DEVICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR NOTIFICATION AND SCHEDULING OF FIRMWARE UPDATE
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device management apparatus for managing a fleet of image forming devices, the device management apparatus comprising:
- a device database including a repository registering firmware downloaded for the fleet of image forming devices, the device database additionally registering firmware version information specifying, for each managed device amongst the fleet of image forming devices, the firmware and version thereof that is registered for the managed device; and
a firmware management module that communicates with firmware sources through a network to determine whether newer versions of the firmware registered in the repository are available for download from the firmware sources,wherein when the firmware management module determines that a newer version of a specified registered firmware is available for download, the firmware management module downloads said newer version of the specified registered firmware and release notes corresponding to said newer version, registers the newer version and the corresponding release notes in the repository, sends by electronic communication to a device administrator a notification specifying that the newer version of the specified firmware has been downloaded to the repository and providing the corresponding release notes and a link to a scheduling page to schedule a task to install the newer version on, amongst the fleet of image forming devices, one or more managed devices that employ the specified firmware, andwherein when the newer version of the specified firmware includes a plurality of components, the scheduling page provided by the device management apparatus permits the administrator to select one or more components amongst the plurality of components while leaving one or more components amongst the plurality of components unselected and to create a firmware update package that includes the selected components to be deployed to selected devices amongst the managed devices that employ the specified firmware, without deploying any unselected components.
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Abstract
Systems, apparatuses and methodologies are provided to facilitate firmware update to devices amongst a fleet of managed devices, including scheduling tasks for performing such firmware update to specified devices.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A device management apparatus for managing a fleet of image forming devices, the device management apparatus comprising:
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a device database including a repository registering firmware downloaded for the fleet of image forming devices, the device database additionally registering firmware version information specifying, for each managed device amongst the fleet of image forming devices, the firmware and version thereof that is registered for the managed device; and a firmware management module that communicates with firmware sources through a network to determine whether newer versions of the firmware registered in the repository are available for download from the firmware sources, wherein when the firmware management module determines that a newer version of a specified registered firmware is available for download, the firmware management module downloads said newer version of the specified registered firmware and release notes corresponding to said newer version, registers the newer version and the corresponding release notes in the repository, sends by electronic communication to a device administrator a notification specifying that the newer version of the specified firmware has been downloaded to the repository and providing the corresponding release notes and a link to a scheduling page to schedule a task to install the newer version on, amongst the fleet of image forming devices, one or more managed devices that employ the specified firmware, and wherein when the newer version of the specified firmware includes a plurality of components, the scheduling page provided by the device management apparatus permits the administrator to select one or more components amongst the plurality of components while leaving one or more components amongst the plurality of components unselected and to create a firmware update package that includes the selected components to be deployed to selected devices amongst the managed devices that employ the specified firmware, without deploying any unselected components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system in which plural devices are connected to a network, the system comprising:
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a fleet of image forming devices; a device database including a repository registering firmware downloaded for the fleet of image forming devices, the device database additionally registering firmware version information specifying, for each managed device amongst the fleet of image forming devices, the firmware and version thereof that is registered for the managed device; and a device management apparatus that communicates with firmware sources through a network to determine whether newer versions of the firmware registered in the repository are available for download from the firmware sources, wherein when the device management apparatus determines that a newer version of a specified registered firmware is available for download, the device management apparatus downloads said newer version of the specified registered firmware and release notes corresponding to said newer version, registers the newer version and the corresponding release notes in the repository, sends by electronic communication to a device administrator a notification specifying that the newer version of the specified firmware has been downloaded to the repository and providing the corresponding release notes and a link to a scheduling page to schedule a task to install the newer version on, amongst the fleet of image forming devices, one or more managed devices that employ the specified firmware, and wherein when the newer version of the specified firmware includes a plurality of components, the scheduling page provided by the device management apparatus permits the administrator to select one or more components amongst the plurality of components while leaving one or more components amongst the plurality of components unselected and to create a firmware update package that includes the selected components to be deployed to selected devices amongst the managed devices that employ the specified firmware, without deploying any unselected components. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method performed by a device management apparatus configured for managing a fleet of image forming devices over a network, the method comprising:
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(a) registering, in a device database, firmware downloaded for the fleet of image forming devices, the device database additionally registering firmware version information specifying, for each managed device amongst the fleet of image forming devices, the firmware and version thereof that'"'"'s registered for the managed device; (b) communicating by the device management apparatus with firmware sources through a network to determine whether newer versions of the firmware registered in the repository are available for download from the firmware sources; (c) downloading by the device management apparatus, when the device management apparatus determines that a newer version of a specified registered firmware is available for download, said newer version of the specified registered firmware and release notes corresponding to said newer version, registering the newer version and the corresponding release notes in the repository, sending by the device management apparatus to a device administrator a notification specifying that the newer version of the specified firmware has been downloaded to the repository and providing the corresponding release notes and a link to a scheduling page to schedule a task to install the newer version on, amongst the fleet of image forming devices, one or more managed devices that employ the specified firmware; and providing the scheduling page to permit the administrator, when the newer version of the specified firmware includes a plurality of components, to select one or more components amongst the plurality of components while leaving one or more components amongst the plurality of components unselected, and to create a firmware update package that includes the selected components to be deployed to selected devices amongst the managed devices that employ the specified firmware, without deploying any unselected components
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Specification