Managing system and managing method for transferring data between tenants

• US 9,854,056 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kato, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Nam
• Application Number:
  US14/687,004
• Publication Number:
  US 20150304446A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/084 Configuration by using pre-existing information, e.g. using templates or copying from other elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data

Abstract

An instruction to delete a first managing tenant among managing tenants in a system is accepted. Information included in management information of the first managing tenant and customer information unique to a customer managed by the first managing tenant is held as transfer information of the first managing tenant, and is managed using an access authority assigned to information of the customer. The held transfer information of the first managing tenant is transferred to the second management tenant when the second management tenant is determined to be a destination of the transfer from the first managing tenant.

Claims

1. A managing system in which a service provider manages, by using managing tenants and customer tenants for managing first customer information which is concerned with customers of the service provider, information for managing a customer that uses a service in the managing system, the managing system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor and having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the managing system to;

accept an instruction to delete a first managing tenant for a first service provider from the managing system;

delete a part of information of management information of the first managing tenant and second customer information unique to a customer managed by the first managing tenant;

transfer the management information and the second customer information except for the deleted part of information as transfer information of the first managing tenant, from the first managing tenant to a customer tenant for the customer, in a case where the instruction is accepted;

hold the transfer information using the customer tenant;

manage the transfer information by using an access authority assigned to information of the customer, the access authority being different from an access authority assigned to information of the first service provider, while the transfer information is held using the customer tenant;

transfer the held transfer information of the first managing tenant to a second managing tenant for a second service provider in a case where the second managing tenant is determined to be a destination of a transfer from the first managing tenant; and

delete the held second customer information as the transfer information by using the customer tenant in a case where a predetermined period has elapsed without the second managing tenant being determined to be the destination of the transfer from the first managing tenant after an instruction to delete has been accepted.

2. The managing system according to claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the managing system to convert a format of data containing the transfer information of the first managing tenant, and

wherein the data whose format has been converted is held.

3. The managing system according to claim 1, wherein the second customer information includes at least one of information for identifying the customer and template information used for a report, wherein the report is provided to the customer.

4. The managing system according to claim 1, wherein the transfer information of the first managing tenant includes at least one of a monitoring condition for an event occurring in a device managed by the customer and date information related to service usage of the customer.

5. The managing system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second managing tenants manage customers, which use services provided by the first and second managing tenants, by using tables, and

wherein the held transfer information of the first managing tenant is applied to the table of the second managing tenant.

6. The managing system according to claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the managing system to obtain permission for transferring the first managing tenant from the customer, in a case where an instruction to delete the first managing tenant is accepted from a third managing tenant located higher than the first managing tenant in a hierarchy, and

wherein, in a case where permission to transfer has been obtained, information included in the management information of the first managing tenant and the second customer information is held as the transfer information of the first managing tenant.

7. A managing method for using a managing tenant to manage information that is stored in a storage device used by a managing system and is used to manage a customer that uses a service in the managing system, the method comprising:

accepting an instruction to delete a first managing tenant for a first service provider from the managing system;

deleting a part of information of management information of the first managing tenant and second customer information unique to a customer managed by the first managing tenant;

transferring the management information and the second customer information except for the deleted part of information as transfer information of the first managing tenant, from the first managing tenant to a customer tenant for the customer, in a case where the instruction is accepted;

holding the transfer information using the customer tenant;

managing the transfer information by using an access authority assigned to information of the customer, the access authority being different from an access authority assigned to information of the first service provider, while the transfer information is held using the customer tenant;

transferring the held transfer information of the first managing tenant to a second managing tenant for a second service provider in a case where the second managing tenant is determined to be a destination of a transfer from the first managing tenant; and

deleting the held second customer information as the transfer information by using the customer tenant in a case where a predetermined period has elapsed without the second managing tenant being determined to be the destination of the transfer from the first managing tenant after an instruction to delete has been accepted.