JP5113095B2 - Network setting notification device, network setting method, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a network automatic setting technology, and more specifically, a network setting that enables automatic network setting by notifying network setting information even when the network setting protocol of devices connected to the network is different. The present invention relates to a notification device, a network setting method, a program, and a recording medium.

  In an office environment or the like, personal computers, image forming apparatuses, servers, and the like are interconnected via a local area network (LAN) and the like, and hardware resources are shared. In recent years, a network may be configured using a wireless LAN or the like even in a home environment other than an office environment. When connecting a new device such as a printer, digital camera, copying machine, copying function, image scanner function, facsimile function, etc. to the network, it is newly connected. In order to use such a device, it is necessary for the information processing apparatus connected to the LAN to recognize the device having a specific service function and acquire network information.

  As the network setting information, an IP address, a host name, a service name, and the like are known. When newly joining a personal computer or other device to an existing network, setting the network setting information for joining the network by a user who is not network technology can be cumbersome or misconfigured. From the viewpoint of the occurrence of a network failure due to the above, the psychological hurdle is high, and the addition of information processing devices and new devices is often performed by network administrators who are proficient in network connection. In addition, considering the case of use in the home, it is also conceivable that the spread of the network environment is limited due to the trouble of network connection.

  In order to improve such a problem, an automatic setting protocol for easily connecting a device or an information processing apparatus to a LAN is provided even for a general user who does not have knowledge of network setting. For example, UPnP (Universal Plug and Play: registered trademark), Bonjour (registered trademark), WS-Discovery (registered trademark), SMB (Server Management Block), and the like are known as automatic setting protocols.

  These automatic setting protocols depend on the architecture of the devices and information processing apparatuses connected to the network, and are not necessarily compatible. For example, the automatic setting protocol implements a search protocol for acquiring network setting information of various devices currently connected to the network. For devices that use the same network setting protocol, network setting information can be acquired by responding to inquiries without problems. However, a device that uses an automatic setting protocol different from the inquiry protocol cannot respond to the inquiry. For this reason, a device using a different network setting protocol is used only for a device in a specific protocol domain on the network. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to search for a device that the user wants to use and set an IP address and a device name directly on the information processing device, as in the past.

  A plurality of techniques for providing network information of devices connected to a network have been known so far. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-295504 (Patent Document 1), a plurality of protocols for acquiring connection destination information is known. An information communication device comprising: acquisition means for acquiring pairing information for identifying a partner information communication device on the network; and a plurality of protocols for acquiring connection destination information based on the pairing information Disclosed is an information communication device for generating a list of information communication devices having a protocol selected by the selection device as a selection device for selecting at least one protocol and a partner information communication device on a network that can be selected by a user. Yes.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-097368 (Patent Document 2) manages the list information of devices connected to a network, and the client desires based on the list information in response to a device search request from a client. An electronic device for searching for a device and returning the search result to the client, device information acquisition means for acquiring access control information from each device included in the list information, and the device from the client In response to a search request, an access determination unit that searches for a device desired by the client from the list information and determines whether the client can access the searched device based on the access control information, When there is a device that is determined to be accessible by the access determination means, Access discloses an electronic device to be returned as the search result information about devices capable.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-172600 (Patent Document 3) obtains a type of usable protocol, issues a search request for requesting a response to a device connected to a network using all protocols, Disclosed is a network device control apparatus that creates a device list of devices using different protocols by summing up responses from and displaying a device list used for device management based on the summation results.

  The technology of Patent Document 1 selects a protocol with an information communication device having a plurality of protocols, and generates a list of information communication devices having the selected protocol. Although Patent Document 1 discloses generating a list of information communication devices having a protocol selected from a plurality of protocols, a service is provided to an information processing device that executes a search using a different search protocol. It is not an issue to provide network information of a device to be provided.

  Also, in Patent Document 2, a list of devices connected to a network is managed, a client searches for a device desired in response to a device search request from the client, and information regarding the searched device is returned as a search result. Execute the process. In Patent Document 2, although network setting information can be notified, it is not possible to provide network setting information to a device that is searching for a partner using a different search protocol. In the method of Patent Document 2, the electronic device must manage the list information.

  For this reason, there is also a problem that the electronic device must collect a list of devices currently connected to the network at any time or periodically using broadcast or multicast to the network. Furthermore, considering search messages sent by multiple search protocols, the network load viewpoint and all devices will hold the same list, so the list held by the network itself becomes redundant and efficient. It cannot be a thing. Further, even devices that use different search programs to access the network do not enable efficient acquisition of network setting information.

  Further, Patent Document 3 discloses investigating a network layer / transport layer protocol used by a device connected to a network, and further enables notification of network setting information using a protocol stack including an upper protocol. It is not an issue, and it is not an issue to notify the network setting information by overriding the protocol difference. .

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the present invention makes it possible to efficiently set network setting information of a device that is not compatible with the search protocol even when the device is connected to the network. The purpose is to provide technology.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above prior art, and in the present invention, the network setting of a network to which a device including a different network setting protocol is connected is notified. The network setting notification device receives a service search request for inquiring a service provided by a device via a network, searches for a service corresponding to the network setting protocol of the service search request, and searches for a service search request issuer Send the network setting information.

  Further, the network setting notification device receives the service search request, checks whether or not another network setting notification device exists in the network, determines whether or not to proxy the network setting information, and service search means To obtain network setting information of a device that uses a network setting protocol different from the service search request, and register it in a list for registering the network setting information. Furthermore, in the present invention, a specific device uses a protocol different from the service search request by acquiring network setting information of a different network setting protocol and converting it into a format suitable for the network setting protocol of the service search request. It is possible to notify the device on behalf of the network setting information. For this reason, even when devices using a plurality of automatic setting protocols coexist in the network, it is possible to efficiently discover the hardware resources of the devices and use them on the network.

  In the present invention, the network setting notification device includes proxy response service search means. The proxy response service search means receives the service search request and determines whether or not another network setting notification device exists in the network. The proxy response processing is arbitrated by controlling the inquiry of the inquiry and the service retrieval means in accordance with the contents of the inquiry response, thereby preventing unnecessary network setting information from being transferred on the network.

  Further, the network setting notification device includes service information storage means, and after converting the format of the acquired network setting information, the list associated with the identification value of a device that uses a network setting protocol different from the service search request sign up. This list can be configured as a cache and can speed up the search for network setting information. The proxy response service search means includes port scanning means for checking whether a device using another network setting protocol can provide the service, and the device is compatible with the service. However, it is possible to select and acquire the network setting information of a device whose port is open and which can provide an actual service. In the present invention, different network configuration protocols can include network configuration protocols that use at least port number 1900 or port number 5353.

  According to the present invention, even when a device using a plurality of network setting protocols is connected to a network, a device that can efficiently provide a specific service without unnecessarily increasing network transactions. Search or discovery is possible.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a network system 100 including a network setting notification device of the present embodiment. The figure which showed the functional block 200 of the network setting notification apparatus of this embodiment. The sequence of the service request / service response in the network system 100 of this embodiment. The flowchart of the service proxy response process which the proxy response service search part 204 performs. 5 is a detailed flowchart of processing in step S403 in FIG. 4 for determining whether the device 120 makes a proxy response in the present embodiment. A sequence of device search processing in steps S309 to S312 of FIG. 3 executed by the service search unit 206 of the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart of processing from steps S609 to S616 in FIG. 6 in which the device A 120 acquires network setting information of other devices B 130 to D 150 in the present embodiment. The figure which showed the network system 800 of other embodiment of this embodiment. A sequence when a PC 870 that implements the protocol 2 notifies the PC 870 of the network setting information of the device I 860 to the device F 830 that functions as a network setting notification device when the PC 870 is connected to the network 810. In this embodiment, a sequence of network setting information acquisition processing in the case where the device G840, the device H850, and the device I860 are mixed on the network 110. The figure which showed other embodiment of the network setting method of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, although this invention is demonstrated with embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned later. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a network system 100 including a network setting notification device according to the present embodiment. The network system 100 includes a device A 120, a device B 130, a device C 140, a device D 150, and a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a PC) 160 that uses a service provided by the device. Each device and the PC 160 are interconnected by a network 110. In this embodiment, the network 110 can be implemented as a local area network (LAN), connected to a public network such as the Internet via a bridge, hub, router, etc., and used for services such as IPP (Internet Printing Protocol). It may correspond.

  Each device is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a page printer, a multi-function copying machine, a digital camera, and a flat bed scanner.

  Each device and PC connected to the network 110 notify the PC 160 of their existence using protocols such as UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), Bonjour, and WS-Discovery, and the device newly joins the network 110. In this case, the effort required for collecting and setting network setting information is minimized. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the devices A120 to D150 mutually communicate the network setting information, they do not use the same protocol but use different protocols.

  When the PC 160 searches for a device connected to the network 110, the PC needs to broadcast or multicast a packet for searching for the device. However, if the packet sent by the PC cannot be handled, receiving the packet and returning a response each time increases the network processing load on the PC side. Furthermore, when error responses from a plurality of PCs occur, transactions related to the errors increase, and the bandwidth of the network 110 is wasted. In addition, when the PC 160 that intends to participate in the network 110 cannot acquire the corresponding device indefinitely, it is assumed that the device search processing is repeatedly issued, and the load of the network processing of the device connected to the network 110 is increased. The processing efficiency of the PC 160 and the devices A to D decreases accordingly.

  In this embodiment, in order to reduce the load related to the above-described network setting information transaction, a device connected to the network 110 is made to implement a plurality of network setting notification protocols. When a device that implements the setting notification protocol receives a request based on a specific network connection protocol, the device arbitrates whether or not the device should respond, and stores network setting information about other protocols other than the received request protocol. , Notify on behalf of other devices.

  In this embodiment, the network setting notification device is a device that can provide a service requested by the PC 160 or the like, and instead of a device that cannot directly respond to an inquiry of the PC 160 due to a difference in protocol, the device. The network setting information is converted into a network setting protocol used by the PC 160 and is returned to the PC 160 as a service response. In the present embodiment, the network setting information means information including an IP address for identifying a specific device on the network, a MAC address, a network address including a host name, device IDs of various devices, operation settings, and the like. In addition, when a device is connected to the network 110, information necessary for receiving a service provided by the device from the PC 160 is included.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the device A 120 corresponds to the network setting notification device, and the device A 120 implements protocol 1 and protocol 2 as network setting information notification protocols. Note that the device B 130 connected to the network 110 also implements the protocol 1 and the protocol 2 and can function as a network setting notification device. In the present embodiment, an appropriate proxy response adjustment process is used to manage a single device to perform a proxy response.

  The PC 160 is mounted with a processor such as a PENTIUM (registered trademark) or PENTIUM (registered trademark) compatible chip, and a memory such as a RAM such as WINDOWS (registered trademark), UNIX (registered trademark), or LINUX (registered trademark). The operation is controlled by reading an operating system (OS). The PC 160 executes an application program written in a programming language such as C, C ++, JAVA (registered trademark), JAVA (registered trademark) BEANS, PERL, RUBY, and provides processing results to the user.

  The devices A120 to D150 can be implemented as MFPs or page printers. The devices A120 to D150 are connected to the network 110 under the control of the processor, and print data transactions and network setting transactions are exchanged with the PC 160. Run between. The devices A120 to D150 function as SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) clients, and disclose their own device information to other devices using MIB2 (RFC 1213).

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block 200 of the network setting notification device of this embodiment. The network setting notification device shown in FIG. 2 will be described assuming that the device A 120 performs its function for the sake of illustration. In the present embodiment, the device B130 can adopt the same configuration. 2 is realized by causing a processor included in the device to execute a program and causing the device to function as each of the above functional units.

  The network setting device of this embodiment includes a network control unit 202, a proxy response service search unit 204, a service search unit 206, a service conversion table 208, and a service information storage unit 210.

  The network control unit 202 is in charge of processing corresponding to the physical layer and data link layer levels in the OSI basic reference model, sends processing results in a higher protocol layer to the network 110, and also passes through the network 110. Receive the forwarded packet and send it to the higher protocol layer. The proxy response service search unit 204 checks whether or not the device B 130 capable of service notification other than the device A 120 is connected to the network 110 and arbitrates the proxy response function. It has a function to collect. The service search unit 206 collects network setting information of devices that should make a proxy response via the network 110 and stores them in a list.

  Further, the service search unit 206 searches a list stored in the service information storage unit 210 by the network setting notification device, and extracts network setting information of a device that can provide the service requested by the PC 160. The extracted network setting information is sent to the protocol n service search response unit 212, and is sent to the service search request issuer via the network control unit 202. The service information storage unit 210 can also be configured as a cache memory, and can cache the above-described list to speed up the search process.

  The service search response unit 212 has a function of performing a process of returning a service response in the format of the protocol n used by the PC 160 that issued the service search request. In response to the determination that the device 120 should make a proxy response, the service search response unit 212 sends the network setting information of the device that should make a proxy response to the PC 160.

  Further, the network setting notification device includes a service response conversion unit 214 and a device information acquisition unit 216. The service response conversion unit 214 converts the network setting information of the device that cannot directly respond to the service search request of the PC 160 into the protocol format used by the PC 160 that issued the service search request, and returns the converted network setting information to the service search response unit 212. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the conversion content is cached in the service information storage unit 210.

  FIG. 3 shows a service request / service response sequence in the network system 100 of the present embodiment. The sequence shown in FIG. 3 shows the processing of the network setting notification device when the PC 160 is newly connected to the network 110. In FIG. 3, description will be continued assuming that the device A 120 functions as a network setting notification device with a high priority of proxy responses. After the PC 160 is connected to the network and an IP address is assigned from a DHCP server or the like, the PC 160 issues a service search request addressed to the broadcast address or multicast address in step S300.

  The service search request is sent using a protocol stack (hereinafter simply referred to as a protocol) such as UPnP, Bonjour, SMB, and WS-Discovery. When the device A 120 receives a service search request from the PC 160, the network control unit 202 extracts the service search request, and issues an inquiry packet as to whether or not the device itself makes a proxy response in steps S301 and S302. In steps S303 and S304, a response from another device B130 capable of proxy response is received, and arbitration processing is performed to determine whether or not the device itself should respond. In the described embodiment, since the device A 120 makes a proxy response, the service search unit 206 is called in step S305, the protocol type of the service search request is checked, and a service search response corresponding to the protocol of the service search request is received in step S306. Return to PC160.

  In addition, the service search unit 206 searches for a device that can respond to the specified service in response to the call, and returns network setting information of a device that can provide the service to the PC 160 in step S306.

  Further, after returning the response of the protocol type of the service search request, the service search unit 206 targets the network setting information of the device connected to the network 110 in steps S307 and S308 for protocols other than the protocol that has already responded. Search for. In step S309 and step S310, the service search unit 206 acquires network setting information of each device, and in step S311, calls the service response conversion unit 214 to convert the protocol format. In step S312, the service search unit 206 corresponds to the protocol of the PC 160. Get network setting information of the format to be used.

  Thereafter, in step S313, step S314, and step S315, the service search unit 206 sends the network setting information after the protocol conversion to the PC 160.

  The PC 160 can use the received network setting information to access a service of a device desired to be used. Therefore, the PC 160 can discover a service-provided device connected to the network 110 regardless of the protocol difference, by using only the discovery protocol implemented by the PC 160. As a result, the PC 160 can use the network service with the minimum application configuration and network load.

  Further, the network setting notification device accumulates the network setting information of the already connected device in the service information storage unit 210, so that the search result of the network setting information searched in the past can be used effectively. . In this embodiment, the response to the service search request can be speeded up, the transactions for obtaining the network setting information can be reduced, and the network bandwidth can be used more effectively. Note that the network setting information registered in the service information storage unit 210 is refreshed by detecting and maintaining or deleting the service by, for example, periodically scanning the port of the registered device IP address. It can be refreshed.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of service proxy response processing executed by the proxy response service search unit 204. The process in FIG. 4 corresponds to the process executed by the device A 120 in step S301 in FIG. The process of FIG. 4 listens to broadcast or multicast packets in step S400. When a broadband or multicast packet is received in step S401, it is determined whether the received packet is a service search request. If the received packet is not a service search request (no), the process returns to step S400, and the subsequent service search request is monitored.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S401 that the received packet is a service search request (yes), the port number is checked in step S402 to determine the protocol of the service search request for the packet. In the embodiment to be described, it is assumed that the PC 160 uses the UPnP protocol, and a printer that implements the Bonjour protocol and a printer that supports the UPnP protocol are connected to the network 110. In this embodiment, port number = 5000 supports SSDP legacy notification service and corresponds to a service search request in the UPnP protocol. A port number = 5353 is a port used by Multicast DNS in the Bonjour protocol, and supports a DNS service for searching for a host name.

  The port number check in step S402 is for identifying the device discovery protocol used by the PC 160 that has issued the service search request. After the port check, in step S403, whether the own device executes proxy response processing. Judge whether or not. When the proxy response is not made (no), the service response process corresponding to the service search request protocol is called in step S404, the service response is returned, the process is returned to step S400 again, and the subsequent service search request is listened to.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S403 that a proxy response is to be made (yes), the proxy response service search unit 204 is called in step S405 to start the proxy response process, and the service response is returned to the PC 160, followed by step S400. Listen for service search requests.

  FIG. 5 is a detailed flowchart of the process of step S403 in FIG. 4 for determining whether the device A 120 makes a proxy response in the present embodiment. The process of FIG. 5 issues an inquiry packet in order to determine whether another device capable of proxy response service is connected in step S500. The inquiry packet can be created as UDP, and when the device A 120 supports a network setting protocol other than the protocol used by the PC 160, it receives a service search request and performs the proxy response processing of this embodiment. Whether or not the assigned port is open can be executed by port scanning. In another embodiment, the proxy response service search unit 204 may be provided with a module that returns a response packet that explicitly describes that a proxy response is possible when an inquiry packet is received.

  In step S501, it is determined whether a response packet to the inquiry packet is returned before the timeout elapses. If the response packet is returned before the timeout elapses (yes), the process branches to step S504, and a service search response is made. The service response conversion unit is activated to create a proxy response, and the service response is sent to the PC 160 on behalf of the various devices that cannot respond. On the other hand, if the timeout does not elapse in step S501 (no), the packet received continuously in step S502 is inspected. If the packet corresponding to the inquiry is not received (no), the process returns to step S501. And check the connection of the other network setting notification device until the timeout elapses.

  If a response packet is received in step S502 (yes), in step S503, it is determined whether or not the own device makes a proxy response, and the proxy response is arbitrated. Various schemes for arbitrating the proxy response are conceivable. In the embodiment described, the value of the source IP address included in the response packet is compared with the IP address of the own device. In IPv4, the lower 24 bits of the IP address or the IP address By using the size of all bits (32 bits) of the address, for example, a process of assigning a proxy response right source to a network setting notification device having a small IP address can be employed. In IPV6, it can also be determined by comparing the values of the area excluding the prefix part.

  In another embodiment, the device performance is described in the response packet, and the device with the higher device performance is configured to continue processing as the network setting notification device. May be.

  If it is determined in step S503 that the own device is a network setting notification device (yes), in step S504, the process of step S405 in FIG. A response is sent to the PC 160. As a result of the arbitration process in step S503, if it is determined that the own device does not make a proxy response (no), the process branches to step S505, and the call in step S404 in FIG. 4 is executed.

  Note that the processing in FIG. 5 indicates that, when the device 120 connected to the network 110 has a fixed IP address or device performance, a proxy response is made instead of being executed for each service search response. Until the polling period elapses after the flag and identification information are registered, the flag check or identification information check process can be used instead of the determination in FIG. The polling period can be set as appropriate, and if the service search request is not received for a certain period, the flag, identification information, and the contents of the service information storage unit 210 are refreshed, the unnecessary information is refreshed, Consumption of hardware resources such as memory can be suppressed.

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram of the device search process in steps S309 to S312 of FIG. 3 executed by the service search unit 206 of this embodiment. The sequence shown in FIG. 6 is the sequence shown in FIG. 3 and is started when the service search unit 206 receives a notification from the proxy response service search unit 204 that the own device will make a proxy response in step S305. Upon receiving a notification that the own device functions as a network setting notification device, in step S600, when the proxy response service search unit 204 calls the service search unit 206, the service search unit 206 holds the device connected to the network 110. Start searching for the service you want.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the service search unit 206 issues an inquiry to the device C140 in steps S601 and S602 in order to search which protocol is implemented by the device connected to the network 110. Here, it is assumed that the device C140 implements protocol 2 (UPnP) as a network setting protocol. In the embodiment to be described, the device D will be described assuming that Bonjour is implemented as a network setting protocol.

  In steps S601 and S602, in order to inspect the devices that implement the UPnP protocol among the devices connected to the network 110, SSDP: all is issued as service type = printer, and services are provided to all connected devices. Ask. In step S603, a response from the device corresponding to SSDP is received, and in step S604, the device corresponding to SSDP is notified to the service search unit 206. The service search unit 206 registers the host name of the device corresponding to SSDP in the list 600 in association with the protocol. By caching this list 600 in the service information storage unit 210, it is possible to notify the network setting information at high speed without issuing an inquiry in the proxy response process.

  In addition, the service search unit 206 issues an inquiry to the device D150 in steps S605 and S606. In the embodiment to be described, the device D150 performs network setting using the Bonjour protocol. For this reason, the device A 120 creates an UDP packet addressed to port number = 5353 and sends it by broadcast or multicast. The device D150 returns a response in step S607, and in step S608, the service search unit 206 registers the device that has returned the response in the list 600 stored in the service information storage unit 210 in association with the protocol. Thereafter, the service search unit 206 checks whether or not the device that has returned the response supports the specific service by using the port scan process.

  For the port scan processing, port number = 9100 (TCP / IP printing), port number = 515 (lpr printing), or port number = 631 (IPP printing) is assigned as a port for the print service. Take advantage of that. The service search unit 206 scans ports = 9100, 515, and 631, for example, using the UDP port scan addressed to the IP address of the device that has returned the response. The port scan process sends a packet addressed to the IP address of the target device, and if the message “ICMP port unreachable” is returned as a response, it determines that the scanned port is closed. The target device is excluded from the network setting information acquisition process. As the port scan technology, a known method such as a TCP port scan can be used in addition to a UDP port scan.

  The device A 120 identifies a device that can provide a service connected to the network 110, calls the device information acquisition unit 216 in step S 609, and uses SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) to perform steps S 610, S 611, and S 613. In step S612, S614, S615, and S616, the network setting information that the devices A120 to D150 disclose to the MIB is queried. Thereafter, the service response conversion unit 214 converts the network setting information into a service search request protocol in association with a network address such as the IP address of the device, and registers the converted network setting information in the list 600.

  For registration in the list 600, the service response conversion unit 214 specifically acquires, for example, the network setting information of the device D150 in the Bonjour format. The service response conversion unit 214 converts the network setting information into network setting information used by UPnP, which is a service search request protocol, and registers, for example, UPnP network setting information in a record in which the network address of the device D150 is registered. Fill in the fields you want.

  With the above processing, the device A 120 functioning as the network setting notification device registers the network setting information related to the devices B 130 to D 150 connected to the network 110 in the list 600, and refers to the list 600 in the proxy response. Then, it is provided to the PC 160 that newly joins the network 110. As a result, in the record for registering a specific network address in the list 600, a field of network setting information corresponding to the protocol to be subjected to the proxy response is created. The embodiment is shown as table 650. As shown in the table 650, in the embodiment to be described, a proxy response is made between the two protocols UPnP and Bonjour. For example, a service search request may be sent by UPnP or may be sent by Bonjour. For network address = A, fields for UPnP and Bonjour are provided, and network setting information after conversion to be subjected to each proxy response is registered in the network setting information field.

  When making a proxy response, the service search unit 206 identifies the protocol of the service search request. After the identification, the service search unit 206 acquires network setting information corresponding to a protocol other than the protocol of the service search request, fills in the payload of the response packet of the service search response, and searches for the service via the service search response unit 212. Send to request issuer. Through the above processing, the network setting information notification processing of this embodiment is executed.

  FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart of the processing from step S609 to step S616 in FIG. 6 in which the device A120 acquires the network setting information of the other devices B130 to D150 in this embodiment. For convenience of explanation, an embodiment in which the protocol 1 and the protocol 2 are determined will be described. The process in FIG. 7 starts from step S700 when the service search unit 206 is called from the proxy response service search unit 204 in step S600 of FIG. In step S701, a device that uses the protocol 2 is searched. In step S702, it is determined whether a response packet has been received before the timeout elapses. If the timeout has elapsed (no), the process proceeds to step S704. Branch.

  On the other hand, if a response packet is received before the timeout elapses in step S702 (yes), the device identification value is registered in the list from the response packet received in step S703. After that, in step S704, a device that uses the protocol 1 is searched, and in step S705, it is determined whether a response packet has been received before timeout. When no response packet is received before the timeout elapses in step S705 (no) In the described embodiment, it is described that the response packet is a response to protocol 1 and protocol 2, and therefore, the process branches to S707 to check for a pod open. .

  On the other hand, if a response packet is received before the timeout elapses in step S705 (yes), the device identification value is acquired from the response packet in step S706 and registered in the list. Thereafter, in step S708, it is checked whether or not the port for the specific service is open using port scanning. If the port for the target service is not open in step S708 (no), the process is performed in step S707. Branching, the identification value of the next device registered in the list is selected, and the process returns to step S708 to check whether the port is open. If the specific service port is open in step S708 (yes), the network setting information of the device in which the specific service port is open is acquired in step S709, and the information acquired in step S710 is the protocol 2 Convert to a format corresponding to.

  Thereafter, in step 711, the network setting information is entered in the record of the corresponding device in the list 600, and the process ends in step S712. Through the above processing, in the present embodiment, the network setting notification device accumulates network setting information of devices connected to the network 110, and facilitates discovery of devices connected to the network 110 when the PC 160 participates in the network. I am letting you.

  FIG. 8 shows a network system 800 according to another embodiment of the present embodiment. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, a device E820 to a device I860 are connected to the network 810, and a PC 870 is connected to the network 810, and a service provided by the device connected to the network 810 is provided. Search for. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, protocol 1, protocol 2, and protocol 3 are mixed as network setting protocols, and when the PC 870 tries to receive service, some devices cannot be discovered due to protocol mismatch. To do.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the device E820 and the device F830 are all capable of functioning as a network setting notification device by mounting all the network setting protocols existing in the network 810. In FIG. 8, description will be made assuming that protocol 1 = Bonjour, protocol 2 = UPnP, and protocol 3 = SMB.

  FIG. 9 shows a sequence when the PC 870 that implements the protocol 2 notifies the PC 870 of the network setting information of the device I 860 to the device F 830 that functions as a network setting notification device when connected to the network 810. The device I860 has SMB installed, advertises network setting information to the device F830 via the network 810, and registers it in the device F830. First, when the device I860 is connected to the network 810, the device I860 advertises its service and network setting information in step S900, and via the network control unit 202, the service search unit 206 of the device F830 in step S901. Notify At this stage, the device F830 excludes advertisements that cannot be processed due to protocol differences, and registers only advertisements that conform to the protocol.

  On the other hand, when connected to the network 810, the PC 870 sends a service search request to the network 810 via the network control unit 202 in step S902. In step S903, the device F830 receives the service search request, activates the proxy response service search unit 204, and determines whether the device itself should make a proxy response. In the embodiment to be described, a description will be given assuming that the device F830 is determined to perform a proxy response as a result of the determination process by the arbitration unit of the proxy response service search unit 204. The proxy response service search unit 204 instructs the service search response unit 212 to search for network information of a device that should make a proxy response for the service in steps S904 and S905.

  Thereafter, the service search unit 206 acquires network setting information of another protocol existing on the network 810 and registers it in the post-conversion list 600. Further, the service search unit 206 refers to the list, extracts network setting information of devices that can provide services to the PC 870, and returns the extracted network setting information to the service search response unit 212 in step S906. In step S907 and step S908, the service search response unit 212 sends network setting information of a device that can provide a service to the PC 870 via the network control unit 202, thereby enabling the network setting of the device by the PC 870.

  FIG. 10 shows a sequence of network setting information acquisition processing when the device G840, the device H850, and the device I860 are mixed on the network 110 in this embodiment. The sequence shown in FIG. 10 starts when the proxy response service search unit 212 is called upon receipt of a service search request from the PC 870 in step S1000, and checks the service of the device I860 in steps S1002 and S1003, and in steps S1006 and S1007. In the service inspection of the device H850, in steps S1010 and S1011, the service inspection of the device G840 is executed using the SMB, Bonjour, and SSDP protocols, respectively.

  Thereafter, the service search unit 206 uses port scanning to check whether the service-compatible port of each device is open, and calls the device information acquisition unit 216 for each device that has the port open. If the network setting information disclosed by the device is acquired using the SNMP protocol and is different from the protocol used by the PC 870, the network setting information is passed to the service response conversion unit 214 to convert the protocol format. By registering in the list, a list corresponding to the list 600 described in FIG. 6 can be generated.

  FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the network setting method of this embodiment. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, when the device G 840 is connected to the network 810, a DHCP request packet is detected and network setting information is notified. The device G840 includes a DHCP packet monitor 842, a service notification unit 844, and a network control unit 846. The DHCP packet monitor 842 detects that the device G840 has issued a DHCP request packet in step S1100, and monitors reception of a DHCP response packet from the DHCP server 1100 in step S1101.

  When receiving the DHCP response packet, the DHCP packet monitor 842 determines whether or not the IP address assignment has been updated, and if so, the network setting information has been changed to the service notification unit 844 in step S1102. Notify that. The service notification unit 844 sends the update of the network setting information to the profit response service search unit 212 via the network control unit 846 to update the network setting information registered by the network setting notification device.

  With the above processing, the network setting notification device of this embodiment is efficient without unnecessarily increasing network transactions even when devices using a plurality of network setting protocols are connected to the network. It is possible to search for or discover devices that can provide specific services.

  The functions of this embodiment can be realized by a device executable program described in an object-oriented programming language such as C, C ++, Java (registered trademark), Java (registered trademark), Perl, Ruby, etc. Can be stored and distributed on a device-readable recording medium such as a hard disk device, CD-ROM, MO, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and transmitted over a network in a format that other devices can use. it can.

  Although the present embodiment has been described so far, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and other embodiments, additions, changes, deletions, and the like can be conceived by those skilled in the art. It can be changed, and any aspect is within the scope of the present invention as long as the effects and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Network system, 110 ... Network, 120 ... Equipment A, 130 ... Equipment B, 140 ... Equipment C, 150 ... Equipment D, 160 ... Personal computer (PC), 202 ... Network control part, 204 ... Proxy response service search part , 206 ... service search unit, 208 ... service conversion table, 210 ... service information storage unit, 212 ... service search response unit, 214 ... service response conversion unit, 216 ... device information acquisition unit

JP 2006-295504 A JP 2008-097368 A JP 2000-172600 A

Claims (11)

A network setting notification device for notifying a network setting of a network to which devices using different network setting protocols are connected, the network setting notification device,
The network of the service that receives the service search request for inquiring the service provided by the device via the network, searches for the service corresponding to the network setting protocol of the service search request, and searches the issuer of the service search request A service search means for sending setting information;
The service search request is received, it is checked whether there is another network setting notification device in the network, it is determined whether to proxy response network setting information, and the service search means is activated to Proxy response service search means for acquiring network setting information of a device that uses a network setting protocol different from the service search request and registering it in a list for registering the network setting information;
A network setting notification device comprising: service response conversion means for converting the network setting information of the different network setting protocol into a format compatible with the network setting protocol of the service search request.   The proxy response service search means receives the service search request, inquires whether the other network setting notification device exists in the network, and determines the service search according to the response content of the inquiry. 2. The network setting notification device according to claim 1, which controls calling of means.   The network setting notification device, after converting the format of the acquired network setting information, registers service information as a list associated with an identification value of a device that uses the network setting protocol different from the service search request The network setting notification device according to claim 1, comprising means.   The network setting notification device according to claim 1, wherein the proxy response service search unit includes a port scan unit that checks whether a device using the other network setting protocol can provide the service.   The network setting notification device according to claim 1, wherein the list is cached.   The network setting notification device according to claim 1, wherein the different network setting protocol is a network setting protocol using at least a port number 1900 or a port number 5353. A network setting method for configuring a network by notifying a network setting of a network to which a device including a different network setting protocol is connected,
Receiving a service search request for querying a service provided by the device via the network;
Searching for a service corresponding to the network setting protocol of the service search request and sending the network setting information of the searched service to an issuer of the service search request;
Receiving the service search request, checking whether or not another network setting notification device exists in the network, and determining whether to proxy the network setting information;
Obtaining network setting information of a device that uses a network setting protocol different from the service search request, and registering the network setting information in a list;
Converting the network setting information of the different network setting protocol into a format compatible with the network setting protocol of the service search request.   The step of determining whether or not to make a proxy response inquires whether or not the other network setting notification device exists in the network in response to receipt of the service search request, and includes the response content of the inquiry. The network setting method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of controlling notification of the network setting information of a device that uses the different network setting protocol. The step of registering in the list includes the step of registering as a list associated with an identification value of a device that uses the network setting protocol different from the service search request after converting the format of the acquired network setting information. ,
Checking whether a device using the different network setting protocol can provide the service, wherein the different network setting protocol is a network setting protocol using at least a port number 1900 or a port number 5353. The network setting method according to claim 7 or 8.   A device-executable program for causing a device to function as the functional means according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   A device-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 10 is recorded.

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