Network device management method, and network devices

• US 7,194,526 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2001
• Issued: 03/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Kanemitsu, Shigenaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamza; Faruk
• Application Number:
  US09/947,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20020052938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,022 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-221, 709223-224, 709/203, 709/208, 370/466, 714/41
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0293 for accessing web services by means of a binding identification of the management service or element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0846 based on copy from other elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0889 Techniques to speed-up the configuration process
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

There is provided a technique capable of easily and suitably setting or updating the setting information or the firmware of a plurality of network devices. According to a network device management method, a device information managing section transmits identification information and device information A of a network device, correlates identification information and device information B received from the other network device with the own identification information, generates approximation-level information, and stores this in an identification information database. A command receiving section that has received a setting/updating command C1 stores this setting/updating command in a command database. A setting/updating processing section carries out the setting or updating of the own network device. A command transfer section selectively transfers a setting/updating command to other network devices based on approximation-level information.

Claims

1. A network device management method for setting or updating setting information or firmware of a plurality of peripheral information devices having a printing or scanning function installed on a network, the method comprising:

processing that any of the plurality of peripheral information devices transmits to other peripheral information devices on the network, identification information and device information that reflect one or more characteristics of a control/setting command of the transmitting information device;

processing that any of the plurality of peripheral information devices that has received the identification information and device information from the transmitting peripheral information device correlates the received device information with the device information of the receiving peripheral information device, generates an approximation-level information that shows a level that the control/setting command of the transmitting and receiving peripheral information devices are in common, and stores the approximation-level information together with the received identification information of the transmitting peripheral information device;

processing that any of the peripheral information devices that has received a setting/updating command including any one of a setting/updating data for setting or updating a setting information or a firmware and position information of the setting/updating data stores the setting/updating command, and sets or updates the setting information or the firmware of the command receiving peripheral information device based on the setting/updating command; and

processing that any of the peripheral information devices that has received a setting/updating command selectively transfers to other peripheral information devices the stored setting/updating command based on the approximation-level information.

2. The network device management method according to claim 1, wherein

at the time of generating the approximation-level information, a plurality of items of the device information are weighted.

3. The network device management method according to claim 1, wherein

the peripheral information device that has received the setting/updating command selectively stores the setting/updating command based on the approximation-level information of the peripheral information device that has transmitted the setting/updating command, and sets or updates the setting information or the firmware of the receiving peripheral information device based on the setting/updating command.

4. The network device management method according to claim 1, wherein

an identifier is added to the setting/updating command, and

the peripheral information device that has received the setting/updating command stores the identifier and the setting/updating command when an identifier that is the same as this identifier has not been stored, and sets or updates the setting information or the firmware of the receiving peripheral information device according to the setting/updating command.

5. A network device as a peripheral information device having a printing or scanning function installed on a network, the network device comprising:

a device information managing section that transmits to other peripheral information devices on the network, identification information and device information that reflect one or more characteristics of a control/setting command of the peripheral information device, receives identification information and device information from the other peripheral information device, correlates the received device information with the device information of the peripheral information device, and generates approximation-level information that shows a level that the control/setting command of the other peripheral information device and the control/setting command of the peripheral information device are in common;

an identification information database that stores the approximation-level information together with the identification information of the other peripheral information device;

a command receiving section that receives a setting/updating command including any one of a setting/updating data for setting or updating a setting information or a firmware and position information of the setting/updating data;

a command database that stores the setting/updating command;

a setting/updating processing section that sets or updates the setting information or the firmware of the peripheral information device based on the setting/updating command; and

a command transfer section that selectively transfers to other peripheral information devices the stored setting/updating command based on the approximation-level information.

6. The network device management method according to claim 5, wherein

when each of a plurality of peripheral information devices to be managed and having a server function on a network displays device information via the network,

each peripheral information device displays the device information in a hypertext format linked to other peripheral information devices connected to the network,

wherein when each peripheral information device is started or when each peripheral information device is connected to the network, the peripheral information device simultaneously reports to other peripheral information devices on the network identification information for making access to the device information of this peripheral information device from the network, and

each peripheral information device that has received the identification information stores this identification information, and displays an anchor corresponding to this identification information together with the device information of the peripheral information device.

7. The network device management method according to claim 6, wherein

HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) is used for the server function,

the device in-formation is displayed in a format of a Web (WWW:

world wide web) page described in an HTML (hypertext markup language), and

the identification information is described in a URL (uniform resource locator) standard.