Method and apparatus for managing network devices

• US 20030014511A1
• Filed: 07/10/2002
• Published: 01/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Igarashi, Toshiaki, Maekawa, Yoshito
• Granted Patent: US 7,266,601 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing network devices, which allow the user to intuitively recognize errors that have occurred in network devices. When an error monitoring module (701) detects any error that has occurred in a network device, a corresponding URL address acquisition module (702) acquires a URL address corresponding to an error category. An electrical generation component generates electrical message data for error information, which contains the acquired URL address, and sends it to an electrical sending module (706). Since the user can access error information provided by an HTTP server module (708) by clicking the URL address described on the received electrical message once, he or she can intuitively recognize the error contents by simple operations.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing at least one network device connected to a network, comprising:

a storage component tailored to store information about a providing site of information associated with the network device;

a generation component tailored to acquire the information about the providing site from said storage component, and to generate an electrical message that contains the acquired information about the providing site; and

a sending control component tailored to control a process for sending the electrical message generated by said electrical generation component to a predetermined address.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a providing component tailored to provide the information associated with the network device at the providing site.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said providing component comprises a Web application that provides the information associated with the network device in a format displayable on a Web browser.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said providing component comprises a Web server that provides the information associated with the network device in a format displayable on a Web browser.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a monitoring component tailored to monitor an operating state of the network device, and

wherein said providing component provides a monitoring result of said monitoring component.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said providing component is formed by an information processing apparatus externally connected to the network device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information associated with the network device includes information that indicates an operating state of the network device.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage component stores a plurality of pieces of information about providing sites of the information associated with the network device, and

the plurality of pieces of information about the providing sites respectively correspond to a plurality of operating states of the network device.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said storage component stores a table, list, or database which describes correspondence between the plurality of pieces of information about the providing sites of the information associated with the network device, and the plurality of operating states of the network device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a recognition component tailored to recognize information about a providing site of information corresponding to a given operating state of the network device on the basis of that operating state, and

wherein said electrical generation component generates an electrical message that contains the information about the providing site recognized by said recognition component.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information about the providing site of the information associated with the network device is an address of a site that provides the information associated with the network device on the network.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the address on the network is a URL address.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the address on the network is an IP address.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus for managing the network device is mounted in the network device.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus for managing the network device is formed by an information processing apparatus externally connected to the network device.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network device is a printer.

17. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical message is a e-mail message.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of providing the information associated with the network device at the providing site.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the providing step includes the step of providing the information associated with the network device in a format displayable on a Web browser.

21. The method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of monitoring an operating state of the network device, and

wherein the providing step includes the step of providing a monitoring result in the monitoring step.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the providing step is executed by an information processing apparatus externally connected to the network device.

23. The method according to claim 18, wherein the information associated with the network device includes information that indicates an operating state of the network device.

24. The method according to claim 18, wherein the acquiring step includes the step of obtaining one or more pieces of information about providing sites of the information associated with the network device, and

the one or more pieces of information about the providing sites respectively correspond to one or more operating states of the network device.

25. The method according to claim 18, wherein the acquiring step includes the step of obtaining the information about the providing site from a table, list, or database which describes correspondence between a plurality of pieces of information about the providing sites of the information associated with the network device, and a plurality of operating states of the network device.

26. The method according to claim 23, further comprising the step of recognizing information about a providing site of information corresponding to a given operating state of the network device on the basis of that operating state, and

wherein the electrical generating step includes the step of creating an electrical message that contains the information about the providing site recognized in the recognition step.

27. The method according to claim 18, wherein the information about the providing site of the information associated with the network device is an address of a site that provides the information associated with the network device on the network.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the address on the network is a URL address.

29. The method according to claim 27, wherein the address on the network is an IP address.

30. The method according to claim 18, wherein said method is executed by a management circuit mounted in the network device.

31. The method according to claim 18, wherein said method is executed by an information processing apparatus externally connected to the network device.

32. The method according to claim 18, wherein said method is executed on a printer.

33. The method according to claim 18, wherein the electrical message is a e-mail message.

35. A storage medium storing a computer program of claim 34.

36. The computer program according to claim 34, wherein the electrical message is a e-mail message.

38. The computer program product according to claim 37, wherein the electrical message is a e-mail message.

18. A method of managing a network device connected to a network, comprising the steps of:

acquiring information about a providing site of information associated with the network device;

generating an electrical message that contains the acquired information about the providing site; and

controlling a process for sending the generated electrical message to a predetermined address.

34. A computer program for managing at least one network device connected to a network, comprising:

a storage component tailored to store information about a providing site of information associated with the network device;

a generation component tailored to acquire the information about the providing site from said storage component, and to generate an electrical message that contains the acquired information about the providing site; and

a control component tailored to control a process for sending the electrical message generated by said electrical generation component to a predetermined address.

37. A computer program product for managing one or more network devices connected to a network, said computer program product comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer-executable instructions carried on said computer-readable medium for performing the steps of;

acquiring information about a providing site of information associated with the network device;

generating an electrical message that contains the acquired information about the providing site; and

controlling a process for sending the generated electrical message to a predetermined address.