INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20140149567A1
• Filed: 11/20/2013
• Published: 05/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Hirouchi, Yasuo
• Granted Patent: US 9,338,131 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0869 Validating the configuration within one network element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration

Abstract

An information processing apparatus including a network controller which controls communication with an apparatus on a network includes a storage unit configured to store reference information to determine whether the network controller is a usable network controller, a determination unit configured to determine whether the network controller is a usable network controller based on the reference information and identification information for identifying the network controller, an acquisition unit configured to acquire update information for updating the reference information from an external apparatus in a case where the determination unit determines that the network controller is not a usable network controller, and an update unit configured to update the reference information stored in the storage unit based on the update information acquired by the acquisition unit.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus including a network controller which controls communication with an apparatus on a network, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a storage unit configured to store reference information to determine whether the network controller is a usable network controller;

a determination unit configured to determine whether the network controller is a usable network controller based on the reference information and identification information for identifying the network controller;

an acquisition unit configured to acquire update information for updating the reference information from an external apparatus in a case where the determination unit determines that the network controller is not a usable network controller; and

an update unit configured to update the reference information stored in the storage unit based on the update information acquired by the acquisition unit.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case where the update unit updates the reference information, the determination unit performs redetermination based on the updated reference information and the identification information.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus does not execute communication via the network controller in a case where the network controller is determined not to be a usable network controller by the redetermination based on the updated reference information and the identification information.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information processing apparatus displays a message prompting a user to replace the network controller in a case where the network controller is determined not to be a usable network controller by the redetermination based on the updated reference information and the identification information.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference information is a vendor identification (ID),

wherein the identification information is a media access control (MAC) address, and

wherein the determination unit determines that the network controller is a usable network controller in a case where first 3 octets of the MAC address matches the vendor ID, and that the network controller is not a usable network controller in a case where the first 3 octets of the MAC address does not match the vendor ID.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a latest version of a vendor identification (ID) list from the external apparatus as the update information.

7. An information processing apparatus including a network controller which controls communication with an apparatus on a network, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a storage unit configured to store a vendor identification (ID);

a determination unit configured to determine whether the vendor ID matches first 3 octets of a media access control (MAC) address of the network controller;

an acquisition unit configured to acquire update information for updating the vendor ID from an external apparatus in a case where the determination unit determines that the vendor ID does not match the first 3 octets of the MAC address; and

an update unit configured to update the vendor ID stored in the storage unit based on the update information acquired by the acquisition unit.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, in a case where the update unit updates the vendor identification (ID), the determination unit re-determines whether the updated vendor ID matches the first 3 octets of the media access control (MAC) address.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information processing apparatus does not execute communication via the network controller in a case where the determination unit determines that the updated vendor identification (ID) does not match the first 3 octets of the media access control (MAC) address.

10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the information processing apparatus displays a message prompting a user to replace the network controller in a case where the determination unit determines that the updated vendor identification (ID) does not match the first 3 octets of the media access control (MAC) address.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the information processing apparatus uses a media access control (MAC) address for temporary use which is preliminarily stored in the information processing apparatus in a case where the acquisition unit acquires the update information from the external apparatus.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a latest version of a vendor identification (ID) list from the external apparatus as the update information.

13. A control method for an information processing apparatus including a network controller which controls communication with an apparatus on a network, and a storage unit that stores reference information which is referred to in order to determine whether the network controller is a usable network controller, the control method comprising:

determining whether the network controller is a usable network controller based on the reference information and identification information for identifying the network controller;

acquiring update information for updating the reference information from an external apparatus in a case where the network controller is determined not to be a usable network controller; and

updating the reference information stored in the storage unit based on the acquired update information.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute the control method for the information processing apparatus according to claim 13.

15. A control method for an information processing apparatus including a network controller which controls communication with an apparatus on a network, and a storage unit which stores a vendor identification (ID), the control method comprising:

determining whether the vendor ID matches first 3 octets of a media access control (MAC) address of the network controller;

acquiring update information for updating the vendor ID from an external apparatus in a case where the vendor ID is determined not to match the first 3 octets of the MAC address; and

updating the vendor ID stored in the storage unit based on the acquired update information.

16. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute the control method for the information processing apparatus according to claim 15.