supplied by a storage medium such as a flexible disk (FD), CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic tape, and IC memory card that can be mounted on the DiskDrive 20. Here, the DiskDrive 20 and the HDD 19 are connected to the system bus 13 via a disk controller (DKC) 18.

Further, the CPU 10 displays a user interface on the display device (CRT) 15 via the video card (VC) 14.
Further, the CPU 10 performs control in accordance with an input instruction to the previous user interface received from a keyboard (KB) 17 or a pointing device such as a mouse via the keyboard controller (KBC) 16.
Further, the CPU 10 performs data communication with the device 2000 and the client device 3000 on the communication line 4000 via the network interface board (NIC) 21.
It is assumed that the hardware configuration of the client device 3000 is the same as the hardware configuration of the management server device 1000. That is, the CPU 10 of the client device 3000 uses the RAM 12 as a work area, and executes the program stored in the ROM 11 and the HDD 19 to realize functions (software configuration) of the client device 3000 and processing related to the flowchart of the client device 3000 described later. To do. The CPU 10 of the management server apparatus 1000 implements the function of the device management unit 30 by executing a program. However, the CPU 10 of the client apparatus 3000 executes the driver control unit shown in FIG. 4 described later by executing the program. 40 functions are realized.

FIG. 4 described above is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of the management server apparatus 1000 and the client apparatus 3000.
The device management unit 30 of the management server apparatus 1000 includes a device search unit 31, a task management unit 32, a driver management unit 33, a data storage unit 34, and a driver storage unit 35. Note that the data storage unit 34 and the driver storage unit 35 may be configured by hardware. The client apparatus 3000 may use the device management unit 30 as a Web-based application. In that case, the client device 3000 uses the device management unit 30 via a Web browser.
The task management unit 32 has a schedule management function for tasks generated by the device search unit 31 and the driver management unit 33 and stored in the data storage unit 34. In addition, the task management unit 32 instructs the device search unit 31 and the driver management unit 33 that store the task to execute the task according to the schedule set for the task.
The device search unit 31 has a search function for the device 2000 by SNMP, IP Broadcast, SLP / Multicast, or the like. Here, the device search unit 31 can search the device 2000 at an arbitrary timing, and can acquire and change device information such as MIB (Management Information Base) via the communication line 4000 such as a LAN. . In the present embodiment, the device search unit 31 acquires device information such as a device name, an IPv4 address, and an IPv6 address as a result of device search, and stores the device information in the data storage unit 34.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device search result (hereinafter referred to as a device list). The device list is an example of output destination list information (the same applies below).
The device list in FIG. 5 includes device information of device names, IPv4 addresses, and IPv6 addresses. For example, the device list of FIG. 5 indicates that for DevA, the device name is DevA, the IPv4 address is IPv4_A, and the IPv6 address is IPv6_A. The same applies to other devices.
Here, Disable of the IPv4 address and the IPv6 address shown in the device list of FIG. 5 indicates that the IP address is not valid.
The management server apparatus 1000 may acquire the device list by importing a file such as a CSV file in addition to acquiring the device list by searching the device 2000 by the device searching unit 31.
The driver management unit 33 has a driver management function, a driver task management function, and a client device management function.
The driver management function of the driver management unit 33 stores the driver entity in the driver storage unit 35 and stores the driver information of the driver in the data storage unit 34 for management.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of driver information (hereinafter referred to as a driver list) managed by the driver management unit 33. The driver list is an example of driver list information (the same applies to the following).
The driver list includes driver information of a driver name, a version, and a corresponding device name. For example, the driver list of FIG. 6 indicates that a driver whose driver name is DrvA and whose version is v1.0 corresponds to the device 2000 having the device name DevA. The same applies to other drivers.
The driver task management function of the driver management unit 33 implements driver installation and uninstallation, printer and print port generation and deletion, print port switching, and the like for the client device 3000 by remote tasks.
Here, the CPU 10 of the client device 3000 executes the above-described remote task by the function of the driver control unit 40 realized by executing the service program stored in the ROM 11 and the HDD 19.

The driver task management function of the driver management unit 33 executes a task using the driver control unit 40 and a Web service using a protocol such as SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).
The printer addition task, which is one of the driver tasks of the present embodiment, is a task that realizes installation of a driver corresponding to an arbitrary device 2000, generation of a printer, and generation of a print port for an arbitrary client device 3000. . The printer addition task includes information on a task type indicating that it is a printer addition task, a driver to be installed and a storage destination thereof, a printer to be generated, and a print port to be generated.
On the other hand, the port switching task is a task for switching the print port generated in the client device 3000 to another print port by the printer addition task. The port switching task includes a task type indicating a port switching task, a printer for switching a print port, and information on a print port to be generated.

The client device management function of the driver management unit 33 manages the client device information notified from the driver control unit 40.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a list of client device information (hereinafter referred to as a client list) managed by the client device management function of the driver management unit 33. The client list is an example of client list information (the same applies below).
The client list includes client device name, protocol, driver name, version, printer name, print port, and output device name information. The client device name, protocol, driver name, version, printer name, print port, and output device name information are examples of information associated with the client list.
Here, the protocol means the protocol information 3010, 3020, and 3030 of the client device 3000 described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B. IPv4 / IPv6 described in the protocol column of the client list means that valid protocols in the client device 3000 are IPv4 and IPv6. Further, IPv4 described in the protocol column of the client list means that the only valid protocol in the client device 3000 is IPv4. Similarly, IPv6 described in the protocol column of the client list means that the effective protocol in the client device 3000 is only IPv6.

The driver name, version, printer name, print port, and output device name are information generated by a printer addition task or a port switching task executed by the driver control unit 40 on the client device 3000.
The driver name, version, and printer name are the same as the driver information of the print information 5010, 5020, and 5030 in FIGS.
The print port and output device name are the same as the print port information of the print information 5010, 5020, and 5030 in FIGS.
The driver name, version, printer name, and print port information are information that the driver control unit 40 of the client apparatus 3000 sends to the management server apparatus 1000 after executing the task. The output device name information is information that the driver management unit 33 specifies from the generated print port information received from the driver control unit 40 and the address information of the device list shown in FIG. . FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a device list.

The driver control unit 40 notifies the client device information to the driver management unit 33 in the following cases.
-After the driver control unit 40 itself is installed in the client device 3000-After executing a task for the client device 3000 such as a printer addition task and a port switching task-When the client device 3000 is activated-Any information request from the driver management unit 33 FIG. 7 is an example of a client list related to client device information notified after the driver control unit 40 itself is installed in the client device 3000, so only the information of the client device name and the protocol is described.

The data storage unit 34 is a data recording medium such as a database operating on the HDD 19 and stores device information and driver information. In the following embodiments including this embodiment, a storage device such as an HDD that stores a plurality of data is referred to as a database.
The driver storage unit 35 is a storage area for storing a driver entity such as an FTP server, an HTTP server, or a file server operating on the HDD 19.
The data storage unit 34 and the driver storage unit 35 may be in the management server apparatus 1000 as in the present embodiment, or may be in another server different from the management server apparatus 1000.

Next, a printer addition task creation process of the management server apparatus 1000 in this embodiment will be described in detail. The driver management unit 33 stores the device list in FIG. 5, the driver list in FIG. 6, and the client list in FIG. 7 in the data storage unit 34, and stores the driver entity in the driver storage unit 35. Shall.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printer addition task creation process and a port switching task creation process described later by the management server apparatus 1000.
First, the driver management unit 33 performs selection from the menu selection screen shown in FIG. 9 according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S100). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 selects the printer addition task creation menu.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu selection screen 50 displayed on the CRT 15 by the device management unit 30.
The menu selection screen 50 includes a menu 51 and a task creation area 52.
When the device management unit 30 receives a selection from the menu 51 of the menu selection screen 50 displayed on the CRT 15 through the operation of the KB 17 by the user, the device management unit 30 displays a task creation screen according to the received selection. 52.

Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether the selection in S100 is creation of a printer addition task or creation of a port switching task (S101). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 determines that the task is a printer addition task and advances the processing to S102.
Next, the driver management unit 33 selects a client device according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S102).
Details of the processing of S102 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the client device selection process.
The driver management unit 33 acquires the client device information from the client list of FIG. 7 stored in the data storage unit 34, and displays the selection screen of the client device 3000 in the task creation area 52 of FIG. 9 on the CRT 15 (S200). ).
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen of the client device 3000.
The selection screen of the client device 3000 in FIG. 11 displays the client device name and protocol information extracted from the client list shown in FIG. 7, and allows the user to select the client device 3000 via the KB 17. It is. That is, the selection screen of the client device 3000 in FIG. 11 is the selection screen of the client device 3000 having the driver control unit 40. Furthermore, the selection screen of the client apparatus 3000 in FIG. 11 includes a [Next] button for screen transition and a [Cancel] button for canceling the process.

Next, the driver management unit 33 selects the client device 3000 in accordance with a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S201). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 selects PC-A1 to An shown in FIG.
Returning to the description of FIG. 8, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the [Next] button shown in FIG. 11 has been pressed by a user operation via the KB 17 (S103). If the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Next] button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, if the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Cancel] button shown in FIG. 11 has been pressed, the process ends.
Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the selection in S100 is creation of a printer addition task (S104). If it is determined that creation of a printer addition task is created, the process proceeds to S105. . On the other hand, if the driver management unit 33 determines that the printer addition task is not created, the process proceeds to S115. Here, the driver management unit 33 determines that the printer addition task is to be created, and advances the process to S105.

Next, the driver management unit 33 acquires driver information from the driver list of FIG. 6 stored in the data storage unit 34, and displays a driver selection screen in the task creation area 52 of FIG. 9 on the CRT 15 (S105). ).
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a driver selection screen.
The driver selection screen in FIG. 12 is a screen that allows the user to select a driver from the driver list shown in FIG. 6 by an operation via the KB 17. Furthermore, the driver selection screen of FIG. 12 includes a [Next] button for screen transition and a [Cancel] button for canceling the processing.
Next, the driver management unit 33 selects a driver according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S106). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 selects DrvA and DrvB shown in FIG. 12 according to a user instruction received via the KB 17.
Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the [Next] button illustrated in FIG. 12 has been pressed by a user operation via the KB 17 (S107). If the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Next] button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S108. On the other hand, when determining that the [Cancel] button shown in FIG. 12 has been pressed, the driver management unit 33 ends the process.

Next, the driver management unit 33 displays the printer name for the driver selected in S106 and the printer and print port setting screen for setting the print port in the task creation area 52 of FIG. 9 on the CRT 15 (S108). ).
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer and print port setting screen.
13 includes the driver name of the driver selected in S106, the name of the printer to be generated, and the print port. The print port includes a print port to be generated and an [edit] button for editing the port information. Note that the initial value of the printer name to be generated and the column of the print port are blank. 13 includes a [Next] button for screen transition and a [Cancel] button for canceling the process.
The driver management unit 33 sets the printer name according to the user instruction received via the KB 17 (S109). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 sets the printer name PrnA for the driver name DrvA and the printer name PrnB for the driver name DrvB shown in FIG.

Next, the driver management unit 33 edits the print port information (S110).
Details of the processing of S110 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the print port information editing process.
If the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Edit] button for the print port in FIG. 13 is pressed according to the user's instruction received via the KB 17 (S300), the driver management unit 33 displays the print port information edit screen in FIG. Is displayed in the task creation area 52 (S301).
FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print port information editing screen.
The editing screen shown in FIG. 15 includes a print port type selection and print port information. The selection of the print port type means selection of whether the print port is an IP port or a local port. When the print port type is an IP port, the edit screen in FIG. 15 displays an IPv4 address, an IPv6 address, and a protocol type (RAW or LPR) as the print port information. 15 displays the queue name as the print port information when the protocol type is LPR. Further, the edit screen of FIG. 15 displays the port name as print port information when the print port type is a local port.

Further, the print port information editing screen of FIG. 15 includes an [Update] button for validating the setting and a [Cancel] button for invalidating the setting.
Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 sets the print port type as an IP port for the driver name DrvA in accordance with a user instruction received via the KB 17. Further, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 sets IPv4_A as the IPv4 address, IPv6_A as the IPv6 address, and further sets RAW as the protocol type according to the user instruction received via the KB 17 (S302).
Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the user has pressed the [Update] button shown in FIG. 15 via the KB 17 (S303).

If the driver management unit 33 determines in step S303 that the [Update] button has been pressed, the driver management unit 33 displays a printer and print port setting screen that reflects the content edited on the print port information editing screen in FIG. It is displayed in the task creation area 52 (S304).
Here, as shown in FIG. 13, the driver management unit 33 updates and displays IPv4_A / IPv6_A indicating that IPv4_A and IPv6_A are set as the print ports of the driver name DrvA.
Similarly, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 edits the print port information in S110 for the driver name DrvB and sets IPv4_B as the print port.
On the other hand, if the driver management unit 33 determines in S300 that the [Edit] button is not pressed or determines in S303 that the [Cancel] button is pressed, the driver management unit 33 does not perform the print port editing process in FIG. The process proceeds to S111 in FIG. 8 (without updating).

Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the user has pressed the [Next] button shown in FIG. 13 via the KB 17 (S111). If it is determined that the user has pressed, the process proceeds to S112. To proceed.
Next, the driver management unit 33 sets a registration task (S112).
Details of the processing of S112 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of registration task setting processing.
The driver management unit 33 displays a registration task setting screen in the task creation area 52 of FIG. 9 on the CRT 15 (S400).

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a registration task setting screen.
The registered task setting screen in FIG. 17 includes a task type, a task name, and a task schedule setting.
The task type is information indicating what type of task, such as a printer addition task or a port switching task, and is information depending on the menu selected in S100. The task type here is a printer addition task.
The task name is information indicating the name of the task.
The task schedule setting is information indicating the execution time of the task. The setting of the task schedule in FIG. 17 is in the format of yyyy year / month / day / day / hour / hour / minute, but may be in a different year / month / day / hour / minute format. Conditions may be set.
Next, the driver management unit 33 sets a task schedule according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S401).

Returning to FIG. 8, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the user has pressed the [Register] button shown in FIG. 17 via the KB 17 (S113). If the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Register] button has been pressed, the driver management unit 33 stores the created printer registration task registration data in the data storage unit 34 (S114).
It is assumed that the driver management unit 33 registers the next printer addition task for PC-B1 to Bn and PC-C1 to Cn by the same process as the process shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the driver management unit 33 has registered a printer addition task including the driver name DrvC, the printer name PrnC, and the print port IPv4_C / IPv6_C with respect to the PC-B1 to Bn. Further, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 registers a printer addition task including a driver name DrvD, a printer name PrnD, and a print port IPv4_D / IPv6_D for PC-C1 to Cn. That is, the driver management unit 33 stores the above three printer addition tasks in the data storage unit 34.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S101 that the selection in S100 is not the creation of a printer addition task or the creation of a port switching task, the driver management unit 33 executes processing of other tasks (S117).
The other tasks include a device search task for the device 2000 for generating the device list in FIG. 5, tasks such as driver update, printer deletion, and client device information acquisition for the driver control unit 40 of the client device 3000. .
Further, the processing of S115 and S116 when the driver management unit 33 determines in S104 that the printer addition task is not created will be described later as an explanation of the creation of the port switching task.
If it is determined in S103, S107, S111, and S113 that the [Cancel] button has been pressed, the driver management unit 33 ends the printer addition task creation process or the port switching task creation process.
With the above processing, the management server apparatus 1000 can create and register a printer creation task corresponding to the printing environment. Thereby, the management server apparatus 1000 can cause the client apparatus 3000 to execute an appropriate printer creation task corresponding to the printing environment.

Next, the task management unit 32 gives an instruction to execute the task stored in the data storage unit 34 to the client device 3000 via the driver management unit 33.
FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a task transmission process.
The task management unit 32 determines whether there is a task that has been stored in the data storage unit 34 and has reached the task execution time from the task schedule (S500). If the task management unit 32 determines that there is a task that has reached the execution time, the task management unit 32 notifies the storage source of the task and advances the process to S501. More specifically, the task management unit 32 notifies the driver management unit 33 of the existence of a task that has reached the execution time.
Next, the driver management unit 33 instructed to execute the task from the task management unit 32 analyzes the task information of the task stored in the data storage unit 34 (S501). Here, as a result of the analysis, the driver management unit 33 identifies the PC-A1 to An selected in S102 as the client device 3000 that is the task execution destination.
Next, the driver management unit 33 transmits task information to the client device 3000 according to the analysis of S501 (S502). That is, the driver management unit 33 notifies the client device 3000 of a task execution instruction. Here, the driver management unit 33 transmits task information of the printer addition task to the driver control unit 40 of the PC-A1 to An. Similarly, the driver management unit 33 also transmits task information of the printer addition task to the driver control units 40 of PC-B1 to Bn and PC-C1 to Cn.

Next, task execution processing of the driver control unit 40 of the client device 3000 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an example of task execution processing.
When receiving the task from the driver management unit 33, the driver control unit 40 analyzes the task content (S600).
Next, as a result of the analysis in S600, the driver control unit 40 determines whether the task is a printer addition task, a port switching task, or any other task (S601). Here, it is assumed that the driver control unit 40 determines that the task is a printer addition task and advances the process to S602.
Next, the driver control unit 40 acquires the printer driver designated as the printer addition task from the driver storage unit 35 (S602). Note that the process of S602 is an example of a driver acquisition process. Here, the driver control unit 40 acquires a driver with a driver name DrvA version v1.0 and a driver name DrvB with a version v2.0 driver for the printer addition tasks for PC-A1 to An. Further, the driver control unit 40 acquires a driver of the driver name DrvC version v1.0 for the printer addition task for the PC-B1 to Bn. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 acquires a driver of the driver name DrvD version v1.0 for the printer addition task for PC-C1 to Cn.

Next, the driver control unit 40 installs the driver acquired in S602, and generates a printer having a printer name instructed as a printer addition task (S603). Note that the processing of S603 is an example of printer generation processing. Here, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-A1 to An, the driver control unit 40 generates a printer with a printer name PrnA for the driver name DrvA and a printer name PrnB for the driver name DrvB. In the case of a printer addition task for PC-B1 to Bn, the driver control unit 40 generates a printer with a printer name PrnC corresponding to the driver name DrvC. Similarly, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-C1 to Cn, the driver control unit 40 generates a printer with the printer name PrnD for the driver name DrvD.
Next, the driver control unit 40 acquires protocol information of the client device 3000 (S604). Here, the driver control unit 40 acquires IPv4 and IPv6 as valid protocol information in the case of a printer addition task for PC-A1 to An. In the case of a printer addition task for PC-B1 to Bn, the driver control unit 40 acquires IPv4 as valid protocol information. Similarly, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-C1 to Cn, the driver control unit 40 acquires IPv6 as valid protocol information.

Next, the driver control unit 40 specifies a print port to be generated from the print port information instructed as the printer addition task and the protocol information acquired in S604 (S605).
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of print port specifying information (matrix) for specifying a print port to be generated by the driver control unit 40. Here, the table data of the print port specifying information shown in FIG. 20 is an example of rule information. Note that the client device 3000 stores print port specifying information in the HDD 19 or the like. However, the print port specifying information may be stored in another storage device that can communicate with the client device 3000.
The print port specifying information in FIG. 20 includes print port information specified by a task and protocol information effective in the client device 3000.
For example, when the print port information specified by the task is an IPv4 and IPv6 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv4 and IPv6, the driver control unit 40 determines the print port to generate the IPv4 port. Identify.
Similarly, when the print port information specified in the task is an IPv4 and IPv6 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv4, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port to generate the IPv4 port. To do.
Similarly, if the print port information specified in the task is an IPv4 and IPv6 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv6, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port that should generate the IPv6 port. To do.

In addition, when the print port information specified by the task is an IPv4 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv4 or IPv6, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port to generate the IPv4 port. .
Similarly, when the print port information specified by the task is an IPv4 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv4, the driver control unit 40 specifies the print port to generate the IPv4 port.
Similarly, if the print port information specified by the task is an IPv4 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv6, the driver control unit 40 determines that a valid port cannot be created and treats it as an error. .
In addition, when the print port information specified in the task is an IPv6 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv4 or IPv6, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port that should generate the IPv6 port. .
Similarly, when the print port information specified by the task is an IPv6 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv4, the driver control unit 40 determines that a valid port cannot be created and treats it as an error. .
Similarly, if the print port information specified by the task is an IPv6 port and the valid protocol of the client device 3000 is IPv6, the driver control unit 40 specifies the print port to generate the IPv4 port.

Furthermore, when the print port information specified by the task is a local port, the driver control unit 40 specifies the specified local port as a print port without depending on the protocol of the client device 3000.
Here, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-A1 to An, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port IPv4_A to be generated for the printer with the printer name PrnA. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port IPv6_B to be generated as a print port for the printer with the printer name PrnB.
In addition, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-B1 to Bn, the driver control unit 40 identifies the print port IPv4_C to be generated as a print port for the printer with the printer name PrnC.
Similarly, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-C1 to Cn, the driver control unit 40 specifies a print port for generating the print port IPv6_D for the printer with the printer name PrnD.

Next, the driver control unit 40 determines whether the print port to be generated based on the print port information specified by the task is a print port that can be generated (S606). More specifically, the driver control unit 40 determines that a valid port cannot be created in S605, and determines that the print port specified as an error is not a print port that can be generated.
Next, the driver control unit 40 determines whether or not it is a port switching task (S607), and if it is determined that it is not a port switching task, the process proceeds to S610. Here, since it is a printer addition task, the driver control unit 40 determines that it is not a port switching task, and advances the processing to S610.
Note that the processing of S608 and S609 when the driver control unit 40 determines in S607 that it is a port switching task will be described later as an explanation of the execution of the port switching task.
Next, the driver control unit 40 acquires existing print port information (S610).
Next, the driver control unit 40 determines whether the same print port information exists in the print port information of the print port to be generated specified in S605 and the print port information of the existing print port acquired in S610. (S611). If the driver control unit 40 determines that the same print port does not exist, the driver control unit 40 advances the process to step S612.

Next, the driver control unit 40 generates the print port to be generated specified in S605 (S612). Here, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-A1 to An, the driver control unit 40 generates a print port IPv4_A for the printer with the printer name PrnA. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 generates a print port IPv6_B for the printer with the printer name PrnB.
In the case of a printer addition task for PC-B1 to Bn, the driver control unit 40 generates a print port IPv4_C for the printer with the printer name PrnC.
Similarly, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-C1 to Cn, the driver control unit 40 generates a print port IPv6_D for the printer with the printer name PrnD.
Next, the driver control unit 40 associates the printer generated in S603 with the print port generated in S612 (S613).

The driver control unit 40 also performs the process of S613 when it is determined in S611 that there is the same print port information. In this case, the driver control unit 40 associates the printer generated in S603 with the existing print port.
Next, the driver control unit 40 notifies the driver management unit 33 of the task result (S614). More specifically, the driver control unit 40 notifies the information of the client device 3000 configuring the client list of FIG. Here, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-A1 to An, the driver control unit 40 of PC-A1 to An notifies the driver management unit 33 of the following information.
-Client device name: PC-A1
Effective protocol: IPv4, IPv6
Installed drivers: driver name DrvA, version v1.0, driver name DrvB, version v2.0
・ Printers: Printer names PrnA, PrnB
Print port: IPv4_A for printer name PrnA, IPv6_B for printer name PrnB

The driver management unit 33 specifies the output device name from the print port information of the print port generated by the driver control unit 40 and the IPv4 address and IPv6 address information of the device list in FIG. Then, the driver management unit 33 saves the information notified from the driver control unit 40 in S614 and the information of the specified output device name in the client list of the data storage unit 34.
The driver management unit 33 also stores similar information in the client list of the data storage unit 34 for the driver control units 40 of the PC-B1 to Bn and the driver control unit 40 of the PC-C1 to Cn.
FIG. 21 shows a client list reflecting information notified by the driver control unit 40 of PC-A1 to An, PC-B1 to Bn, and PC-C1 to Cn, and information of the output device name specified by the driver management unit 33. It is an example.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S606 that the driver control unit 40 is not a print port that can be generated, that is, if the driver control unit 40 determines an error with reference to the print port specifying information in FIG. , The process proceeds to S615.
Next, the driver control unit 40 determines whether the task is a printer addition task (S615). If it is determined that the task is a printer addition task, the process proceeds to S616.
Next, the driver control unit 40 deletes the printer generated in S603 (S616), further deletes the printer driver acquired in S602 (S617), and advances the process to S614. In this case, the driver control unit 40 notifies the driver management unit 33 that the task has failed (S614).
On the other hand, the processing of S618 and S619 when the driver control unit 40 determines in S601 that it is a port switching task will be described later as an explanation of the execution of the port switching task.
If the driver control unit 40 determines in step S601 that it is neither a printer addition task nor a port switching task, the driver control unit 40 performs other task processing (S620). Here, the other task processing means tasks such as driver update, printer deletion, and client device information acquisition for the driver control unit 40 of the client device 3000.

  With the above processing, the driver control unit 40 can realize an appropriate printing environment as shown in the PC-An print information 5010, the PC-Bn print information 5020, and the PC-Cn print information 5030 in FIG. 1A. it can. That is, the driver control unit 40 can realize an appropriate print port generation according to the printing environment.

Next, the port switching task creation process of the management server apparatus 1000 in this embodiment will be described in detail.
Note that it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 stores the device list in FIG. 22 and the client list in FIG. 21 by the environment change shown in FIG. 1B.
First, the driver management unit 33 performs selection from the menu selection screen shown in FIG. 9 according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S100). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 selects the port switching task creation menu.
Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether the selection in S100 is creation of a printer addition task or creation of a port switching task (S101). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 determines that it is the creation of a port switching task and advances the processing to S102.

Next, the driver management unit 33 selects a client device according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S102).
Details of the processing of S102 will be described with reference to FIG.
The driver management unit 33 acquires client device information from the client list of FIG. 21 stored in the data storage unit 34, and displays a client device selection screen in the task creation area 52 of FIG. 9 on the CRT 15 (S200). .
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen of a client device.
The details of the selection screen of the client device in FIG. 23 are the same as those in FIG.
Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 selects PC-A1 to An, PC-B1 to Bn, and PC-C1 to Cn illustrated in FIG. 23 according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S201). )

Returning to the description of FIG. 8, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the [Next] button shown in FIG. 23 has been pressed by a user operation via the KB 17 (S103). If the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Next] button has been pressed, the process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, when determining that the [Cancel] button shown in FIG. 23 has been pressed, the driver management unit 33 ends the process.
Next, the driver management unit 33 determines whether or not the selection in S100 is creation of a printer addition task (S104). If it is determined that creation of a printer addition task is created, the process proceeds to S105. . On the other hand, if the driver management unit 33 determines that the printer addition task is not created, the process proceeds to S115. Here, the driver management unit 33 determines that the printer addition task is not created, and the process proceeds to S115.

Next, the driver management unit 33 acquires information on the driver name, version, printer name, print port, and output device name of the client device 3000 selected in S102 from the client list in FIG. Further, the driver management unit 33 uses the output device name acquired from the client list in FIG. 21 to acquire the IPv4 address and IPv6 address information of the matching device name from the device list in FIG. That is, the driver management unit 33 acquires information on the currently valid IPv4 address and IPv6 address in the device corresponding to the device name. Then, the driver management unit 33 displays a print port selection screen using the acquired information (S115). Note that the process of S115 is an example of a valid information display process.
FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of a print port selection screen.
The print port selection screen in FIG. 24 includes a printer name, a device name, a driver name, current print port information, an edit link button, and changed print port information. Furthermore, the print port selection screen in FIG. 24 includes a [Next] button for transitioning to a screen and a [Cancel] button for canceling the processing.

The current print port information indicates the print port acquired by the driver management unit 33 from the client list of FIG. 21 in S115. That is, the print port is generated by the driver control unit 40 of the client device 3000 by the previous printer addition task.
The changed print port information indicates the IPv4 address and IPv6 address corresponding to the device name acquired by the driver management unit 33 from the device list of FIG. 22 in S115. That is, the changed print port information indicates an address that is currently valid for the device corresponding to the device name acquired by the driver management unit 33 from the device list of FIG.
In the present embodiment, the driver management unit 33 displays the current print port information of the printer name PrnA as IPv4_A on the print port selection screen. On the other hand, the driver management unit 33 displays the print port information after the change of the printer name PrnA as IPv6_A. Here, since the IPv4 address is Disable and the IPv6 address is IPv6_A as shown in FIG. 22, the driver management unit 33 displays only IPv6_A as the latest address information of the device name DevA that is the output destination device.
Similarly, the driver management unit 33 displays the current print port information of the printer name PrnB and the changed print port information as IPv4_B and IPv4_B, respectively. Similarly, the driver management unit 33 displays the current print port information of the printer name PrnC and the changed print port information as IPv4_C and IPv4_C / IPv6_C, respectively. Similarly, the driver management unit 33 displays the current print port information of the printer name PrnD and the changed print port information as IPv6_D and IPv4_D, respectively.

Here, the print port selection screen in FIG. 24 indicates that only the printer name PrnB has the same current print port information and the changed print port information, and there is no need to switch the print ports. In addition, the print port selection screen in FIG. 24 indicates that the current print port information of the printer name PrnC can still be used in the changed print port information. However, as FIG. 23 shows, IPv6 is the only effective protocol in PC-B1 to Bn. Therefore, it is necessary to switch the print ports of the printer name PrnA, the printer name PrnC, and the printer name PrnD.
Next, the driver management unit 33 selects a printer whose print port is to be changed according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S116). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 selects the printers having the printer name PrnA, the printer name PrnC, and the printer name PrnD as shown in FIG.
Next, the driver management unit 33 edits the print port information according to a user instruction received via the KB 17 (S110). Details of the processing of S110 are the same as the processing of FIG. 14 described above. The print port information editing screen is the same as the screen shown in FIG.

Here, the driver management unit 33 reflects the changed value of the print port information in FIG. 24 on the IPv4 address and IPv6 address of the port information on the print port information edit screen in FIG. 15. For example, when the driver management unit 33 accepts a press of an edit link button by the user via the KB 17 for the printer name PrnC, the driver management unit 33 displays IPv4_C as the IPv4 address and IPv6_C as the IPv6 address as initial values.
If the driver management unit 33 determines that the [Update] button has been pressed in S303, the driver management unit 33 displays a print port selection screen that reflects the contents edited on the print port information editing screen in FIG. It is displayed in the task creation area 52 (S304). Here, it is assumed that the driver management unit 33 displays the print port selection screen of FIG.
FIG. 25 shows that the print port information after the change of the printer name PrnC is changed from IPv4_C / IPv6_C to IPv6_C as a change from FIG.
With the above processing, the management server apparatus 1000 can create and register a print port switching task corresponding to the printing environment. As a result, the management server apparatus 1000 can cause the client apparatus 3000 to execute an appropriate print port switching task according to the printing environment.

Therefore, the print port switching task here is as follows.
The current print port IPv4_A of the printer name PrnA is switched to IPv6_A. The current print port IPv4_C of the printer name PrnC is switched to IPv6_C. The current print port IPv6_D of the printer name PrnD is switched to IPv4_D. The above-described processes of S111, S112, S113, and S114 are performed. If it is determined in S113 that the [Update] button has been pressed, the driver management unit 33 stores the created port switching task registration data in the data storage unit 34 (S114).

Next, the task management unit 32 executes the port switching task execution process stored in the data storage unit 34 according to the above-described flowchart of FIG. Note that the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 18 is the same as the processing described in creating the printer addition task, and thus description thereof is omitted.
Next, port switching task execution processing of the driver control unit 40 of the client device 3000 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
When receiving the task from the driver management unit 33, the driver control unit 40 analyzes the task content (S600).
Next, as a result of the analysis in S600, the driver control unit 40 determines whether the task is a printer addition task, a port switching task, or any other task (S601). Here, it is assumed that the driver control unit 40 determines that the task is a port switching task and advances the process to S618.

Next, the driver control unit 40 acquires the existing printer information of the client device 3000 (S618), and determines whether the same printer as the printer instructed as the port switching task already exists (S619). Here, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-A1 to An determines that the printer name PrnA exists, and advances the processing to S604. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-B1 to Bn determines that the printer name PrnC exists, and advances the process to S604. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-C1 to Cn determines that the printer name PrnD exists, and advances the process to S604.
Next, the driver control unit 40 acquires protocol information of the client device 3000 (S604). Here, the driver control unit 40 acquires IPv4 and IPv6 as effective protocols in the case of a printer addition task for the PC-A1 to An. In the case of a printer addition task for PC-B1 to Bn, the driver control unit 40 acquires IPv6 as an effective protocol. Similarly, in the case of a printer addition task for PC-C1 to Cn, the driver control unit 40 acquires IPv4 as an effective protocol.

Next, the driver control unit 40 specifies a print port to be generated from the print port information instructed as the printer addition task and the protocol information acquired in S604 (S605). Here, the driver control unit 40 uses the above-described print port specifying information of FIG. 20 in order to specify the print port to be generated.
Here, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-A1 to An identifies the print port IPv6_A of the printer name PrnA as a print port to be generated.
Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-B1 to Bn specifies the print port IPv6_C of the printer name PrnC as a print port to be generated.
Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-C1 to Cn specifies the print port IPv4_D having the printer name PrnD as a print port to be generated.

Next, the driver control unit 40 determines whether it is a port switching task (S607). Here, the driver control unit 40 determines that it is a port switching task, and advances the process to S608.
Next, the driver control unit 40 determines whether the conventional print port is also used by another printer (S608). Note that the process of S608 is an example of a usage status determination process. Here, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-A1 to An determines that the print port IPv4_A of the printer name PrnA is not used by another printer, and proceeds to S609. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-B1 to Bn determines that the print port IPv4_C of the printer name PrnC is not used by another printer, and advances the processing to S609. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-C1 to Cn determines that the print port IPv6_D of the printer name PrnD is not used by another printer, and advances the processing to S609.
Next, the driver control unit 40 deletes the conventional print port that is determined not to be used by another printer in S608 (S609). Note that the process of S609 is an example of a print port deletion process. Here, the driver control unit 40 of PC-A1 to An deletes the print port IPv4_A of the printer name PrnA. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-B1 to Bn deletes the print port IPv4_C of the printer name PrnC. Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-C1 to Cn deletes the print port IPv6_D of the printer name PrnD.

Subsequently, the driver control unit 40 performs the processing from S610 to S614 described above. The processing from S610 to S614 is the same as that in the case of the printer addition task and will not be described. However, in the case of the print port switching task, the print ports generated by the driver control unit 40 in S612 are as follows. .
The driver control unit 40 of the PC-A1 to An generates a print port IPv6_A for the printer name PrnA.
Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-B1 to Bn generates a print port IPv6_C of the printer name PrnC.
Similarly, the driver control unit 40 of the PC-C1 to Cn generates a print port IPv4_D of the printer name PrnD.

In the case of the print port switching task, the content that the driver control unit 40 notifies the driver management unit 33 in S614 is as follows.
The driver control unit 40 of the PC-A1 to An notifies the driver management unit 33 of the following information.
-Client device name: PC-A1
Effective protocol: IPv4 and IPv6
Installed drivers: driver name DrvA, version v1.0, driver name DrvB, version v2.0
・ Printers: Printer names PrnA, PrnB
Print port: IPv6_A for printer name PrnA, IPv6_IPv4_A for printer name PrnB
The driver control unit 40 of PC-B1 to Bn and the driver control unit 40 of PC-C1 to Cn also notify the driver management unit 33 of similar information.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of a client list showing the results notified by the driver control unit 40 of PC-A1 to An, PC-B1 to Bn, and PC-C1 to Cn.
On the other hand, if the driver control unit 40 determines in S619 that the corresponding printer does not exist, the driver control unit 40 advances the process to S614. If the driver control unit 40 determines that the print port is not a print port that can be generated in S606 and determines that the print port is not a printer addition task in S615, the process proceeds to S614. In this case, the driver control unit 40 notifies the driver management unit 33 that the task has failed as in the case of the printer addition task (S614). Note that the process in which the driver control unit 40 notifies the driver management unit 33 of the task execution end in S614 is an example of an end notification process.
With the above processing, the driver control unit 40 can realize an appropriate printing environment as shown in the printing information 5010, 5020, and 5030 even when the environment change shown in FIG. 1B occurs. That is, the driver control unit 40 can realize appropriate print port switching and generation in accordance with changes in the printing environment.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the management server apparatus 1000 can create a print port switching task and a generation task according to the printing environment. Then, the client device 3000 executes a task that has received an execution instruction from the management server device 1000. At that time, the client device 3000 identifies and creates a print port suitable for the printing environment by referring to print port specifying information for specifying a print port previously stored in a storage device such as the HDD 19. Can do.

<Other embodiments>
Moreover, this embodiment is implement | achieved also by performing the following processes. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

  As described above, according to each of the above-described embodiments, it is possible to generate or change an appropriate print port for the protocol environment of the device 2000 or the client apparatus 3000, and to reduce the management cost related to the IT administrator's computer system.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the present embodiment is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

Claims (18)

Selection means for selecting client device information from client list information stored in a storage device;
Editing means for editing print port information associated with the client device information selected by the selection means;
Creating means for creating a task relating to setting of a print port based on the print port information edited by the editing means;
Transmitting means for transmitting task information of the task created by the creating means to the client device indicated by the client device information;
A management server device. Receiving means for receiving client device information from a plurality of client devices;
Management means for managing a plurality of client device information received by the receiving means as client list information;
Further comprising
The management server device according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects client device information from client list information managed by the management unit based on a user instruction received via an input device. Further comprising display means for displaying on the display device print port information associated with the client device information selected by the selection means;
The management server device according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit edits the print port information selected by the user via the input device among the print port information displayed by the display unit. Valid information for displaying currently valid print port information in the output destination device based on the output destination device information included in the client device information selected by the selection means and the output destination list information stored in the storage device It further has a display means,
4. The management server according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit changes the print port information to the print port information displayed by the valid information display unit according to a user instruction received via the input device. 5. apparatus. When print port information is not associated with the client device information selected by the selection unit, driver information based on a user instruction received via the input device is selected from driver list information stored in the storage device. A driver selection means;
The management server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the editing unit creates new print port information based on the driver information selected by the driver selection unit.   The management server device according to claim 1, wherein the creation unit creates a task by setting a timing condition related to execution of the task. Receiving means for receiving task information relating to editing of print port information from the management server device;
An acquisition means for acquiring protocol information of the own device;
The print port of the print port to be generated by referring to the rule information stored in the storage device based on the print port information included in the task information received by the receiving unit and the protocol information acquired by the acquiring unit A specific means of identifying information;
Print port generating means for generating a print port based on the print port information specified by the specifying means;
A client device. The rule information is table data indicating print port information of a print port that can be generated based on a matrix of print port information included in the task information received by the receiving unit and protocol information acquired by the acquiring unit. And
The client device according to claim 7, wherein the specifying unit specifies print port information of a print port to be generated by referring to the rule information based on the print port information and the protocol information. If the task related to the task information received by the receiving unit is a printer addition task, a driver acquisition unit that acquires a driver from a storage device based on the task information;
A printer generation unit that installs the driver acquired by the driver acquisition unit in its own device and generates a printer;
Further comprising
The specifying unit specifies print port information of a print port to be generated by referring to the rule information based on print port information associated with the printer generated by the printer generation unit and the protocol information. Item 9. The client device according to Item 7 or 8.   And a deletion unit that deletes the driver acquired by the driver acquisition unit and the printer generated by the printer generation unit when print port information of the print port generated by the specification unit is not specified. 9. The client device according to 9. When the task related to the task information received by the receiving means is a print port switching task, the print port information stored in the storage device is referred to, and the print port before switching is used by another printing device. Usage status determination means for determining whether or not,
A print port deleting unit that deletes a print port before switching when it is determined that the use state determining unit does not use the print port;
The client device according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising:   12. The client device according to claim 7, further comprising a transmission unit configured to transmit an end notification related to the end of the process to the management server device when the process by the generation unit is completed. Selection means for selecting client device information from client list information stored in a storage device;
Editing means for editing print port information associated with the client device information selected by the selection means;
Creating means for creating a task relating to setting of a print port based on the print port information edited by the editing means;
Transmitting means for transmitting task information of the task created by the creating means to the client device indicated by the client device information;
Receiving means for receiving the task information;
An acquisition means for acquiring protocol information of the own device;
The print port of the print port to be generated by referring to the rule information stored in the storage device based on the print port information included in the task information received by the receiving unit and the protocol information acquired by the acquiring unit A specific means of identifying information;
Print port generating means for generating a print port based on the print port information specified by the specifying means;
Having a system. An information processing method executed by a management server device,
A selection step of selecting client device information from client list information stored in a storage device;
An editing step of editing print port information associated with the client device information selected in the selection step;
A creation step for creating a task relating to setting of a print port based on the print port information edited in the editing step;
Transmitting the task information of the task created in the creating step to the client device indicated by the client device information;
An information processing method including: An information processing method executed by a client device,
A receiving step for receiving task information related to editing of print port information from the management server device;
An acquisition step of acquiring protocol information of the own device;
The print port of the print port to be generated by referring to the rule information stored in the storage device based on the print port information included in the task information received in the reception step and the protocol information acquired in the acquisition step A specific step of identifying information;
A print port generating step for generating a print port based on the print port information specified in the specifying step;
An information processing method including: An information processing method executed by a system,
A selection step of selecting client device information from client list information stored in a storage device;
An editing step of editing print port information associated with the client device information selected in the selection step;
A creation step for creating a task relating to setting of a print port based on the print port information edited in the editing step;
Transmitting the task information of the task created in the creating step to the client device indicated by the client device information;
Receiving step for receiving the task information;
An acquisition step of acquiring protocol information of the own device;
The print port of the print port to be generated by referring to the rule information stored in the storage device based on the print port information included in the task information received in the reception step and the protocol information acquired in the acquisition step A specific step of identifying information;
A print port generating step for generating a print port based on the print port information specified in the specifying step;
An information processing method including: On the computer,
A selection step of selecting client device information from client list information stored in a storage device;
An editing step of editing print port information associated with the client device information selected in the selection step;
A creation step for creating a task relating to setting of a print port based on the print port information edited in the editing step;
Transmitting the task information of the task created in the creating step to the client device indicated by the client device information;
A program for running On the computer,
A receiving step for receiving task information related to editing of print port information from the management server device;
An acquisition step of acquiring protocol information of the own device;
The print port of the print port to be generated by referring to the rule information stored in the storage device based on the print port information included in the task information received in the reception step and the protocol information acquired in the acquisition step A specific step of identifying information;
A print port generating step for generating a print port based on the print port information specified in the specifying step;
A program for running

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