JP7484499B2 - Equipment management device, equipment management system, equipment management method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device management apparatus, a device management system , a device management method, and a program.

A device management system is known that manages local devices connected to a client device via a communication network.

For example, there is known a device management system in which a device management device determines whether a client device can be remotely operated, and remotely operates the client device based on the determination result to obtain device information of a local device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that when multiple local devices are connected to an information processing device (client device), it is not possible to individually manage the device information of the multiple local devices connected to the client device.

One embodiment of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and provides a device management device that can individually manage device information for multiple local devices connected to an information processing device via a communication network.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an equipment management device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an equipment management device that manages equipment information of a plurality of local devices connected to an information processing device via a communication network, and has a request information sending unit that sends request information to the information processing device requesting acquisition of equipment information from the plurality of local devices, and an equipment information management unit that manages the equipment information of the plurality of local devices contained in the equipment information sent from the information processing device in response to the request information, based on unique information of the plurality of local devices contained in the equipment information , and the request information sending unit adds the unique information, which differs for each local device, to an object ID that identifies an object in a private MIB of the MIB of the information processing device, and requests the information processing device to acquire equipment information of one or more local devices among the plurality of local devices.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a device management system that makes it easy to individually manage device information for multiple local devices connected to an information processing device via a communication network.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an MFP according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a tree structure of an MIB according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tree structure of a private MIB according to an embodiment. 11 is a diagram for explaining an OID of device information of a local device according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process for acquiring device information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process for acquiring device information according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<System Configuration>
1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment. The device management system 100 includes, for example, a device management device 101 that manages device information of a plurality of electronic devices (hereinafter referred to as local devices 103) that are locally connected to an information processing device 102, the information processing device 102, and the plurality of local devices 103.

The device management device 101 is, for example, an information processing device such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a system including multiple information processing devices, and is communicatively connected to the information processing device 102 via a communication network 104 such as the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network).

The device management device 101 functions, for example, as an SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) manager, and acquires and manages device information, which is information on electronic devices of various manufacturers that are connected to the communication network 104. In addition, the device management device 101 according to this embodiment has a function of managing device information of multiple local devices 103 that are locally connected to the information processing device 102.

The information processing device 102 is, for example, an information terminal such as a PC, and multiple local devices 103 are connected via a local interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

The information processing device 102 functions, for example, as an SNMP agent, and transmits (responds to) the requested device information in response to a request to obtain device information from the device management device 101, which is an SNMP manager. In addition, the device information transmitted by the information processing device 102 includes, for example, device information of the local device 103 connected to the information processing device 102.

The local device 103 is an electronic device, such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) 103a or an inkjet printer 103b, connected to a local interface of the information processing device 102. The local device 103 may be an output device, such as a PJ (Projector), an IWB (Interactive White Board: a whiteboard with an electronic blackboard function capable of intercommunication), or a digital signage. The local device 103 may be, for example, a HUD (Head Up Display) device, industrial machinery, an imaging device, a sound collection device, a medical device, a network home appliance, an automobile (Connected Car), a digital camera, a wearable terminal, etc.

In the above configuration, the device management device 101 transmits request information to the information processing device 102 via the communication network 104, requesting the acquisition of device information from multiple local devices 103.

On the other hand, when the information processing device 102 receives request information from the device management device, it acquires device information specified in the request information from multiple local devices 103, combines the acquired device information into one piece of device information, and transmits it to the device management device 101. At this time, the device information transmitted by the information processing device 102 includes unique information (e.g., serial number, device ID, management number, etc.) and device information of each local device 103.

The device management device 101 individually manages the device information of the multiple local devices 103 included in the transmitted device information for each of the unique information of the multiple local devices 103 included in the transmitted device information from the information processing device 102.

As a result, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a device management system 100 that makes it easy to individually manage device information for multiple local devices 103 connected to an information processing device 102 via a communication network 104.

In addition, in conventional device management systems, the device that can be managed by a device management protocol (e.g., SNMP) is limited to a single device connected to the communication network 104 via a network I/F (Interface). Therefore, in conventional device management systems, even if device information sent from an information processing device (e.g., an SNMP agent) includes device information for multiple local devices, it can only be managed as device information for one device.

In this embodiment, such restrictions are eliminated, and each of the multiple local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102 can be managed individually as a management target.

Note that the system configuration of the device management system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an example. The device management device 101 can manage device information of not only the local device 103 connected to the information processing device 102, but also various electronic devices, for example, as shown in FIG. 2.

Figure 2 is a diagram (2) showing an example of the system configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment. In the example of Figure 2, the device management system 100 includes, in addition to the devices described in Figure 1, a local device (manufactured by the company) 201a, a local device (manufactured by another company) 201b, a network device (manufactured by the company) 202a, a network device (manufactured by another company) 202b, a terminal device 203, and the like. In the following description, "local device 201" is used to refer to any local device among local device (manufactured by the company) 201a and local device (manufactured by another company) 201b. In addition, "network device 202" is used to refer to any network device among network device (manufactured by the company) 202a and network device (manufactured by another company) 202b.

In the example of FIG. 2, the device management device 101, the information processing device 102, the network device 202, and the terminal device 203 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an in-house LAN 104a, which is an example of a communication network 104.

The local device 201 is an electronic device that is connected to the device management device 101 via a local interface such as a USB. The device management device 101 may further manage device information of local devices 201 made by the same company and by other companies that are connected to the device itself.

The network devices are electronic devices that are communicatively connected to the device management device 101 via a communication network 104 such as an in-house LAN 104a, and have, for example, an SNMP agent function. The device management device 101 may further manage device information of network devices 202 manufactured by the same company and by other companies.

The terminal device 203 is an information terminal such as a PC or tablet terminal that is used by a user (or administrator) of the device management device 101. The user can access a web page provided by the device management device 101 using, for example, a web browser executed by the terminal device 203 or an application for the device management system 100, and manage the electronic devices managed by the device management device 101 and the device management device 101.

In this way, the device management system 100 can have a variety of system configurations. Furthermore, SNMP is one example of a device management protocol that can be used by the device management system 100. The device management protocol used by the device management system 100 may be a variety of device management protocols that have a similar mechanism to SNMP (e.g., a subset of SNMP, a new device management protocol that extends SNMP, etc.).

The method for managing device information for the local device 201, network device 202, etc. is the same as in conventional device management systems, so here we will explain the device management system 100 with the system configuration shown in Figure 1.

<Hardware Configuration>
(Hardware configuration of device management device and information processing device)
The device management apparatus 101 and the information processing apparatus 102 each have, for example, the hardware configuration of a computer 300 as shown in Fig. 3. Alternatively, the device management apparatus 101 may be configured by a plurality of computers 300.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the computer 300 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 302, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 303, a HD (Hard Disk) 304, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 305, a display 306, an external device connection I/F (Interface) 307, a network I/F 308, a keyboard 309, a pointing device 310, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 312, a media I/F 314, and a bus line 315.

Of these, the CPU 301 controls the overall operation of the computer 300. The ROM 302 stores programs used to start up the computer 300, such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader). The RAM 303 is used, for example, as a work area for the CPU 301. The HD 304 stores programs such as an OS (Operating System), applications, and device drivers, as well as various data. The HDD controller 305 controls the reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 304, for example, under the control of the CPU 301.

The display 306 displays various information such as a cursor, a menu, a window, characters, or an image. The display 306 may be provided outside the computer 300. The external device connection I/F 307 is an interface such as a USB for connecting an external device such as a local device. The network I/F 308 is an interface for data communication using the communication network 104.

The keyboard 309 is a type of input means equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 310 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc. Note that the keyboard 309 and the pointing device 310 may be provided outside the computer 300.

The DVD-RW drive 312 controls the reading and writing of various data from the DVD-RW 311, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that the DVD-RW 311 is not limited to a DVD-RW, but may be a DVD-R or the like. The media I/F 314 controls the reading and writing (storing) of data from the media 313, such as a flash memory. The bus line 315 includes an address bus, a data bus, and various control signals for electrically connecting the above components.

(MFP Hardware Configuration)
Here, the hardware configuration of an MFP 103a, which is an example of the local device 103, will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an MFP according to an embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the MFP 103a includes a controller 410, a short-range communication circuit 420, an engine control unit 430, an operation panel 440, a network I/F 450, and an external device connection I/F 460.

Of these, the controller 410 has a CPU 401, which is the main part of the computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 402, a north bridge (NB) 403, a south bridge (SB) 404, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 405, a local memory (MEM-C) 406, a HDD controller 407, and a HD 408, and is configured such that the NB 403 and the ASIC 405 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 411.

Of these, the CPU 401 is a calculation unit that performs overall control of the MFP 103a by executing a specific program. The NB 403 is a bridge that connects the CPU 401 with the MEM-P 402, SB 404, and AGP bus 411, and has a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 402, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

The MEM-P 402 is composed of a ROM 402a, which is memory for storing programs and data that realize the various functions of the controller 410, and a RAM 402b, which is used for expanding the programs and data, and as a drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in the RAM 402b may be provided by recording them in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, CD-R, or DVD.

SB404 is a bridge for connecting NB403 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC405 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) for image processing applications that has hardware elements for image processing, and acts as a bridge connecting AGP bus 411, PCI bus 412, HDD controller 407, and MEM-C406. This ASIC405 is composed of a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that is the core of ASIC405, a memory controller that controls MEM-C406, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that rotate image data using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between scanner unit 431 and printer unit 432 via PCI bus 412.

The MEM-C 406 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer. The HD 408 is a storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. The HD 408 may store, for example, programs such as an OS, applications, and device drivers, as well as various data. The HDD controller 407 controls the reading and writing of data from and to the HD 408 under the control of the CPU 401. The AGP bus 411 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphic processing, and by directly accessing the MEM-P 402 at high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

The short-range communication circuit 420 performs various short-range wireless communications using an antenna 420a for the short-range communication circuit, etc. The engine control unit 430 is composed of, for example, a scanner unit 431 and a printer unit 432, etc. The scanner unit 431 is a reading device that reads documents, etc. The printer unit 432 is a printing device that prints print data on a print medium. The scanner unit 431 or the printer unit 432 includes, for example, an image processing unit such as error diffusion or gamma conversion.

The operation panel 440 includes a panel display unit 440a such as a touch panel that displays the current settings and selection screens and accepts input from the operator, and operation buttons 440b including a numeric keypad that accepts settings for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that accepts a copy start command. The controller 410 controls the entire MFP 102a, and controls, for example, drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 440.

The network I/F 450 is an interface for performing data communication using the communication network 104. The external device connection I/F 460 is, for example, an interface such as a USB for connecting an external device such as the information processing device 102. The short-range communication circuit 420, the network I/F 450, and the external device connection I/F 460 are electrically connected to the ASIC 405, for example, via the PCI bus 412.

Note that the local device 103 only needs to have a computer configuration and an external device connection I/F, and other hardware configurations may be arbitrary.

<Functional configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the device management system 100 will be described.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment. Here, it is assumed that local device A 103-1, local device B 103-2, and local device C 103-3 are connected to the information processing device 102. In the following description, "local device 103" is used to refer to any of local device A 103-1, local device B 103-2, and local device C 103-3. Also, in Figure 5, it is assumed that local device B 103-2 and local device C 103-3 have the same functional configuration as local device A 103-1.

(Functional configuration of information processing device)
3 executes a predetermined program (e.g., an OS, an SNMP agent, etc.), thereby realizing a network communication unit 521, a local communication unit 522, a local device management unit 523, a storage unit 524, a request information receiving unit 525, a device information acquiring unit 526, and a device information transmitting unit 527. At least a part of the above-mentioned functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

The network communication unit 521, for example, uses the network I/F 308 in FIG. 3 to connect the information processing device 102 to the communication network 104 and communicates with other devices such as the device management device 101.

The local communication unit 522 connects multiple local devices 103-1 to 103-3 to the information processing device 102 using, for example, the external device connection I/F 307 in FIG. 3, and communicates with each local device 103.

The local device management unit 523 manages device information for multiple local devices 103-1 to 103-3 connected to the information processing device 102 using the MIB of the information processing device 102.

Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining the tree structure of an MIB according to one embodiment. SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is often used as a device management protocol for managing devices connected to the communication network 104. SNMP is a device management protocol that runs on UDP/IP (Unser Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol), and can monitor and control the devices to be managed by obtaining and setting device information.

When managing devices using SNMP, the device to be managed (SNMP agent) has a database called MIB. When the device to be managed receives request information from the device management device 101 (SNMP manager) that manages the device, requesting to obtain device information, the device replies to the device management device 101 with the device information in the MIB specified in the request information.

The MIB has a tree structure, for example, as shown in FIG. 6. This MIB 600 defines various information related to the devices to be managed, and includes a standard MIB 601 defined in the RFC (Reference For Comment) as general information, and a private MIB 602 defined by each vendor.

When the device management device 101 (SNMP manager) obtains (or sets) device information from a managed device (SNMP agent) using SNMP, an object ID (OID: Object Identifier) is used to identify the target device information. A unique object ID is assigned to all device information in the standard MIB 601 and private MIB 602. For example, the object ID "1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1" is assigned to "sysDescr" included in the standard MIB 601 in FIG. 6.

There are MIBs that contain only one piece of information, and MIBs that contain multiple pieces of information. For example, in a MIB (ifPhysAddress) that represents the physical address of a network I/F (interface), if a device has multiple network I/Fs, then there will be as many MAC addresses as there are network I/Fs. As a result, "ifPhysAddress" becomes a MIB that contains multiple pieces of information. In such cases, even if the MIB is uniquely identified by the object ID, since the MIB contains multiple pieces of information, it is not possible to identify, for example, the information for each of the multiple network I/Fs.

One example of a method for identifying multiple pieces of information in a MIB is the use of an index. An index is information used to identify, for example, the number of pieces of information in a MIB. When a MIB contains only one piece of information, the object ID of that MIB is represented by adding ".0" after it. For example, in the case of sysDescr, the object ID is represented as "1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0".

On the other hand, when a MIB contains multiple pieces of information, for example, an index is added after the MIB object ID to indicate which information it is. For example, there is a MIB object called "ifType" that is a MIB that indicates the type of network I/F. The MIB object ID for this "ifType" is "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.3". In this case, when a device has multiple network I/Fs, the information can be uniquely identified by adding an index after the object ID to indicate which network I/F it is. For example, to specify the third network I/F, it would be "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.3.3".

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a tree structure of a private MIB according to one embodiment. In this embodiment, a "LocalDevice Managementn" 700, which is a MIB object for managing multiple local devices 103, is provided below the private MIB 602. In addition, unique information (e.g., serial numbers, etc.) for identifying multiple local devices 103 is set (added) to the index of "LocalDevice Managementn" 700, and the MIB (standard MIB, private MIB) of each local device 103 is defined below it.

For example, when an SNMP agent program is started in the information processing device 102, the local device management unit 523 acquires the USB port name managed by the OS, creates local device information 810 as shown in FIG. 8(A), and stores it in the storage unit 524. Note that the "device display name," "vendor name," "model name," "serial number," and other information included in the local device information 810 may be acquired by the local device management unit 523 from the OS or from each local device 103, for example.

The local device management unit 523 also refers to this local device information 810 and sets, for example, the serial number "48000032" of local device A to "index (local device A)" 701 in FIG. 7. Similarly, the local device management unit 523 sets the serial number "48000045" of local device B to "index (local device B)" 702 in FIG. 7, and sets the serial number "48000067" of local device C to "index (local device C)" 703 in FIG. 7.

Furthermore, the local device management unit 523, for example, acquires an MIB (standard MIB, private MIB) from local device A and sets it under "index (local device A)" 701. Similarly, the local device management unit 523 sets the MIB acquired from local device B under "index (local device B)" 702, and sets the MIB acquired from local device C under "index (local device C)" 703.

Now, returning to FIG. 5, we will continue explaining the functional configuration of the information processing device 102.

The storage unit 524 is realized, for example, by the program executed by the CPU 301 in FIG. 3, the HD 304, the HDD controller 305, etc., and stores, for example, the MIB 600 of the information processing device 102, local device information 810, etc.

The request information receiving unit 525 receives request information from the device management device 101 via the network communication unit 521, the request information requesting the acquisition of device information of one or more local devices 103 out of the multiple local devices 103-1 to 103-3 connected to the information processing device 102.

The device information acquisition unit 526 acquires the device information specified in the request information from one or more local devices 103. Note that the device information to be acquired is specified, for example, by an object ID 820 as shown in FIG. 8 (B).

The object ID 820 includes "1.3.6.1.4.1.123" representing the private MIB 602, "560" representing the LocalDeviceGroup 700, the serial number of local device C "48000067", and the information of the MIB object to be acquired "1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0". In this case, the device information acquisition unit 526 acquires "sysDescr", which is the MIB object indicated by "1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0", from local device C.

In addition, when the request information contains multiple object IDs 830 as shown in FIG. 8(C), for example, the device information acquisition unit 526 acquires "sysDescr", which is the MIB object indicated by "1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0", from each of the local devices A to C.

The device information acquisition unit 526 can acquire device information from the local device 103 in the following two ways, for example:

The first method is for the device information acquisition unit 526 to request the local device 103 to acquire device information by specifying an object ID in SNMP via USB communication.

The second method is a method in which, when the local device 103 is an MFP 103a, an inkjet printer 103b, or the like, device information is obtained from the local device 103 using a language for controlling a print job, such as PJL (Printer Job Language). In this embodiment, either method may be used, or the two methods may be used in combination.

The device information transmission unit 527 combines the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 526 from one or more local devices 103 into one piece of device information and transmits it to the device management device 101 via the network communication unit 521.

(Functional configuration of device management device)
3 executes a predetermined program (e.g., an SNMP manager, etc.), thereby implementing a network communication unit 511, a request information transmission unit 512, a device information management unit 513, an input/output control unit 514, a storage unit 515, etc. At least a part of the above-mentioned functional configurations may be implemented by hardware.

The network communication unit 511 connects the device management device 101 to the communication network 104 using, for example, the network I/F 308 in FIG. 3, and communicates with other devices such as the information processing device 102.

The request information sending unit 512 sends request information requesting acquisition of device information from multiple local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102 via the network communication unit 511 to the information processing device 102.

The request information sending unit 512 may specify to the information processing device 102 the local device 103 to be acquired, for example, by using request information including an object ID 820 as shown in FIG. 8 (B) or multiple object IDs 803 as shown in FIG. 8 (C).

The request information sending unit 512 may also request acquisition of device information for all local devices 103, for example, by sending request information without specifying the "local device identifier" of the object ID 820 as shown in FIG. 8 (B).

The device information management unit 513 manages the device information of one or more local devices 103 contained in the received device information based on the unique information of one or more local devices 103 contained in the device information transmitted from the information processing device 102 in response to the request information.

For example, assume that the request information sending unit 512 sends request information including three object IDs 830 as shown in FIG. 8(B) to the information processing device 102. In this case, the device information sent from the information processing device 102 stores the three object IDs 830 in association with the device information corresponding to each object ID.

Therefore, for example, if the "local device identifier" included in the object ID is the serial number "48000032", the device information management unit 513 can associate the serial number with the device information corresponding to the object ID and manage it as device information for local device A.

Preferably, when the SNMP agent is started, the information processing device 102 transmits the MIB 600 and the like of the information processing device 102 that has been created to the device management device 101. In addition, the device management device 101 pre-stores the local device information 810, the MIB 600, and the like received from the information processing device 102 in the storage unit 515, etc.

The input/output control unit 514, for example, displays a management screen of the device to be managed and controls the reception of setting operations by the user, etc. The input/output control unit 514 may, for example, display the management screen, etc. on the display 306 in FIG. 3 and receive operations by the user, etc., or may display a web page displaying the management screen, etc. on the terminal device 203, etc. and receive operations by the user, etc.

The storage unit 515 is realized, for example, by the program executed by the CPU in FIG. 3, the HD 304, the HDD controller 305, etc., and stores various information such as device information of the multiple local devices 103 to be managed, the MIB 600, etc.

(Local device functional configuration)
The local device 103 realizes a local communication unit 531, a device information providing unit 532, etc., by executing a predetermined program in the CPU 401 in Fig. 4. Note that at least a part of the above-mentioned functional configurations may be realized by hardware.

The local communication unit 531 connects the local device 103 to the information processing device 102, for example, using the external device connection I/F 460 in FIG. 4, and communicates with the information processing device 102.

The device information providing unit 532 provides the specified device information of the local device 103 to the information processing device 102 in response to a request to obtain device information from the information processing device 102.

The functional configuration of the device management system 100 shown in FIG. 5 is an example. For example, each functional configuration included in the device management device 101 may be distributed across multiple computers 300. Furthermore, instead of the storage unit 515, the device information management unit 513 may store and manage device information of multiple local devices 103 in a cloud service or the like outside the system.

The communication network 104 may also include different networks, such as the Internet and an in-house LAN. For example, the device management device 101 may access the in-house LAN to which the information processing device 102 is connected from the Internet via a firewall or the like.

<Processing flow>
Next, the process flow of the device management method according to this embodiment will be described.

[First embodiment]
Fig. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of device information acquisition processing according to the first embodiment. At the start of the processing in Fig. 9, the local device management unit 523 of the information processing device 102 creates, in advance, local device information 810 as shown in Fig. 8(A), for example, and stores the local device information 810 in the storage unit 524 or the like.

Preferably, the information processing device 102 creates an MIB 600 for the information processing device 102 including a private MIB 602 as shown in FIG. 7, and notifies the device management device 101 of the created MIB 600.

In step S901, the request information sending unit 512 of the device management device 101 sends to the information processing device 102 a device information acquisition request (request information) requesting acquisition of device information of multiple local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102. At this time, the request information sending unit 512 may send the request information including the object ID 820 to the information processing device 102, as an example, without specifying the "local device identifier" of the object ID 820 as shown in FIG. 8 (B).

As another example, the device management device 101 may send request information including object IDs 830 of three local devices 103 to the information processing device 102, as shown in FIG. 8 (C).

In steps S902 to S907, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 acquires device information specified by the object ID from the local devices 103-1 to 103-3 connected to the information processing device 102.

In step S902, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device A 103-1 to acquire device information, for example, by specifying "MIB information" included in the object ID 820 as shown in FIG. 8(B).

In step S903, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device A 103-1 acquires the specified device information and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S904, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device B 103-2 to acquire device information, for example by specifying the above-mentioned "MIB information."

In step S905, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device B 103-2 acquires the specified device information and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S906, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device C 103-3 to acquire device information, for example by specifying the above-mentioned "MIB information."

In step S907, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device C103-3 acquires the specified device information and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S908, the device information transmission unit 527 of the information processing device 102 combines the device information acquired from the local devices A to C to create one piece of device information to be transmitted to the device management device 101.

In step S909, the device information transmission unit 527 transmits (replies) the created device information to the device management device 101.

In step S910, the device information management unit 513 of the device management device 101 stores and manages the device information for each of the unique information (e.g., serial numbers) of the local devices A to C included in the device information transmitted by the information processing device 102 in the memory unit 515 or the like.

For example, the device information transmitted from the information processing device 102 stores the serial numbers (unique information) of the local devices A to C in association with the device information of each local device. Therefore, the device information management unit 513 can obtain the corresponding device information for each serial number of each local device 103, and store and manage the information in, for example, the storage unit 515.

Second Embodiment
Fig. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of device information acquisition processing according to the second embodiment. For example, as shown in steps S1001 to S1004 in Fig. 10, the device management device 101 can acquire device information by specifying an arbitrary local device 103 among a plurality of local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102.

In step S1001, the request information sending unit 512 of the device management device 101 is assumed to want to acquire comment information ("sysDescr" in the standard MIB) from the local device C103-3. In this case, the request information sending unit 512 sends, for example, a request to acquire device information including object ID 820 (1.3.6.1.4.1.123.560.48000067.1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0) as shown in FIG. 8B to the information processing device 102.

In step S1002, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device C 103-3 corresponding to the identifier "48000067" of the local device 103 included in the request to acquire device information received from the device management device 101 to acquire device information.

The device information acquisition unit 526 can identify the local device 103 corresponding to the local device 103 identifier "48000067" from, for example, the local device information 810 as shown in FIG. 8A. The device information acquisition unit 526 also requests the local device C 103-3 to acquire device information by specifying the MIB information "1.3.6.1.2.1.1.1.0" included in the request to acquire device information.

In step S1003, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device C103-3 obtains the device information specified by the information processing device 102 (here, "sysDescr" of the standard MIB) and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S1004, the device information transmission unit 527 of the information processing device 102 transmits the device information of the local device C103-3 acquired from the local device C103-3 to the device management device 101.

By the above process, the device management device 101 can selectively obtain device information from any one of the multiple local devices A to C connected to the information processing device 102.

The device management device 101 may, for example, acquire device information of multiple local devices A to C by executing the processes of steps S1001 to S1004 in FIG. 10 for each of the multiple local devices A to C.

In addition, the device management device 101 can specify multiple local devices 103 out of multiple local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102 and obtain device information, for example, as shown in steps S1011 to S1019 in FIG. 10.

In step S1011, the request information sending unit 512 of the device management device 101 is assumed to want to acquire comment information ("sysDescr" in the standard MIB) from local devices A to C. In this case, the request information sending unit 512 sends, for example, a request to acquire device information including multiple object IDs 820 as shown in FIG. 8(C) to the information processing device 102.

In steps S1002 to S1016, the device information acquisition unit 526 acquires device information from local devices A to C that correspond to the local device 103 identifiers "48000032", "48000045", and "48000067" included in the received device information acquisition request.

For example, in step S1012, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device A 103-1, which corresponds to the identifier "48000032" of the local device 103 included in the received request to acquire device information, to acquire device information.

In step S1013, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device A 103-1 obtains the device information specified by the information processing device 102 (here, "sysDescr" of the standard MIB) and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S1014, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device B 103-2, which corresponds to the local device 103 identifier "48000045" included in the received request to acquire device information, to acquire device information.

In step S1015, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device B 103-2 acquires the device information specified by the information processing device 102 and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S1016, the device information acquisition unit 526 of the information processing device 102 requests the local device C 103-3, which corresponds to the local device 103 identifier "48000067" included in the received request to acquire device information, to acquire device information.

In step S1017, the device information providing unit 532 of the local device C103-3 acquires the device information specified by the information processing device 102 and transmits it to the information processing device 102.

In step S1018, the device information transmission unit 527 of the information processing device 102 combines the device information acquired from the local devices A to C to create one piece of device information to be transmitted to the device management device 101.

In step S1019, the device information transmission unit 527 transmits the created device information to the device management device 101.

By the above process, the device management device 101 can specify any combination of multiple local devices 103 among the multiple local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102 and obtain device information.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a device management system 100 that makes it easy to individually manage device information of multiple local devices 103 connected to an information processing device 102 via a communication network 104.

In the above description, the number of local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102 is three, but this is an example for the purpose of explanation, and the number of local devices 103 connected to the information processing device 102 may be two or more.

<Additional Information>
Each function of each embodiment described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to execute each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, and devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (digital signal processor), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), and a conventional circuit module designed to execute each function described above.

Furthermore, the devices described in the examples are merely representative of one of multiple computing environments for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein.

In one embodiment, the device management device 101 includes multiple computing devices, such as a server cluster. The multiple computing devices are configured to communicate with each other over any type of communication link, including a network, shared memory, etc., to perform the processing disclosed herein. Similarly, the information processing device 102 can include multiple computing devices configured to communicate with each other.

Furthermore, the device management device 101 and the information processing device 102 can be configured to share the disclosed processing steps, e.g., FIGS. 9 and 10, in various combinations. For example, a process performed by a specific unit can be performed by the information processing device 102. Similarly, the function of a specific unit can be performed by the device management device 101. Furthermore, each element of the device management device 101 may be integrated into one server device or may be separated into multiple devices.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Device management system 101 Device management device 102 Information processing device 103, 103-1, 103-2, 103-3 Local device 104 Communication network 512 Request information transmission unit 513 Device information management unit 523 Local device management unit 525 Request information reception unit 526 Device information acquisition unit 527 Device information transmission unit 600 MIB
602 Private MIB

JP 2009-238203 A

Claims (8)

A device management device that manages device information of a plurality of local devices connected to an information processing device via a communication network,
a request information sending unit that sends request information to the information processing device to request acquisition of device information from the plurality of local devices;
a device information management unit that manages device information of the plurality of local devices included in the device information transmitted from the information processing device in response to the request information, based on unique information of the plurality of local devices included in the device information;
having
the request information transmission unit adds the unique information, which differs for each local device, to an object ID that identifies an object in a private MIB of a MIB of the information processing device, and requests the information processing device to acquire device information of one or more local devices among the plurality of local devices.
Equipment management device. The device management device according to claim 1 , wherein the device information management unit acquires device information of the one or more local devices included in the device information transmitted from the information processing device based on unique information that differs for each local device. The device management apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the request information transmission unit is configured to request device information of the plurality of local devices connected to the information processing apparatus by using one piece of request information. 4. A device management system including the device management device according to claim 1 and an information processing device connected to the device management device via a communication network,
The information processing device includes:
a request information receiving unit that receives, from the device management device, request information requesting acquisition of device information of one or more local devices among a plurality of local devices connected to the information processing device;
a device information acquisition unit that acquires device information specified in the request information from the one or more local devices;
a device information transmission unit that transmits device information including device information and unique information of the one or more local devices to the device management device;
An equipment management system having The device management system according to claim 4 , wherein the device information transmission unit transmits the device information of the one or more local devices together as one piece of device information to the device management apparatus. 6. The device management system according to claim 4 , wherein the information processing device has a local device management unit that manages device information of the plurality of local devices in a private MIB of an MIB of the information processing device by adding unique information that differs for each of the local devices. a device management device that manages device information of a plurality of local devices connected to an information processing device via a communication network,
a request information transmission process for transmitting, to the information processing device, request information for requesting acquisition of device information from the plurality of local devices;
managing device information of the plurality of local devices included in device information transmitted from the information processing device in response to the request information, based on unique information of the plurality of local devices included in the device information;
Run
the request information transmission process adds the unique information, which differs for each local device, to an object ID that identifies an object in a private MIB of a MIB of the information processing device, and requests the information processing device to acquire device information of one or more local devices among the plurality of local devices.
Equipment management methods. A program for causing a device management apparatus to execute the device management method according to claim 7 .

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