Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and control program

• US 20050028173A1
• Filed: 07/12/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Aiba, Tsukasa
• Granted Patent: US 7,552,432 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/327
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

A push installation system including a server and clients connected via a network, the server installing a device driver on one or more clients via the network, is provided. The server includes an acquisition unit for acquiring, via the network, an operating state of each of the clients connected to the network; a determination unit for determining whether or not each of the clients is in a ready-for-installation state, in which installation can be performed, based on the operating state of each of the clients acquired by the acquisition unit; and an installation unit for performing processing, via the network, for installing or updating the device driver on at least one client that is determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus connectable to a plurality of clients via a network and configured to perform a push installation to install or update, via the network, a device driver on at least one of the clients, the information processing apparatus comprising:

an acquisition unit configured to acquire, via the network, an operating state of each of the clients;

a determination unit configured to determine, for each of the clients, whether the respective client is in a ready-for-installation state based on the operating state of the respective client acquired by the acquisition unit; and

an installation unit configured to perform processing for installing or updating, via the network, the device driver on the clients that are determined by the determination unit to be in the ready-for-installation state.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a designation unit configured to designate the device driver to be installed or updated and to designate, from among the plurality of clients, at least one of the clients as an installation destination of the designated device driver, wherein:

the determination unit is configured to determine, for each of the designated clients, whether the respective designated client is in the ready-for-installation state based on the operating state of the respective designated client acquired by the acquisition unit; and

the installation unit is configured to perform processing for installing or updating, via the network, the designated device driver on each of the designated clients determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit configured to transmit, via the network, a message urging a respective client determined not to be in the ready-for-installation state to be changed to the ready-for-installation state.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operating state of each of the clients is an operating rate of a central processing unit of the respective client.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine that a respective client having an operating rate of the central processing unit less than a predetermined operating rate of the central processing unit is in the ready-for-installation state.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operating state of each of the clients is an amount of memory usage of the respective client.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine that a respective client having an amount of memory usage less than a predetermined amount of memory usage is in the ready-for-installation state.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driver information notification unit configured to receive an installation completion notification from each of the respective clients on which the device driver is installed, and sending, via the network, information about the installed device driver to the respective clients in response to reception of the installation completion notification.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driver information notification unit configured to receive an update completion notification from each of the respective clients on which the device driver is updated, and sending, via the network, information about the updated device driver to the respective clients in response to reception of the update completion notification.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the installation unit is configured to determine if a version of the device driver is already installed on a respective client, and to update the device driver to be updated by performing processing for uninstalling the version of the device driver already installed on the respective client before performing processing for updating the device driver by installing, via the network, the device driver on the respective client.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device driver is a printer driver.

12. A client connectable to an information processing apparatus via a network and configured to install or update a device driver received from the information processing apparatus in a push installation via the network, the client comprising:

a search module configured to receive an operating state request from the information processing apparatus via the network, to determine the operating state of the client, and to transmit the operating state of the client to the information processing apparatus via the network; and

an execution module configured to install or update the device driver received from the information processing apparatus via the network.

13. The client according to claim 12, wherein the operating state of the client is an operating rate of a central processing unit of the client.

14. The client according to claim 12, wherein the operating state of the client is an amount of memory usage of the client.

15. The client according to claim 12, wherein the execution module is configured to determine if a version of the device driver is already installed on the client, and to uninstall the already installed version of the device driver before installing the device driver received from the information processing apparatus via the network.

16. The client according to claim 12, further comprising an installation notification module configured to send a notification message to the information processing apparatus, via the network, to notify the information processing apparatus of a completion status of the install or update of the device driver.

17. The client according to claim 12, wherein the device driver is a printer driver.

18. A push installation method for a server to install or update, via a network, a device driver on one or more clients, the push installation method comprising:

acquiring, via the network, an operating state of each of the clients;

determining whether each of the clients is in a ready-for-installation state based on the operating state of each of the clients; and

performing processing for installing or updating the device driver, via the network, on the clients that are determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

19. The push installation method according to claim 18, further comprising:

designating the device driver; and

designating at least one designated client from among the clients as an installation destination of the designated device driver, wherein;

determining whether each of the clients is in a ready-for-installation state comprises determining whether each of the designated clients is in the ready-for-installation state based on the operating state of each of the designated clients; and

performing processing for installing the device driver comprises performing processing for installing or updating the designated device driver, via the network, on the designated clients that are determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

20. The push installation method according to claim 18, further comprising sending to at least one client determined not to be in the ready-for installation state, via the network, a notification message urging the at least one client to be changed to the ready-for-installation state.

21. The push installation method according to claim 18, wherein, the operating state acquired from each of the clients is an operating rate of a central processing unit of the respective client.

22. The push installation method according to claim 21, wherein, a respective client having an operating rate of the central processing unit that is less than a predetermined operating rate is determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

23. The push installation method according to claim 18, wherein, the operating state acquired from each of the clients is an amount of memory usage of the respective client.

24. The push installation method according to claim 23, wherein, a respective client having an amount of memory usage that is less than a predetermined amount of memory usage is determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

25. The push installation method according to claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, via the network, an installation completion notification from at least one client on which the device driver is installed; and

sending, via the network, information about the installed device driver to the at least one client in response to reception of the installation completion notification.

26. The push installation method according to claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, via the network, an update completion notification from at least one client on which the device driver is updated; and

sending, via the network, information about the updated device driver to the at least one client in response to reception of the update completion notification.

27. The push installation method according to claim 18, further comprising:

determining, via the network, if the device driver needs to be uninstalled on a respective one of the clients in the ready-for-installation state because a version of the device driver is already installed on the respective client; and

if it is determined that the device driver needs to be uninstalled on the respective client, performing processing for uninstalling the version of the device driver already installed on the respective client before performing processing for installing the device driver, via the network, on the respective client.

28. The push installation method according to claim 18, wherein the device driver is a printer driver.

29. A program executable by an information processing apparatus connectable to a plurality of clients via a network, the program comprising:

an acquisition module for acquiring an operating state of each of the plurality of clients via the network;

a determination module for determining whether each of the plurality of clients is in a ready-for-installation state based on the operating state of each of the clients; and

an installation module for performing processing for installing or updating a device driver, via the network, on the clients that are determined to be in the ready-for-installation state.

30. An information processing apparatus connectable to a plurality of clients via a network and configured to perform a push installation of a device driver to at least one of the clients via the network, the information processing apparatus comprising:

acquisition means for acquiring, via the network, an operating state of each of the clients;

determination means for determining, for each of the clients, whether the respective client is in a ready-for-installation state based on the operating state of the respective client acquired by the acquisition means; and

installation means for performing processing for installing or updating, via the network, the device driver on the clients that are determined by the determination means to be in the ready-for-installation state.

31. A client connectable to an information processing apparatus via a network and configured to install a device driver received from the information processing apparatus in a push installation via the network, the client comprising:

search means for receiving, via the network, an operating state request from the information processing apparatus;

determining means for determining the operating state of the client;

transmission means for transmitting, via the network, the operating state to the information processing apparatus; and

execution means for installing, via the network, the device driver received from the information processing apparatus.