Network management system

• US 20070047567A1
• Filed: 08/30/2006
• Published: 03/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,429,259 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/420
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0863 by rolling back to previous configuration versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0869 Validating the configuration within one network element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0879 Manual configuration through operator

Abstract

A network management system comprises a plurality of terminal devices, and a network to which the plurality terminal devices are connected. At least one of the plurality of terminal devices comprises a management setting information changing system configured to change management setting information for managing usage of the network by the plurality of terminal devices, and a management setting information restoring system is configured to perform a restoring operation for restoring the management setting information changed by the management setting information changing system, in response to a predetermined restoring condition being satisfied.

Claims

1. A network management system, comprising:

a plurality of terminal devices; and

a network to which the plurality terminal devices are connected;

wherein at least one of the plurality of terminal devices comprises;

a management setting information changing system configured to change management setting information for managing usage of the network by the plurality of terminal devices; and

a management setting information restoring system is configured to perform a restoring operation for restoring the management setting information changed by the management setting information changing system, in response to a predetermined restoring condition being satisfied.

2. The network management system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one peripheral device connected to the network, the at least one peripheral device being used in common by the plurality of terminal devices via the network based on the management setting information.

3. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to judge that the predetermined restoring condition is satisfied in response to a predetermined time period elapsing after the management setting information has been changed by the management setting information changing system.

4. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to judge that the predetermined restoring condition is satisfied in response to a predetermined time period elapsing after an input operation for changing the management setting information has been performed for a terminal device, without another input operation being performed for the terminal device.

5. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the management setting information changing system and management setting information restoring system are configured to function with management software being run in the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices, and

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to judge that the predetermined restoring condition is satisfied in response to one of the management software and infrastructure software of a lower layer than the layer of the management software being terminated.

6. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to judge that the predetermined restoring condition is satisfied in response to the peripheral device being accessed, after the input operation for changing the management setting information for a terminal device has been performed from another terminal device.

7. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the peripheral device is a printing device,

wherein the management setting information changing system and management setting information restoring system are configured to function with management software being run in the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices,

wherein the management software is installed in the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices as different software from application software for generating a printing job for the printing device, and

wherein the management setting information is stored in a management setting information storing portion configured such that information stored therein can be rewritten not with the application software, but with the management software.

8. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the peripheral device comprises a mail sending and receiving function for sending and receiving an e-mail transmitted through an external communication network connected the network, and

wherein the management setting information includes information about the mail sending and receiving function.

9. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the management setting information includes information about settings for a network protocol of the peripheral device.

10. The network management system according to claim 2, further comprising an information storing system configured to store management setting information for the restoring operation to which the management setting information changed by the management setting information changing system is to be restored in the restoring operation performed by the management setting information restoring system,

wherein, in the restoring operation, the management setting information restoring system makes the management setting information changed by the management setting information changing system invalid, while the management setting information restoring system reads out the management setting information for the restoring operation from the information storing system, and sets the read management setting information for the restoring operation currently valid.

11. The network management system according to claim 10,

wherein the peripheral device comprises:

a first management setting information storing portion configured with a volatile memory to store currently valid management setting information used in a process of managing the network; and

a second management setting information storing portion configured with a non-volatile memory to serve as the information storing system, and

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to rewrite the currently valid management setting information stored in the first management setting information storing portion with the management setting information for the restoring operation read out from the second management setting information storing portion.

12. The network management system according to claim 2,

wherein the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices further comprises an input interface through which an input for changing the management setting information is provided,

wherein the input interface comprises a mode selecting system configured for selecting one of a restoring mode where the restoring operation is performed to restore the management setting information changed through the input interface and a definite mode where the changed management setting information is definitely made valid as far as a new input for changing the management setting information is not provided through the input interface, and

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to perform the restoring operation in response to the restoring mode being selected.

13. The network management system according to claim 11,

wherein the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices further comprises an input interface through which an input for changing the management setting information is provided,

wherein the input interface comprises a mode selecting system configured for selecting one of a restoring mode where the restoring operation is performed to restore the management setting information changed through the input interface and a definite mode where the changed management setting information is definitely made valid as far as a new input for changing the management setting information is not provided through the input interface,

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to perform the restoring operation in response to the restoring mode being selected,

wherein the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices comprises a changed management setting information sending system configured to send, to the peripheral device, the management setting information changed by the management setting information changing system, the changed management setting information sending system being configured to send, to the peripheral device, restoring mode identification data as well as the changed management setting information in response to the restoring mode being selected,

wherein the peripheral device is configured to receive the changed management setting information and load the changed management setting information in the first management setting information storing portion, and

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to rewrite the changed management setting information stored in the first management setting information storing portion with the management setting information for the restoring operation read out from the second management setting information storing portion, in response to the restoring condition being satisfied.

14. The network management system according to claim 13,

wherein the peripheral device further comprises an information updating system configured to update the management setting information for the restoring operation stored in the second management setting information storing portion with the received information.

15. The network management system according to claim 13,

wherein the peripheral device further comprises a restoring condition judging system configured to judge whether the restoring condition is satisfied.

16. The network management system according to claim 10,

wherein the peripheral device comprises a management setting information storing portion configured with a volatile memory to store currently valid management setting information used in a process of managing the network,

wherein the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices includes the information storing system, the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices being configured to receive the management setting information before being changed from the peripheral device and store the received information in the information storing system, when the management setting information is changed by the management setting information changing system,

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to read out the management setting information for the restoring operation from the information storing system, and to send the read management setting information for the restoring operation to the peripheral device, in response to the restoring condition being satisfied, and

wherein the peripheral device is configured to receive the management setting information for the restoring operation, and to rewrite the currently valid management setting information stored in the management setting information storing portion with the received management setting information for the restoring operation.

17. The network management system according to claim 16,

wherein the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices further comprises a restoring condition judging system configured to judge whether the restoring condition is satisfied.

18. The network management system according to claim 10,

wherein the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices comprises a user registering system configured to register users of the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices associated with respective access levels to the network, each of which represents a level of a change authority for changing the management setting information, and

wherein the information storing system is configured to store, as the management setting information for the restoring operation, the management setting information configured by a user who is given a higher access level than a predetermined access level among the registered users.

19. The network management system according to claim 18,

wherein the management setting information restoring system is configured to perform the restoring operation for restoring the management setting information that has been changed by a user whose access level is lower than that of a user who has configured the management setting information for the restoring operation.

20. The network management system according to claim 1,

wherein the network is connected to an external communication network used for sending and receiving an e-mail,

wherein at least one of the plurality of terminal devices is used as a mail server, and

wherein the management setting information includes setting information for the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices as the mail server.

21. A network management system, comprising:

a plurality of terminal devices;

a network to which the plurality terminal devices are connected;

a management setting information changing system configured to change management setting information for managing usage of the network by at least one of the plurality of terminal devices; and

a management setting information restoring system is configured to perform a restoring operation for restoring the management setting information changed by the management setting information changing system, in response to a predetermined restoring condition being satisfied.

22. The network management system according to claim 21,

wherein the management setting information changing system and management setting information restoring system function with management software being run in the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices, and

wherein the management software is installed in the at least one of the plurality of terminal devices as different software from application software for generating a printing job for the printing device.