JP2000181831A - Device and method for controlling network device and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To analyze information to be obtained from a device and information to be outputted and set by means of division, to unnecessitate analyzing the whole words and phrases of a template file and to shorten a time required for analysis by constructing the template file by means of division into a header describing part and a text describing part. SOLUTION: A command identifier for identifying the obtaining and setting of network device information and a template identifier for identifying the template to be used are generated and information of the network device corresponding to the command identifier is obtained from the header describing part of the file which is designated by the template identifier (S103, 104 and 105). The variable number of the file text describing part is set in accordance with obtained information and converted into a form to be outputted (S106). The time required for analysis is shortened by analyzing information to be obtained from the device and information to be outputted and set by division.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer network, and more particularly, to a network device control apparatus and method including network management software, and a storage medium storing a program for executing the method on a computer. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 shows a case where a network board (NB) 101 for connecting a printer to a network is connected to a printer 102 having an open architecture. The NB 101 has an Eth having a coaxial connector on a local area network (LAN) 100.
ernet interface 10Base-2, RJ-
It is connected via a LAN interface such as 10Basa-T with 45.

[0003] A plurality of personal computers (PCs) such as a PC 103 and a PC 104 are also connected to the LAN 100, and these PCs can communicate with the NB 101 under the control of a network operating system. Therefore, one of the PCs, for example 103,
Can be used for network management. Also, P
A local printer such as the printer 105 connected to the PC 104 may be connected to C.

The LAN 100 has a file server 106
Is connected, and the file server 106 has a large-capacity (for example, 10 billion bytes) network disk 107.
Manage access to files stored in.

[0005] The pudding and the server 108 may be connected to a plurality of connected printers 109 or a remote printer 105.
Printer. Further, other peripheral devices (not shown) may be connected to the LAN 100.

[0006] The LAN 100 has a WWW server 1
50 is connected, an HTML document generated by the network management software installed on the WWW server 150 is displayed using a WWW browser installed on the PC 103,
Printer settings made on the WWW browser above
It can also be sent to a specific printer via network management software on server 150.

More specifically, the network shown in FIG. 1 can use network software such as Novell or UNIX software in order to efficiently communicate between various network members. Although any network software can be used, for example, Novell's NetWare (No.
Registered trademark of Vell. (Omitted hereinafter) software can be used. For a detailed description of this software package, refer to the online documentation included with the NetWare package. It can be purchased from Novell with the NetWare package.

[0008] Briefly, the file server 106
Functions as a file management unit that receives, stores, queues, caches, and transmits files between LAN members. For example, a data file created by each of the PC 103 and the PC 104 is sent to the file server 106, and the file server 1
06 sequentially arranges these data files, and transmits the arranged data files to one of the printers 109 according to a command from the pudding and the server 108.

The PC 103 and the PC 104 respectively generate a data file and a LAN for the generated data file.
It is configured by a general PC capable of transmitting data to the LAN 100, receiving files from the LAN 100, and displaying and / or processing the files.

Although a personal computer device is shown in FIG. 1, other computer devices may be included as appropriate to execute the network software. For example, when using UNIX software, a UNIX workstation can be used with the illustrated PC under appropriate circumstances.

Typically, a LAN, such as LAN 100, provides services to relatively local user groups, such as user groups on one floor or multiple consecutive floors in a building. For example, as one user moves away from another user, such as when the user is in another building or another prefecture,
A wide area network (WAN) may be used.
A WAN is basically an aggregation formed by connecting several LANs with a high-speed digital line such as an integrated services digital network (ISDN). Therefore, as shown in FIG.
110 and LAN 120 are modem / transponder 1
30 and the backbone 140,
Form N.

Each LAN includes a dedicated PC,
Further, a file server and a print server may be included as necessary. As shown in FIG.
Are PC111, PC112, file server 113,
Network device 114, pudding and server 115,
And a printer 116. In contrast, LAN 120ha,
Only PC 121 and PC 122 are included. LAN100, L
The devices connected to the AN 110 and the LAN 120 can access the functions of the devices connected to other LANs via the WAN connection.

As a method for managing devices on a network constituting such a large-scale network system, many attempts have been made by standard organizations so far. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has established Open System Interconnection, O
Provided a universal reference framework called SI) Model. The OSI model of the network management protocol is
Common Management Information Format
ion Protocol, CMIP). CMIP is a common European network management protocol.

In recent years, a simple network management protocol (Simple Network Management Protocol, SNM) has been used as a network management protocol having higher commonality.
There is a variant protocol related to CMIP called P). ("Introduction to TCP / IP Network Management Aiming for Practical Management" MT Rose = Author / Takeshi Nishida =
(See the first edition issued by Toppan on August 20, 1992).

According to the SNMP network management technique, the network management system includes at least one network management station (NMS), several managed nodes each including an agent, and the management stations and agents exchange management information. Includes the network management protocol used to The user can obtain data on the network and change the data by communicating with the agent software on the managed node using the network management software on the NMS.

Here, the agent is software that runs as a background process for each target device. When a user requests management data from a device on the network, the management software sends the object identification information in a management packet or frame to the target agent. The agent interprets the object identification information, extracts data corresponding to the object identification information, puts the data in a packet, and sends it back to the user. Occasionally, a corresponding process is called to retrieve the data.

The agent holds data relating to its own state in the form of a database. This database is referred to as MIB (Management Information Ba
se). MIB has a tree-structured data structure.
All nodes are uniquely numbered. This node identifier is referred to as the object identifier (OBJECT IDENTI
FIER).

This MIB has a management information structure (SM
I: Structure of Management Infomation)
RFC1155 Structure and Identification of Management
Information for TCP / IP-based Internets.

Next, the SNMP protocol will be briefly described. PC on which network management utility software is running (hereinafter referred to as manager)
And a managed network device on which the SNMP agent is operating (hereinafter, referred to as an agent) communicates using the SNMP protocol. SNMP
There are five types of commands in the protocol.
t-request, Get-next-requests
t, Get-response, Set-replies
It is called t, Trap.

Get-request and Get-n
ext-request is a command sent from the manager to the agent in order for the manager to obtain the value of the MIB object of the agent. Upon receiving this command, the agent informs the manager of the value of the MIB by using Ge.
Send a t-response command.

Set-request is a command sent from the manager to the agent in order for the manager to set the value of the MIB object of the agent. The agent receiving this command,
In order to notify the manager of the setting result, a Get-response is sent to the manager.

Trap is a command sent from an agent to a manager so that the agent can notify the manager of a change in its own state.

A command sent from an SNMP agent to a manager in order for the SNMP agent to notify the manager of a change in its own status.

The SNMP agent is a PC or printer 1
Network board (NB) 10 connected to 02
A network management software that operates on a PC 1 and functions as an SNMP manager operates on a PC. However, with the spread of interfaces in recent years, instead of operating dedicated network management software for each client PC, the network management software operates on a server, and furthermore, WEB as a user interface.
There is also a system using.

Next, the operation of a general WWW system and the operation of an SNMP management program based on the WWW system will be described with reference to FIG.

In the PC 150, the WWW server program 1
501 is running, and the disk of PC 150 is HT
A large number of WWW page data described using ML are stored.

The WWW browser program 1031 running on the PC 103 requests the WWW server program 1051 running on the PC 150 to acquire the specified page in order to display the page specified by the user.

[0028] The WWW server program 1051 is
The specified page data is returned as a response to the request from the W browser program 1031. The WWW browser program 1031 analyzes the acquired page data and displays the page according to the description.

[0029] The WWW server program 1051 is
When the page acquisition request from the W browser program 1031 includes a request via a CGI (Common Gateway Interface), an external script or program is started by a predetermined method of the CGI, and the WWW browser program 10
It receives the page data for responding to the request from 31 and returns it to the WWW browser program 1031.

Next, a case will be described in which the external program started by the CGI is a network management program as in the present invention.

The WWW server program 1051 uses C
Network management program 1052 started by GI
Obtains management data from a device connected to the network using SNMP, for example, the printer 102. The network management program 1052 generates a page described in HTML based on the obtained management data, and returns the page to the WWW server program 1051.

Using a WWW browser program,
Web JetAdmin of HP is an application for managing devices by NMP / MIB.

In order to realize a user interface on a WWW browser program, Web JetAdmin uses a template file including original keywords and a description in an HTML format.

[0034]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since template files are not regularly formed, it is necessary to analyze all necessary template files in order to recognize information to be acquired from a device. However, there is a problem that the analysis of the file takes a long processing time because lexical analysis is performed.

[0035]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, a network device control apparatus and method according to the present invention and a storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the method are mainly described below. The configuration is as follows.

That is, the network device control apparatus using the SNMP protocol generates means for generating a command identifier for identifying acquisition and setting of network device information and a template identifier for identifying a template to be used, Information acquisition means for acquiring information on a network device corresponding to the command identifier from a header description part of a file specified by an identifier, and information setting means for setting a variable of the file body description part according to the acquired information Output format conversion means for converting the set variables into a format to be output.

The method for controlling a network device using the SNMP protocol includes the steps of: generating a command identifier for identifying acquisition and setting of network device information; and a template identifier for identifying a template to be used. An information obtaining step of obtaining information on a network device corresponding to the command identifier from a header description section of a file specified by an identifier; and an information setting step of setting a variable of the file body description section according to the obtained information. And an output format conversion step of converting the set variables into a format to be output.

A storage medium for storing a control program for controlling a network device using the SNMP protocol, the control program comprising: a command identifier for identifying acquisition and setting of network device information; And a code of an information acquisition step of acquiring information of a network device corresponding to the command identifier from a header description portion of a file specified by the generated template identifier. A code for an information setting step of setting a variable of the file body description section in accordance with the acquired information, and a code of an output format conversion step of converting the set variable into a format to be output.

[0039]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The network management software of the present invention comprises a PC 103, a WWW server 150, and an SNMP / MI that can operate a Web browser as shown in FIG.
It comprises a printer 102 connected to a network board (NB) 101 having the function B.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a PC on which the network management software can operate. In FIG.
Is a PC on which network management software operates, and is equivalent to the WWW server 150 in FIG. P
C150 is a ROM 302 or a hard disk (H
D) a CPU 301 for executing a network management program stored in a 311 or supplied from a floppy disk (FD) 312;
4 is generally controlled.

Reference numeral 303 denotes a RAM, which functions as a main memory and a work area of the CPU 301. Reference numeral 305 denotes a keyboard controller (KBC).
09 or an instruction input from a pointing device (not shown) or the like. 306 is a CRT controller (CRT
In C), the display of the CRT display (CRT) 310 is controlled. 307 is a disk controller (DKC)
And a hard disk (HD) 311 for storing a boot program, various applications, an editing file, a user file, a network management program, and the like.
And access to a floppy disk (FD) 312. Reference numeral 308 denotes a network interface (NIC), which bidirectionally exchanges data with an agent or a network device via the LAN 100.

The hard disk (HD) 311 stores a program of network management software according to the present invention, which is an operation main body in all the descriptions below. In all the descriptions below, the subject of execution is the CPU 301 on hardware unless otherwise specified. On the other hand, the subject of control on software is network management software stored in a hard disk (HD) 311. In this embodiment, the OS is assumed to be, for example, Windows NT (manufactured by Microsoft), and the WWW server is assumed to be IIS, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The network management program according to the present invention may be supplied in a form stored in a storage medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM. In this case, the floppy disk controller (FD) 3 shown in FIG.
The program is read from a storage medium by a CD-ROM drive 12 or a CD-ROM drive (not shown) and installed in a hard disk (HD) 311.

In the following description, the network management software according to the present application is referred to as “WebNetSpot”.

FIG. 4 is a module configuration diagram of the network management software according to the present invention.

The network management software 1062 according to the present invention is stored in the hard disk 311 in FIG. At that time, the CPU 301 uses the RAM 303 as a work area.

Referring to FIG. 4, the network management software 1062 is activated from the WWW server program 1061 and is transmitted via the CGI interface 402 to the CGI.
Exchange parameters and HTML documents.

Reference numeral 403 denotes an overall control module, which registers CGI parameters in a parameter module 404 described later, and then, according to a command parameter in the CGI parameters, a system module 405, a device list module 407, and a device detailed module A module for distributing control to any one of the modules 410. If there is an error in the CGI parameter, an HTML document indicating that there is an error in the CGI parameter may be generated via a template module 412 described later.

A parameter module 404 stores and manages the CGI parameters registered by the overall control module 403 in a table format. Other modules can obtain desired parameters from the parameter module 404 as needed.

Reference numeral 405 denotes a system module which controls display and setting of system parameters (for example, an automatic update interval of an HTML document, etc.) defining the operation of the network management software 1062,
This is a module for generating a TML document. The system module 405 includes a parameter module 404
If the command parameter is a system parameter display request, the necessary information is read from the system setting file 406, and an HTML document for displaying the system parameter is generated via the template module 412. .

When the content of the acquired command parameter is a request for setting a system parameter, the notified system parameter is written to the system setting file 406 and displayed after setting via the template module 412. Generate an HTML document. Although not shown, the system parameters stored in the system setting file 406 can be read out by each module constituting the network management software 1062 as needed.

A device list module 407 is a module for generating an HTML document indicating a list (device list) of devices searched by a device search module 408 described later. The device list module 407 also controls the processing of the device list display option.

Reference numeral 408 denotes a device search module for searching for a device connected to the network.

Reference numeral 410 denotes a device detail module, which is a CG
A module for displaying and setting more detailed information on a specific device specified by the I parameter and generating an associated HTML document. The device detail module 410 uses a device-specific module 411, which will be described later, corresponding to the designated device to acquire and set detailed information on the designated device.

Reference numeral 411 denotes a device-specific module, which is a device (a printer, a network interface board, etc.) to be managed by the network management software.
Exist for each. At the time of display, the device-specific module 411 operates to acquire necessary information from the device and set the acquired information in the template module 412. In addition, at the time of setting, the setting value notified by the CGI parameter is converted into a value that can be interpreted by the device and transmitted to the device.

Reference numeral 409 denotes a protocol module.
(Management Information Base) handling, SN
A module for controlling various protocols required for network management software to communicate with devices, such as transmission and reception of MP (Simple Network Management Protocol) packets and control of transport protocols.

Reference numeral 412 denotes a template module.
This is a module for generating an HTML document as an output result of the network management software based on the template file 413 stored in the hard disk 311. Template module 412
Are CGI parameters, overall control module 403, system module 405, device list module 4
07 or the template file specified by the device detail module 410, and the contents of the template file are analyzed. If necessary, the template variables included in the template file are transferred to the overall control module 403, system module 405, device list module. 407, device detail module 41
0 or a value set by the device-specific module 411 to generate an HTML document, and to output the WWW via the CGI interface 402.
Send to server program. The values of the template variables used when generating the HTML document, or the generated HTML document file, can be used for the second and subsequent HTML files based on the same template file.
To reduce the processing time when generating documents,
3 can be stored as a cache file 414 on the hard disk 311 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a template file according to the present invention.

The contents of the template file used in WebNetSpot shown in FIG. 5 are changed from <<<< TEMPLATE >>>> tag to <<
Described between the / TEMPLATE >> tags. This is << HEAD >>
HEAD block described between tag and << / HEAD >> tag, B described between << BODY >> tag and << / BODY >> tag
It is composed of two ODY blocks.

In the HEAD block, a << VARIABLE >> tag which mainly describes information to be acquired from the device as a variable is described.

The BODY block contains the output HTML
<< EMBED >> to embed the description and the value obtained from the device
Consists of tags and the like.

In FIG. 5, WebNetSpot parses (analyzes) the HEAD block to obtain WNTVAR_DCV_PROD.
It is clear that the product name indicated by UCT should be obtained from the device. WebNetSp that acquired this information
ot obtains information from the device from SNMP / MIB. After that, the information obtained from the device is replaced with the << EMBED >> tag having the variable of WNTVAR_DCV_PRODUCT by parsing the BODY block. By performing the parsing as described above for all variables, an HTML file to be output can be obtained.

The following is a list of tags and functions used in the template file.

Tag Function Description of TEMPLATE template HEAD Header description BODY Body description LINK Description of related template file VARIABLE Declaration of template variable INCLUDE Inclusion of template file SET Setting of variable value EMBED Embedding of variable value ISVALID Whether variable value is valid Evaluation of EVAL Comparison of variable values LOOP Description of repetition COMMENT Description of comment FIG. 6 shows a screen called a device list. When the user specifies a URL indicating this screen, WebNetSpot is started via CGI. WebNetSpot searches for devices connected to the network and displays information such as device type, device name, product name, network board product name, network address, device status, etc. on the browser for the devices detected by the search.

The type of device is classified according to whether it is an ordinary printer or a multifunction device having a copy function, and is displayed as an icon. The device name is a name given to each device by the user. By clicking this device name, WebNetSp again
ot is started and detailed information of this device is displayed.
Details will be described later. The status of the device changes the icon according to the importance of the error that has occurred.

When a device name is clicked in the device list, an IP address is passed to WebNetSpot,
Based on this information, detailed information of the device clicked is obtained and displayed on the browser. The displayed information is status, equipment information, device information, network board information, and protocol information. These are displayed on a plurality of screens for each piece of information. FIG. 7 is an example of a display screen. FIG. 7 shows the state of the device.

FIG. 8 shows the file structure of WebNetSpot. Double-frame boxes (901,902,903,904,909,910) are directories, and single-frame boxes (905,906,907,911,912,91)
3) indicates a file. Reference numeral 901 denotes a root directory of WebNetSpot as a CGI program. Under this, each directory of Document Images Template exists, and it is an executable file
WebNetSpot.exe and various HTML files exist.

Under the Document directory 902,
This is for temporarily storing information obtained from the device as a cache file. 903 Imag
Various image files used for displaying information are stored in the es directory. A directory 904 stores a template file. Under this directory are three types of directories. 90
In the sys directory indicated by 8, a device list,
A template file for displaying device-independent information such as an error relationship is stored. A product directory 909 stores a template file related to product-specific information, and exists as many as the number of product types. Information stored in this directory is status, equipment information, and device information.

The NIC directory indicated by 910 stores information unique to the network board. The information stored in this directory corresponding to the number of repairs of the network board is network information and protocol information. Note that if the same template can be created between a plurality of products or network boards, it is not necessary that directories exist by the number of types of products or network boards.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which a WWW browser is used on the PC 150 on which the WWW server is running on the PC 103 of FIG.
When starting up WebNetSpot and managing the printer 102 (in which an SNMP agent is installed), the PC 15
9 is a flowchart showing a procedure for acquiring MIB information of a device with WebNetSpot started at 0 and displaying the information on a browser on a PC 103. The specific template file used at this time is shown in FIG.

Step S101 of the flowchart of FIG.
In, a command identifier indicating whether to acquire or set device information from a Web browser and a template identifier for identifying a template to be used are sent by a Get command, and WebNetSpot is called.

Then, in step S102, CG
WebNetSpot is started via I.

The activated WebNetSpot proceeds to step S10.
In step 3, from the command identifier and the template identifier transmitted by the Get command in step S101,
Open the specified template file.

In step S104, step S1
A list of information to be acquired about the device from the HEAD part of the template file opened in 03 is parsed. The template file is shown, for example, in FIG.
The template file has two structures: a HEAD part surrounded by << / HEAD >> from << HEAD >>, and a BODY part surrounded by << / BODY >> from << BODY >>. << HEAD >>
Stores useful information that WebNetSpot recognizes. For example, a list of variables indicating information to be acquired from the device indicated by << VARIABLE NAME = ... >> is defined.

<< VARIABLE NAME = "WNTVAR_DCV_ICON">>
Is the icon type according to the device type, << VARIAB
LE NAME = "WNTVAR_DCV_DEVICE">> is an arbitrary name given to the device, << VARIABLE NAME = "WNTVAR_DCV_PRODUCT"
>> is the product name, << VARIABLE NAME = "WNTVAR_DCV_NIC">> is the board name, << VARIABLE NAME = "WNTVAR_DCV_MESSAGE">> is the message indicating the device status, << VARIABLE NAME = "WNT
VAR_DCV_STATUS ">> indicates the status of the device.

On the other hand, the << BODY >> portion is composed of a description in HTML format to be displayed on the Web browser and template variables to be replaced with information obtained from the device. For example, << EMBED NAME = "WNTVAR_DCV_NETADDR">> is replaced with the network address obtained from the device.

In step S105, step S1
According to the variable list acquired in step 04, MIB information is actually acquired from the device.

In step S106, step S1
Using the MIB information acquired in step 05, the <BODY> part is parsed. Specifically, the template variable << EMBED ... >>
Is replaced with a value obtained from the device, and a file in an HTML format to be output is created.

In step S107, it is determined whether the steps from step S103 to step S106 are repeated if necessary. For example, when searching for a device existing on the network, information to be displayed on one device is described in the template file. Therefore, when a plurality of devices are found on the network, steps S103 to S106 are performed multiple times. Need to be repeated.

In step S108, step S1
STDOUT file in HTML format created in 06
Output to

Thus, in step S109, PC1
The information is displayed on the web browser on 03. FIG. 6 shows a screen on which information is displayed by using the template of FIG. 10 a plurality of times.

According to the network device control apparatus and method of the present embodiment, by constructing the template file separately into the header description section and the body description section, the information to be obtained from the device and the information to be output and set Can be analyzed separately, and the lexical analysis of all template files is not required, and the time required for analysis can be reduced.

[0083]

[Other Embodiments] Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine) Machine, facsimile machine, etc.).

Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU) of the system or the apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of a storage medium for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, and CD.
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowcharts. However, in brief, each module shown in FIG. The corresponding program code is stored in the storage medium.

[0090]

As described above, according to the network device control apparatus and method of the present invention, by constructing a template file by dividing it into a header description section and a body description section, information to be acquired from a device can be obtained. , Output and information to be set can be distinguished and analyzed, so that it is not necessary to perform lexical analysis of all template files, and the time required for analysis can be reduced.

[0091]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional example in which a network board for connecting a printer to a network is connected to a printer having an open architecture.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the outline of the operation of an SNMP management program.

FIG. 3 shows a P on which network management software can operate.
The figure which shows the structure of C.

FIG. 4 is a module configuration diagram of network management software according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a template file according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a device list screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of a device.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a file configuration of WebNetSpot.

FIG. 9: Obtains MIB information of a device with WebNetSpot,
5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for displaying information on a browser on a PC.

FIG. 10A is a view showing a specific template file.

FIG. 10B is a diagram showing a template file following FIG. 10A.

FIG. 10C is a diagram showing the template file following FIG. 10B.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 100 Local area network (LAN) 101 Network board (NB) 102 Printer having open architecture 103 Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 100 104 Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 100 105 Connected to PC 104 Printer 106 File server 107 connected to LAN 100 Network disk 108 included in LAN 100 Print server 109 included in LAN 100 Printer connected to print server 108 110 Local area network (LAN) 111 Personal computer connected to LAN 110 (PC) 112 Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 110 13 File Server Connected to LAN 110 114 Network Disk Included in LAN 110 115 Print Server Included in LAN 110 116 Printer Connected to Print Server 110 120 Local Area Network (LAN) 121 Personal Computer (PC) Connected to LAN 120 122) Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 120 130a Modulation / demodulation (MODEM) / transponder 130b Modulation / demodulation (MODEM) / transponder 140 Backbone 150 Personal computer (PC) connected to LAN 100 and running WWW server 301 CPU that executes the network management program supplied from FD 212 302 PC20 Keyboard controller (KB system bus 305 PC 200 of RAM 304 PC 200 of ROM 303 PC 300 of
C) 306 CRT controller of PC200 (CRTC) 307 Disk controller of PC200 308 Network interface card (NIC) of PC200 309 Keyboard (KB) of PC200 310 CRT display (CRT) of PC200 311 Hard disk (HD) of PC200 312 floppy disk drive (FD) 402 CGI interface 403 Overall control module 404 Parameter module 405 System module 406 System setting file 407 Device list module 408 Device search module 410 Device detail module 411 Device specific module 409 Protocol module 412 Template module 413 Template file 414 Key Cache file 901 WebNetSpot directory storing network management software WebNetSpot 902 Document directory storing cache file 903 Images directory storing image file 904 Template directory storing template file 905 Network management software WebNetSpot 906 HTML file 907 Image file 908 Commonly used SYS directory for storing template files 909 PRODUCT directory for storing device-dependent template files 910 NIC directory for storing network board-dependent template files 911 Template files 912 Template files 913 Template files 1031 WWW browser blog Beam 1051 WWW server program 1052 network management program 1061 WWW server program 1062 network management software

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 BB10 HJ10 HK11 HN05 HQ12 HQ17 5B021 AA01 BB10 EE04 5B089 GA08 GA11 GB01 HA06 HB06 JA21 JB02 KA04 KA05 KC22 KC27 KC37 KC44 KD05 LB12 LB14

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A network device control apparatus using an SNMP protocol, comprising: a means for generating a command identifier for identifying acquisition and setting of network device information and a template identifier for identifying a template to be used; Information acquisition means for acquiring information on a network device corresponding to the command identifier from a header description part of a file specified by the template identifier, and information setting for setting a variable of the file body description part according to the acquired information Means, and an output format conversion means for converting the set variable into a format to be output. 2. The network device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the file stores information to be acquired from the network device and information to be output and set, separately. 3. The format of the information to be output is HTML
3. The network device control device according to claim 1, wherein the network device control device is in a format. 4. The network device control device according to claim 1, wherein the network device to be managed includes a printer. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for generating a template file for storing information to be obtained from the network device and information to be output and set separately. 2. The network device control device according to item 1. 6. A method for controlling a network device using an SNMP protocol, comprising: generating a command identifier for identifying acquisition and setting of network device information, and a template identifier for identifying a template to be used; An information acquisition step of acquiring information on a network device corresponding to the command identifier from a header description section of a file specified by the template identifier, and an information setting for setting a variable of the file body description section according to the acquired information. A network device control method, comprising: converting a set variable into a format to be output. 7. The network device control method according to claim 6, wherein information to be obtained from the network device and information to be output and set are stored separately in the file. 8. The format of the information to be output is HTML
The network device control method according to claim 6, wherein the method is a format. 9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of generating a template file for storing the information to be obtained from the network device and the information to be output and set separately. 2. The network device control method according to 1. 10. A storage medium for storing a control program for controlling a network device using an SNMP protocol, the control program comprising: a command identifier for identifying acquisition and setting of network device information; A code of a step of generating a template identifier for identifying the file, and a code of an information obtaining step of obtaining information of a network device corresponding to the command identifier from a header description portion of a file specified by the generated template identifier. A code for an information setting step of setting a variable of the file body description section according to the acquired information; and a code of an output format conversion step of converting the set variable to a format to be output. Storage medium.