JP2003030068A - Network device management apparatus, management method, and management program - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a message valid only in a local area where a network device (hereinafter, referred to as a device) is used, according to the operating state of the device. A network management program (1052) executed on a management apparatus (150) requests an operation state of a device (102) using SNMP, and the device (102) reports information on the operation state in response. When an error code is reported to the network management program 1052 as information on the operation status, a local message corresponding to the error code is extracted from the message definition file, an HTML file for browsing is created, and the WWW server program 1051 hand over. WWW
The server program 1051 converts the viewing HTML file into a WWW browser program 1031 by HTTP.
Send to

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for managing various network devices connected to a computer network, and more particularly to a network device management apparatus, management method and management program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various network devices have been introduced as computers are connected to networks. Since a network device such as a printer is often arranged at a position away from a computer, it is desired to be able to manage the network device even remotely. As a protocol used for this management, for example, there is a protocol called SNMP.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Pro
is a protocol for managing a network such as a LAN, and is not limited to a network based on the TCP / IP protocol at present, but is not limited to TCP / IP.
It is also widely used in networks based on protocols other than IP.

[0004] Normally, network management based on SNMP uses MIB (Management
Management is performed by accessing a tree-structured information database called Information Base).

The conventional network device management apparatus acquires the status from the network device and makes various settings to the network device by using the SNMP / MIB and the directory service.

[0006]

There is a demand for not only the administrator but also general users to provide the status information acquired by the management device from the network device. Therefore, in order to meet this demand, the following technology will be examined.

First, the network device inspects the operating status of itself and stores the result. On the other hand, the management device of the network device requests information about the operating state (state information) from the subordinate network device using SNMP or the like. In response to this request, each network device reports the status information that it has accumulated in advance to the management device. The management device directly transfers the received status information to the user.

Such a technique is efficient when there are a plurality of network devices. Because the user
This is because it is not necessary to provide management software for network devices, and it is not necessary to directly access each network device. Further, there is an advantage that a plurality of network devices can be centralized and managed by a management device.

However, in this study technique, the status information reported from the management device to the user is only uniform status information set in the network device at the time of factory shipment.

As a more specific example, when a network printer is taken as an example of the network device, when the printer runs out of paper, the network printer has a fault code 41001 and a fault description character string "LOAD PAPER".
Is generated. This failure description character string is recorded in the non-volatile memory and cannot be rewritten. On the other hand, in the management device, the failure description character string is acquired and displayed as it is, or the failure code is acquired and a character string determined at the time of factory shipment based on the failure code (for example, “paper out error” is displayed). Please supply A4 size paper to the printer. ") Was displayed.

[0012] As in the above-mentioned study technique, the problem occurs in the following cases only with the existing notification contents set at the time of factory shipment.

(1) When an error occurs, there are cases in which it is not known specifically how the user should actually respond. For example, even if the user wants to replenish the new toner because the toner runs out, the toner cannot be replenished unless the storage location of the new toner is known.

(2) Depending on the time, the handling method for the same error may change. For example, if the storage location of the paper has been temporarily changed, the paper cannot be obtained even if you go to the normal storage location, and until the administrator etc. informs you of the temporary storage location again, Could not be replenished.

(3) An expression using proper nouns suitable for the user environment such as person's name and place cannot be expressed. For example, a network administrator is displayed as "network administrator" and is not a person's name. In such a case, it is inconvenient to know who is the network administrator.

(4) When it is desired to give additional information on how to deal with an error. For example, it seems like they want to know how to order consumables.

As described above, in the above-mentioned study technique,
Only standard contents are set at the time of factory shipment,
It was not possible to provide more local error or warning messages depending on the usage environment of the network device.

Therefore, according to a first aspect of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a management device for a network device that publishes a message suitable for the usage environment of the network device.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a network device management apparatus in which a user can freely edit a message suitable for the environment in which the network device is used.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention,
An object of the present invention is to provide a management device for a network device that creates the message in a format that can be browsed by a normal personal computer such as HTML.

[0020]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems,
The present invention is a network device management apparatus for managing a network device connected to a network, and transmitting means for transmitting a status request signal to the network device so as to request the operating status of the network device; and the network device. Receiving means for receiving the status information when the device transmits the status information in response to the status request signal; and message information corresponding to the status information received by the receiving means, wherein the network device is A creating means for creating valid message information in a local area to be used, and making the message information created by the creating means available for browsing in the local area. Provide a device management device.

[0021] The state of being able to browse means, in short, that a general user is in a state in which the requested state information can be provided if the state information of the network device is requested. For example, when the WWW server is installed inside the management device, it means to store the HTML file relating to the status information in a storage area which can be referred to by the WWW server. When the WWW server is outside the management device, the WWW server is stored. Sending an HTML file to the server. Therefore, not only the case where the user is actually browsing, but also the case where the user has not browsed yet is included.

Also, the provision of a message by HTML is merely an example. For example, it may be provided by e-mail, instant message, or the like. In short, any technique can be used as long as the user can browse local messages via the network.

Message information effective in the local area where the network device is used is
The information is different depending on the user's usage environment such as the storage location of the new toner. However, in the present invention, a more general message may be set instead of valid message information in the local area. In short, the present invention provides a message freely set by the user, not a standard message set at the time of factory shipment. Of course, a free message may be provided together with the uniform message set at the time of factory shipment.

Further, the present invention comprises an input means for inputting the configuration information constituting the message information, and a storage means for storing the configuration information input from the input means in a rewritable state. The means provides the management device of the network device that reads the configuration information from the storage means and creates the message information.

Here, the storage means stores the configuration information and the status information of the network device in association with each other, and the creating means reads the configuration information corresponding to the status information from the storage means, and stores the configuration information. The management device of the network device may be configured to create the message information.

Further, the state information includes identification information of an error that has occurred in the network device, and the configuration information includes information regarding a method of coping with the error in the local area. You may comprise the management apparatus of a network device.

Further, the creating means creates message information in a hypertext format, and the message information can be browsed in the local area by using a WWW server means prepared inside or outside the management device. The network device management apparatus may be configured to do so.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a network device management apparatus for managing a network device connected to a network, wherein operation information is transmitted from the network device,
A conversion means for converting the operation information into message information suitable for the usage environment of the network device; and a control means for controlling the message information in a viewable state in the usage environment of the network device. A management device for a network device is provided.

Further, in order to request the operation information of the network device, a transmitting means for transmitting a request signal to the network device, and when the network device has transmitted the operation information in response to the request signal, Receiving means for receiving operating information, and when the operating information is received by the receiving means, the control means selects the message information corresponding to the operating information and displays the selected message information. The management device of the network device may be configured to control the browsing state.

Further, the control means may configure a management device of the network device so as to store the message information in a storage area accessible from an information processing device installed in a usage environment of the network device. .

Further, the storage area may be a storage device of a WWW server. Thus, the message information may be stored in a storage area accessible to the user in some way.

Further, it further comprises an editing means for editing the message information suitable for the usage environment of the network device, and the converting means converts the operation information into the message information edited by the editing means. The management device of the network device may be configured as described above.

[0033]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [Common Embodiment] An example of a large-scale network that requires management will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a network to which the present invention is applied. The printer 102 has an open architecture and is connected to the network via a network board (NB) 101. NB101 is 10B
A local area network (LAN) 100 via a LAN interface such as case2 or 10BaseT.
Connected with.

A plurality of personal computers (PCs) such as the PC 103 and the PC 104 are also connected to the LAN 100, and these PCs can communicate with the NB 101 under the control of the network operating system. Therefore, one of the PCs, for example PC 103, can be used for network device management. Also, a local printer such as the printer 105 may be connected to the PC 104.

The LAN 100 includes a file server 106.
Is connected, and the file server 106 has a large-capacity (for example, 10 billion bytes) network disk 107.
Manage access to files stored in.

The print server 108 causes a plurality of printers 109, a printer 105 at a remote place, etc. to perform printing. In addition, other peripheral devices (not shown)
You may connect to.

The LAN 100 also includes a WWW server 1
50 is connected, the HTML document generated by the network device management program installed on the WWW server 150 is displayed using the WWW browser installed on the PC 103, or the PC is displayed.
Printer settings made on WWW browser 103
It can also be sent to a specific printer via the network device management program on the WWW server 150. More specifically, the network shown in FIG. 1 can use network software such as Novell or UNIX (registered trademark) in order to efficiently perform communication between various network members. Any network software can be used, but for the sake of brevity, the description here is Novell.
The case of using NetWare (registered trademark of Novell Inc., abbreviated below) software of Company l will be described. For detailed instructions on this software package, refer to the online documentation included in the NetWare package. This is No
It can be purchased with the NetWare package from vell.

Now, receiving files between LAN members,
When performing storage, queuing, caching, transmission, etc., the file server 106 serves as a file management unit. For example, a data file created by the PC 103 or the like is sent to the file server 106,
The file server 106 arranges these data files in order, and transmits the arranged data files to one of the printers 109 according to a command from the print server 108.

A PC such as the PC 103 can be configured by a general PC, and can generate a data file,
Send data files generated via LAN100, receive files from LAN100,
Furthermore, those files can be displayed and various file processing can be performed. Of course, it goes without saying that the PC 103 or the like may be configured as an information processing device specialized for this embodiment. The network of FIG. 1 may also include other computer equipment suitable for running network software. For example, UN
If using IX software, UNIX workstations may be connected to the network, and these workstations may be used with the illustrated PC under appropriate circumstances.

Generally, the LAN 100 or the like provides a service to a relatively local user group such as a user group existing on one floor or a plurality of floors. For example, a wide area network (WAN) may be configured as a user moves away from another user, such as when the user is in another building or another prefecture. WAN
Is basically a network aggregate formed by connecting several LANs by a high speed digital line such as an integrated services digital network (ISDN). Therefore, as shown in FIG.
0, LAN 110, and LAN 120 are connected via a modem / transponder 130 and a backbone 140 to form a WAN.

Each LAN includes a dedicated PC,
Further, it may include a file server or a print server as needed. As shown in FIG.
Are PC111, PC112, file server 113,
Network disk 114, print server 115,
A printer 116 is included. In contrast, LAN 120 is
Includes C121 and PC122. LAN100, LAN1
10 and devices connected to the LAN 120 are W
It is possible to access the function of a device connected to another LAN via the AN connection.

A large number of standardization organizations have standardized methods for managing various devices connected to such a large-scale network system. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an open system interconnection (Op
en System Interconnection
n, OSI) model provided a general reference framework. Network device management protocol O
The SI model is a common management information protocol (Common
Management Information P
rotocol, CMIP). CMIP is a European common network device management protocol.

In recent years, as a more common network device management protocol, a simple network device management protocol (Simple Network) is used.
kManagement Protocol, SNM
There is a variant of the protocol associated with CMIP called P). ("Introduction to TCP / IP Network Device Management: Aiming for Practical Management" by M. Rose = Written by Takeshi Nishida = Translated by Toppan Co., Ltd. See the first edition on August 20, 1992).

According to this SNMP network device management technique, the network device management system includes
At least one network device management station (NMS), a managed node, an agent included in the managed node, and a network device management protocol used by the management station or agents to exchange management information. User is NMS
By communicating with the agent software on the managed node using the network device management program, data on the network can be obtained and the data can be changed.

Here, the agent is software executed as a background process for each target device. When a user requests management data from a device on the network, the management software sends the object identification information in a management packet or frame to the target agent. The agent interprets the object identification information, extracts the data corresponding to the object identification information, puts the data in a packet, and returns it to the user. Sometimes the corresponding process is called to retrieve the data.

The agent also holds management data regarding the state of the network device in the form of a database. This database is called MIB (Ma
management Information Bas
e). The MIB has a tree-structured data structure,
All nodes are uniquely numbered. The identifier of this node is the object identifier (Object
It is called an "Identifier".

The structure of this MIB is the management information structure (St
structure of Management Info
, SMI), RFC 1155
Structure and Identityatici
on of management Information
on for TCP / IP-based Internet
It is specified by ts.

In this specification, the management data of the network device and the information (MIB information) assigned to the MIB object identifier are equivalent.

Next, the SNMP protocol will be briefly described. A PC (hereinafter, referred to as a manager) on which the network device management utility software operates and a managed network device (hereinafter, referred to as an agent) on which an SNMP agent operates perform communication using the SNMP protocol. SNMP
There are 5 types of commands in the protocol, Get-
request, Get-next-request, Get-response, Set-reque
Called st, Trap.

Get-request and Get-next-request are
This is a command sent from the manager to the agent so that the manager acquires the value (MIB information) of the MIB object of the agent. Upon receiving this command, the agent notifies the manager of the value of the MIB object.
Send the Get-response command. Set-request is
This is a command sent by the manager to the agent in order for the manager to set the value of the MIB object of the agent. The agent receiving this command notifies the manager of the setting result.
Send a Get-response command to the manager.

Trap is a command that the agent sends to the manager in order for the agent to notify the manager of a change in its own state.

The SNMP agent is a PC or printer 1.
Network board (NB) 10 connected to 02
The network device management program that operates on PC 1 and serves as an SNMP manager operates on a PC.

It should be noted that the dedicated network device management program is not run for each client PC, but the network device management program is run on the server, and WWW is used as a user interface.
(World-Wide Web) It is also possible to use a browser.

Next, the operation of a general WWW system and the operation of an SNMP management program based on the WWW system will be outlined with reference to FIG.

The PC 150 is a WWW server, and
W server program 1501 is running and PC15
A large number of WWW page data (WWW document itself,
Alternatively, a template for generating a WWW document) is stored.

The WWW browser program 1031 running on the PC 103 requests the WWW server program 1051 running on the PC 150 to obtain the specified page in order to display the page specified by the user.

The WWW server program 1051 uses the WW
The specified page data is returned as a response to the request from the W browser program 1031. The WWW browser program 1031 analyzes the acquired page data and displays the page according to the description.

The WWW server program 1051 uses the WW
During a page acquisition request from the W browser program 1031, a CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
ACE) is included in the request, an external script or program is started by the CGI prescribed method, and the WW
The page data for the response to the request from the W browser program 1031 is received and returned to the WWW browser program 1031.

Next, a case where the external program activated by the CGI is a network device management program as in the present application will be described.

C by the WWW server program 1051
The network device management program 1052 activated by the GI acquires management data from a device connected to the network using SNMP, for example, the printer 102. Network device management program 1
052 generates a page described in HTML (hereinafter referred to as an HTML document) based on the acquired management data, and returns it to the WWW server program 1051.

Next, the communication between the network device management program 1052 and the printer 102 will be described in more detail. As described above, the network device management program acquires various types of management data from the printer 102, but typically, various settings of the network board 101, statistical history of communication,
There is communication related information such as the current status. There is also a lot of information about the printer 102 body. For example, the operating state of the printer body (whether or not there is an error, details of the error), information on performance / equipment, and the like.

The printer 10 according to the SNMP protocol
2 and the network device management program 1052, the operating states of the device body include hardware and software. As for hardware,
There are things such as paper jam, remaining paper amount, device body door open / closed, and paper cassette loaded. On the other hand, regarding the software, various errors occurred in the network print function provided by the network board 101 are included.

The SNMP agent on the network board 101 holds the state information in one or a plurality of MIB objects. The network device management program uses the Get-request command and Get-next-
The request command is sent to the agent, and the agent responds with a Get-response command. The network device management program 1052
An HTML document is generated based on the received information. The WWW server program 1051 sends this file to the requested WWW browser program 1031.

By doing so, the administrator of the printer 102 or the general printer user who is the user can go to the place where the printer 102 physically exists and judge from the appearance or see the display on the operation panel. The operating state of the printer 102 can be known on the WWW browser program 1031 without any trouble.

The network device management apparatus or method according to the present invention can be implemented on a PC having the same configuration as that of a PC which has realized a conventional network device management apparatus as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 150 denotes a PC on which network device control software operates, which is equivalent to 150 in FIG. The PC 150 is stored in the ROM 302 or the hard disk (HD) 311, or a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) 312.
A CPU 301 for executing a network device control program supplied from the computer is provided, and each device connected to the system bus 304 is comprehensively controlled.

Reference numeral 303 denotes a RAM, which functions as a main memory and a work area of the CPU 301. A keyboard controller (KBC) 305 is a keyboard (KB) 30.
9 and instruction input from a pointing device (not shown). 306 is a CRT controller (CRT
In C), the display of the CRT display (CRT) 310 is controlled. 307 is a disk controller (DKC)
A hard disk (HD) 311 that stores a boot program, various applications, edit files, user files, network device control programs, and the like.
And control access to the floppy disk (FD) 312. A network interface card (NIC) 308 bidirectionally transmits / receives data to / from an agent or a network device via the LAN 100.

In all the following description, the hardware main body of each process is the CPU 301 unless otherwise specified.
The main body of software is the hard disk (H
D) Network device management software installed in 311. In FIG. 1, a combination such as a network board (NB) 101 connected to a network and a printer 102 equipped with the network board is called a network device.

FIG. 4 is a module configuration diagram of the network management software according to the present invention. The network management software 1052 according to the present invention is stored in the hard disk (HD) 311 in FIG.
It is executed by U301. At that time, the CPU 301 uses the RAM 303 as a work area.

In FIG. 4, the network management software 1052 is started from the WWW server program 1051 and the CGI interface 402 is used to execute the CGI.
Sends and receives parameters and HTML documents.

Reference numeral 403 denotes an overall control module which registers a CGI parameter in a parameter module 404 described later and then, in accordance with a command parameter in the CGI parameter, a system module 405 described later, a device list module 407, and a device detail module. It is a module for allocating control to any of 410. When there is an error in the CGI parameter, an HTML document indicating that the CGI parameter has an error may be generated via a template module 412 described later.

A parameter module 404 is a module for storing and managing the CGI parameters registered by the overall control module 403 in a table format. Other modules can obtain desired parameters from the parameter module 404 as needed.

A system module 405 controls display / setting of system parameters (for example, automatic update interval of HTML document) that regulates the operation of the network management software 1052, and also controls related H
This is a module that creates a TML document. The system module 405 and the parameter module 404
When the command parameter is obtained and the content of the command parameter is a system parameter display request, necessary information is read from the system message definition file 406 and an HTML document for displaying the system parameter is generated via the template module 412. To do. When the content of the acquired command parameter is a system parameter setting request, the notified system parameter is written to the system message definition file 406, and the HTML document to be displayed after the setting is performed via the template module 412. To generate. Although not shown in the figure, the system parameters stored in the system message definition file 406 can be read by each module constituting the network management software 1052 as needed.

A device list module 407 is a module for generating an HTML document showing a list of devices (device list) searched by a device search module 408 described later. The device list module 407 also controls the processing of device list display options.

A device search module 408 is a module for searching for devices connected to the network.

Reference numeral 410 is a device detail module, which is a CG.
It is a module for displaying and setting more detailed information for a specific device designated by the I parameter, and for generating an associated HTML document. The device detail module 410 uses a device-specific module 411, which will be described later, corresponding to the designated device, in order to acquire and set detailed information of the designated device.

Reference numeral 411 denotes a device-specific module, which is a device to be managed by the network management software (printer, network interface board, etc.).
Exist for each. The device specific module 411 operates to acquire necessary information from the device and set the acquired information in the template module 412 during display. In addition, at the time of setting, the setting value notified by the CGI parameter is converted into a value that can be interpreted by the device, and the value is transmitted to the device.

Reference numeral 409 denotes a protocol module, which is a MIB.
Is a module for controlling various protocols necessary for the network management software to communicate with the device, such as handling of packets, transmission / reception of SNMP packets, and control of transport protocols.

Reference numeral 412 denotes a template module, which is shown in FIG.
This module is for generating an HTML document as an output result of the network management software based on the template file 413 stored in the hard disk 311 of the. Template module 412
Is a CGI parameter, overall control module 403, system module 405, device list module 4
07, or a template file specified by the device details module 410 is opened, the contents of the template file are analyzed, and if necessary, the template variables included in the template file are set to the overall control module 403, system module 405, device list module. 407, device details module 41
0, or an HTML document is generated by substituting the value set by the device-specific module 411, and the WWW is generated via the CGI interface 402.
Send to server program. The value of the template variable used when generating the HTML document, or the generated HTML document file, is based on the same template file.
In order to reduce the processing time when generating a document,
The cache file 414 can be stored on the hard disk 311 in FIG.

Detailed information on each device handled by the device specific module 411 is classified into the following four categories.

Device Status: Device status. A state that requires immediate attention (this is called "error state"), or a state that requires immediate attention to the administrator or general user of the device even if immediate attention is not required (this state). Will be referred to as a "warning state"), the contents thereof are displayed.

Print jobs: A list of print waiting jobs held inside the selected device. Information such as the issuer, data size, reception date and time, and status of each print job is displayed.

Device function: The function of hardware and software possessed by the device, for example, in the case of a printer, is the type of paper input unit, whether the hardware options such as the double-sided printing unit, the sorter, and the stapler are installed? Somehow, the corresponding PDL (Page Description Language) and software functions such as the names of the installed fonts are displayed. In some cases, dynamic information such as the size / remaining amount of sheets loaded in each cassette may be displayed.

Settings: Settings unique to the network interface and device. For network interface settings, for TCP / IP system, IP address, subnet mask, default gateway address, etc.
For e system, it includes print application settings such as PSERVER and NPRINTER. Device-specific settings include default parameters of the PDL processing system.

FIG. 5 shows an HTML document reflecting the result of the device list module 407 described above on the WWW.
A state of browsing by the browser program 1031 is shown. When the "device name" field of the entry on the device list is clicked, the display is switched as shown in FIG.
This is the H generated by the template module 412 based on the information acquired by the device specific module 411 from the device via the protocol module 409.
This is a display of a TML document.

In FIG. 6, the printer runs out of toner (TONER
LOW) error has been reported.
Inside the device, a unique error code value and its importance are defined for each error state, and the value is stored in a certain MIB object. For example, Prin
prtAlertTable defined in ter MIB (RFC 1759)
Each entry corresponds to one error or warning condition, prtAlertSeverityLevel and prtAlertLoc respectively.
It is defined to have an instance of an object such as ation. The prtAlertTable has multiple entries when multiple error or warning conditions occur.

The SNMP agent of the device in this embodiment supports the prtAlertTable and prtAlertLoc.
Codes corresponding to each error or warning status are defined in ation. On the other hand, the value of prtAlertSeverityLevel is P
critical (3), warning in rinter MIB (RFC 1759)
(4), other (1) are defined, and the above error status is c
ritical (3) and warning status correspond to warning (4) respectively. Examples of values for each object instance for some errors or warnings are listed in the table below.

[0088]

[Table 1] When the device actually experiences an error or warning condition,
The SNMP agent adds an entry to prtAlertTable, and prtAlertLocation, prtA in the added entry.
Set a value according to the state in each instance such as lertLocation.

The device details module 410 is discovered by the device search module 408, and the device list 40 is searched.
The device specific module of each device is instructed to periodically acquire the state information of each device displayed in 7 from the device at a predetermined time interval. In response, the device specific module 411 acquires the error / warning status code value stored in the prtAlertLocation object from the device via the protocol module 409. This value determines if an error or warning condition has occurred. If an error or warning status has occurred, the value of the above code (that is, the value of prtAlertLocation) is passed to the template module 412 to update the HTML document indicating the status of the device. At this time, the character string describing the error or warning condition that occurred and the instruction to the user is described in advance in the template file 413 for the model of the device, and the template module 412 also includes the passed code value. Select the character string that corresponds to and H
Generating a TML document.

The generated HTML document is WWW
It is transmitted to the WWW browser program through the server program 1051. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, a message indicating that an error or warning condition has occurred is displayed.
Although FIG. 5 shows the occurrence of an error state, when the “error information” button in the figure is clicked, more detailed information regarding the occurring error is displayed as shown in FIG. (For ease of viewing, only the frame displaying the error information is extracted.) If a warning status is shown in Fig. 5, the "warning information" button is displayed instead of the "error information", and clicking it Similar to FIG. 6, more detailed information regarding the warning status is displayed.

After that, when the device returns from the error or warning state to the normal state, the device side prtAlertTabl
The entry of e is deleted, and the device specific module 411 detects it as described above. When it is detected that the device has returned to normal state, the template module 412 updates the HTML document. The updated HTML document is transmitted to the WWW browser program through the WWW server program 1051, and the display in FIGS. 5 and 6 is also updated.

[First Embodiment] In the above configuration,
Further, the case of displaying a local message according to the usage environment of the network device will be described in detail. Since this local message is a concept corresponding to the status information set at the time of factory shipment and can be freely edited by the user of the device, it can be expressed as a free message.

The network device administrator may want to notify the user after changing the message displayed by the network device management program into a message suitable for the actual usage environment. As such a case, there are the following cases.

(1) When an error occurs, there are cases where the user does not actually know what to do. For example, even if the user wants to replenish the new toner because the toner runs out, the toner cannot be replenished unless the storage location of the new toner is known. In order to solve such a problem, for example, the administrator describes a concrete countermeasure method on the WWW page, and the management apparatus uses this WW.
The URL of the W page may be included in the above message and provided to the user.

(2) Depending on the time, the handling method for the same error may change. For example, if the storage location of the paper has been temporarily changed, the paper cannot be obtained even if you go to the normal storage location, and until the administrator etc. informs you of the temporary storage location again, Could not be replenished.

(3) It is not possible to make expressions using proper nouns suitable for the user environment such as person's name and place. For example, a network administrator is displayed as "network administrator" and is not a person's name. In such a case, it is inconvenient to know who is the network administrator.

(4) When it is desired to give additional information on how to deal with an error. For example, it seems like they want to know how to order consumables.

In order to solve such a problem, in the present embodiment, the message definition file in which the correspondence between the device status and the message information is described is referred to, and the message information corresponding to the device status is appropriately selected, HTML
Provide to users in a format. The message definition file is stored in the hard disk 311 of the computer on which the network device management program operates. Of course, it may be stored in another storage device as long as it can be accessed by the network device management program. The following information is described in association with each other in the message definition file.

1. IP address of the device 2. Message that should be displayed when the device is in normal condition 3. Table with at least one entry with the following information: a. Error / warning status code value b. Brief description message for error / warning status c. Additional message for error / warning status This device status and message The message definition file indicating the correspondence with information can be composed of a text file in the following format.

---------------------------------------------------- --------------------- // Comment // Message definition file DevIPAddr = 160.16.15.33 DevNoErrDescr = "Printable" DevErrWarnCode = 15000 // TONER LOW DevErrWarnDescr = " The amount of toner is very low. "DevErrWarnMsg =" Please contact Mr. Ogoshi (extension number: 1234) of the General Affairs Division to request a cartridge replacement. "DevErrWarnCode = 15030 // PAPER REMAINING DevErrWarnDescr =" It remains in the output bin. "DevErrWarnMsg =" If you printed, make sure you collect all the printed paper. "DevErrWarnCode = 40020 // PRINTER OPEN DevErrWarnDescr =" The printer door is open. "DevErrWarnMsg =" If you have opened the door due to a paper jam, etc., please close the door firmly at the end. " ． ． -------------------------------------------------- ------------------ The flow until the device status display HTML document is created using this message definition file will be described below. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of this processing.

First, as a premise, as already described,
The devices found by the device search module 408 are listed in the device list 407. The device detail module 410 instructs the device-specific module of each device to periodically obtain the status information from each of the listed devices at a predetermined time interval. In response to this, the device specific module 411 acquires the code value of the error / warning state stored in the prtAlertLocation object from the device via the protocol module 409, and stores it in the internal memory area. An explanation will be given based on the above assumptions.

First, the WWW browser program 1031
Connects to the network device confirmation site of the WWW server 150. WWW server program 1051
Is an HTML for a network device selection screen as shown in FIG. 8 based on the device list 900.
Create a file, WWW browser program 1031
Send to. An example of the device list 900 is shown in FIG. The device list must have at least IP address 90
2 is listed. Further, a specific device name 901 to which the IP address is assigned and a note 903 about the device may be provided.

When the WWW browser program 1031 determines that the user has selected a particular device and pressed the status display button, the WWW server program 1
051 request signal for requesting the HTML document (FIG. 7) of the status display page corresponding to the selected device together with the identification information for identifying the selected specific device (for example, DevIPAddr = 160.16.15.33) Is transmitted to the WWW server program 1051 (step S701). Note that the WWW browser program 1031
Detects that a specific button has been pressed and informs that fact.
It may be transmitted to the server program 1051 and the WWW server program 1051 side may specify which device has been selected.

In this request, the DevIPAddr sends 160.16.15.33 via the CGI interface 402, the overall control module 403, and the device detail module 410.
Device-specific module 4 that is in charge of the device
Instructions are transmitted to 11. Upon receiving the instruction, the device specific module 411 checks the value of the error / warning state stored in the internal memory area (step S702). Here, as shown in FIG.
Assume that the error / warning state value 1001 of 1 is 15000.

It is determined whether this value is a value indicating an error or a warning (step S703), and if it is a value indicating an error or a warning, two types of error / warning messages corresponding to this value (a) are displayed. Is retrieved and read from the message definition file (step S704). The two types of error / warning messages are a brief descriptive message (b) for the error / warning condition described above and an additional message (c) for the error / warning condition. In the previous example, DevErrWarnCode = 15000, so from the previous table,
Warning Level 3 warning is determined. Furthermore, D
Based on evErrWarnCode = 15000, from the message definition file, the message DevErrWarnDescr = "Toner is very low." and DevErrWarnMsg = "Please contact Mr. Ogoshi of the General Affairs Division (extension: 1234) to replace the cartridge. Please ask. "Is read out.

Subsequently, the device-specific module 411 passes to the template module 412 each of the read two types of messages as a character string, and instructs the template module 412 to generate an HTML document using the message (step S705).

The template module 412 writes the two kinds of messages passed from the device specific module 411 in the status message display portion in the error or warning status message portion of the template file 413 and writes the device status display HTML document (file ) Is generated (step S706). From a different point of view, it can be said that this creating step is a process of converting the error code into a message or an HTML document file.

On the other hand, when the value of the error / warning state stored in the internal memory at step S703 indicates the normal state, the normal state message is passed to the template module 412 as a character string (step S70).
6). The template module 412 uses this message to perform the device status display HTML as in the step.
A document is generated (step S707).

As described above, HTML for device status display
After the document is generated, the WWW server program 1051 sends the file of the HTML document to the client PC 103 in response to the request of the WWW browser program 1031 (step S708). W
The WW browser program 1031 receives the file and displays it on the screen. The display result on the screen is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the HTML document for displaying the device status, the message "The toner is very low." And "Mr. Ogoshi of the General Affairs Division (extension number: 1234) were contacted. Please request a cartridge replacement. "Is included.

As described above, it is possible to publish a message suitable for the usage environment of the network device. In addition, H messages for errors and warnings
It can be provided to the user in a format that can be viewed on a normal personal computer such as TML. More specifically, it is as follows.

(1) It is possible to provide the user with a concrete countermeasure when an error occurs.

(2) When the handling method for the same error is changed, the user can be notified by changing the message.

(3) Further, since the message can be freely changed according to the use environment, it is possible to express it using proper nouns such as "Mr. Ogoshi of General Affairs Division".

(4) Further, since the message can be freely changed according to the use environment, it is possible to inform additional information for an error or the like like the ordering method of consumables.

[Second Embodiment] In the present embodiment, a user (administrator) can freely edit a message suitable for the environment in which the network device is used.

The network device management program according to this embodiment has a user interface as shown in FIG. 12. By using this, the device administrator can use DevErrWarnD of the above message definition file.
You can change the strings of escr and DevErrWarnMsg.

The user interface shown in FIG.
On another user interface, the device administrator can open the message by specifying the device for which the message is to be changed and the specific error or warning condition.

FIG. 13 shows the processing sequence of this embodiment. When the URL of the editing site is designated by the user, the WWW browser program 1031 accesses the URL (S1301). The WWW server program 1051 performs user authentication and the like, and sends a device selection HTML to the WWW browser program 1031 if the user is an authorized user (S1302). The HTML for device selection is created based on the device list.

Upon receiving the device selection HTML, the WWW browser program 1031 displays it on the display and waits for the device selection by the user's click. When the user selects a particular device,
The identification information regarding the selected device is transmitted to the WWW server program 1051 (S1303). The WWW server program 1051 creates an HTML for selecting an error to be edited based on the error / warning list for the selected device, and sends it to the WWW browser program 1031 (S1304).

Upon receiving the HTML for error selection, the WWW browser program 1031 displays it on the display and waits for the selection by the user's click. When a specific error code is specified, the WWW browser program 1031 sets the error code of the specified error to W
It is transmitted to the WW server program 1051. When the WWW server program 1051 receives the error code,
The CGI program for editing is started, the error code and the identification information of the device are passed, and the current message corresponding to the error code is requested from the network management program 1052 (S1306).

The network management program 1052 is
The message definition file is specified based on the identification information of the device, the current value of the message to be edited is acquired based on the error code, and the message edit HTML including this current message is passed to the WWW server program 1051 ( S1307). The WWW server program 1051 sends the message editing HTML to the WWW browser program 1031 (S1308).

The WWW browser program 1031 displays the message edit HTML as shown in FIG. 12, and waits for the user to input a new message. When a new message is input, WWW browser program 103
1 passes this to the WWW server program 1051 (S1309). The WWW server program 1051 further passes the new message to the management program 1052 of the network device.

Network device management program 1
052 writes a new message to DevErrWarnMsg and edits the message definition file. When editing is completed, an edit completion notification is sent to the WWW server program 105.
1 (S1311), and further, the edit end HTML is transmitted to the WWW browser program 1031.

As described above, according to the second embodiment,
There is an advantage that the user can freely edit the message according to the usage environment of the network device.

[Other Embodiments] Although the respective embodiments have been described above, they may be used individually,
You may use it combining suitably.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of devices (eg, host computer, interface device, reader, etc.)
The present invention may be applied to a system or an integrated device configured by or a device configured by a single device. For example, the WWW server program and the network device management program are implemented on separate PCs,
The present invention may be realized by a plurality of PCs. Also,
The network management program may be mounted on the network device or the network board. Similarly, W
The WW server program may also be mounted on the network device or the network board.

A storage medium recording a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, the object of the present invention can be achieved by reading and executing the program code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, C
D-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM, etc. can be used.

Further, the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by executing the program code read by the computer, and the OS and the like running on the computer actually perform the processing based on the instruction of the program code. The function of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing a part or all of the above.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, A CPU or the like included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing can also realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

In the present invention, when the program code of the software which realizes the function according to the above-mentioned embodiment stored in the storage medium is distributed to the requester through the communication line such as personal computer communication. It goes without saying that it can also be applied to.

As described above, when a program is supplied to a computer in order to realize the present invention, the program is executed to realize the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the sequence of FIG.

To describe specific examples of other embodiments, the network device management program according to the present invention described above is a program installed from the outside, that is, the network device management program is executed by the PC 500. In that case, the program loads an information group including the program on the PC 500 from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory or a floppy disk, or from an external storage medium via a network such as electronic mail or personal computer communication. As a result, the present invention can be applied even when it is supplied to the PC 500.

FIG. 14 shows a CD-R which is an example of a storage medium.
It is a figure which shows the memory map of OM. An area 9999 stores directory information, an area 9998 in which subsequent installation programs are stored, and an area 999 in which a network device management program is stored.
The position 7 is shown. 9998 is an area in which an installation program is stored. An area 9997 stores a network device management program.

When the network device management program of the present invention is installed in the PC 500, the installation program stored in the area 9998 storing the installation program is first loaded into the system and executed by the CPU 501. Then C
The installation program executed by the PU 501 reads the network device management program from the area 9997 in which the network device management program is stored and stores it in the hard disk 511. In this way, the network device management program stored in the hard disk 511 is activated at an appropriate timing to implement the present invention.

[0136]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an advantage that a message suitable for the usage environment of the network device can be disclosed.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, there is an advantage that the user can freely edit the message suitable for the usage environment of the network device.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention,
There is an advantage that the message can be provided in a format that can be viewed on a normal personal computer such as HTML.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a WWW system and a network management program.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a PC on which a network device management program operates.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a module configuration of a network device management program.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where device status information is displayed on a WWW browser.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a user interface for displaying more detailed status information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for creating an HTML file for displaying more detailed status information in the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface for device selection.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a device list.

FIG. 10 is an error code list held for each device-specific module.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a user interface for displaying status information after message change.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a user interface for changing a message stored in a message definition file.

FIG. 13 is a processing sequence when changing a message stored in a message definition file.

FIG. 14 is an example of a storage medium in which a network device management program is stored, and in particular a CD-ROM
3 is an image diagram showing a memory map of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 ... Local Area Network (LAN) 101 ... Network Board (NB) 102 ... Printer with open architecture 103 ... Personal computer (PC) 104 connected to LAN 100 104 ... Personal computer (PC) 105 connected to LAN 100 ... printer 106 connected to PC 104 ... file server 107 connected to LAN 100 ... network disk 108 included in LAN 100 ... print server 109 included in LAN 100 ... printer 110 connected to print server 108 ... local area network ( LAN) 111 ... Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 110 112 ... Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 110 113 ... File server 114 connected to LAN 110 ... Network disk 115 included in LAN 110 ... Print server 116 included in LAN 110 ... Printer 117 connected to print server 110 ... Printer 120 connected to print server 110 ... Local area Network (LAN) 121 ... Personal computer (PC) 122 connected to LAN 120 ... Personal computer (PC) 130 connected to LAN 120 ... Modem / transponder 140 ... Backbone 150 ... WWW server 200 connected to LAN 100 ... Shared memory 301 ... CPU 302 ... ROM 303 for storing operation program of CPU 301 ... RAM 304 for use as work area ... System Bus 305 ... Keyboard controller 306 ... CRT controller 307 ... Disk controller 308 ... Network interface card (NIC) 309 ... Keyboard 310 ... CRT 311 ... Hard disk (HD) 312 ... Floppy disk (FD) 402 ... CGI interface 403 ... Overall control module 404 Parameter module 405 System module 406 System setting file 407 Device list module 408 Device search module 409 Protocol module 410 Device detail module 411 Device specific module 412 Template module 413 Template file 414 Cache file 1031 ... W running on the client PC 103
WW browser program 1501 ... WWW running on WWW server 150
Server program 1502 ... Network device management program running on WWW server 150

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 5B021 AA01 BB10 NN16 NN17                 5B089 GA11 GA13 GB02 HA06 HB06                       JA35 JB02 JB15 KA02 KA13                       KH04                 5K033 BA08 CB08 DA01 DA05 DB20                       EA03

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A network device management apparatus for managing a network device connected to a network, comprising: a transmission means for transmitting a status request to the network device to request status information of the network device; and the network. Reception means for receiving the status information when the device transmits the status information in response to the status request, and message information corresponding to the status information received by the reception means, which is used by the network device. Creating means for creating message information corresponding to the area, and making the message information created by the creating means viewable in the area. 2. An input unit for inputting configuration information constituting the message information, and a storage unit for storing the configuration information input from the input unit in a rewritable state, wherein the creating unit is the The network device management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information is read from a storage unit to create the message information. 3. The storage means stores the configuration information and the status information of the network device in association with each other, and the creating means reads the configuration information corresponding to the status information from the storage means, and stores the message. The network device management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein information is created. 4. The status information includes identification information of an error that has occurred in the network device, and the configuration information includes information about how to handle the error in the local area. The network device management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. A state in which the creating means creates message information in hypertext format, and the message information can be browsed in the local area by using a WWW server means provided inside or outside the management device. The management device for a network device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: 6. A management device of a network device for managing a network device connected to a network, wherein, when the operation information is transmitted from the network device, the operation information is set in an environment of use of the network device. A management device for a network device, comprising: a conversion unit that converts the message information into suitable message information; and a control unit that controls the message information to be in a viewable state in a usage environment of the network device. 7. A transmission unit for transmitting a request to the network device to request the operation information of the network device, and the operation information when the network device transmits the operation information in response to the request. Receiving means for receiving the operating information when the receiving means receives the operating information, the control means selects the message information corresponding to the operating information and can browse the selected message information. 7. The network device management apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the network device management apparatus controls the network device to a different state. 8. The network device according to claim 7, wherein the control unit stores the message information in a storage area accessible from an information processing apparatus installed in a usage environment of the network device. Management device. 9. The network device management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the storage area is a storage device of a WWW server. 10. The apparatus further comprises editing means for editing the message information suitable for the usage environment of the network device, and the converting means converts the operation information into the message information edited by the editing means. The network device management apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8. 11. A network device management method for managing a network device connected to a network, comprising: a transmission step of transmitting a status request signal to request an operation status of the network device; A receiving step of receiving the status information when the status information is transmitted in response to the status request signal; message information corresponding to the status information received by the receiving step, wherein the network device is used. A network device comprising: a creating step of creating valid message information in the local area; and a step of making the message information created in the creating step viewable in the local area. Management method. 12. An input step of inputting configuration information that constitutes the message information, and a storage step of storing the configuration information input in the input step in a rewritable state, wherein the creating step includes: The network device management method according to claim 11, wherein the configuration information is read from a storage step to create the message information. 13. The storage step stores the configuration information and status information of the network device in association with each other, and the creation step reads configuration information corresponding to the status information from the storage step, and stores the message. The network device management method according to claim 12, wherein information is created. 14. The status information includes identification information of an error that has occurred in the network device, and the configuration information includes information regarding a method of coping with the error in the local area. The management method for a network device according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein: 15. The creating step creates message information in hypertext format, and the step of making the message in a viewable state uses the WWW server to send the message information in hypertext format to a user's WWW browser. 15. The method for managing a network device according to claim 11, wherein the network device is transmitted. 16. A management method of a network device for managing a network device connected to a network, wherein when the operation information is transmitted from the network device, the operation information is used in an environment of use of the network device. A method of managing a network device, comprising: a conversion step of converting the message information into suitable message information; and a control step of controlling the message information to be in a viewable state in a usage environment of the network device. 17. A transmission step of transmitting a request signal to the network device to request operation information of the network device; and, when the network device has transmitted the operation information in response to the request signal, A receiving step of receiving operating information, and, when the operating information is received by the receiving step,
17. The method of managing a network device according to claim 16, wherein the control step selects the message information corresponding to the operation information and controls the selected message information to be in a viewable state. 18. The network device according to claim 17, wherein in the control step, the message information is stored in a storage area accessible from an information processing device installed in a usage environment of the network device. Management method. 19. The network device management method according to claim 18, wherein the storage area is a storage device of a WWW server. 20. An editing step for editing the message information suitable for the usage environment of the network device is further provided, and the converting step converts the operation information into the message information edited by the editing step. The network device management method according to any one of claims 16 to 18. 21. A network device management program for causing a computer to function by all of the means described in any one of claims 1 to 10. 22. Any one of claims 11 to 20.
A management program for a network device for causing a computer to execute each of the steps described in the section.