Method and system for using data structures to store database information for multiple vendors and model support for remotely monitored devices

• US 7,895,321 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2008
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Motoyama, Tetsuro, Fong, Avery
• Primary Examiner(s): BATES, KEVIN T
• Application Number:
  US12/062,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20080189411A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/217, 707/102, 707/6
• 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 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

In a communication system having one or more monitored devices communicatively coupled to a monitoring system, a database having information related to the one or more monitored devices, a method of obtaining and maintaining, in the monitoring system, information related to the monitored devices is described. The method includes enabling the monitoring system to access the database in order to retrieve information related to the monitored devices, populating a first data structure with information retrieved from the database, determining if a monitored device is supported by the monitoring system using information from the database, and establishing communication with the monitored device in order to obtain status information of the monitored device if the monitored device is determined to be supported by the monitoring system.

Claims

1. In a communication system having one or more monitored image output devices communicatively coupled to a monitoring system and a digital repository having information related to the one or more monitored image output devices, a method of obtaining and maintaining, in the monitoring system, information related to the monitored image output devices, comprising:

a) accessing the one or more monitored image output devices and obtaining therefrom a first model name and a first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices by using a first network identifier;

b) storing configuration information corresponding to each of the one or more monitored image output devices, said configuration information including a second vendor name, a second model name and a second network identifier of the one or more monitored image output devices;

c) updating the configuration information to include the first model name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first model name is different than the second model name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

d) updating the configuration information to include the first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first vendor name is different than the second vendor name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

e) enabling the monitoring system to access the digital repository in order to retrieve information related to the monitored image output devices;

f) populating a first data structure with information retrieved from the digital repository;

g) determining if a monitored image output device is supported by the monitoring system using information from the digital repository;

h) establishing communication with the monitored image output device in order to obtain status information of the monitored image output device if the monitored image output device is determined to be supported by the monitoring system;

i) accessing XML formatted data from a web server stored in the respective monitored image output devices so as to obtain a line from the XML formatted data; and

j) parsing, without human interaction, the line from the XML formatted data to obtain the status information in accordance with information included in the first data structure, said parsing includes searching the line from the XML formatted data for a key included in the first data structure, and the information included in the first data structure includes a location of the status information within the XML formatted data with respect to a location of the key in the XML formatted data.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing information related to vendors and models of the monitored image output devices in said digital repository.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

step f) further comprises retrieving information about vendors, models, and information to obtain unique network identifiers of monitored image output devices.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing information about vendors of monitored image output devices supported by the monitoring system; and

storing information that is used for obtaining a model of a monitored image output device from the monitored image output device.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

populating the retrieved information from the digital repository into a plurality of fields of said first data structure, the first data structure including;

a first field having information related to a vendor of a monitored image output device;

a second field having a reference to model information of the monitored image output device; and

a third field having information that is used to obtain model information from the monitored image output device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the step of accessing further comprises periodically accessing the XML formatted data.

7. A method of obtaining and maintaining information about one or more monitored image output devices in a monitoring system, comprising:

a) accessing the one or more monitored image output devices and obtaining therefrom a first model name and a first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices by using a first network identifier;

b) storing configuration information corresponding to each of the one or more monitored image output devices, said configuration information including a second vendor name, a second model name and a second network identifier of the one or more monitored image output devices;

c) updating the configuration information to include the first model name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first model name is different than the second model name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

d) updating the configuration information to include the first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first vendor name is different than the second vendor name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

e) storing updated vendor name and updated model name of the monitored image output devices in a digital repository;

f) enabling a monitoring system to access the digital repository in order to retrieve the stored vendor name and model name;

g) populating a first data structure with the vendor name retrieved from said digital repository;

h) populating a second data structure with the model name if no further vendor information remains to be populated in the first data structure;

i) determining if a monitored image output device is supported by the monitoring system using information from the digital repository;

j) establishing communication with the monitored image output device to obtain status information of the monitored image output device if the monitored image output device is determined to be supported by the monitoring system;

k) accessing XML formatted data from a web server stored in the respective monitored image output devices so as to obtain a line from the XML formatted data; and

l) parsing, without human interaction, the line from the XML formatted data to obtain the status information in accordance with information included in the first data structure, said parsing includes searching the line from the XML formatted data for a key included in the first data structure, and the information included in the first data structure includes a location of the status information within the XML formatted data with respect to a location of the key in the XML formatted data.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein step g) further comprises:

populating a sub-data structure of said first data structure with a vendor name of a monitored image output device, a model name of the monitored image output device, and information for obtaining the model name.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

adding the sub-data structure of the first data structure to a data structure vector;

adding the model name and the sub-data structure of the first data structure to a data structure map; and

adding the vendor name and the data structure map to a data structure representing a vendormodel ID map.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

i) using an entry from the data structure vector to access the XML formatted data of the monitored image output device;

ii) identifying a vendor of the accessed monitored image output device as vendor name in the sub-data structure of the first data structure;

iii) obtaining model name of the monitored image output device from the XML formatted data using information in the sub-data structure of the first data structure; and

iv) comparing the model name with information stored in the second data structure in order to determine if the model name of the monitored image output device is supported by the monitoring system.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

iterating steps i) to iv) for all elements of the data structure vector if the monitoring system cannot access the XML formatted data or if the model name cannot be obtained from the XML formatted data; and

determining that the monitored image output device is not supported by the monitoring system if the monitoring system is unsuccessful in obtaining the vendor and model name of the monitored image output device after iterating through all elements of the data structure vector.

12. The method according to claim 7, wherein

the step of accessing further comprises periodically accessing the XML formatted data.

13. A monitoring apparatus configured to obtain information from a monitored image output device, comprising:

a processor device;

an accessing unit, including a network interface, configured to access the monitored image output device and to obtain therefrom a first model name and a first vendor name of the monitored image output device by using a first network identifier;

a memory configured to store configuration information corresponding to the monitored image output device, said configuration information including a second vendor name, a second model name and a second network identifier of the monitored image output device;

an updating unit configured to update, with the processor device, the configuration information to include the first model name of the monitored image output device when the first model name is different than the second model name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier, and to update, with the processor device, the configuration information to include the first vendor name of the monitored image output device when the first vendor name is different than the second vendor name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

the accessing unit is configured to access a digital repository in order to retrieve information related to the monitored image output device;

a populating unit configured to populate, with the processor device, a first data structure with information retrieved from the digital repository;

a determining unit configured to determine, with the processor device, if the monitored image output device is supported using information from the digital repository;

the accessing unit is configured to access, through the network interface, the monitored image output device in order to obtain status information of the monitored image output device if the monitored image output device is determined to be supported;

the accessing unit is configured to access, through the network interface, XML formatted data from a web server stored in the monitored image output device so as to obtain a line from the XML formatted data; and

a parsing unit configured to parse, with the processor device without human interaction, the line from the XML formatted data to obtain the status information in accordance with information included in the first data structure, said parsing unit is configured to search the line from the XML formatted data for a key included in the first data structure, and the information included in the first data structure includes a location of the status information within the XML formatted data with respect to a location of the key in the XML formatted data.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, encoded with instruction, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to implement, in a communication system having one or more monitored image output devices communicatively coupled to a monitoring system and a digital repository having information related to the one or more monitored image output devices, a method of obtaining and maintaining, in the monitoring system, information related to the monitored image output devices, comprising:

a) accessing the one or more monitored image output devices and obtaining therefrom a first model name and a first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices by using a first network identifier;

b) storing configuration information corresponding to each of the one or more monitored image output devices, said configuration information including a second vendor name, a second model name and a second network identifier of the one or more monitored image output devices;

c) updating the configuration information to include the first model name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first model name is different than the second model name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

d) updating the configuration information to include the first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first vendor name is different than the second vendor name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier;

e) enabling the monitoring system to access the digital repository in order to retrieve information related to the monitored image output devices;

f) populating a first data structure with information retrieved from the digital repository;

g) determining if a monitored image output device is supported by the monitoring system using information from the digital repository;

h) establishing communication with the monitored image output device in order to obtain status information of the monitored image output device if the monitored image output device is determined to be supported by the monitoring system;

i) accessing XML formatted data from a web server stored in the respective monitored image output devices so as to obtain a line from the XML formatted data; and

j) parsing, without human interaction, the line from the XML formatted data to obtain the status information in accordance with information included in the first data structure, said parsing includes searching the line from the XML formatted data for a key included in the first data structure, and the information included in the first data structure includes a location of the status information within the XML formatted data with respect to a location of the key in the XML formatted data.