JP6853689B2 - Monitoring equipment, methods and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a monitoring device, a method and a program using network communication.

Conventionally, a remote management system for maintenance of network devices (hereinafter referred to as devices) including copiers collects monitoring information (errors, alarms, jams) from the devices, and is an operator or serviceman of a sales company. , Has been provided to the person in charge of consumables. This remote management system consists of a monitoring module that monitors devices and a remote management service on the Internet. The monitoring module sends the monitoring information of the device to be monitored to the remote management service. This monitoring module includes a form provided as an embedded program of each device and a form provided by installing it on a PC (personal computer). When a monitoring module is installed on a PC, the monitoring module targets multiple devices, collects monitoring information from those monitoring targets, and sends the collected information to the remote management service. In the form provided as an embedded program to the device, monitoring is started by setting via the device's LUI (local UI). This is effective in the case where a small number of devices are installed, such as the case where one device is installed in one customer. On the other hand, in an environment where thousands of devices are installed in one customer, it takes a lot of labor for a service person to go around each device and set a monitoring module. In such a case, a monitoring module installed and provided on the PC is used to centrally manage a large number of devices from the screen of the PC and perform monitoring settings. Conventionally, there has been a technique for controlling communication such as collecting information from a sensor device on a network and issuing a process to the device (see, for example, Reference 1).

JP-A-2007-334612

It is rare that one customer targeted by the remote management service is a large-scale system with thousands of devices, and therefore it is not often the case that a monitoring module is installed on a PC to monitor multiple devices. .. In many cases, a monitoring module is incorporated into the monitored device to monitor those devices. In addition, by incorporating the monitoring module into the monitored device, the power status of the monitored device is guaranteed while the monitoring module is operating, so there is a possibility that the application of remote instructions from the remote management service to the device will be guaranteed. Highly targeted. Against this background, in a remote management system, it is easy to adopt new functions for the form of monitoring those devices by incorporating a monitoring module into the monitored device, and the number of functions is also relatively enriched in this form. Will be done.

On the other hand, depending on the device installation environment of the customer, even if it is not a large-scale system, for security reasons, for example, a monitoring module may be installed on the PC to monitor multiple devices. .. Here, the security reason is that the monitoring module in which each monitored device is incorporated does not allow direct connection to the remote management service individually.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and even in the form of connecting to the remote management service via a PC on which the monitoring module is installed, the monitoring module incorporated in the monitored device is used. The purpose is to provide a mechanism that can adopt the functions realized by the remote management system.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, according to the first aspect
A monitoring device that collects monitoring information sent from network devices connected via a network to the monitoring device and sends the monitoring information to the device management system on the external network.
A collection method for collecting functional information of network devices to be monitored,
When it is determined that the network device has a self-monitoring function that collects the monitoring information of the network device and transmits the monitoring information to the external network based on the function information, the network device is subjected to the external. It has a setting means for setting connection information to the proxy server function of the monitoring device for communicating with the network.
The monitoring device is characterized in that the monitoring information of the network device collected by the self-monitoring function is transmitted to a URL corresponding to the device management system via the proxy server function of the monitoring device. Provided .

According to the present invention, even in the form of connecting to the remote management service via a PC on which the monitoring module is installed, a function realized by the remote management system using the monitoring module incorporated in the monitored device is adopted. It can provide a possible mechanism.

It is a figure which shows the configuration example of a network system. It is a figure which shows the configuration example of the hardware control part of a network device. It is a figure which shows the software function configuration example of a network device. It is a figure which shows the configuration example of the hardware control part of a monitoring device. It is a figure which shows the software function block diagram of a monitoring device. It is a figure which shows the software function block diagram of the remote management service server. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the application of a monitoring device. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence at the time of initial installation. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence at the time of inquiry of an instruction command. It is a sequence diagram at the time of issuing an instruction command. It is a figure which shows the example of the management record created by the status management part. It is a figure which shows the example of the management record created by the status management part.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration example of network device management system of this embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network connection relationship between a base network such as a plurality of in-customer networks in which a plurality of network devices are installed and a remote management service server for those network devices.

In FIG. 1, 100 to 102 indicate network devices such as copiers. In addition, 110 to 112 indicate the customer's internal LAN (local area network). Each network of LAN 110 to 112 is divided for each base. Each site is connected to each other by networks such as WAN (Wide Area Network), Internet VPN, and Wide Area Ethernet (registered trademark). Figure 1 shows LAN110 as the head office network of a client company. In addition, LAN111 indicates a sales office network located at a base separate from the head office, and LAN112 indicates an in-factory network located at a base separate from the head office and sales offices. Network devices 100-102 are printers such as multifunction devices (MFPs (Multi-Function Printers)) and single-function printers (SFPs (Single Function Printers)) that are connected to the customer's internal LAN (Local Area Network) 110 to 112, respectively. Alternatively, an image forming apparatus is shown.

In this embodiment, a copier having a function such as print / scan is illustrated as a network device 100-102 having a function capable of transmitting various device information and operation information via a network. In addition to the copying machine, the present embodiment can be applied to any device having such a transmitting function, and is also applicable to, for example, a printer, a scanner, a network camera, a digital medical device, and the like.

In addition to network devices, multiple PCs, business servers, and other devices are connected to the corporate LAN. The head office network 110 in FIG. 1 includes three additional networks 120,121,122. It shows that the terminal 125 and the network device 100 used by general employees are connected to the network 120. The network 121 is a network in which a connection point between the customer's corporate LAN and the Internet 140 is provided, and indicates that the firewall 132 and the proxy server 133 are connected. The network 122 shows the network of the customer's data center, and the monitoring device 130 for monitoring the business server 131 and the network equipment 100 to 102 is connected to the network 122. Here, the firewall 132 has a function of restricting communication between an external network such as the Internet and an internal network.

The network 111 in the sales office has a network 123, which is a base LAN, to which terminals 126 and network devices 101 used by users such as sales staff are connected. The factory network 112 includes a network 124, which is a base LAN, to which terminals 127 and network devices 102 used by users working in the factory are connected. In addition, on the Internet 140, there is a device management system consisting of a remote management service server 150 and other information providing services 151, which provides services such as device operation status reports and remote maintenance.

The customer network depicted in Figure 1 is an example, and innumerable corporate LANs are connected to the Internet. Access control is set on routers and firewalls for security in corporate networks 110 to 112. For example, access is permitted to the data center network 122 in the head office network 110 from the network terminal of the factory network 112. With this setting, the terminal 127 in the factory accesses the business server 131 to operate daily business. However, when it is not necessary to access the service on the Internet from the terminal 127 in the factory, the access setting to the head office network 121 is not made. By making such a setting, the terminal 127 connected to the network 124 in the factory cannot access the Internet.

On the other hand, at the head office and sales offices, it is necessary to access the Internet 140 for business purposes and use services provided from the outside. Terminals 125 and 126 connected to networks 120 and 123 of such bases are allowed access to network 121. In addition, terminals 125 and 126 connected to networks 120 and 123 are allowed access to the business server 131 connected to the data center network.

In such an environment, the monitoring device 130 is connected to a data center network 122 that can access any network device in the customer's network. The monitoring device 130 is allowed to access the network 121 in order to transmit the monitoring information of the network device to the remote management service server 150 on the Internet. Further, when access to the Internet 140 is permitted, access to the Internet is permitted beyond the firewall 132 even in the setting of the firewall 132.

<Example of control unit configuration of network device of this embodiment>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a hardware control unit of a network device to be monitored by a monitoring device 130 such as the network device 100 to 102 in FIG. The control unit of the network device 100 mainly processes programs such as copy, print, browser application, and a monitoring module that monitors the network device itself. The control unit is composed of a part that performs system management and a part that performs image processing management.

Each component that manages the system is composed of an operation unit 301, a network I / F unit 202, a line I / F unit 203, a ROM 204, a RAM 205, a storage device 206, and a CPU 207. Each component that manages image processing is composed of an IO control unit 208, an image processing unit 209, an image rotation unit 210, a digital I / F unit 211, a compression / expansion unit 212, and a pixel density conversion unit 213. Then, these components are connected to the system bus 216 and the image bus 217. The ROM 204 stores control programs such as copy, print, and network device monitoring programs.

Storage 206 stores common programs such as web browsers and user-installed applications. The program includes a monitoring program (or monitoring module) that executes monitoring, such as monitoring the operating status and settings of the monitoring device 130 in response to a request (request) of the monitoring device 130 and transmitting it to the monitoring device 130. These programs stored in ROM 204 and storage 206 are executed by CPU 207. RAM205 is a work memory area for executing a program. It is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data and network contents necessary for an application program to control a network device. Since the storage device 206 is a non-volatile storage device, the license information of the application and each setting value that need to be retained even after the network device 100 is restarted are stored. Network I / F202 is an interface part for connecting to LAN, and communicates with various computers on the network via LAN.

In addition, the start and end of the application stored in the network device and other processes can be instructed from a program outside the network device via the network. For example, the monitoring module that monitors the network device itself can be activated or started by receiving an instruction from the monitoring device 130. The same applies to each setting value of the network device, which can be set via the network. For example, the address setting of the Proxy server 133 used when the network device itself accesses the Internet can be set by receiving an instruction from the monitoring device 130.

The line I / F unit 203 is connected to the public telephone network, controlled by a communication control program in the ROM 204, and transmits / receives data to / from a remote terminal via a device such as a modem. Facsimile transmission and reception are also performed using this line I / F section 203. The operation unit 201 has a built-in display means and key input means, which are controlled by the CPU 207. The operator gives various setting instructions related to scanner reading and print output, and operation / stop instructions through the key input means. The above devices are placed on the system bus 216.

The IO control unit 208 is a bus bridge for connecting the system bus 216 and the image bus 217 that transfers image data at high speed. The image bus 217 is composed of, for example, a PCI bus or IEEE1394.

The following devices are arranged on the image bus 217. The digital I / F unit 211 connects the device reader unit 215 or printer unit 214 to the control unit, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. In addition, the information detected by the various sensors arranged in the reader section 215 and the printer section 214 flows to the system bus 216 via the digital I / F section 211 and the IO control section 208.

The image processing unit 209 corrects / processes / edits the input and output image data. The image rotation unit 210 rotates the image data. The image compression / expansion unit 212 performs compression / expansion processing of JPEG for multi-valued image data and JBIG / MMR / MR / MH for binary image data. The image density conversion unit 213 performs resolution conversion or the like on the output image data.

With the above configuration, the network devices 101 to 103 can provide functions such as a copier, a printer, and a scanner, and can communicate with the monitoring device 130 provided in the data center network 122 via the network. You can also run the monitoring module.

<Software module configuration of network equipment>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of software modules of network devices 100 to 103 to be monitored by the monitoring device 130 in FIG. 1, particularly a configuration related to the monitoring module. 301 to 307 and 309 to 311 in the figure correspond to the software module of the network device 100. 301 represents the self-monitoring module in the network equipment, and 302, which performs the central processing in it, represents the overall manager. In the figure, 308 represents a network outside the network device, and in FIG. 1, it corresponds to LANs 120, 123, and 124. There is a setting management IF305 as an IF that receives instructions from the outside and provides management information of network devices. This setting management IF305 provides an IF for executing processing in the network device, returning the requested data, and changing the setting information in the network device in response to an external request. For example, a protocol for managing network devices such as SNMP can be used as a protocol, but the protocol is not limited to SNMP here, and other standard protocols, proprietary protocols, and other management protocols may be used. You may use it.

303 represents a timer. The general manager 302 of the monitoring module 301 constantly monitors the status of network devices. When an event such as a jam or an error occurs in the network device, the event information related to the event is collected via the device interface 309, and the collected event information is transmitted to the remote management service server 150.

In addition, the transmission timing of information such as counters and logs is set in the timer 303, and when the time to be transmitted to the remote management service server 150 comes, the timer 303 calls. Then, the predetermined data is transmitted to the remote management service server 150 at a predetermined predetermined time interval.

304 represents the configuration management manager in the self-monitoring module. Although only the system set via the network is described here, the setting information may be managed collectively for the instruction from another IF such as LUI (local UI). For example, the URL setting of the remote management service server 150, the proxy server setting, the start / stop of self-monitoring, and other settings are accepted from the outside and controlled in cooperation with the overall manager 302. These settings can also be changed from the local UI.

306 represents the communication management manager. The general manager 302 sends the monitoring information of the network device to the remote management service server 150 in response to the occurrence of an event or the expiration of the timer 303. At this time, the communication management manager 306 collects the essential data to be transmitted by this module, confirms whether or not the data to be transmitted is sufficient, and then transmits the data. In addition, the communication management manager 306 controls the priority of information and whether or not the information should be retransmitted, and performs transmission control in an appropriate order and at an appropriate timing.

307 represents HTTP / SOAP IF. This IF is an HTTP client and is an IF for sending data to the external network 308. Here, it is a client for transmitting self-monitoring information of network devices to the remote management service server 150. Here, SOAP (Single Object Access Protocol) is an XML-based protocol, and is used for providing and using Web services, for example. That is, in this example, SOAP is used to send and receive messages to and from the monitoring server 150. Although HTTP / SOAP and protocols are described in the figure, even lightweight protocols using REST / JSON use protocols that are expected to be used for IOT using MQTT and Web Socket. May be good. This is a module that performs processing for transmitting monitoring information of network devices to the remote management service server 150, and does not limit the protocol.

310 represents a DB access management unit that manages DB access to the device setting information storage unit. Further, 311 is a device setting information storage unit, and represents a DB for storing device setting information. The device setting information storage unit 311 mainly stores network setting information such as an IP address and Proxy server, and URL information of the remote management service server 150. In addition, the device setting information storage unit 311 may store, for example, information to be collected each time an event occurs. For example, in FIG. 1, when the monitoring device 130 instructs the network device to set the Proxy server and the communication test for the remote management service server 150, the network device, especially the setting management manager 304, sets the setting management IF305. Accepts instructions such as setting changes via. The proxy server setting here is a setting for the network device for the network device to communicate via the proxy server. When the setting management manager 304 receives the setting instruction of the Proxy server, the setting management manager 304 stores the setting of the Proxy server in the DB, that is, the device setting information storage unit 311 via the DB access management unit 301. Along with this process, a communication test issuance instruction is issued to the overall manager 302.

By this communication test issuance instruction, the general manager 302 acquires the information necessary for the communication test via the DB access management unit 310. This necessary information is the URL of the remote management service server 150 and the address of the proxy server 133 that has been set. The general manager 302 that has acquired this information issues a communication test instruction together with the acquired information to the communication management manager 306 in order to execute the communication test. The communication manager 306 collects the URL of the communication test partner and the address of the Proxy server 133, as well as the identifier of the network device and other information necessary to execute the communication test, and issues a communication test instruction to HTTP / SOAP IF 307. give. Then, HTTP / SOAP IF307 conducts a communication test on the remote management service server 150, receives a response of the test success, and the overall manager 302 starts self-monitoring of the network device.

<Example of Control Unit Configuration of Monitoring Device 130 of the Present Embodiment>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing device such as a server PC for realizing the monitoring device 130 and the remote management service server 150 in FIG. The monitoring device 130 executes an application for collecting vise management information from network devices 100 to 102 via a network. Further, the monitoring device 130 has a configuration of a general information processing device. That is, in addition to the bus 401, CPU402, ROM403, and RAM404, the Network I / F405 for connecting to a network such as a LAN, the display control unit 406 that controls the display device 409, and the input control unit that controls the input devices 410 and 411. It is equipped with 407 and storage device 408.

The bus 401 is a common signal path for passing data between the components constituting the monitoring device 130 of FIG. 1. The RAM404 is a rewritable storage means, and serves as a work memory area for executing management software for network devices. Network device management software includes a program that acquires monitoring information from a network device via a network, a program that issues a setting change instruction, and a program that instructs the start and stop of processing. The monitoring information acquired from the network device is expanded by this RAM 404 and converted into data in a predetermined form.

The storage device 408 is a non-volatile storage device. The storage device 408 stores the OS that controls the hardware of the monitoring device 130. In addition, a list of multiple network devices to be managed and each program constituting the management software and the plug-in software are stored. In addition to these programs, the storage device 408 also stores setting information used for program processing, for example, authentication information for issuing a request to a network device and an SNMP community name in the non-volatile storage device 408. To.

The Network I / F405 is an interface for the monitoring device 130 to connect to the network, and the monitoring device 130 communicates with the network device via the network.

The CPU 402 controls each component 403 to 411 individually or in an integrated manner, and collects and controls monitoring information of network devices via the Network I / F 405 based on a program stored in the storage device 408. Or something.

<Software module configuration of monitoring device 130>
The monitoring device 130 monitors a plurality of network devices installed in the customer's network and connected to the customer's network. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a function of a program for issuing instructions to network devices in the monitoring device software executed on the monitoring device 130. The monitoring device 130 requests status information via a network from a network device having a simple function such as an SFP (single function printer). Then, it is determined whether or not to transmit the monitoring information to the remote management service server 150 from the obtained monitoring information. On the other hand, network devices that have multiple functions such as scanning, printing, and faxing, such as MFPs (multifunction printers), may be provided with a monitoring module, which is a program for monitoring themselves, and can be installed. The monitoring device 130 instructs the network device in which such a monitoring module is installed to set the Proxy server 133 and start the monitoring program in the network device over the network. Since a device that does not have a monitoring module returns status information in response to a request from the monitoring device 130, general items are often monitored. Monitoring modules, on the other hand, are developed for the devices on which they are installed, so devices with monitoring modules collect more detailed information, such as information about unique functions, and monitoring devices. Can be provided to 130.

FIG. 5 describes an example of input / output processing of each software module constituting the software of the monitoring device 130. User A represents the person in charge of providing maintenance services for network equipment to customers. The monitoring device software has a UI for accepting registration of network devices to be managed from user A.

The user IF (UI) control unit 501 provides a device registration screen in the remote monitoring device software. User A prepares by searching the network for a list of network devices to be monitored or creating a list of network devices sold to customers. Then, the network device list is registered from the UI control unit 501 to the monitoring information storage unit 504. This network device list includes network address information such as the serial number and IP address of the network device. As a result, the monitoring device 130 can access the network device in the customer's in-customer network. In addition, the user IF input / output control unit can display the registered network device list and control whether or not the network device is to be monitored according to the instruction of user A.

For example, a button for executing a communication test is displayed for a plurality of network devices to be monitored, and an instruction to start monitoring is received. In addition, user A accepts an instruction to remove a specific network device from the monitoring target. Reference numeral 502 is a general management manager that performs the central processing of the monitoring device software. The general management manager 502 issues processing instructions to each module in the monitoring device software and transmits the instructions to manage the series of processes so that they are executed correctly.

Reference numeral 503 is an input / output unit for the information storage unit of the monitoring device software. Reference numeral 504 indicates a monitoring information storage unit of the monitoring device software. The monitoring information storage unit 504 stores the monitoring target candidate registered from the user A or by another registration method and the network device list of the monitoring target in the storage device 408. Further, the monitoring information storage unit 504 stores and manages monitoring information such as network addresses, product names, and identifiers of all network devices in the storage device 408. In addition, the monitoring information storage unit 504 stores and manages the performance and functions of each network device of the network device to be monitored, as well as the method of collecting monitoring information and all the information necessary for monitoring in the storage device 408.

Reference numeral 505 indicates a Proxy process control unit. The monitoring device software can enable the function as a Proxy server when the monitoring device 130 itself determines that it is necessary or when instructed by user A. That is, the monitoring device 130 can function as a proxy server. Reference numeral 506 is a status management unit of the instruction command issued from the remote management server 150. The monitoring device 130 acquires instruction commands from the remote management service server 150 via the network. The acquisition of this instruction command may be acquired by the monitoring device 130 sending the inquiry method of the instruction command to the remote management service server 150 and polling. This is because the firewall 132 blocks voluntary requests from the outside, so even if the remote management service server 150 voluntarily sends an instruction command, the firewall 132 may not be exceeded. In addition, a TCP-level session may be maintained on a protocol such as HTTP / HTTPS such as MQTT or Web Socket to receive instruction commands from the remote management service server 150 in real time. When the monitoring device 130 receives the instruction command from the remote management service server 150, the monitoring device 130 executes the instruction command and manages the status of the processing result in each processing phase.

The status management unit 506 manages the processing result for the finally received instruction command, and manages the result until it is transmitted to the remote management service server 150.

The monitoring device 130 receives an instruction command from the remote management service server 150. The instruction command received is usually an instruction command addressed to the monitoring device 130, but it may also receive an instruction command addressed to a specific network device. In such a case, the monitoring device 130 once receives an instruction command addressed to a specific network device, and issues an instruction to the target network device again via the network.

Reference numeral 507 indicates a device communication management unit. The device communication management unit 507 communicates with the network device based on the network address of the network device list stored in the monitoring information storage unit 504 of the monitoring device 130. In this communication, the existence of the network device is confirmed, the network device is identified, the type of the network device is determined, and the capability is confirmed (firmware version confirmation, response of a specific module), and the like. In addition, network device monitoring information such as network device failure information and printer usage status is acquired using SNMP and proprietary protocols. In addition, network equipment with a built-in monitoring module is monitored in a polling format, which is not efficient. Although this monitoring module is described as a built-in module, it is not limited to any form as long as it is a program that operates on a network device. Specifically, it may be a program in the form of installation or a program running on a network device to which an optional device is attached.

In such a case, the overall management manager 502 issues an instruction to activate the monitoring module built into the network device itself. Even if the monitoring module is enabled as it is, it is not always possible to communicate with the remote management service server 150. For example, communication by a network device may be set so that it cannot access the Internet 140 beyond the firewall 132. Therefore, it is conceivable that the monitoring device 130 sets and instructs the address of the Proxy server 133 so that the network device can access the Internet 140, and accesses the Internet 140 via the Proxy server 133.

However, it is often not possible to connect directly to the Internet simply by setting the address of Proxy server 133 from the network where the network equipment is installed. Therefore, when the monitoring device 130 starts the monitoring module of the network device, the Proxy process is started in the monitoring device 130, and the monitoring device 130 is provided with the Proxy server function. The general management manager 502 determines whether the Proxy process of the monitoring device 130 has already started, and if the Proxy process has not started, issues a Proxy function instruction to the Proxy process control unit 505. Then, when the Proxy process is started up in the monitoring device 130 itself, the network address of the monitoring device 130 is registered in the network device as the proxy server address at the timing of instructing the network device to enable the self-monitoring program, that is, the monitoring module.

<Software module configuration of remote management service server 150>
The remote management service server 150 is one of various services existing on the Internet. This service collects monitoring information of network equipment installed in the customer environment and provides support information for maintenance to service personnel and maintenance contract companies.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a function of a program that issues an instruction command to a network device in the remote management service server software executed on the remote management service server 150. FIG. 6 describes an example of input / output processing of each software module constituting the software of the remote management service server 150. The person in charge of using the monitoring information of the network device collected by using the remote management service server 150 is represented as user B. Further, the remote management service server 150 can receive an instruction command from the user B, transmit it to a specific network device, and cause the remote network device to execute the process.

Here, the processing when user B issues an instruction command will be described. As a management form of the network device, when the monitoring device 130 is installed in the customer network, an instruction command is issued to a specific network device via the monitoring device 130. When the user B wants an arbitrary network device to process a processing command via the remote management service server 150, the user B issues an instruction command to the target network device to the monitoring device 130.

Further, when the monitoring device 130 is not on the customer network and the monitoring module is operating on the network device, the inquiry communication of the instruction command is issued by each network device. Therefore, when the user B issues an instruction command to the target network device, the instruction command is issued to the response when the target network device communicates the inquiry of the instruction command.

601 is a Web Service interface that is open to the Internet. Through this interface, it receives monitoring information from network devices and issues instructions in response to inquiries about instruction commands.

Reference numeral 602 is an interpretation unit that interprets the type of data and what kind of data is received after WebService601 receives the monitoring information transmitted from the network device. For example, if SOAP is used, the interpreter 602 interprets the SOAP message.

Reference numeral 603 is a response creation unit, which issues an instruction at the time of responding to an OK response indicating that data reception has been accepted for monitoring information received from a network device or an inquiry of an instruction command.

604 is an overall management manager, which is a management program that issues and instructs each module to perform a series of processes regarding input from users and reception of monitoring information from network devices.

Reference numeral 605 is a management information input / output unit, which identifies a network device that meets the conditions in response to a request from the user, and writes or reads the status of an instruction command issued by the user to the specific network device in the DB.

Reference numeral 606 is a management information storage unit, which stores all network device information and management information managed by the remote management service server 150. In addition, the status and processing results of instruction commands issued by the user are stored.

In addition, the remote management service server software has a UI for receiving an instruction command issued from user B to a specific network device. The screen for receiving instruction commands in the remote management service server software is referred to as the user IF (UI) control unit 607. For example, when issuing an instruction to a specific network device, the following processing is executed by the remote management service server 150. User B searches for the network device for which the instruction is issued from the list of managed network devices. At this time, the query for searching the network device received by the UI control unit 607 is sent to the management information input / output unit 605 via the general management manager 604. Upon receiving the query for identifying the target network device, the management information input / output unit 605 identifies the network device that matches the conditions from the management information storage unit 606 and returns it as a response. The network device information that is the query result is presented (for example, displayed) to the user B via the UI control unit 607. When the network device is the target network device, the user B selects an issueable instruction list from the screen UI and sets the issue of the instruction. Upon receiving this instruction via the UI control unit 607, the general management manager 604 acquires the monitoring configuration of the network device via the management information input / output unit 605. The monitoring configuration is, for example, information indicating whether or not the network device is the target of monitoring by the monitoring device, whether or not the monitoring module is installed, and the functions provided by the installed monitoring module. Good. By referring to the monitoring configuration, for example, it can be known that the network device has a monitoring module and is a monitoring target by the monitoring device 130.

If the monitoring configuration of the target network device instructed by user B is one of the monitoring network devices by the monitoring device 130, the general management manager 604 creates an instruction command for the target monitoring device 130 and stores the management information. Store in part 606. Then, when the remote management service server 150 receives the communication of the instruction command inquiry from the target monitoring device 130, the remote management service server 150 issues an instruction command in response to the communication.

<Operation example of the monitoring device software of this embodiment>
Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

An operation example of the monitoring device software of the present embodiment will be described based on the above configuration.

FIG. 7 shows the process from when the user of the monitoring device 130 executes an operation for putting the network device under monitoring by the UI control unit 501 until the remote management service server 150 normally monitors the network device. It is a flowchart showing. The program for realizing the processing of this flowchart is stored in the storage means of either ROM 403 or storage device 408 shown in FIG. 4, expanded in RAM 404 as necessary, and executed by CPU 402. Further, the processing of the flowchart shown here shows the processing of the monitoring device software shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7, when the program is called by the user A instructing the monitoring start operation of the network device from the UI control unit 501 of the monitoring device 130, the process shown in the flowchart is started. The monitoring device program confirms in step S701 whether the monitoring device 130 can communicate with the remote management service server 150. In this process, when the UI control unit 501 that receives the instruction to start monitoring from user A transmits the input instruction to the general management manager 502, the general management manager 502 sends the remote management service server 150 to the remote management service server 150 via the device communication management unit 507. Determine if communication is possible.
If the monitoring device 130 is not in a state where it can communicate with the remote management service server 150 in step S701, the process proceeds to step S702.

In step S702, UI control 501 displays a message to user A to correctly set the network settings so that it can communicate with the remote management service server 150. After displaying the message in step S702, the process proceeds to step S703.

In step S703, the monitoring device 130 executes a series of processes for receiving correct information such as network address and Proxy settings from the user. The received settings etc. are stored in the place where they should be stored. Detailed description will be omitted here. When the network setting information is updated by the user in step S703, the process proceeds to step S701.

If it is confirmed in step 701 that the monitoring device 130 can communicate with the remote management service server 150, the process proceeds to step S704. In step S704, the general management manager 502 acquires a list of network devices to be monitored from the monitoring information storage unit 504. Then, it is determined whether or not there is a monitored network device for which the monitoring setting has not been completed. When it is found in step S704 that there is a network device to be monitored for which the monitoring setting has not been completed, the monitoring device 130 proceeds to step S705.

In step S705, the overall management manager 502 collects function information from the target network device via the device setting instruction management unit 507. The functional information here is product name, firmware version information, software version information of the monitoring module, and the like. After confirming the consistency of the acquired information with the network device identification information and network address information stored in the monitoring information storage unit 504 by the general management manager 502, the monitoring information storage unit is associated with the information. It is stored in. When the device information of the monitored network device is acquired in step S705, the process proceeds to step S706.

In step S706, the overall management manager 502 determines from the acquired function information of the network device whether or not it has a self-monitoring function and it is possible to enable the self-monitoring function via the network. .. For example, if the monitoring module is already installed, it can be determined that it has a self-monitoring function. If the monitoring module is already installed, it can be determined whether the monitoring module can be remotely activated based on, for example, the identification information of the monitoring module (for example, product ID and version). If the overall management manager 502 finds in step S706 that the target network device does not have the self-monitoring function or cannot be enabled via the network, the process proceeds to step S707.

In step S707, the overall management manager 502 decides to poll the target network device and creates a setting for periodically acquiring monitoring information for the network device according to a predetermined schedule. .. This setting includes, for example, the address of a network device to be polled, time information such as a polling time interval, and content information such as monitoring information items to be requested by polling. In addition, the monitoring network device is registered for the target network device via the device setting instruction management unit 507. Specifically, this is a process of registering in advance in the target network device so that the event occurrence information is transmitted to a specific address when a service call error occurs in the network device such as an SNMP trap. As a result, when a problem occurs in the monitored network device, the monitoring device 130 can receive the event and notify the user of the failure occurrence information in almost real time. Here, the SNMP trap is used as an example, but the event may be automatically notified by using the unique function of each company. When the preparation for polling the monitoring method of the network device to be monitored is completed in step S707, the process proceeds to step S704.

On the other hand, in step S706, when the general management manager 502 finds that the target network device has a self-monitoring function and the self-monitoring function can be enabled via the network, the process proceeds to step S708.

In step S708, the overall management manager 502 determines whether the Proxy server has been set in the network device to be monitored from the setting information acquired together with the function information acquired in step S706. If it is found in step S708 that the Proxy server has been set for the network device to be monitored, the process proceeds to step S709.

In step S709, the general management manager 502 activates the self-monitoring function by giving priority to the Proxy server settings already set in the network device. For this purpose, the general management manager 502 issues an instruction via the network device setting instruction management unit 507. When the general management manager 502 issues an activation instruction to the target network device, the process proceeds to step S710.

In step S710, the general management manager 502 confirms by directly inquiring whether or not the self-monitoring function of the target network device has been successfully enabled. If it is confirmed in step S710 that the self-monitoring function of the network device has been successfully enabled, the process proceeds to step S704 via A on the flowchart.

If it is found in step S708 that the Proxy server has not been set for the target network device, or if it is found in step S710 that the activation of the self-monitoring function of the network device has failed, the process proceeds to step S711. ..

In step S711, the general management manager 502 determines whether or not the Proxy process has already been started by the Proxy process control unit 505. If the general management manager 502 determines in step S711 that the Proxy process is not running in the monitoring device 130, the process proceeds to step S712.

In step S712, the general management manager 502 issues a proxy process start instruction to the Proxy process control unit 505, and enables the Proxy server function in the monitoring device 130. When the Proxy process is started in step S712, the process proceeds to step S713.

If it is determined in step S711 that the Proxy process has already started, the process proceeds to step S713. In step S713, the general management manager 502 issues a network setting change instruction for setting the network address of the monitoring device 130 itself as the address of the Proxy server in the target network device. In addition to this instruction, an instruction to enable the self-monitoring function of the target network device is issued. After issuing the address setting instruction of these Proxy servers and the activation instruction of the self-monitoring function, the process proceeds to step S714.

In step S714, the overall management manager 502 determines whether or not the self-monitoring function of the target network device has been successfully enabled by directly inquiring the target network device. If it is confirmed in step S714 that the self-monitoring function of the network device has been successfully enabled, the process proceeds to step S704 via A on the flowchart. If it is found in step S714 that the activation of the self-monitoring function of the network device has failed, the process proceeds to step S715.

In step S715, the overall management manager 502 decides to poll the target network device and creates a setting for periodically acquiring monitoring information for the network device according to a predetermined schedule. .. In addition, the monitoring network device is registered for the target network device via the device setting instruction management unit 507. These are the same as in step S707, and may branch to step S707. In step S715, when the setting for monitoring the network device by the polling method is completed, the process proceeds to step S704 via A on the flowchart.

On the other hand, in step S704, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S716 when it confirms that the monitored network devices for which the monitoring settings have not been completed are no longer in the list. In step S716, the general management manager 502 sends the remote monitoring service 150 a list of network devices to be monitored together with the communication test signal. Here, the monitoring device 130 transmits a list of network devices under monitoring to the remote management service server 150, so that the remote management service server 150 grasps the configuration of the network devices to be monitored. That is, the remote management service server 150 knows the list of network devices under the control of the monitoring device 130.

When the communication test process to the remote management service server 150 is completed in step S716, the setting process for registering the network device under monitoring is completed. The processes described in this flowchart may be implemented in the UI control unit 501 so that they can be collectively instructed by buttons such as "communication test" and "monitoring start".

According to the above procedure, the monitoring device 130 monitors the device by setting either monitoring using the monitoring module of the network device or monitoring by polling according to the presence or absence of the self-monitoring function of the network device. Can be done. That is, the monitoring device 130 can manage a plurality of network devices that employ different monitoring modes as monitoring targets.

Furthermore, when using the monitoring module of the network device, the network device is set to use the proxy server for accessing the Internet. By doing so, even if the access to the Internet from the network device beyond the firewall is restricted, the access to the Internet through the proxy server becomes possible. In particular, when the proxy server is not operating, by using the proxy function of the monitoring device itself as the proxy server, it can be used regardless of the presence or absence of the proxy server.

<Sequence diagram of network device registration and monitoring start of this embodiment>
Figure 8 shows the period from when the user of the monitoring device 130 performs an operation to put the network device under monitoring in the user IF input / output control unit until the remote management service server 150 normally monitors the network device. It is a sequence diagram which showed the process of. In FIG. 8, since the network device A does not have a monitoring module or the self-monitoring function cannot be enabled, it is a monitoring target by polling from the monitoring device 130. On the other hand, the network device B is a network device having a monitoring module and capable of enabling the self-monitoring function by the monitoring module.

In FIG. 8, the process is started when the user A instructs the monitoring device 130 to perform a communication test on a plurality of monitored network devices via the user IF input / output control unit 501. The monitoring device 130 receives a communication test instruction from the user A in step S801. Upon receiving this instruction, the processing process of the monitoring device software is started. When this process is started, the communication process S802 for acquiring function information is performed for each network device in the network device list. This communication process corresponds to the process of S705 in the flowchart of FIG. 7. If the network device for which function information is to be acquired has the function of the monitoring module, information including the content that the network device B has the function of the self-monitoring module in the communication of S803 which is the response of S802. Is provided.

Upon receiving the response information of S802, the monitoring device 130 starts a Proxy process in the monitoring device 130 if necessary. Next, the monitoring device 130 transmits an instruction to set the monitoring device 130 as a Proxy server and an instruction to start the monitoring module to the network device B as S804.

The Proxy server setting instruction and the monitoring module start instruction here do not have to be at the same timing. Upon receiving the Proxy server setting instruction and the monitoring module start instruction, the network device B applies the communication test S805 to the remote management service server 150 using the Proxy server settings instructed in S804 for the remote management service server 150. Send. When the network device B receives the OK response S806 from the remote management service server 150, the network device B saves the setting value of the Proxy server instructed by S804 in the non-volatile storage area. The network device B that has completed the communication test with the remote management service server 150 activates the monitoring function by the self-monitoring module and enters the monitoring state. Then, after the network device B enters the monitoring state, it returns an OK response to the monitoring device 130 as a response of the S804 to the S807.

Upon receiving the OK response in S807, the monitoring device 130 transmits the acquisition S808 of the function information to another network device that is not under monitoring. The content transmitted here is the same as the acquisition of S802. The response of the function information is returned as S809 from the network device A. If it is found that the self-monitoring module is not set in the network device A, the monitoring device 130 decides to monitor the network device A by polling and makes the setting for that purpose. When it is found that all the network devices in the monitoring target setting are under monitoring, the monitoring device 130 finally sends the communication test S810 to the remote management service server 150. When the monitoring device 130 transmits the communication test, the monitoring device 130 transmits a list of network devices under the supervision of the monitoring device 130 to the remote management service server 150. Here, by transmitting a list of network devices monitored by the monitoring device 130, the remote management service server 150 is notified that the destination of the instruction command to the target network device is the monitoring device 130.

The monitoring information such as the device information and the device status collected by polling is periodically transmitted from the monitoring device 130 to the remote management service server 150, for example. In addition, the network device to be monitored, which has a monitoring module, periodically sends a command inquiry to the remote management service server 150 according to the settings, and polls the command. The remote management service server 150 transmits an instruction to be transmitted, if any, and collects, for example, monitoring information replied from the network device accordingly.

Further, the sequence here shows the processing sequence at the time of registering a new network device, but the same processing is performed when a new network device is newly added during monitoring. A new network device can be added through the sequence described above from the instruction of the communication test S801 from the user A.

With the above configuration and procedure, the monitoring system of the present embodiment can realize device monitoring using a higher monitoring function according to the function of the network device to be monitored. Furthermore, by providing the proxy server function of the monitoring device, even if the network connection is limited, the higher monitoring function can be utilized. In this example, monitoring using the monitoring module has higher functionality than monitoring by polling. Then, for the network equipment that can use the monitoring module, the network equipment is set so as to perform monitoring using the monitoring module. As a result, as described above, the higher functions of the monitoring module can be utilized. On the other hand, even if there are network devices that cannot be installed with the monitoring module, they can be monitored by polling.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the first embodiment so far, a technique for providing a route for transferring monitoring information from the network device to the remote management service server 150 has been described. In the first embodiment, the self-monitoring module in each network device is activated. Here, the self-monitoring module in the network device has not only a function of transmitting the monitoring information of the network device to the remote management service server 150 but also a function of issuing an instruction command inquiry to the remote management service server 150. .. By issuing an inquiry by this self-monitoring module, it is possible to instruct various setting changes from the remote management service server 150. In the second embodiment, when the configuration of the first embodiment is adopted, a characteristic method of realizing the inquiry of this instruction command in consideration of the communication load and the like will be described.

<Software processing example of network equipment>
Normally, in a customer's network environment where the monitoring device 130 is not installed, the monitoring module of the network device is enabled from the LUI (local UI) of the network device. When the self-monitoring module is enabled from LUI, normal network device monitoring information is sent to the remote management service server 150. In addition, the remote management service server 150 polls the inquiry communication of the instruction command to check for the instruction command periodically or eventually.

In the case of the second embodiment, the monitoring module of the network device is instructed and started by the monitoring device 130 via the network. In this case, since the monitoring device 130 collectively inquires about the instruction command, the monitoring module of the network device does not poll for the inquiry of the instruction command.

The timing at which the network device executes the inquiry of the instruction command is only when the monitoring device 130 issues the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" to the network device.

<Software processing example of remote management service server 150>
Figure 6 describes the software module configuration and processing when user B issues an instruction command. Here, a processing example of the remote management service server 150 of the second embodiment will be described. When the monitoring device 130 is installed in the customer network as a management form of the network device, the remote management service server 150 issues an instruction command to a specific network device via the monitoring device 130. However, if the monitoring device 130 relays each instruction issued to the specific network device, interprets the instruction command, manages the processing status, and manages the processing result, the processing of the monitoring device 130 becomes complicated. Therefore, when the remote management service server 150 issues an instruction command to a specific network device managed by the monitoring device 130, it issues an instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command to the monitoring device 130. The instruction command from the remote management service server 150 is transmitted in response to a command inquiry from the network device to be monitored. The call instruction of the inquiry of the instruction command is an instruction for causing the network device to send the command inquiry. Upon receiving the instruction to call the inquiry of this instruction command, the monitoring device 130 instructs the target network device to issue the inquiry of the instruction command to the remote management service server 150. When the self-monitoring module is running on a specific network device, when the inquiry for this instruction command is called, the inquiry for the instruction command is issued to the remote management service server 150. As a result, polling of instructions to the remote management service server 150, for example, periodically is performed from the monitoring device 130. Polling from a network device is when there is an inquiry call to that device, and the additional communication and the load on the remote management service server 150 are reduced.

For example, when user B issues an instruction to a specific network device, the following processing is executed on the remote management service server 150. User B searches for the network device for which the instruction is issued from the list of managed network devices. At this time, the query for searching the network device received by the user IF input control unit 607 is transmitted to the management information input / output unit 605 via the general management manager 604. Upon receiving the query for identifying the target network device, the management information input / output unit 605 identifies the network device that matches the conditions from the management information storage unit 606 and returns it as a response. The network device information that is the query result is presented to user B via the user IF input / output unit 607. When the network device is the network device to which the instruction is issued, the user B selects and sets the instruction command to be issued from the screen UI displaying the issueable instruction list. Upon receiving this setting via the user IF input / output control unit 607, the general management manager 604 acquires the monitoring configuration of the network device via the management information input / output unit 605.

If the monitoring configuration of the target network device instructed by user B is a method in which the remote management device 130 inquires of the instruction command on behalf of the user, the general management manager 604 of the remote management service creates two instructions and manages the information. It is stored in the storage unit 606. One is an instruction command for the monitoring device 130, and this instruction command is an instruction to call an inquiry of the instruction command in order to cause the target network device to issue the instruction command. The other is an instruction command issued by user B, which is issued as a response when the target network device executes an inquiry for the instruction command.

<Operation example of the monitoring device software of the second embodiment>
An operation example of the monitoring device software of the second embodiment will be described based on the above configuration. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the process from the monitoring device 130 executing the instruction command inquiry to the remote management service server 150 to issuing the instruction command inquiry call to the monitored network device and completing the process. is there. The processing of this flowchart is stored in the storage means of either the ROM 403 or the storage device 408 shown in FIG. 4, expanded in the RAM 404 as needed, and executed by the CPU 402. Further, the processing of the flowchart shown here shows the processing of the monitoring device software shown in FIG.

In FIG. 9, when the inquiry process of the instruction command is called by the trigger of a timer or some event, the process shown in the flowchart is started. In step S901, the monitoring device program inquires of the remote management service server 150 for an instruction command via the device communication management unit 507. When the general management manager 502 executes the inquiry of the instruction command, the process proceeds to step S902.

In step S902, the general management manager determines whether or not the response from the remote management service server 150 includes an instruction command. If there is no instruction command from the remote management service server 150 here, the process proceeds to step S903.

In step S903, the general management manager 502 waits until the periodic schedule for issuing the inquiry for the next instruction command or the issuing conditions for the inquiry processing for the instruction command are satisfied. Then, when the inquiry issuance conditions for the next instruction command are met, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S901.

When the general management manager 502 confirms that the response from the remote management service server 150 includes the instruction command in step S902, the process proceeds to step S904.

In step S904, since the status management unit 506 receives a new instruction command, a database record for managing the status of the instruction command is created in the monitoring information storage unit 504 via the general management manager 502. For example, the record created here is shown in FIG. 11 (a). The record includes a reception date / time, an instruction ID, a target ID, a status, a code, an update date / time, and a number of repetitions. In the created record, the reception date / time, the instruction ID, and the update date / time value are set. The reception date and time is the date and time when the instruction command was received. The instruction ID is identification information of the instruction command, and may be a value assigned by the monitoring device 130, for example. The update date and time is updated each time the record is updated, but the initial value may be the same as the reception date and time. No fixed value is set in the other fields, for example, an appropriate initial value may be assigned.

When the status management unit 506 issues a record for managing the instruction command in step S904, the general management manager 502 proceeds to the process in step S905. In step S905, the general management manager 502 confirms the destination to which the instruction command is executed. If the destination of the instruction command is addressed to its own monitoring device 130, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S906.

In step S906, the general management manager 502 executes the instructed command. Then, the process proceeds to step S907. In step S907, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record that the instruction command has started to be executed. An example of the record is shown in FIG. 9 (b). The identification information of the newly executed device is set in the target ID field, the executed command is set in the command field, the command execution status is set in the status field, and the update date and time is updated with the date and time at that time. In the example of FIG. 11B, the target ID is "monitoring device A", the command is "schedule change instruction", and the status is "execution".

When the record is updated in step S907, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S908. In step S908, the general management manager 502 confirms the execution result of the instruction command. If the result of the instruction command is successful and complete, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S909.

In step S909, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record that the result of the instruction command succeeds without any problem. The updated record is shown in FIG. 11 (c). In this example, the status is rewritten from "Running" to "Success". When the record is updated in step S909, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S910.

In step S910, the overall management manager 502 performs an instruction command result notification process via the device communication management unit 507 in order to notify the remote management service server 150 that the instruction command was successful. When the instruction command result notification process is completed, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S913.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S908 that the result of the instruction command has failed for some reason and the process has ended, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S911.

In step S911, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record the result of the instruction command as a failure and the result code at that time. The record is shown in FIG. 11 (d). Information indicating "failure" is recorded in the status, and a result code indicating, for example, the reason for the failure is recorded in the code. When the record is updated in step S911, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S912.

In step S912, the general management manager 502 performs an instruction command result notification process via the device communication management unit 507 in order to notify the remote management service server 150 of the failure of the instruction command and the result code. When the instruction command result notification process is completed, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S913.

In step S913, the status management unit 506 has notified the remote management service server 150 of the result of the instruction command and completed all the processing. Therefore, the record created in step S904 is updated to complete the processing of the monitoring device 130. To do.

If the destination of the instruction command in step S905 is not addressed to the monitoring device 130 itself, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S914.

In step S914, the general management manager 150 determines whether or not the destination to which the instruction command is executed exists in the network device list to be monitored by the management device 130. Moreover, it is determined whether or not this instruction command is a "call instruction for inquiries of instruction commands". As a result, if the destination of the instruction command is the network device to be monitored by the management device 130 and the instruction command is "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command", the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S915. ..

In step S915, the status management unit 506 identifies the destination of the instruction command as the network device to be monitored and confirms the content of the instruction command. Therefore, in order to update the status, the record created in step S904 is updated. FIG. 11 (e) shows an example of the updated record. The destination "network device A" is written in the target ID, and the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" is written in the command. The value of the command field may be, for example, identification information indicating a command. When the record is updated in step S915, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S916.

In step S916, the general management manager 502 issues a "instruction to call an instruction command inquiry" to the target network device. The network device that has received this "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" is the network device in which the self-monitoring module described in the first embodiment is operating. Upon receiving this instruction, the network device issues an inquiry for the instruction command to the remote management service server 150. When the general management manager 502 issues the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" to the target network device in step S916, the process proceeds to step S917.

In step S917, the general management manager 502 determines whether or not the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" issued in step S916 was successful. The reason why the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" fails is that the instruction command is temporarily applied to the target network device because the target network device is turned off, in power saving mode, or not connected to the network. Includes cases that do not reach. On the other hand, when the instruction command arrives at the target network device and the command processing fails as a result of executing the command, it is determined that the command has succeeded in step S917. If the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" is successful in step S917, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S918.

In step S918, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record the success of the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command". An example is shown in FIG. 12 (a). It means that "success" is written in the status column of the record of FIG. 11 (e). For example, when the reception confirmation of the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" is received from the target network device, it can be determined that the reception has been successful. When the record is updated in step S918, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S919.

In step S919, the overall management manager 502 performs instruction command result notification processing via the device communication management unit 507 in order to notify the remote management service server 150 that the transfer of the instruction command to the target network device is successful. When the execution result of the instruction command from the target network device is received, the content of the execution result may be included in the instruction command result notification notified to the remote management service server 150. When the instruction command result notification process is completed, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S913.

In step S917, if the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" fails due to reasons such as the power of the network device being turned off, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S920.

In step S920, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record that the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" has failed. Here, the number of failures of the "inquiry call instruction of the instruction command" is also recorded in the record. An example is shown in FIG. 12 (b). In the example of FIG. 12B, the failure has not been determined yet, the status is set to "reprocessing", and the number of attempts to call the instruction command is recorded as the number of repetitions. When the record is updated in step S918, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S921.

In step S921, the status management unit 506 confirms whether or not the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" has failed more than a certain number of times (for example, 10 times). If the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" has failed more than a certain number of times, the process proceeds to step S922. For the number of repetitions, the number of repetitions recorded in the record may be referred to.

In step S922, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record that the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" has failed a certain number of times or more. An example is shown in FIG. 12 (c). No more retries are made at this stage, the status is "Failed" and the code is recorded to confirm the failure. When the record is updated in step S922, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S923.

In step S923, the general management manager 502 performs an instruction command result notification process via the device communication management unit 507 in order to notify the remote management service server 150 that the transfer of the instruction command to the target network device has failed. When the instruction command result notification process is completed, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S913.

In step S921, if the failure of the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" has not reached a certain number of times or more, the retransmission process is started after a certain period of time. Then, the general management manager 502 advances the process to step S915.

In step S914, if the target of the instruction command does not exist in the list of network devices to be monitored by the monitoring device 130, or if the instruction command is not the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command", overall management Manager 502 advances the process to step S924.

In step S924, the status management unit 506 updates the record created in step S904 in order to record that the network device to which the instruction command is addressed is not the network device to be monitored by the monitoring device 130. An example is shown in FIG. 12 (d). The reason for the failure is recorded, for example, in the code field. If the reason for the failure is that the instruction command is not an "instruction to call an inquiry for an instruction command", the identification information of the instructed command is recorded in the command field, and information indicating that is recorded as a code. Recorded. When the record is updated in step S924, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S925.

In step S925, the general management manager 502 performs an instruction command result notification process via the device communication management unit 507 in order to notify the remote management service server 150 that the instruction command has failed. When the instruction command result notification process is completed, the general management manager 502 proceeds to step S913.

In the above procedure, the monitoring device 130 periodically inquires of the remote management service server 150 for an instruction command, for example. In response, the remote management service server 150 can send an instruction command to be issued to the target device, if any. If the instruction command to be transmitted is an "instruction to call an inquiry for an instruction command" and the destination is a managed network device, the monitoring device 130 transfers the command to the destination network device and "indicates" to that device. "Inquiry for instruction command" can be sent to the remote management service server 150. In this way, the monitoring device 130 performs polling for the remote management service server 150, and each of the network devices to be monitored issues inquiries as needed to reduce traffic and reduce the traffic to the remote management service server 150. The load on the server can be reduced. Moreover, the instruction from the remote management service server 150 can be obtained in a timely manner according to the polling interval. Furthermore, various monitoring information can be obtained by utilizing the functions of the monitoring module installed in the network device. For network devices in which the monitoring module is not installed, monitoring information is obtained by polling the devices by the monitoring device 130 as in the first embodiment.

<Sequence diagram when issuing an instruction command to the network device of this embodiment>
FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the process from the user of the remote management service server 150 issuing the "change communication schedule" instruction to a specific network device to the change of the communication schedule of the specific network device. Is. In FIG. 10, the monitoring device 130 monitors a plurality of network devices.

The monitoring device 130 performs communication S1001 for inquiring an instruction command to the remote management service server 150 on behalf of the plurality of network devices being monitored. The sequence diagram of FIG. 10 starts from the communication S1001 of the inquiry of the instruction command transmitted by the monitoring device 130. The user has not yet issued a specific instruction to the remote management service server 150 when communicating the inquiry of the instruction command of S1001. Therefore, the response of S1002 without the instruction command is returned in response to the inquiry communication of the instruction command.

After that, the user B issues the communication schedule change instruction S1003 to the network device B under the control of the self-monitoring module via the user IF input / output control unit 607. Upon receiving the instruction to change the communication schedule, the remote management service server 150 acquires and confirms the monitoring device configuration of the network device B from the device management information storage unit 606.

Since the network device B is a network device that has executed the direct communication test, the remote management service server 150 grasps that the self-monitoring module is operating in the network device B. In reality, the remote management service server 150 grasps the monitoring configuration by receiving the communication test. In addition, the identifier of the network device B was included in the list of network devices transmitted in the communication test from the monitoring device 130 after that. From this, the remote management service server 150 grasps that the monitoring device 130 is performing the inquiry communication of the instruction command while the self-monitoring module is operating in the target network device.

From this device monitoring configuration, the remote management service server 150 prepares a "schedule change instruction" as an instruction command addressed to the network device B. Further, as an instruction command addressed to the monitoring device 130, preparations are made to issue a "call instruction for inquiries about the instruction command to the network device B". When these instruction commands are ready to be issued, the remote management service server 150 returns a response S1004 indicating that the instruction is accepted to user B.

Next, the monitoring device 130 transmits the instruction command inquiry S1005 to the remote management service server 150 on behalf of the plurality of network devices. Since the remote management service server 150 is prepared with an instruction command addressed to the target monitoring device 130, the remote management service server 150 issues a "call instruction for inquiry of the instruction command of the network device B" in the communication of the response S1006. Issue. Upon receiving the response S1006 from the remote management service server 150, the monitoring device 130 issues the "instruction command inquiry call instruction" S1007 to the network device B connected to the customer network.

When the OK response response S1008 is returned from the network device B, the monitoring device 130 sends a "completion" notification S1009 as a processing result to the remote management service server 150.

When the remote management service server 150 receives the "completion" notification S1009, it grasps that the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command of the network device B" has been successfully issued to the network device B, and monitors the OK response S1010 as a response. Return to device 130.

If the monitoring device 130 issues an instruction to the network device B and the power of the network device B is turned off and communication cannot be performed, the retransmitting is attempted for a certain period of time.
For example, try "instruction to call an instruction command inquiry" to network device B up to 10 times every hour. Then, when communication is not possible, in the processing result notification of S1009, the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command to the network device B" notifies "failure".

The device B that receives the "instruction to call the inquiry of the instruction command" in S1007 issues the inquiry S1011 of the instruction command to the remote management service server 150. Upon receiving the inquiry of this instruction command, the remote management service server 150 adds the "schedule change instruction to the network device B" instructed by the user B to the response S1012 to S1011 and returns it. Device B, which receives the schedule change instruction in S1012, executes the schedule change process and sends the execution result to the remote management service server 150 as "process result notification" S1013. When the remote management service server 150 receives the processing result, it returns an OK response as a response S1014 to the network device B. After that, user B confirms the result of the schedule change instruction instructed to the network device B in S1003 in S1015. The remote management service server 150 returns the instruction result received in S1013 to the user B as the processing result S1016.

After a certain period of time, the monitoring device 130 sends an instruction command inquiry S1017 to the remote management service server 150 as regular communication.

At this time, since the instruction command is not set again, the remote management service server 150 returns S1018 without instruction.

As described above, also in this embodiment, a command inquiry can be issued from each network device to the remote management service server, and a command can be received in response to the command inquiry. By executing the command, monitoring can be performed. You can change the settings and so on. Further, the monitoring information may not be directly transmitted from each network device to the remote management service server, but may be configured to be once transmitted to the monitoring device 130, stored, and then transmitted to the remote management service server. Also, for example, a command inquiry is issued from a network device, the setting is changed according to an instruction from the remote management service server, or monitoring information is sent, but this is notified from the monitored device by a trap or the like. It may not be possible to send the monitored monitoring information in a timely manner. Therefore, instead of the command inquiry, the command request may be sent from the network device to the remote management service server 150. In this case, the remote management service server 150 sends a command inquiry call to the source device. This also allows network devices to take the initiative and send the information to the remote management service server.

[Other Examples]
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

100 image forming equipment, 120 terminals, 130 monitoring equipment, 131 business server, 132 firewall, 133 proxy server, 140 Internet, 150 remote management service server, 151 other information providing services

Claims (12)

A monitoring device that collects monitoring information sent from network devices connected via a network to the monitoring device and sends the monitoring information to the device management system on the external network.
A collection method for collecting functional information of network devices to be monitored,
When it is determined that the network device has a self-monitoring function that collects the monitoring information of the network device and transmits the monitoring information to the external network based on the function information, the network device is subjected to the external. It has a setting means for setting connection information to the proxy server function of the monitoring device for communicating with the network.
A monitoring device characterized in that the monitoring information of the network device collected by the self-monitoring function is transmitted to a URL corresponding to the device management system via the proxy server function of the monitoring device. The monitoring device according to claim 1.
The setting means is the monitoring device when it is determined that the network device has the self-monitoring function and the setting related to the proxy server function is not made as the setting related to the proxy server of the network device. A monitoring device characterized in that connection information to the proxy server function of the above is set in the network device. The monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2.
When it is determined that the network device does not have the self-monitoring function based on the functional information collected from another network device by the collecting means, the connection information to the proxy server function of the monitoring device is released. A monitoring device that is not set in the network device and that the monitoring information to be transmitted to the device management system is acquired by requesting the network device from the monitoring device. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A monitoring device further comprising an activation means for activating the self-monitoring function when connection information to the proxy server function of the monitoring device for communicating with the external network is set. The monitoring device according to claim 4.
If the activation of the self-monitoring function by the activation means fails, the monitoring information to be transmitted to the device management system is characterized in that it is obtained by requesting the network device from the monitoring device Monitoring device. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A transmission means for transmitting an inquiry of an instruction command to the device management system, and
A transfer means for receiving an instruction command for the inquiry and transferring the instruction command to the network device when the target of the instruction command is the network device.
A monitoring device characterized by further having. The monitoring device according to claim 6.
When the transfer means fails to transfer the instruction command to the network device, the transfer means transfers the instruction command to the network device until the transfer succeeds or the transfer fails a predetermined number of times. A monitoring device characterized by that. The monitoring device according to claim 6 or 7.
When the transfer by the transfer means is successful, the monitoring device further includes a notification means for notifying the device management system that the transfer of the instruction command to the network device is successful. .. The monitoring device according to claim 8.
The notification means is a monitoring device characterized in that the notification further includes an execution result of the instruction command in the network device. The monitoring device according to any one of claims 6 to 9.
Receive the instruction command for the inquiry and
When the target of the instruction command is the monitoring device, the monitoring device further includes an execution means for executing the instruction command. It is a method in a monitoring device that collects monitoring information transmitted from a network device connected by a network to a monitoring device and sends the monitoring information to a device management system on an external network.
A collection process that collects functional information of network devices to be monitored,
When it is determined that the network device has a self-monitoring function that collects the monitoring information of the network device and transmits the monitoring information to the external network based on the function information, the network device is subjected to the external. It has a setting process for setting connection information to the proxy server function of the monitoring device for communicating with the network.
The monitoring information of the network devices that are collected by the self-monitoring function, wherein said via proxy server functionality of the monitoring device, and wherein the Rukoto sent to the URL that corresponds to the device management system. A program for operating a computer as each means of the monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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