JP2021128381A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology for recognizing that a proxy function of a monitoring apparatus is malfunctioning.SOLUTION: A monitoring apparatus 102 acquires operation information generated by an image forming apparatus 101, and transmits the operation information to a management server 103 over a network. The monitoring apparatus 102 includes a proxy server 404 which transmits the operation information received from the image forming apparatus 101 to the management server 103, and a monitoring unit 405 which confirms whether the proxy server 404 operates normally when the proxy server 404 is enabled. When a malfunction is determined, the monitoring unit 405 performs a recovery operation to reboot the proxy server 404.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program for rapidly performing device maintenance such as error handling in a device and replenishment of consumables.

Conventionally, a device management system that performs maintenance of a device (for example, an image forming apparatus) installed in an office or the like via a network has been known. By using the device management system, for example, it is possible to detect, for example, that a device has failed or that consumables need to be replenished, and take prompt action. As a document that discloses a device management system, for example, the following Patent Document 1 is known.

A conventional device management system includes a management server that centrally manages each device, and an information processing device that operates as a monitoring device that collects operation information from a plurality of devices and transfers the operation information to the management server. Are known. The operation information is information including status information, counter information, sensor information, log information, and the like, which are information related to device failures and consumables. The operation information is used by the management server to perform device management service, device maintenance service, and the like. The monitoring device acquires this operation information from each device by using a method such as periodic polling.

When a failure occurs in a device, it may be necessary for a worker to go to the device installation location in order to perform recovery work, depending on the type of the failure or the like. Therefore, in order to reduce the time from the occurrence of a failure to recovery, that is, the downtime, stable operation of the device management system is desired.

In the device management system of Patent Document 1, the monitoring device has a proxy function (hereinafter, simply referred to as “proxy”) that relays the communication of management data (operation information) inside the monitoring device. In addition, settings for using the monitoring device proxy are also made for the managed device. As a result, the management data is sent from the device to the management server via the proxy of the monitoring device.

JP-A-2018-136876

When a device is managed by using the proxy function of the monitoring device as in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the proxy function of the monitoring device is not operating normally, the management server receives the operation information. , Unmanageable.

When the monitoring device uses the proxy function, the device proxy settings are set so as to correspond to the proxy settings of this monitoring client. When there is only one type of proxy setting in the device, if a problem occurs in the proxy function of the monitoring device, the influence may affect other functions using the proxy setting in the device.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism capable of recognizing that an abnormality has occurred in the proxy function in an information processing device having a proxy function.

The information processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention is an information processing device capable of acquiring operation information from a network device and transmitting it to a management server via the acquired network by requesting according to a monitoring setting. Therefore, the proxy means for operating as a proxy server for the network device and the proxy means for operating as the proxy server are effective so that the operation information from the network device is transmitted to the management server. In some cases, it is characterized by having a confirmation means for confirming whether or not the proxy server is operating normally.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the proxy function of the information processing device.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows schematic the network configuration of the device management system including the information processing apparatus which concerns on each embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus which concerns on each embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the hardware configuration of the management server and the monitoring apparatus which concerns on each embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the software structure of the management server and the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows schematic the software structure of the management server and the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic software structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a table which shows the device management information example of the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the monitoring apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a network configuration of a management system according to the present embodiment.
The management system of the present embodiment is a system that manages the image forming apparatus, and includes one or a plurality of image forming apparatus 101, a monitoring apparatus 102, and a management server 103.

In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 101 corresponds to the “network device” of the present invention and is a management target of the management system according to the present embodiment. As the image forming apparatus 101, for example, a digital multifunction device that executes jobs such as copying and printing can be adopted. Further, instead of the image forming apparatus 101, another device such as a single-function printer, a scanner, a copying machine, or a three-dimensional printer may be adopted.

The monitoring device 102 is connected to each image forming device 101 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) 105. Then, the monitoring device 102 acquires operation information, that is, data related to the occurrence of a failure, replenishment of consumables, and the like from each image forming device 101. The monitoring device 102 transmits the acquired operation information to the management server 103.

The management server 103 is connected to the monitoring device 102 via a network such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) 104. As will be described later, the management server 103 centrally manages the monitoring device 102 and each image forming device 101. The operation information received from the monitoring device 102 is used for this management. The management server 103 may be configured to include one computer or may be configured to include a plurality of computers. Furthermore, a computer using cloud computing technology may be used as the management server 103. As shown in FIG. 1, the management server 103 may be directly connected to the image forming apparatus 101 via the WAN 104 and the LAN 105.

<Hardware configuration of image forming device>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 101.
As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment has an overall control unit 211. The overall control unit 211 controls the interface with the external devices 212 to 215 and the network 217 (LAN 105, etc.) connected to the image forming apparatus 101, and also controls the operation of the entire image forming apparatus 101.

The CPU 201 functions as a controller that controls the entire system. For this purpose, the CPU 201 reads a control program from the ROM 202 and the HDD 205. When the control program is read from the HDD 205, the reading is controlled by the disk controller (HDC) 204. Then, the CPU 201 controls each unit 207 to 210, 216 connected via the system bus 206.

The RAM 203 is used as a work area when the CPU 301 executes a control program.
The reader I / F 207 is connected to the reader unit 212 (described later) and controls the operation of the reader unit 212.

The printer I / F 208 is connected to the printer unit 213 (described later) and controls the operation of the printer unit 213.
The operation unit I / F 209 is connected to the operation unit 214 and controls the process of transmitting the user operation information input from the operation unit 214 to the CPU 201 and the display of the operation unit 214 based on the information received from the CPU 201. Perform processing, etc.

The switch I / F 210 is connected to the switch unit 215 and transmits the on / off state of the switch unit 215 to the CPU 201.
The reader unit 212 reads the image of the original under the control of the reader I / F 207. Then, the reader unit 212 performs a process of printing out the image data corresponding to the original image to the printer unit 213 and a process of saving the image data in the HDD 205 in response to an instruction from the user. Further, it is also possible to perform a process of transmitting the image data output by the reader unit 212 to an external computer or the like via the network 217.

The printer unit 213 prints out the document read by the reader unit 212 and the image data read from the HDD 205 based on the control of the printer I / F 208. Further, the printer unit 213 receives and executes a print job from an external computer or the like via the network 217.

The operation unit 214 includes, for example, a keyboard, a pointing device, a display device, and the like, and accepts user's operation input, displays information to the user, and the like. Further, the operation unit 214 may be a display device with a touch panel.

The switch unit 215 controls an on / off state of a switch or the like for the user to operate the image forming apparatus 101.
The network (NW) I / F 216 is connected to the network 217. Through this network I / F 216, the overall control unit 211 communicates with other information devices and the like on the network 217.

<Hardware configuration of monitoring device and management server>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration example of the monitoring device 102 and the management server 103. As described above, the monitoring device 102 and the management server 103 have the same hardware configuration.

In FIG. 3, the communication I / F unit 301 is a network interface for communicating with an external system, device, or the like.
The storage device 302 stores an OS (Operating System), a program, operation information, data collected from an external system, a device, or the like.

The CPU 303 loads the program from the storage device 302 into the memory 304 and executes it.
That is, the memory 304 is used as a working memory of the CPU 303.
The output I / F unit 305 is connected to an output device such as a display device and outputs a program execution result or the like.

<Software configuration of monitoring device>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the software configuration (functional configuration) of the monitoring device 102.
In FIG. 4, the acquisition unit 401 acquires data such as operation information from the image forming apparatus 101.
The transmission unit 402 sends the acquired operation information and the like to the management server 103.

The data management unit 403 performs a process of storing the acquired operation information and the like, a process of managing the device information of the image forming apparatus 101 to be managed, and the like.
The proxy server 404 relays data communication between the image forming apparatus 101 and the management server 103. In addition to the proxy server 404, another proxy server may be provided in the communication path between the image forming apparatus 101 and the management server 103.
The monitoring unit 405 monitors the operating state of the proxy server 404, and also performs start processing, stop processing, and the like of the proxy server.

<Operation of monitoring device>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart schematically showing an example of processing performed by the monitoring unit 405 by the monitoring device 102.
In the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 405 monitors the operating state of the proxy server 404 at predetermined monitoring timings. Therefore, the monitoring unit 405 waits until the time reaches the monitoring timing (step S501). When the time reaches the monitoring timing, the process proceeds to step S502.

Here, the monitoring timing may be a predetermined time, a time after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous monitoring process, or may be determined by another standard.
In step S502, the monitoring unit 405 executes a process of confirming the operating state of the proxy server 404.

Then, in step S503, the monitoring unit 405 determines the operation / stop of the proxy server 404 based on the confirmation result of the operating state. If the proxy server 404 is running, the process ends.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S503 that the proxy server 404 is stopped, the monitoring unit 405 restarts the proxy server 404 in step S504.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 405 automatically determines whether or not the proxy server 404 of the monitoring device 102 is operating at a predetermined timing, and if it is stopped, the proxy is used. Restart server 404. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus can recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the proxy server 404.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the monitoring device 102 monitors its own proxy server 404 and restarts the proxy server 404 when the proxy server 404 is stopped. However, it is assumed that the restart of the proxy server 404 may fail. In the present embodiment, when the restart of the proxy server 404 fails, the configuration for transmitting data from the image forming apparatus 101 to the management server 103 without using the proxy server 404 is configured in the above-mentioned first. Added to the management system of the embodiment.

Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The network configuration and hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 101, the monitoring apparatus 102, and the management server 103 according to the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3). On the other hand, the software configuration of the monitoring device 102 and the management server 103 is different from the first embodiment in the following points.

<Software configuration of monitoring device>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of a software configuration according to the monitoring device 102 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the components having the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 are the same as those in FIG.

The monitoring device 102 of the present embodiment is different from the monitoring device 102 of the first embodiment in that the device management unit 406 is provided. The device management unit 406 changes the proxy setting of the image forming apparatus 101, starts / stops the self-monitoring function (described later) provided in the image forming apparatus 101, and the like.

<Software configuration of image forming device>
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 101.
In FIG. 7, the receiving unit 601 receives a request from an external device. As a request, for example, there is a request for the self-monitoring unit 604 (described later) to collect operation information and the like in the image forming apparatus 101.

The transmission unit 602 transmits a response to the request received by the reception unit 601 to the monitoring device 102 or the like.
The setting unit 603 makes various settings such as proxy settings based on the information specified by the monitoring device 102 and the like.

The self-monitoring unit 604 monitors the state in the image forming apparatus 101. Then, the self-monitoring unit 604 sends the data designated by the monitoring device 102 among the data indicating the monitoring result to the transmitting unit 602 according to a predetermined schedule, and causes the monitoring device 102 to transmit the data.

<Operation of monitoring device>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation example of the monitoring device 102 according to the present embodiment.
Similar to the first embodiment, the monitoring unit 405 waits until the time reaches the monitoring timing (step S501), and then confirms the operating state of the proxy server 404 (step S502). The monitoring unit 405 ends the process when the proxy server 404 is running, and restarts the proxy server 404 when it is stopped (step S504).

Subsequently, the monitoring unit 405 confirms whether or not the proxy server 404 has been successfully restarted (step S701). If the restart fails, the process proceeds to step S706.
On the other hand, if the restart is possible, in step S702, the image in which the data management unit 403 collects data from the image forming apparatus 101 to be managed by polling even though the self-monitoring unit 604 is provided. Find a forming device.

As described above, when the self-monitoring unit 604 is provided, the image forming apparatus 101 collects operation information based on the control of the image forming apparatus 101 itself and manages it via the proxy server 404 of the monitoring apparatus 102. It can be sent to the server 103. However, when the self-monitoring unit 604 is not used, the image forming apparatus 101 transmits data in response to the polling function of the monitoring apparatus 102 without collecting the operation information under its own control. In addition, an image forming device (an image forming device capable of only transmitting data in response to the polling function) that cannot collect operation information under its own control because it does not have the self-monitoring unit 604 is placed under the control of the management system. In some cases.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a management information table, that is, a table for registering information for managing the image forming apparatus. This management information table is managed by the data management unit 403 of the monitoring device 102.

In FIG. 9, the “device ID” is information for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus in the system.
The "serial number" is information for uniquely identifying the image forming apparatus from the product group provided by the same manufacturer or the like.
The "IP address" is an IP address assigned to each image forming apparatus.

The "self-monitoring function" is information indicating whether or not each image forming apparatus has a self-monitoring function (whether or not it has a self-monitoring unit 604).
The "management method" is information indicating whether the monitoring device 102 manages using the self-monitoring unit 604 or collects and manages operation information by periodic polling.

When each image forming apparatus is registered as a management target, each information shown in FIG. 9 is determined and registered based on the information acquired from the image forming apparatus. Of course, the image forming apparatus may be managed by using a kind of information different from the information shown in FIG.

Return to the flowchart of FIG. In step S702, when an image forming apparatus including the self-monitoring unit 604 but collecting operation information by polling is found, the data management unit 403 of the monitoring apparatus 102 sets the proxy information of the proxy server 404 to the image forming apparatus. Notify department 603. Then, the setting unit 603 sets the proxy of the image forming apparatus 101 based on the proxy information (step S703).

Next, the device management unit 406 of the monitoring device 102 instructs the self-monitoring unit 604 of the image forming device 101 to start the self-monitoring operation (step S704).
After that, the data management unit 403 of the monitoring device 102 rewrites the "management method" column of the corresponding image forming device 101 from the registered information in the management information table (see FIG. 9) from "polling" to "via proxy". (Step S705).

The processes of steps S703 to S705 are executed for all the image forming apparatus including the self-monitoring unit 604 but collecting the operation information by polling.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S701 that the restart of the proxy server 404 has failed, the data management unit 403 manages the image forming device using the proxy server 404 from among the image forming devices to be managed. Find 101 (step S706).

Then, when the image forming apparatus 101 using the proxy server 404 for management is found, the device management unit 406 notifies the setting unit 603 of the image forming apparatus 101 of the "empty" setting. The “empty” setting is proxy information that was set before the image forming apparatus 101 was registered as a management target. Then, the setting unit 603 sets the proxy of the image forming apparatus 101 based on the proxy information (step S707). The proxy information before registration is proxy information for the image forming apparatus 101 to communicate without passing through the proxy server 404 of the monitoring apparatus 102. Such proxy information may be acquired from the image forming apparatus 101 and stored, for example, when the image forming apparatus 101 is set as a management target.

Next, the device management unit 406 of the monitoring device 102 instructs the self-monitoring unit 604 of the image forming device 101 to stop the self-monitoring operation (step S708).
After that, the data management unit 403 of the monitoring device 102 rewrites the "management method" column of the corresponding image forming device 101 from the registered information in the management information table (see FIG. 9) from "via proxy" to "polling". (Step S709).

The processes of steps S707 to S709 are executed for all the image forming devices that are managed by using the proxy server 404.
As shown above, in the present embodiment, when the proxy server 404 of the monitoring device 102 fails to restart, the image forming device 101 can be returned to the setting in which the proxy server 404 is not used. As a result, according to the present embodiment, when the proxy server 404 cannot return to the normal operating state, it is possible to switch to the management by polling.

[Third Embodiment]
The network configuration, hardware configuration, and software configuration of the image forming apparatus 101, the monitoring apparatus 102, and the management server 103 according to the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4). However, the operation of the monitoring device 102 is different from that of the first embodiment in the following points.

In the first embodiment, in order to determine the normality / abnormality of the proxy server 404, it is decided to check whether or not the proxy server 404 is operating (see steps S502 and S503 in FIG. 5).

However, even if it is operating, it is conceivable that it is not operating normally due to an internal defect of the proxy server 404.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the following processing is performed instead of the same processing as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 5) or in addition to the same processing as in the first embodiment.

<Operation of monitoring device>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation example of the monitoring device 102 according to the present embodiment.
The monitoring unit 405 monitors the operating state of the proxy server 404 at predetermined monitoring timings. Therefore, the monitoring unit 405 waits until the time reaches the monitoring timing (step S901). When the time reaches the monitoring timing, the process proceeds to step S902.

Here, the monitoring timing may be a predetermined time, a time after a predetermined time has elapsed from the previous monitoring process, or may be determined by another standard.
In step S902, the monitoring unit 405 communicates with the management server 103 via the proxy server 404.

Subsequently, in step S903, the monitoring unit 405 determines whether or not the communication in step S902 is successful. Then, when the communication is successful, the process ends.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step 903 that the communication has failed, in step S904, the monitoring unit 405 communicates with the management server 103 without going through the proxy server 404.

Next, in step S905, the monitoring unit 405 determines whether or not the communication in step S902 is successful.
If it is determined in step S905 that the communication is successful, the monitoring unit 405 restarts the proxy server 404 (step S906).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S905 that the communication has failed, the monitoring unit 405 cannot connect to the management server 103 to the system administrator by displaying a message on the management screen (not shown) of the monitoring device 102, for example. Notify that (step S907). The method of notifying the administrator is not particularly limited, and may be an e-mail notification or the like.

As shown above, in the present embodiment, the normality / abnormality of the proxy server 404 is determined based on whether or not communication can be performed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the proxy server 404 has an internal defect, the state can be automatically detected.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Similar to the second embodiment, the monitoring device 102 of the present embodiment has a device management unit 406 for managing the image forming device 101 (see FIG. 6). However, as will be described later, the content of the process performed by the device management unit 406 is different from that of the second embodiment (see FIG. 11).

The other configurations of the monitoring device 102, the configurations of the image forming apparatus 10 and the management server 103, the configuration of the entire network, and the like are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 4).
In each of the above embodiments, it is decided to periodically check whether or not the operating state of the proxy server 404 is normal.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, control is provided to prevent the proxy server 404 from becoming prone to an abnormality.
For example, when the amount of communication data between the image forming apparatus 101 and the management server 103 increases, the load on the proxy server 404 increases, and an abnormality is likely to occur.

<Operation of monitoring device>
FIG. 11 is a flowchart schematically showing an operation example of the monitoring device 102 according to the present embodiment.
Similar to each of the above-described embodiments, in the present embodiment as well, the monitoring unit 405 monitors the operating state of the proxy server 404 at predetermined monitoring timings. Therefore, the monitoring unit 405 waits until the time reaches the monitoring timing (step S1001). When the time reaches the monitoring timing, the process proceeds to step S1002. As in each of the above embodiments, the monitoring timing is not limited.

In step S1002, the monitoring unit 405 confirms the high load of the proxy server 404. The load of the proxy server 404 can be quantified based on information such as the CPU usage rate, the memory usage rate, and the number of connections per unit time of the proxy server 404. Then, by comparing the numerical value with a predetermined reference value, it is determined whether or not the load is high. As the information used for quantifying the load, only a part of this information may be used, or other information may be used in place of or in addition to this information.

In step S1002, when the load of the proxy server 404 is lower than the reference value, the monitoring unit 405 ends the process.
On the other hand, in step S1002, when the load of the proxy server 404 exceeds the reference value, the device management unit 406 of the monitoring device 102 instructs the self-monitoring unit 604 of the image forming device 101 to change the setting of the monitoring information. do.

For example, if the self-monitoring unit 604 changes the setting so as to monitor only the information with high urgency, the amount of data of the operation information transmitted to the management server 103 (that is, the amount of data relayed by the proxy server 404) is reduced. The load on the proxy server 404 is reduced. The information having a high degree of urgency is, for example, information regarding an error in the image forming apparatus 101 or replenishment of consumables. For other information, that is, information having a low degree of urgency, for example, the acquisition unit 401 of the monitoring device 102 may periodically perform poll acquisition and transmit it to the management server 103.

As shown above, according to the present embodiment, the amount of data transmitted from the self-monitoring unit 604 is suppressed according to the load level of the proxy server 404. Therefore, the amount of communication data of the proxy server 404 is excessive. It is possible to reduce the abnormalities caused by.

The method of suppressing the amount of data transmitted from the self-monitoring unit 604 is not limited to the method of the present embodiment. For example, for a part of the plurality of image forming devices 101, even if the monitoring device 102 functions as a Web server and receives the data transmitted from the self-monitoring unit 604 instead of passing through the proxy server 404. good. As a result, the amount of data handled by the proxy server 404 can be suppressed.

101 Image forming device 102 Monitoring device 103 Management server 104 WAN (Wide Area Network)
105 LAN (Local Area Network)
217 network

Claims (10)

An information processing device capable of acquiring operation information from a network device and transmitting the acquired operation information to a management server via a network by requesting according to a monitoring setting.
A proxy means for operating as a proxy server for the network device so that the operation information from the network device is transmitted to the management server.
When the proxy means is effective for operating as the proxy server, a confirmation means for confirming whether the proxy server is operating normally and a confirmation means.
An information processing device characterized by having. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation means periodically confirms whether or not the proxy means is normally operating as the proxy server. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an instruction means for instructing the proxy means to restart when it is determined that the operation as the proxy server is abnormal. When it is determined that the operation as the proxy server is abnormal, a setting changing means for transmitting an instruction for changing the setting of the proxy server of the network device referred to when the network device transmits the operation information to an empty state is provided. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising. When it is determined that the operation as the proxy server is abnormal, the network device itself generates operation information and sends an instruction to stop the function of transmitting the operation information to the proxy server for the network device, self-monitoring stop. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising means. The confirmation means is the proxy when data cannot be transmitted to the management server via the proxy means even though the data can be transmitted to the management server without going through the proxy means in the own device. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein it is determined that the means is not normally operating as the proxy server. The confirmation means further includes load reducing means for transmitting an instruction for reducing the amount of data of the operation information when it is determined that the load of the proxy means is higher than a predetermined state. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. When the confirmation means determines that the load of the proxy means is higher than a predetermined state, at least a part of the plurality of network devices gives an instruction to transmit the operation information without using the proxy means. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a transmission changing means for transmitting. It is an information processing method that can acquire operation information from a network device by requesting it according to the monitoring settings and send the acquired operation information to the management server via the network.
A proxy process in which the proxy means operates as a proxy server for the network device so that the operation information from the network device is transmitted to the management server.
When the proxy means is effective for operating as the proxy server, a confirmation step for confirming whether the proxy server is operating normally and a confirmation step.
An information processing method characterized by having. A program for operating a computer as each means of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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