JP2020042425A - Information processing apparatus, control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To change the priority of an event log that a device management server acquires from an information processing apparatus.SOLUTION: The information processing apparatus collects data generated in connection with processing performed by the information processing apparatus, temporarily stores the collected data, receives information from a management server, determines priority of the data based on the information, and manages the data to be stored according to the determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, a control method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, for the purpose of remotely grasping the state of an information processing apparatus, data relating to various processes performed in the information processing apparatus has been collected and transmitted as an event log to a device management server. Generally, networks such as the Internet are used as communication means between the device management server and the information processing apparatus. However, in these networks, transmission of an event log may fail due to a decrease in communication speed or a disconnection of communication. . In preparation for such a case, the event log collected in the information processing apparatus may be temporarily accumulated in a buffer area until transmission is performed. However, the buffer area is limited, and if the unsent event log exceeds a predetermined amount, an event log that cannot be sent to the device management server occurs.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 describes an information processing apparatus that deletes the oldest log information of low importance in response to detecting that the buffer area is full.

JP 2007-241540 A

  Here, the importance of the event log of the information processing device may change depending on the situation where the information processing device is placed. For example, an information processing apparatus that has contracted for a consumable supply service needs to notify the device management server of information on the state of the consumable. On the other hand, an information processing apparatus that does not subscribe to such a service does not need to notify the device management server of information on the status of consumables. Therefore, there is a problem that it is desired to change the priority of the event log acquired from the information processing device.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a collecting unit that collects data generated in association with a process performed by the information processing device, and temporarily stores the data collected by the collecting unit. Storing means, receiving means for receiving information from a management server, determining means for determining the priority of data based on the information, and managing means for managing data to be stored in the storing means according to the determination result of the determining means. And

  According to the present invention, it is possible to change the priority of an event log acquired from an information processing device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration example according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral according to one embodiment. FIG. 1 is a software configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process for registering a multifunction peripheral according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing sequence between the multifunction peripheral and the device management server according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for acquiring control information by periodic synchronization according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence for acquiring control information by a PUSH notification according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a process in which the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment accumulates event data. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a process in which the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment transmits event data. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event priority table according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event priority table according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an event priority table according to the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a process in which the multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment manages event data. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen on which an MFP according to an embodiment displays event data.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential for solving the invention.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an example of a communication system according to the present embodiment. The communication system according to the present embodiment includes a management server 110 and a multifunction device (information processing device) 120. The management server 110 and the MFP 120 are connected by the network 100.

  The management server 110 is a computer that manages information about the MFP 120. Specifically, the management server 110 provides a contract management service that manages the contract information of the MFP 120 in association with various service information. Also provided are an event log collection service for collecting event data such as jobs executed by the multifunction peripheral 120 and user operations as an event log, and an event log analysis service for analyzing event log information.

  In the present embodiment, the description will be given on the assumption that the management server 110 is a cloud server composed of a plurality of server groups. However, it is not limited that the management server 110 is configured by a plurality of server groups, and the management server 110 may be configured by a single server machine.

  The multifunction peripheral 120 is an apparatus that implements a plurality of types of functions, for example, functions such as copying and facsimile. In one example, the MFP 120 may include a computer, a smartphone, a printer, and a scanner. The multifunction peripheral 120 also has a function of saving the execution history of those functions, a function of managing setting values used at the time of executing the functions and information on the state of the device, and a function of transmitting device information to the management server 110. I have it. A detailed description of the functions of the MFP 120 will be described later.

  Next, an example of a configuration of the MFP 120 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The multifunction peripheral 120 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203. Further, the multifunction peripheral 120 includes an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a network I / F (interface) 205, an operation unit I / F 206, and an operation unit 207. The multifunction peripheral 120 includes an image processing unit 208, a device I / F 209, a printer 210, and a scanner 211. The components of the multifunction peripheral 120 are communicably connected by a bus 212.

  The CPU 201 executes an operating system (OS) for controlling the overall operation of the MFP 120 by a boot program stored in the ROM 202. Further, the CPU 201 executes an application program stored in the ROM 202 or the HDD 204 on the OS, and thereby executes a process for realizing various functions of the multifunction peripheral 120.

  The ROM 202 includes a flash memory such as an eMMC (embedded Multi Media Card) and its controller, and stores a program to be executed by the CPU. The RAM 203 is used as a work area of the CPU 201. The RAM 203 is also used as an image memory area for temporarily storing image data. The ROM 202 or the HDD 204 stores the application program, the image data, and various setting values of the multifunction peripheral 120. In one example, the multifunction peripheral 120 may not have the HDD 204.

  The network I / F 205 is connected to the network 100, and inputs and outputs information to and from each device on the network 100 via the network 100. The operation unit I / F 206 is an interface with the operation unit 207 having a touch panel, and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 207 to the operation unit 207. The operation unit I / F 206 sends the user input received by the operation unit 207 to the CPU 201. That is, the operation unit 207 functions as a display unit and also functions as a user input I / F.

  The image processing unit 208 performs an image output process to the printer 210, an image input process from the scanner 211, and a process including at least one of rotation, compression, resolution conversion, color space conversion, and gradation conversion.

  A printer 210 and a scanner 211 are connected to the device I / F 209, and control the printer 210 as an image output device and the scanner 211 as an image input device. The device I / F 209 performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating functional modules of software 300 operating on the multifunction peripheral 120 according to the present embodiment. The software 300 is stored in at least one of the ROM 202, the RAM 203, and the HDD 204, and is executed by the CPU 201.

  The job management module 301 is connected to the network 100 via the network I / F 205, receives a job such as printing from an external device using a specific communication protocol, and starts a job such as copying, printing, or scanning. At that time, the job management module 301 can return data relating to the job in response to a request from another module, or transmit data relating to an event to various modules at a timing when the state of the job changes. . For example, when at least one of a job start, suspension, and end event occurs, the event is notified to the device I / F control module 316, and the occurrence of the event is transmitted to the event data generation module 303. .

  The operation unit I / F control module 302 receives a user input for instructing execution of a job such as copying or scanning from the operation unit 207 via the operation unit I / F 206, and notifies the job management module 301. The operation unit I / F control module 302 also has a role of transmitting the operation content received from the user to the event data generation module 303 as an event.

  The device I / F control module 316 is a module that receives image data to be processed and control contents from the job management module 301 and controls the device I / F 209. Further, the device I / F control module 316 transmits to the event data generation module 303 information about control to be executed by the printer 210 or the scanner 211 via the device I / F 209 and information about a change in the state of the device I / F 209. .

  The event data generation module 303 generates event data (event log) based on information received from the job management module 301, the operation unit I / F control module 302, and the device I / F control module 316. That is, the event data is generated based on the information on the progress of the job, the content of the user operation, the information on the control executed by the device I / F 209, and the information on the change in the state of the device I / F 209. The data is generated in connection with processing performed by the multifunction peripheral 120.

  The event data includes information on at least one of a user operation received via the operation unit I / F control module 302, a job received via the network 100, and a device obtained via the device I / F control module 316. May be included. The data format of the event data may be any format as long as it can be stored in the buffer DB 309. The event data generation module 303 performs, for example, a process of assigning a UUID (Universal Unique Identifier) for uniquely identifying an event occurrence date and time or an event, and a process of converting various events into a predetermined hierarchical structure or expression format. These processes are performed in order to handle a plurality of types of event data in a unified manner or to process event data coded or simplified for processing efficiency so as to be easily analyzed.

  Note that, in addition to the processing contents described in the present embodiment, if it is necessary to process the data structure in advance in order to transmit event data to the management server 110, the event data generation module 303 may perform processing.

  Further, the event data generation module 303 acquires the priority information according to the event classification from the priority determination module 304, and adds the priority information to the event data as internal management information. The internal management information is information that is used only in the MFP 120 and is not transmitted outside the MFP 120. However, in one example, the priority information may not be treated as internal management information, but may be added to event data and transmitted to the outside of the multifunction peripheral 120 as event information. For example, the event data generation module 303 does not generate event information from the priority determination module 304 when the priority information corresponding to the event classification is the priority information indicating the event to be not transmitted. Details of the priority determination module 304 will be described later.

  The buffer DB (Database) control module 307 stores event data to be buffered in the buffer DB 309. Further, the buffer DB control module 307 has a role of instructing the buffer data notification module 310 of notification of generation of buffered event data.

  The buffer DB 309 is used to absorb a difference between the generation timing of the event data and the transmission timing of the event data to the management server 110. For example, while communication with the management server 110 is cut off due to a communication failure that has occurred in the network 100, event data that has occurred is temporarily stored in the buffer DB 309. After that, when the communication failure is recovered and the communication is restored, the multifunction peripheral 120 sequentially transmits the event data stored in the buffer DB 309 and deletes the transmitted event data from the buffer DB 309.

  Here, when the amount of data stored in the buffer DB 309 reaches a predetermined threshold corresponding to the storable capacity, the buffer DB control module 307 determines at least one of the event data in accordance with the priority information added to the event data. It is determined whether to delete the copy.

  Here, a process for the buffer DB control module 307 to manage event data will be described with reference to FIG. First, in S1301, the buffer DB control module 307 receives event data to be newly stored from the event data generation module 303. Subsequently, in S1302, the buffer DB control module 307 determines whether to store the received event data in the buffer DB. If it is determined that the event data is not to be stored in the buffer DB (No in S1302), the buffer DB control module 307 advances the process to S1303, and transmits the received event data to the management server 110. If it is determined that the data is to be stored in the buffer DB (Yes in S1302), the buffer DB control module 307 advances the processing to S1304. In S1303, the data may be temporarily held until the transmission is completed. The order in which the MFP 120 transmits the event data may be determined according to the priority. For example, the event data may be transmitted to the management server 110 in descending order of priority.

  In step S1304, the buffer DB control module 307 determines whether the amount of data stored in the buffer DB is equal to or larger than a threshold. For example, it is determined whether or not the ratio of the stored data amount to the storable data amount is equal to or greater than a threshold. If the amount of data stored is equal to or smaller than the threshold (No in S1304), the buffer DB control module 307 advances the process to S1305, and stores the received event data in the buffer DB. If the stored data amount is larger than the threshold (Yes in S1304), the buffer DB control module 307 advances the processing to S1306.

  In step S1306, the buffer DB control module 307 determines the priority of the received event data and the priority of the event data stored in the buffer DB 309, and compares the determination results. Subsequently, the buffer DB control module 307 searches the event data stored in the buffer DB 309 for event data having a lower priority than the received event data. Then, the buffer DB control module 307 advances the process to S1307, and deletes event data having a lower priority than the newly received event data from the buffer DB 309 in chronological order. If there is no event data having a lower priority than the newly received event data, the buffer DB control module 307 searches for event data having the same priority as the newly received event data in S1306. Subsequently, the buffer DB control module 307 advances the process to S1307, and deletes event data from the buffer DB 309, for example, in chronological order. In S1307, the fact that the event data has been deleted may be accumulated in the buffer DB 309. If there is no event data with a lower priority or the same priority as the new event data in the buffer DB 309, the buffer DB control module 307 deletes the event data received from the event data generation module 303 in S1307.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The buffer data notification module 310 is a module that notifies the event log to be notified to the cloud transmission module 312. Note that the buffer data notification module 310 may transmit different buffer data to a plurality of management servers 110. For example, the buffer data notification module 310 may transmit information about a job among the buffer data stored in the buffer DB 309 to a certain management server 110, and may transmit information about the status of consumables to a different management server 110. .

  The data format conversion module 311 converts the event data generated by the event data generation module 303 into a format of an event log (event information) that can be interpreted by the event log management service of the management server 110. Here, the data format conversion module 311 performs data conversion in the order of higher priority and older event data. In the present embodiment, the data format of the event information generated by the data format conversion module 311 by the data conversion is JSON (Javascript Object Notation). By using a generally widely used format such as JSON, it is possible to enhance interoperability between various software used when processing, analyzing, or visualizing an event log. In another example, the data format of the event information may be XML (Extensible Markup Language) or CSV (Comma-Separated Values).

  The cloud transmission module 312 transmits an event log to the management server 110 via the network 100. The cloud transmission module 312 requests and notifies various information to the management server 110 in addition to the event log. The process in which the cloud transmission module 312 acquires or notifies information other than the event log will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The cloud receiving module 315 receives various information from the management server 110 via the network 100. The various types of information include control information for the MFP 120 to determine the priority of event data to be transmitted to the management server 110, as described later. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the format of the data received by the cloud receiving module 315 from the management server 110 is also JSON.

  The reception data analysis module 314 analyzes the JSON format data received via the cloud reception module 315, and notifies the reception data DB control module 313 of the reception data obtained by the analysis. The reception data DB control module 313 can store the reception data in the reception data DB 308 and transmit a data reception notification to each module based on the content of the reception data. In the present embodiment, the reception data DB control module 313 notifies the priority table setting module 306 of data reception.

  Upon receiving the data reception notification from the reception data DB control module 313, the priority table setting module 306 sets the priority table 305 based on the notified data or the data stored in the reception data DB 308. The priority determination module 304 reads data from the priority table 305 at a predetermined timing, determines the priority of each event classification based on the data, and gives priority to the event data generation module 303 that is generating event data. Provide degree information.

  Next, an example of a process of registering the MFP 120 in the management server 110 will be described with reference to FIG. When the user performs a registration operation via the operation unit 207 of the multifunction peripheral 120, the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits a registration request and device information to the management server 110 in a predetermined procedure in S401. The device information may include information for uniquely identifying a device individual such as a device serial number, a product name, shipping destination, time zone information, and information for identifying a device type. Upon receiving the registration request and the device information, the management server 110 stores the device information of the MFP 120, and notifies the MFP 120 of the registration information and the control information. The registration information or control information includes contract information associated with the multifunction peripheral 120 or a device installed in the multifunction peripheral 120, event data information to be transmitted, priority of event data, and the like. Details of S401 and S402 will be described later in the description of FIG.

  Upon receiving the device registration information and the control information, the multifunction peripheral 120 sets the start of the event data transmission process and the event priority according to the information received from the management server 110. When an event to be transmitted with event data occurs in the multifunction peripheral 120, in S403, the multifunction peripheral 120 determines generation, protection, and deletion of event data according to the priority of the event data, and buffers the event data in a temporary area. After that, the event data is transmitted to the management server 110 at a transmittable timing. Buffering and event transmission from event occurrence will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  For example, if a service for automatically delivering consumables is contracted when replacement of consumables such as toner of the multifunction peripheral 120 is required, the event is an event indicating that the life of the consumables has been reduced. sell. In this case, the management server 110 that has received the event data of the event notifies the automatic supply system of the consumables of the detection of the shortened life of the consumables, and can instruct the multifunction peripheral 120 to deliver the consumables. The service contracted for the multifunction peripheral 120 may include a maintenance and inspection service for the multifunction peripheral 120 in addition to an automatic delivery service for consumables.

  FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process of registering information of the multifunction peripheral 120 in the management server 110. The process in FIG. 5 is executed before the MFP 120 notifies the management server 110 of the event information. When an event occurs after performing a registration process with respect to the management server 110, the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits information related to the event log to the management server 110, and receives the information from the management server 110.

  First, in step S501, when the MFP 120 receives a connection operation from the user to the management server 110, the MFP 120 requests connection destination information. In this example, it is assumed that the information transmitted by the MFP 120 in S501 includes information on the installation area of the MFP 120. Here, the connection operation in S501 may include a user operation of the operation unit indicating consent to information transmission to the management server 110, a connection start operation by a serviceman, and reception of a connection instruction command to the MFP 120 from an external device.

  Subsequently, the management server 110 returns the connection destination information in S502 as a response to the connection destination information acquisition. In this example, the information transmitted by the management server 110 in S502 includes region information.

  In S503, the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits a registration request to the management server 110. The registration request includes information for uniquely specifying a device, including at least one of a device serial number, a product name, shipping destination, and time zone information, and information for specifying a device type. When the management server 110 receives the registration request in S503, the management server 110 returns a registration result including the registration ID of the device in S504.

  Subsequently, the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits an application information request to the management server 110 in S505. Upon receiving the application information request in S505, the management server 110 returns the application information associated with the registration ID of the MFP 120 in S506. The application information is information for the management server 110 to make a change by applying for a contract, stopping a service, changing a specification, or the like. For example, the application information includes at least one of an application ID, an application service name, an application service ID, and application service type information. There may be no application information associated with the registration ID of the multifunction peripheral 120, or there may be a plurality of application information.

  Subsequently, the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits a transmission setting request to the management server 110 in S507. The management server 110 that has received the transmission setting request returns the transmission setting in S508. The transmission setting is information for the management server 110 to change by applying for a contract, stopping a service, changing a specification, and the like. For example, the transmission settings include a transmission setting requested by the management server 110 to the MFP 120 (hereinafter, a desired setting), a transmission setting of the MFP 120 recognized by the management server 110 (hereinafter, a current setting), and At least one of the difference information is included.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the transmission setting includes event priority information in which information (event_category) indicating the classification of an event illustrated in FIG. 10 and information (event_priority) indicating the priority of the event are combined. When the MFP 120 receives the transmission setting in S508, the priority table setting module 306 changes the priority table 305 based on the desired setting. Subsequently, based on the changed priority table 305, the MFP 120 notifies the management server 110 of the current setting or event information as a control result in S509.

  For example, application information and transmission settings may change due to a change in a service under contract in the multifunction peripheral 120. Even in such a case, the multifunction peripheral 120 may periodically communicate with the management server 110 so that the management server 110 can manage the multifunction peripheral 120. FIG. 6 shows processing of the management server 110 and the multifunction peripheral 120 that periodically receives the application information and the transmission setting. In the present embodiment, the sequence shown in FIG. 6 is executed when the power of the MFP 120 is turned on and every 24 hours after the power is turned on.

  Note that S601 in FIG. 6 performs the same processing as S505 in FIG. 5, S602 and S506, S603 and S507, S604 and S508, and S605 and S509, and a description thereof will be omitted. Further, the processing of S601 and S602 and the processing of S603, S604, and S605 do not need to be performed continuously.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 7, when the management server 110 changes information, the information may be notified by a PUSH notification. S701 in FIG. 7 performs the same processing as S506, S702, and S508 in FIG. 5, and S703 performs the same processing as S509, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating event data based on data from the device I / F control module 316, the job management module 301, or the operation unit I / F control module 302 and storing the event data in the buffer DB 309. 8 is realized by expanding a program stored in the ROM 202 or the HDD 204 into the RAM 203 as necessary, and executing the program by the CPU 201. The processing illustrated in FIG. 8 is started when the device I / F control module 316, the job management module 301, or the operation unit I / F control module 302 transmits some event to the event data generation module 303. I do. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which a process is started mainly by an event from the device I / F control module 316.

  First, in S801, the event data generation module 303 that has received the event checks the content of the event such as the event type. The event type indicates a specific content of a change in the state of the multifunction peripheral 120, and includes, for example, at least one of a cartridge replacement request, a cartridge life expiration, power ON, a power saving mode IN, a job start, and a job end. The event type belongs to the event classification. For example, information on the state of consumables of the multifunction peripheral 120 such as cartridge replacement and cartridge life end belongs to the event classification of “Parts”. Power management information such as power-on and power-saving mode IN belongs to an event classification of “Power”. Data relating to a job executed by the multifunction peripheral 120, such as a job start and a job end, belongs to the “Job” event classification.

  When the event data generation module 303 confirms the content of the event, the priority determination module 304 determines the event priority based on the priority information stored in the priority table 305 from the event classification of the event. If there is no priority information in the priority table 305, it is determined that the event is not an event to be transmitted. If the priority determination module 304 determines that the event is an event not to be transmitted, the event data generation module 303 ends the process without generating event data.

  If the priority determination module 304 determines that the event is a transmission target, the event data generation module 303 creates a data common part of the event data in S803. In S803, as described above, the event priority information is added to the event data as internal management information. The data common part is a part of the data included in the event data, and is composed of the date and time of occurrence of the event, the event type, the identification ID of the MFP 120, and the like, and is always given regardless of the content of the event.

  Next, the event data generation module 303 determines data to be included in the event data in S804 corresponding to the event type confirmed in S801. For example, in the case of a cartridge replacement event, information on the cartridge such as the type, the remaining amount, and the color of the replaced cartridge may be included in the event data. Not limited to these, necessary data may be determined by an arbitrary method.

  Next, in S805, the event data generation module 303 creates a data individual part in the event data that is individually defined for each event type. Lastly, the event data generation module 303 creates event data by linking the data common part created in S803 and the data individual part created in S805, and transmits the event data to the buffer DB control module 307 in S806. To end the processing. The buffer DB control module 307 stores the received event data in the buffer DB 309, and notifies the buffer data notification module 310 that the event data has been buffered.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process when transmitting the event data stored in the buffer DB 309 to the management server 110. The flowchart of FIG. 9 is realized by expanding the program stored in the ROM 202 or the HDD 204 into the RAM 203 as necessary, and executing the program by the CPU 201. This process is performed when the buffer DB control module 307 receives the event data and stores the event data in the buffer DB 309.

  After storing the received event data in the buffer DB 309 in S901, the buffer DB control module 307 notifies the cloud transmission module 312 of the occurrence notification of the event data via the buffer data notification module 310. When performing this notification, the buffer data notification module 310 converts the event data into an event log in a predetermined format such as the JSON format through the data format conversion module 311.

  In step S902, the cloud transmission module 312 transmits an event log to the management server 110 via the network I / F 205 and the network 100. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a protocol used when the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits an event log is HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). That is, in the present embodiment, the event log expressed in the JSON format is attached to the payload of the HTTP protocol and transmitted. Note that another format, communication protocol, or communication means may be used as long as the event log can be transmitted through the network 100. For example, a protocol such as MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport) can be used. The cloud transmission module 312 notifies the buffer data notification module 310 that the data processing has been completed in S903, and the event data is deleted from the buffer DB 309 in response to this.

  In the present embodiment, the buffer DB 309 is managed in the software 300 of the MFP 120. However, a buffer DB server that manages the buffer DB 309 separately from the MFP 120 may be arranged on the network 100. . In this configuration, the multifunction peripheral 120 transmits the event data to the buffer DB server, and the buffer DB server buffers the received event data, converts the event data into a data format of the event data, and transmits the event data to the management server 110.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 120 can determine the priority of the buffered event data based on the request from the management server 110. This makes it possible to change the priority of the event log acquired from the information processing device, and reduce the possibility of losing data of high importance.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the MFP 120 that changes the priority of buffered event data based on a request from the management server 110 has been described. In the second embodiment, the priority of event data is set based on the application information obtained by the multifunction peripheral 120 from the management server 110, and the multifunction that reduces the possibility of losing data that is highly important to the provided service is set. The device 120 will be described. The description of the same configuration and processing as in the first embodiment will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, when the management server 110 receives the application information request in S505 in FIG. 5, the following processing is performed.

  Upon receiving the application information request in S505, the management server 110 returns the application information associated with the registration ID of the MFP 120 in S506. The application information includes at least one of an application ID, an application service name, an application service ID, and application service type information. There may be no application information associated with the registration ID of the multifunction peripheral 120, or there may be a plurality of application information.

  In the present embodiment, the type information of the application service is information indicating the type of service provided to the MFP 120, such as a consumables delivery service, a job management service, and a power management service. Upon receiving the application information by the cloud receiving module 315 in S506, the multifunction peripheral 120 analyzes the received data by the received data analysis module 314 and transmits the event priority information to the priority table setting module 306. In one example, as shown in FIG. 11, the event priority information is associated with an event classification (event_category) and information indicating the priority (event_priority). The priority table setting module 306 stores the event priority information in the priority table 305 for each type of service application information.

  The priority table setting module 306 sets the priority table 305 based on the received application service type information. Here, when the type information of a plurality of application services is acquired, as shown in FIG. 12, a setting with a higher priority is adopted for the same event classification. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the control information in S508 does not include a desired state. Alternatively, information for instructing whether to perform priority setting based on the type information of the applied service or to perform priority setting based on a desired state may be added to the control information in S508.

  Also in this embodiment, S601 performs the same processing as S505 in FIG. 5, S602, S506, S603, S507, S604, and S508, and S605 performs the same processing as S509, and thus the description is omitted. Further, the processing of S601 and S602 and the processing of S603, S604, and S605 do not need to be performed continuously.

  The timing at which the processing sequence shown in FIG. 6 is executed is not limited to when the power of the MFP 120 is turned on and every 24 hours after the power is turned on. For example, the processing sequence of FIG. 6 may be executed every other week or when the setting of the MFP 120 is changed by a user operation. Further, similarly to the first embodiment, when the information is changed, the management server 110 may execute the processing of FIG. 7 in which the information is notified by a PUSH notification.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the transmission priority of event data is set based on the application information acquired by the multifunction peripheral 120 from the management server 110. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of losing data having high importance for the service associated with the multifunction peripheral 120.

<Other embodiments>
In the first or second embodiment, the multifunction peripheral 120 has been described as transmitting an event log to the management server 110. In one example, the MFP 120 may display the event log on a display unit included in the operation unit 207 without performing transmission, as illustrated in FIG. Alternatively, the MFP 120 may also function as a Web server, and deliver the event log in an HTML format to the user terminal accessing the MFP 120.

  In the present embodiment, the management server 110 sets the priority for each event classification, but is not limited to this. For example, the management server 110 may specify the priority for each period in addition to the event classification. As an example, a certain event category (class A) only needs to be able to store event data for a predetermined period, for example, the latest and short-term, and other event data of category A may be deleted (low priority). Consider the case. In such a case, for example, event data of a predetermined period of category A is set to high priority, other event data of class A is set to low priority, and event data other than class A is set to medium priority. The period for storing logs for each event category can be changed.

  The present invention supplies a program for realizing one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or the apparatus read and execute the program. This processing can be realized. Further, it can also be realized by a circuit (for example, an ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Claims (11)

An information processing device,
Collection means for collecting data generated in connection with the processing performed in the information processing apparatus,
Accumulation means for temporarily accumulating data collected by the collection means,
Receiving means for receiving information from the management server;
Determining means for determining the priority of data based on the information;
Management means for managing data stored in the storage means according to the determination result of the determination means;
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information is application information based on a service associated with the information processing apparatus.   3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit transmits an event log generated based on at least a part of the data collected by the collection unit and the data stored by the storage unit to an external device. 4. Information processing device.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the external device is the management server.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the management unit determines an order of transmitting the event logs according to a determination result of the determination unit.   6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management unit deletes at least a part of data collected by the collection unit and data stored in the storage unit according to a determination result of the determination unit. 7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The data may include at least one of data related to a state of a consumable provided in the information processing device, data related to a job executed by the information processing device, and data related to power management of the information processing device. Item 7. The information processing device according to any one of Items 1 to 6.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays at least a part of the data.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information includes information that specifies a period in which data is stored in the storage unit. A method for controlling an information processing device, comprising:
A collection step of collecting data generated in connection with the processing performed by the information processing apparatus,
An accumulation step of temporarily accumulating the data collected in the collection step,
A receiving step of receiving information from the management server;
A determining step of determining a priority of data based on the information;
A management step of managing data stored in the storage step according to a determination result in the determination step;
A control method comprising:   A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the control method according to claim 10.

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