System, method, and computer program product for identification of vendor and model name of a remote device among multiple network protocols

• US 7,552,111 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Issued: 06/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Motoyama, Tetsuro, Fong, Avery
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo; James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spieler; William
• Application Number:
  US11/517,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20080126530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• 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: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

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 for determining a normalized vendor name and a normalized model name of a monitored device in which information obtained from the monitored device varies in accordance with a communication protocol used, the method comprising:

accessing, by a monitoring device, the monitored device using a first communication protocol, of a plurality of different communication protocols, to obtain information from the monitored device;

determining, by the monitoring device, a vendor name and a model name of the monitored device from the information obtained from the monitored device to form a determined vendor name and a determined model name;

accessing, by the monitoring device, a vendor database that maps a plurality of vendor names to a single normalized vendor name, wherein a key of the vendor database is one of the plurality of vendor names and the respective value of the key is the single normalized vendor name, wherein the plurality of vendor names are obtained from the plurality of different communication protocols and the single normalized vendor name is used by the plurality of different communication protocols to refer to the monitored device;

determining, by the monitoring device using the determined vendor name, a normalized vendor name of the monitored device based on a mapping between the determined vendor name and normalized vendor names in the vendor database, wherein the determined vendor name is used as a key for mapping;

accessing, by the monitoring device, a model database that maps a plurality of normalized vendor names and a plurality of model names to a single normalized model name, wherein a key of the model database is the pair of a single normalized vendor name and the one of the plurality of model names and the respective value of the key is the single normalized model name, wherein the plurality of model names are obtained from the plurality of different communication protocols, and the single normalized model name is used by the plurality of different communication protocols to refer to the monitored device;

determining, by the monitoring device using the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name, a normalized model name of the monitored device based on a mapping between the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name with normalized model names in the model database, wherein the pair of the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name is used as a key for mapping; and

updating the monitoring device with the obtained information, wherein all the plurality of different communication protocols use the determined normalized model name of the monitored device as an identifier of the monitored device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a second communication of the plurality of different communication protocols to obtain a vendor name of the monitored device, wherein the vendor names obtained by the first and second communication protocols differ; and

accessing, by the monitoring device, the vendor database.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a second communication protocol of the plurality of different communication protocols to obtain a model name of the monitored device, wherein the model names obtained by the first and second communication protocols differ in one of capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and hyphenation; and

accessing, by the monitoring device, the model a database.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a normalized model name comprises:

creating a string including the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name; and

determining whether the creating string exists in the model database.

5. A computer program product having a computer readable medium for determining a normalized vendor name and a normalized model name of a monitored device in which information obtained from the monitored device varies in accordance with a communication protocol used, comprising:

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a first communication protocol of a plurality of different communication protocols to obtain information from the monitored device;

instructions for determining, by the monitoring device, a vendor name and a model name of the monitored device from the information obtained from the monitored device to form a determined vendor name and a determined model name;

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, a vendor database that maps a plurality of vendor names to a single normalized vendor name, wherein a key of the vendor database is one of the plurality of vendor names and the respective value of the key is the single normalized vendor name, wherein the plurality of vendor names are obtained from the plurality of different communication protocols and the single normalized vendor name is used by the plurality of different communication protocols to refer to the monitored device;

instructions for determining, using the determined vendor name, a normalized vendor name of the monitored device based on a mapping between the determined vendor name and normalized vendor names in the vendor database, wherein the determined vendor name is used as a key for mapping;

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, a model database that maps a plurality of normalized vendor names and a plurality of model names to a single normalized model name, wherein a key of the model database is the pair of a single normalized vendor name and the one of the plurality of model names and the respective value of the key is the single normalized model name, wherein the plurality of model names are obtained from the plurality of different communication protocols, and the single normalized model name is used by the plurality of different communication protocols to refer to the monitored device;

instructions for determining, by the monitoring device using the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name, a normalized model name of the monitored device based on a mapping between the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name with normalized model names in the model database, wherein the pair of the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name is used as a key for mapping; and

instructions for updating the monitoring device with the obtained information, wherein all the plurality of different communication protocols use the determined normalized model name of the monitored device as an identifier of the monitored device.

6. The computer program product of claim 5, further comprising:

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a second communication of the plurality of different communication protocols to obtain a vendor name of the monitored device, wherein the vendor names obtained by the first and second communication protocols differ; and

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, the vendor.

7. The computer program product of claim 5, further comprising:

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a second communication protocol of the plurality of different communication protocols to obtain a model name of the monitored device, wherein the model names obtained by the first and second communication protocols differ in one of capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and hyphenation; and

instructions for accessing, by the monitoring device, the model database.

8. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the instructions for determining a normalized model name comprises:

instructions for creating a string including the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name; and

instructions for determining whether the creating string exists in the model database.

9. A system for determining a normalized vendor name and a normalized model name of a monitored device in which information obtained from the monitored device varies in accordance with a communication protocol used, the system comprising:

a processor;

an application program, executed by the processor, wherein the executing application program comprises;

means for accessing, by a monitoring device, the monitored device using a first communication protocol, of a plurality of different communication protocols, to obtain information from the monitored device;

means for determining, by the monitoring device, a vendor name and a model name of the monitored device from the information obtained from the monitored device to form a determined vendor name and a determined model name;

means for accessing, by the monitoring device, a vendor database that maps a plurality of vendor names to a single normalized vendor name, wherein a key of the vendor database is one of the plurality of vendor names and the respective value of the key is the single normalized vendor name, wherein the plurality of vendor names are obtained from the plurality of different communication protocols and the single normalized vendor name is used by the plurality of different communication protocols to refer to the monitored device;

means for determining, by the monitoring device using the determined vendor name, a normalized vendor name of the monitored device based on a mapping between the determined vendor name and normalized vendor names in the vendor database, wherein the determined vendor name is used as a key for mapping;

means for accessing, by the monitoring device, a model database that maps a plurality of normalized vendor names and a plurality of model names to a single normalized model name, wherein a key of the model database is the pair of a single normalized vendor name and the one of the plurality of model names and the respective value of the key is the single normalized model name, wherein the plurality of model names are obtained from the plurality of different communication protocols, and the single normalized model name is used by the plurality of different communication protocols to refer to the monitored device;

means for determining, by the monitoring device using the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name, a normalized model name of the monitored device based on a mapping between the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name with normalized model names in the model database, wherein the pair of the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name is used as a key for mapping; and

means for updating the monitoring device with the obtained information, wherein all the plurality of different communication protocols use the determined normalized model name of the monitored device as an identifier of the monitored device.

10. The system of claim 9, where the executing application program further comprises:

means for accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a second communication of the plurality of different communication protocols to obtain a vendor name of the monitored device, wherein the vendor names obtained by the first and second communication protocols differ; and

means for accessing, by the monitoring device, the vendor database.

11. The system of claim 9, where the executing application program further comprises:

means for accessing, by the monitoring device, the monitored device using a second communication protocol of the plurality of different communication protocols to obtain a model name of the monitored device, wherein the model names obtained by the first and second communication protocols differ in one of capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and hyphenation; and

means for accessing, by the monitoring device, the model database.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for determining a normalized model name comprises:

means for creating a string including the determined normalized vendor name and the determined model name; and

means for determining whether the creating string exists in the model database.