JPH08137768A - Remote distribution management network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To manage the license of software from a remote place in addition to management work at the time of operating software from a remote place by connecting a remote device issuing the distribution instruction of software against a client device to a file server device with a network system. CONSTITUTION: The distribution of software which is stored in a storage device as a software management data base 104 and which exists in the file server device 102 based on the content of the software management data base 104 is indicated to respective devices. The distribution situation of software to the respective client devices 105 is recognized from a distribution management device. The respective client devices 105 and the file server device 102 are connected to the network system through a network cable 107. The distribution instruction of software against the respective client devices 105 is issued from the remote device 101 to the file server device 102 so as to manage the licence.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system used for supporting integrated construction, operation and maintenance of a network and facilitating network management. In particular, the present invention relates to a remote distribution management network system that easily manages software and data used in each device that is connected to a network cable and configures a network when constructing, operating, and maintaining the network, and data from a remote location.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when managing the operation and maintenance of a network, it is necessary to manually install the software used for each device constituting the network, and when the number of devices constituting the network is large. It was a very laborious task.

In addition, when software is upgraded, similarly, it is necessary to manually install each device, and moreover, since the license of the software installed in each device must be managed, much work is required. I needed a lot of trouble.

In order to solve such a problem, software is installed and held in a specific device existing in the network, and the held software is distributed to other devices via a network cable. Things like doing are done. An example showing these conventional techniques is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-12348.

However, it has not been possible to manage data such as operation and maintenance from a remote location.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, the present invention is a remote management network capable of remotely managing operations and maintenance related to software or data used in devices constituting a network. It provides a system.

In operating the network, it is necessary to install and upgrade the software used by the devices forming the network, and distribute various data to each device. In addition, it is necessary to manage the license of the software used.

In addition, when installing or upgrading software, if the configuration of each device forming the network is different, the installation method is not uniform for each device. I have to change.

Further, the management work of the network as described above must be carried out by a person who works to the place where each device exists.

An object of the present invention is to allow management of software licenses from a remote location in addition to management work during operation such as software distribution and version upgrade, and operation of software and data used in devices constituting a network, It is to provide a remote distribution management network system that can facilitate management work such as maintenance and improve work efficiency.

[0011]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is directed to a file server device that manages the distribution of software used in a client device, and the client device communicates with the file server device through a communication line. The file server device includes a database management table that holds attribute information of the client device, a client software configuration data table that represents a software configuration of the client device, and the hardware of the client device. A client hardware configuration data table for registering and managing resources, an installation information database for registering software for distributing software to the client device, and script information data for managing scripts are provided as software. A storage device stored as a management database, and outputs an instruction to distribute the software existing in the file server device to each device based on the contents of the software management database stored in the storage device, and outputs the software to each client device. Is connected to a network system in which the client device and the file server device are connected to a processing device that recognizes the distribution status of the software from the distribution management device, and an instruction to distribute the software to the client device is sent to the file server device. The remote distribution management network system has a remote device for issuing.

[0012]

According to the present invention, it is possible to perform installation work of software and data used in each device constituting a network, distribution work such as version upgrade, and management of license of software used from a remote place through a public line or the like. Further, even when the configuration of each device is different, the distribution setting corresponding to each device can be automatically performed. Therefore, the efficiency of the management work of the network system can be improved.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A method for realizing the remote software management function will be described.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a method in which a user who manages a network makes various settings in a database in a shared disk device 103 of a file server device 102 in order to use various functions provided by a remote software management function. Is shown.

A user who manages the network uses a client device 101 connected to the network as a management station and a software management database 104 existing in the shared disk device 103 of the file server device 102 and a client device 105 of the network. Set the software configuration.

Each client device 105 forming the network is installed or upgraded in software when connected to the network. In addition, the execution result is also registered in the file server apparatus shared disk 103, and the administrator takes measures against software setting failure based on the registered result. Further, the network administrator can know which client device the software is installed by accessing the software management database 104, and can manage the license of the software and prevent illegal use. As described above, in order to collectively manage the software installation to the client devices that form the network by the file server, the communication line 108 and the communication device for performing communication through the communication line 108 are used. As a result, the client device 101 at the remote location
The administrator can manage the software of the client device that constitutes the network without leaving his or her seat. Further, the administrator can connect to a plurality of networks by using an exchange line such as a general public line network as a communication line. Therefore, one remote client device can manage a plurality of networks locally. You can do it without going to.

As the communication line, a telephone line, a leased line, a digital communication line, a packet communication network, a radio, a network cable and the like can be mentioned.

FIG. 2 shows a method in which a network administrator collectively installs and upgrades software for each client device in the network.

Each client device logs in 201 to the network. Each client device accesses the database 203 existing in the shared disk of the file server device based on the unique identification name given to each client device, and obtains 202 its own configuration information about software. Next, from the information obtained from the database, a self-diagnosis 204 is made as to whether the required software is present correctly. If the required software does not exist, the software in the shared disk of the file server device is installed or upgraded 209 according to the procedures 206 and 207 shown in the database. The result of installation and version upgrade is reported 208 to the administrator who manages the network. Further, if there is a disk device or the like connected to each client, not limited to software, it is also possible to initialize them, install a boot program of the client device for them, and upgrade the version. After that, the user can use the installed software for normal business 209.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of distributing files in the case where an administrator collectively controls distribution of files required for client devices constituting a network.

As in the case of the software installation described in FIG. 2, each client who has logged in 301 to the network has a unique identification name assigned to each device,
Alternatively, based on the identification name of the user who is using the client, it is confirmed whether or not there is a file to be distributed to each device or user by accessing the database 303 on the shared disk of the file server device 302, and then distributing the result. If there is a file to be transferred, the file is transferred or displayed on the client device 304, 305, 3
06.

Further, the result of file distribution is reported 307 to a user who has instructed the file distribution, such as a network administrator. It is easy to exchange files between users who use the network and answer questionnaires for circulating materials. After this, the user can perform normal work 308.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a method for unifying the software configurations of a plurality of client devices that form a network.

When there are a plurality of client devices, it is more beneficial for the user that the software configuration of each client device is unified. Based on such a fact, the present invention makes it possible to copy the software configuration of one client device to another client device. The configuration of various software of the client device 401 that is the copy source is collectively copied to the shared disk 403 of the file server device 402, and the client device 405 that is the copy destination copies all the files 404 to itself. By performing the procedures 401 to 405 by all the client apparatuses that are the target of this procedure, the software configurations of the respective client apparatuses can be made equal. In addition, the network administrator of the copy source and copy destination client apparatuses automatically performs the copy when logging in to the network by instructing the procedure to the database in the shared disk of the file server apparatus.

An example in which the administrator distributes the software installed in the file server device to each client device will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a software management database, which is a database holding software management information of each client. In the software management database, the distribution method and distribution destination are set from the management station, and the distribution result of each client device is reflected. The software management database is a database management table 501,
The client software configuration database 502, the client hardware configuration database 503, the installation information database 504, and the script information database 505 are composed of five types of databases.

The database management table 501, the installation information database 504, and the script management database 505 are each composed of one file. Only the administrator has the right to write or change these files, and each user has the right to reference. In addition, each file has a shared attribute so that it can be simultaneously referenced by a plurality of client devices.

Further, the client software configuration database 502 and the client software configuration database 503 must be given write or change rights to each user in order to register the distribution result, and so on. It is composed of files for the number of units. By creating a separate file for each client device to be managed, simultaneous write requests from each client device are possible.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the database management table. The database management table includes a client device name 602, a network name 603 of the network in which the client device exists, and a network address 60 that is a number unique to the client device.
4, and a client software information database defining the software and hardware configuration of the client device, a client information key code 605 for associating the name of the client software information database, and a main key code 601 for defining a database management table. Consists of.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a client software configuration database which is a database showing the software configuration of the client device. The software configuration of each client device is installed and upgraded according to this database configuration.
The client information key code 701 identifies the database contents for each client device. The software name 702 indicates the name of software used by the client device. The status 703 indicates how the software or data specified by the software name is in the corresponding client device. The situation is that the distribution has already been performed (in
stall), a state in which a distribution instruction is issued (yes), a state in which the corresponding software is not distributed (no), or a state in which the date and time of distribution are specified. The directory 704 indicates a distribution destination in the client device that distributes the corresponding software. The spare 705 is prepared for future expansion.

The client hardware configuration database of FIG. 8 is a database for registering and managing the hardware resources of each client device. The client information key code 801 identifies the database content for each client device. Item 802 indicates an item of hardware information described in the database. Content 18
03 and content 2804 indicate the function of each hardware corresponding to the corresponding hardware information item 802 on the network. The spare 805 is prepared for future expansion.

The installation information database shown in FIG. 9 is
It manages software registered on the file server device for distribution. The installation DB key code 901 defines the installation information database. The software name 902 indicates the name of software existing in the file server device. Required space 903
Indicates an approximate capacity of a storage device, such as a magnetic disk drive device or a magneto-optical disk drive device, required when distributing the corresponding software to the client device. The directory 904 indicates the location of the corresponding software in the file server device. Registration date and time 905
Indicates the date and time when the corresponding software was registered in the software management database. The memory 906 shows an estimation of the minimum amount of memory required to execute the corresponding software. The distribution instruction count 907 indicates the number of distribution of the corresponding software. Further, the total number of software used by each client can be known from the distribution instruction number, and the license number can be managed.
The spare 908 is prepared for future expansion.

The script information database shown in FIG.
It is a database that manages scripts. A script is a script for performing an appropriate software distribution process for each client device when the process of distributing software changes for each client device due to differences in the directories to be distributed or differences in hardware. It is a simple language that can be described such that the distribution process procedure can be divided, added, deleted, or changed. By using the script, it is possible to perform flexible distribution processing even when there is a difference in the configuration for each client device. The script DB key code 1001 identifies a script. The software name 1002 indicates the name of software targeted by the corresponding script. The registration script name 1003 indicates the name of the script for registering the software for distribution to each client device in the file server device. The distribution script name 1004 indicates the name of the script used when distributing to each client device. The spare 1005 is prepared for future expansion.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a processing method for registering software in the file server device at the management station.

First, when registering software to be distributed by the management station, a file for distribution is created by using the directory difference / file difference information before and after installation. Therefore, before registering the software to be registered, The management station needs to be initialized. The initial state here means the initial state registered in the storage device such as another file server device or the disk device and the magnetic disk device of the current management station,
Compare the status of storage devices such as magneto-optical disk devices, and if different files and directories exist, copy
This is to restore the storage device such as the magnetic disk device, magneto-optical disk device, etc. of the management station to the initial state by deleting it, and automatically when the administrator specifies the installation of the distribution software. Initialize 1101. When the initial state is not registered in the file server device, the current state of the management station is interpreted as the initial state, and the initial state is registered in the file server device.

Next, in order to install the software on the management station, the installation program attached to the software is activated 1102. In addition, when the administrator specifies each software to be registered, the automatic distribution management program stores the file structure of the storage device such as the magnetic disk device, magneto-optical disk device of the management station, and then installs the software attached to each software to be installed. The installation program is started and the administrator installs it.

Next, the storage device such as the magnetic disk device and the magneto-optical disk device of the management station is inspected to extract the directory difference from the previous inspection 1103. Further, this makes it possible to create automatic distribution parameters even for software that does not use the installation program.

Next, the file whose change is recognized by the directory difference is copied to the designated directory of the file server device 1104.

Next, when the software is installed, some of the installation programs attached to the respective software add items to the system initialization file and the like, so that a difference file of the changed file is created. 1105. Also, at the time of distribution to each client device, the system file is changed based on the difference file.

Depending on the software to be distributed,
Some files may not be installed depending on the device environment when installing the management station. Therefore, in order to deal with this, it is necessary to perform processing corresponding to each software. According to the present invention, each software can be installed by using a script file that describes a process corresponding to each software. In the process using the script,
When the administrator specifies the software to be distributed, the corresponding script file can be read and the processing contents written in the script can be executed. By executing the script, you can automatically register the software to be distributed.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a method in which the administrator sets the software distribution to the client device in the software management database.

The administrator firstly makes a list 120 of registered software registered in the software management database.
Select the software to be distributed from 1. Next, the client device to be distributed is selected from the list 1205 of registered clients registered in the software management database. Next, the distribution setting button 1209 is pressed to set the distribution to the target client device.

When the administrator specifies the software to be distributed and the client device, the software management database of the file server device is referred to, and the storage device such as the magnetic disk device or magneto-optical disk device of the target client device, or Check the hardware environment such as memory. If there is no problem such as insufficient capacity, you can check whether distribution is possible beforehand when issuing a distribution instruction to the client device, such as writing an automatic distribution command in the software management database of the file server device. .

When distribution is performed, it may be necessary to register the hardware environment of the client device connected to the network in the software management database of the file server device. The present invention has a function for the administrator to register / update the hardware environment of the client in the software management database. The client registration button 1206 allows new registration in the software management database. The client delete button 1207 can be used to delete the client device from the software management database. Further, by using the client reference / change button 1208, it is possible to reference or update the information about the hardware environment of the client registered in the software management database and the software distributed or distributed. In addition, the software existing in the file server device or the client device can be deleted by instructing the software management database to delete the software.

Information of each distributed software is centrally managed by the software management database of the file server device. Therefore, it has a function to refer to and manage each item of the software management database. Software can be newly registered in the software management database by the software registration button 1202. Further, the software can be deleted from the software management database by using the software deletion button 1203. Further, by using the software reference / change button 1204, information regarding software registered in the software management database can be referred to or updated. Also, the software existing in the file server device can be deleted.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a distribution process in each client device which is performed by an instruction from the management station.

The distribution process is performed when the client is started, or
Automatically executed when logging in to the network, and according to the information in the management database, necessary software (file,
Data). At that time, the hardware environment of the client for receiving the software distribution is verified. The procedure is shown below.

First, to obtain the network address of the device itself in order to refer to the software management database 1
301. Next, by referring to the database management table, the client software configuration database of its own machine and the name of the client software configuration database are obtained 1302. Next, the client software configuration database is referenced to check if there is software to be distributed 1303. If not, the process ends. If there is software to be distributed, next, environment information such as free disk space required for distribution execution processing is referenced 1304 from the management database existing in the file server device. Next, the free disk capacity and the mounted memory capacity necessary for distribution are confirmed, and it is checked whether the necessary hardware environment exists 1305. At this time, if the environment is not suitable for the distribution, the distribution is not performed, and the client software configuration database is informed that the distribution process is not performed 1310. When continuing the distribution process Next, if there is a script to be executed at the time of distribution, the name of the script is obtained 1306. Next, the file extracted by the directory extraction function of the management station is copied from the file server device 1307. Next, based on the contents of the difference information file existing in the file server device, the changed portion is additionally updated 1308, 1309 in the system initialization file or the like. Next, the execution result of the distribution process is registered 1310 in the distribution management database existing in the file server device.

Next, depending on the software, it may be necessary to perform an initialization process such as a reset after distribution. In the distribution execution process, when the distribution process is completed, the client itself determines whether or not to reset the software. 131
One. If it needs to be reset, it can also be restarted 1312 in the environment after the distribution is complete.

The software (file) once distributed is not distributed until the administrator issues a distribution instruction again.

Depending on the software to be distributed,
Some files may not be copied depending on the directory structure of the client device or the hardware environment. In the present invention, in order to cope with such a situation and to flexibly control the distribution process, a simple programming language called a script is adopted. Therefore, the distribution program can distribute each software by using the script file obtained from the script information database corresponding to each software to be distributed. Furthermore, a distribution process for a plurality of client environments, which cannot be handled by the file difference update process, can be executed by writing a script.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the basic syntax of the script.

Execution of the script is controlled by a command as shown in FIG. 1401 shows an example of the syntax. The function of the syntax corresponding to 1402 is shown. By using the conditional jump function or the like, it is possible to control the setting of the client device and the change of the distribution process due to the difference in configuration.

FIG. 15 shows an example of functions that can be used in the script.

1501 shows an example of the function. The function of the function corresponding to 1502 is shown. By using these functions and the commands as shown in FIG. 14, it is possible to perform a flexible distribution process that responds to changes in distribution destinations and differences in hardware configurations.

[0057]

According to the present invention, it is possible to perform installation work of software and data used in each device constituting a network, distribution work such as version upgrade, and management of software license used from a remote place through a public line or the like. . Further, even when the configuration of each device is different, the distribution setting corresponding to each device can be automatically performed. Therefore, the management work of the network system can be improved in efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a network integrated management system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in a client device when distributing software.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of processing in a client device when a data file is distributed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a method for making the software configurations of a plurality of client devices the same.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a software management database.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a database management table.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a client software configuration database.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a client hardware configuration database.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of an installation information database.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a script information database.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of processing when registering software from a management station.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an interface for managing software at a management station.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a detailed flow of processing in a client device when distributing software.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a basic syntax of a script.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a function used in a script.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 ... Remote client device, 102 ... File server device, 103 ... Shared disk device, 104 ... Software management database, 105 ... Client device, 106 ... Software, 107 ... Network Cable, communication line

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masami Sakon 810 Shimoimaizumi, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture Hitachi Office Systems Division

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A file server device that manages distribution of software used in a client device, and the client device includes a communication device that communicates with the file server device through a communication line. The file server device comprises:
A database management table that holds attribute information of the client device; a client software configuration data table that represents the software configuration of the client device; a client hardware configuration data table that registers and manages the hardware resources of the client device; A storage device that stores, as a software management database, an installation information database that registers software that distributes software to client devices, and script information data that manages scripts, and the contents of the software management database stored in the storage device. Based on the above, an instruction to distribute the software existing in the file server device to each device is output, and the distribution status of the software to each client device is distributed and managed. And a put et recognizing processing apparatus,
A remote software distribution management system, comprising: a remote device that is connected to a network system to which the client device and the file server device are connected, and that issues a software distribution command to the client device to the file server device. .