Information processing apparatus for controlling installation, method for controlling the apparatus and control program for executing the method

• US 8,689,242 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nagashima, Takeyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Emerson
• Assistant Examiner(s): MILLS, PAUL V
• Application Number:
  US11/837,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20080201714A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,423 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 719/327
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1204 resulting in reduced user or operator actions, e.g. presetting, automatic actions, using hardware token storing data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1225 Software update, e.g. print driver, modules, plug-ins, fonts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1288 in client-server-printer device configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system

Abstract

A server apparatus manages a device driver for enabling any of a plurality of devices to which a plurality of client apparatuses are connected on a network. The server apparatus comprises a storage unit that stores, for each device, a device driver that can be installed to the device in association with the device, a generating unit that generates different tasks for any of the stored device drivers, a creating unit that creates a schedule for executing the generated tasks, and an executing unit that executes the generated tasks based on the created schedule.

Claims

1. A server apparatus that communicates with a plurality of client apparatuses and a plurality of devices connected on a network, said server apparatus comprising:

a registration unit constructed to, when a request for driver management is input, register, in a database, driver information of a device driver to be installed in one of the plurality of clients, wherein, when the device driver is already provided with correspondence information on a correspondence between the device driver and device information of one of the plurality of devices, the registration unit registers the correspondence information together with the driver information;

a storage unit constructed to, when a request for associating a device driver with a device is input, store, in the database, (a) association information between device information of a predetermined one of the plurality of devices and driver information of a device driver designated by selection for the association for the predetermined device, and (b) association name information set to the association information, wherein, if the correspondence information for the predetermined device is registered in the database, the selection for the association for the predetermined device is made from a list of device drivers having the correspondence information matching the device information of the predetermined device from among the device drivers registered in the database, and, if the correspondence information for the predetermined device is not registered in the database, the selection for the association for the predetermined device is made from a list of the device drivers registered in the database;

a generating unit constructed to generate a plurality of types of tasks, wherein the tasks include an adding task for additionally installing a device driver to any of the client apparatuses, and an agent install task for installing an agent used for installing the device driver to any of the client apparatuses based on the adding task;

an executing unit constructed to control execution of the tasks generated by the generating unit;

an agent transmission unit constructed to transmit an agent installer to one of the client apparatuses that corresponds to the generated agent install task in accordance with the execution of the generated agent install task controlled by the executing unit; and

a task transmission unit constructed to transmit information on the generated adding task so that the agent manages the information in a queue of the agent,

wherein the generating unit generates the adding task for additionally installing a device driver that supports the predetermined device based on a selection from a list formed using the association information and the association name information stored by the storage unit, and

wherein the device driver corresponding to the adding task is installed by the execution of the adding task managed in the queue of the agent.

2. The server apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of types of tasks generated by the generating unit further include a deleting task for deleting a device driver installed in any of the client apparatuses, and an updating task for updating a device driver installed in any of the client apparatuses.

3. The server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device driver is a printer driver for controlling a printer device connected with the network.

4. The server apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit constructed to set an ID with administrator authority and a password for the plurality of client apparatuses,

wherein the agent installer is attached with the ID with administrator authority and the password for a client apparatus set by the setting unit.

5. The server apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in the event that the adding task has been generated a timing when a task request is obtained from the agent of the client apparatus, the driver transmission unit transmits the device driver to the client apparatus, so that the device driver is installed in the client apparatus in accordance with the adding task.

6. The server apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a creating unit constructed to create a schedule for executing the tasks generated by the generating unit, wherein the executing unit is constructed to control execution of the tasks generated by the generating unit based on the schedule created by the creating unit.

7. The server apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a request unit constructed to request the agent installed in the client apparatus by the agent installer to send an inquiry for a task to the server apparatus, in accordance with the execution of the generated adding task controlled by the executing unit, wherein the task transmission unit is constructed to transmit the information in response to the inquiry from the agent.

8. A driver processing method in a server apparatus that communicates with a plurality of client apparatuses and a plurality of devices connected on a network, said method comprising:

registering driver information of a device driver to be installed in one of the plurality of clients in a database, when a request for driver management is input, wherein, when the device driver is already provided with correspondence information on a correspondence between the device driver and device information of one of the plurality of devices, the correspondence information is registered together with the driver information;

storing, in the database, when a request for associating a device driver with a device is input, (a) association information between device information of a predetermined one of the plurality of devices and driver information of a device driver designated by selection for the association for the predetermined device, and (b) association name information set to the association information, wherein, if the correspondence information for the predetermined device is registered in the database, the selection for the association for the predetermined device is made from a list of device drivers having the correspondence information matching the device information of the predetermined device from among the device drivers registered in the database, and, if the correspondence information for the predetermined device is not registered in the database, the selection for the association for the predetermined device is made from a list of the device drivers registered in the database;

generating a plurality of types of tasks, wherein the tasks include an adding task for additionally installing a device driver to any of the client apparatuses, and an agent install task for installing an agent used for installing the device driver to any of the client apparatuses based on the adding task;

controlling execution of the tasks generated by the generating step;

transmitting an agent installer to one of the client apparatuses that corresponds to the generated agent install task in accordance with the execution of the generated agent install task controlled by the controlling step; and

transmitting information on the generated adding task so that the agent manages the information in a queue of the agent

wherein the generating step generates the adding task for additionally installing a device driver that supports the predetermined device based on a selection from a list formed using the association information and the association name information stored in the storage step, and

wherein the device driver corresponding to the adding task is installed by the execution of the adding task managed in the queue of the agent.

9. The driver processing method according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of types of tasks generated in said generating step further include a deleting task for deleting a device driver installed in any of the client apparatuses, and an updating task for updating a device driver installed in any of the client apparatuses.

10. The driver processing method according to claim 8, wherein the device driver is a printer driver for controlling a printer device connected with the network.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer to execute the driver processing method according to claim 8.

12. The driver processing method according to claim 8, further comprising setting an ID with administrator authority and a password for the plurality of client apparatuses,

wherein the agent installer is attached with the ID with administrator authority and the password for a client apparatus set by the setting step.

13. The driver processing method according to claim 8, wherein, in the event that the adding task has been generated at a timing when a task request is obtained from the agent of the client apparatus, the device driver is transmitted to the client apparatus, so that the device driver is installed in the client apparatus in accordance with the adding task.