System, method, and computer program product using the HTTP protocol to extract information from remote devices

• US 20080065757A1
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Published: 03/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Motoyama, Tetsuro, Fong, Avery
• Application Number:
  US11/517,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20080065757A1
• 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 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks

Abstract

There is provided a method, system, and computer program product for extracting information related to a monitored device communicatively coupled to a network using an HTTP communication protocol. The method includes: retrieving, from a first memory, vendor and model information of the monitored device; determining vendor and model through the web page from the monitored device; obtaining the device state information; and storing, in a second memory, the device information obtained in the accessing step, in association with the vendor and model information.

Claims

1. A method of extracting information related to a monitored device communicatively coupled to a network using an HTTP communication protocol, comprising:

retrieving, from a first memory, a vendor name of the monitored device;

accessing a database to obtain a vector corresponding to the vendor name of the monitored device, wherein the vector includes a web page address and at least one key string associated with the information to be extracted;

obtaining a line from the web page using the obtained web page address;

parsing the line to determine if a first key string in the at least one key string is included in the line;

repeating the obtaining and parsing steps for each key string in the at least one key string until a key string in the at least one key string has been found; and

extracting the information from a line of the webpage following a line determined to include the last of the at least one key string.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the extracted information is one of a unique identifier and status information of the monitored device.

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

removing at least one string in front of the information to be extracted; and

removing at least one string after the information to be extracted.

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

removing a string from the line determined to include the information to be extracted;

converting a representation of spaces to a blank space; and

removing leading and trailing blank space to obtain the information to be extracted.

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

extracting the information from the line immediately following the line including the last of the at least one key string.

6. A computer program product having a computer readable medium for extracting information related to a monitored device communicatively coupled to a network using an HTTP communication protocol, comprising:

instructions for retrieving, from a first memory, a vendor name of the monitored device;

instructions for accessing a database to obtain a vector corresponding to the vendor name of the monitored device, wherein the vector includes a web page address and at least one key string associated with the information to be extracted;

instructions for obtaining a line from the web page using the obtained web page address;

instructions for parsing the line to determine if a first key string in the at least one key string is included in the line;

instructions for repeating the obtaining and parsing steps for each key string in the at least one key string until a key string in the at least one key string has been found; and

instructions for extracting the information from a line of the webpage following a line determined to include the last of the at least one key string.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the extracted information is one of a unique identifier and status information of the monitored device.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the instructions for extracting comprises:

instructions for removing at least one string in front of the information to be extracted; and

instructions for removing at least one string after the information to be extracted.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the instructions for extracting further comprises:

instructions for removing a string from the line determined to include the information to be extracted;

instructions for converting a representation of spaces to a blank space; and

instructions for removing leading and trailing blank space to obtain the information to be extracted.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the instructions for extracting comprises:

instructions for extracting the information from the line immediately following the line including the last of the at least one key string.

11. A system for extracting information related to a monitored device communicatively coupled to a network using an HTTP communication protocol, comprising:

means for retrieving, from a first memory, a vendor name of the monitored device;

means for accessing a database to obtain a vector corresponding to the vendor name of the monitored device, wherein the vector includes a web page address and at least one key string associated with the information to be extracted;

means for obtaining a line from the web page using the obtained web page address;

means for parsing the line to determine if a first key string in the at least one key string is included in the line;

means for causing the means for obtaining and the means for parsing to repeat for each key string in the at least one key string until a key string in the at least one key string has been found; and

means for extracting the information from a line of the webpage following a line determined to include the last of the at least one key string.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the extracted information is one of a unique identifier and status information of the monitored device.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for extracting comprises:

means for removing at least one string in front of the information to be extracted; and

means for removing at least one string after the information to be extracted.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for extracting comprises:

means for removing a string from the line determined to include the information to be extracted;

means for converting a representation of spaces to a blank space; and

means for removing leading and trailing blank space to obtain the information to be extracted.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for extracting comprises:

means for extracting the information from the line immediately following the line including the last of the at least one key string.