Method and system for extracting vendor and model information in a multi-protocol remote monitoring system

• US 20040255023A1
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Published: 12/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Motoyama, Tetsuro, Fong, Avery
• Application Number:
  US10/460,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20040255023A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0273 using web services for network management, e.g. simple object access protocol [SOAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for extracting requested information associated with a remotely monitored device communicatively coupled to a network. The method includes obtaining an IP address of the device; accessing the device using an HTTP protocol and the IP address to obtain an information string associated with the device; extracting the requested information from the information string; searching for additional device information within the information string and, if the additional device information is located, extracting the additional device information, wherein the additional device information was not requested; and caching the requested information, and any additional device information located in the searching step, in association with the IP address of the device.

Claims

1. A method of extracting requested information associated with a remotely monitored device communicatively coupled to a network, comprising:

obtaining an IP address of the device;

accessing the device using an HTTP protocol and the IP address to obtain an information string associated with the device;

extracting the requested information from the information string;

searching for additional, non-requested device information within the information string and, if the additional device information is located, extracting the additional device information; and

caching the requested information, and any additional device information extracted in the searching step, in association with the IP address of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtained information string is an SGML-based information string.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested information is vendor information associated with the device, and the additional device information is model information associated with the device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the obtained information string is an HTML-based information string.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the obtained information string is an XML-based information string.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the obtained information string comprises a title string.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracting step comprises:

parsing the information string to obtain vendor information; and

comparing the vendor information with a list of supported vendors.

8. A system for extracting requested information associated with a remotely monitored device communicatively coupled to a network, comprising:

a database configured to support an HTTP protocol, said database storing information used by the HTTP protocol to extract information related to the device;

a hardware access module configured to access the device using the HTTP protocol and an IP address of the device to obtain an information string associated with the device;

a processor configured to process the information string in order to extract the requested information from the information string, and to search for additional, non-requested device information within the information string and, if the additional device information is located, to extract the additional device information; and

a cache configured to store the requested information, and any additional device information extracted by the processor, in association with the IP address of the device.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the obtained information string is an SGML-based information string.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the requested information is vendor information associated with the device, and the additional device information is model information associated with the device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the obtained information string is an HTML-based information string.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the obtained information string is an XML-based information string.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the obtained information string comprises a title string.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to parse the information string to obtain vendor information and to compare the vendor information with a list of supported vendors.

15. A computer program product having a computer usable medium for extracting requested information associated with a remotely monitored device communicatively coupled to a network, comprising:

instructions for obtaining an IP address of the device;

instructions for accessing the device using an HTTP protocol and the IP address to obtain an information string associated with the device;

instructions for extracting the requested information from the information string;

instructions for searching for additional, non-requested device information within the information string and, if the additional device information is located, extracting the additional device information; and

instructions for caching the requested information, and any additional device information extracted in the searching step, in association with the IP address of the device.

16. A system for extracting requested information associated with a remotely monitored device communicatively coupled to a network, comprising:

means for obtaining an IP address of the device;

means for accessing the device using an HTTP protocol and the IP address to obtain an information string associated with the device;

means for extracting the requested information from the information string;

means for searching for additional, non-requested device information within the information string and, if the additional device information is located, extracting the additional device information; and

means for caching the requested information, and any additional device information extracted in the searching step, in association with the IP address of the device.