JP2001282544A - Equipment management system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a device management system capable of performing high-speed and stable communication by eliminating complicated upgrade and downgrade operations in a client and inquiring a client about version information. SOLUTION: Software information and hardware information 11 of a client 1 are sent from a client information management means 14 to a client information inquiry means 24 of a server 2 and registered in general client information 21. The server 2 determines the installation and update of the client software based on the registration of the general client information 21, and can automatically transmit the software to the corresponding client.
The client self-diagnosis unit 13 of the client 1
The decision is made by the action determining means 23 based on the error information sent from the server, and an optimal means is taken from the server to reduce the error state of the client 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a device management system for an unspecified number of information processing apparatuses existing on a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Upgrading software has hitherto been practiced such that a user himself acquires and introduces software. On the other hand, as a method that does not depend on the user, a “software version management device” described in JP-A-08-249163 is known, and software version management is performed from a server to a client. . The server has a version information notification mechanism that sends the latest software information including the software name and the latest version information to the client. The client has the software information including the software name and version name sent from the server. And a comparison mechanism for comparing software with software information held by the client. As a result of the comparison by the client comparison mechanism, when it is determined that the new software is registered in the server, the version upgrade mechanism is instructed to acquire the new software,
I was trying to get new software.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional version control device, even if the client software is downgraded after the software upgrade, for example, due to a failure due to hardware, the software information is inquired. As a result, software is sent from the server, and the client must downgrade each time.

Further, in the conventional version control device, the server does not manage the client that has performed the upgrade and the client that has not yet performed the upgrade. , There was a problem of making inquiries many times. In addition, since the transmission capacity of the network is constant, if many clients download software at the same time for version upgrade, there is a problem that the transmission speed is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problem, and a server manages version information and an error state of a client in a server.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device management system that eliminates unnecessary upgrade and downgrade operations in a client, and inquires of a client about unnecessary version information, and can stably perform a high-speed communication.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

A device management system according to the present invention is a device management system in which one or more clients are connected to a server via a network.
Hardware information including hardware type and unique information that can be individually recognized, software information including software type and version information, and identification information for identifying a client combining the hardware information and software information are transmitted to the server. Client information management means for transmitting, client self-diagnosis means for transmitting self-diagnosis information including diagnosis of software and hardware failures and information on all configurations of software and hardware to the server, and newly introducing or updating from the server Software receiving means for receiving software, wherein each of the clients transmits individual identification information and self-diagnosis information to a server, and the server individually supplies software to each of the clients to perform centralized management. I There. With this configuration, the client transmits to the server self-diagnosis information including software version information and the like, identification information for identifying the client, diagnosis of software and hardware failures, and their configuration information. Centralized management of clients and automatic supply of software required by each client eliminates cumbersome upgrade and downgrade operations at the client and version information inquiries from the server. And can be performed stably.

A device management system according to the present invention is a device management system in which one or more clients are connected to a server via a network, wherein the server specifies a client that combines hardware and software information received from the client. Client information comprising identification information, error information found from self-diagnosis information received from the client, update information comprising the software update date, and unique information capable of individually recognizing the client. A client information inquiry means for determining a client using the new software by referring to the client information when registered; and determining a possibility of an error or a failure state of the client based on the client information, A processing determining unit for determining a countermeasure such as introduction or downgrading of software, and a software transmitting unit for transmitting software to a client newly requiring software according to the determination of the client information inquiry unit, wherein the server comprises: It has a configuration in which individual identification information, self-diagnosis information, and client information are received from each client, and software is individually supplied to each client and centrally managed. With this configuration, the client transmits to the server self-diagnosis information including software version information and the like, identification information for identifying the client, diagnosis of software and hardware failures, and their configuration information. By centrally managing clients, addressing each client's errors and automatically providing the software each client needs,
This eliminates complicated upgrade and downgrade operations on the client, version information inquiries from the server, and the like, and enables high-speed and stable communication speed.

[0008] A device management system according to the present invention comprises a client according to claim 1 and a server according to claim 2, wherein the server responds individually based on software and hardware diagnostic information of each client. It has a configuration of unified management. With this configuration, the server manages all clients in a unified manner, handles errors for each client, and automatically supplies the software required by each client, allowing clients to perform upgrade and downgrade operations, etc. This makes it possible to eliminate the inquiry about the version information of the device and to stably perform the communication at a high speed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. First, the configuration of an example of a device management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. In the description of the present embodiment, a client as a user device will be described using a communication terminal as an example, and a server as a client management device will be described using a computer as an example. The device management system according to the present embodiment is configured by connecting one or a plurality of clients (communication terminals) 1 to a server 2 via a network 3.

[0010] The client 1 includes hardware information 11 that records the type of hardware and unique information that can be individually recognized, software 12 composed of software used by the client 1, and hardware and software failures of the client 1. And a client self-diagnosis unit 13 that collects information on the configuration of software and hardware, and transmits the diagnosis result and the collected information to the treatment determination unit 23 of the server 2 via the communication unit 16 as diagnostic information. , A client 1 that combines software information including the type and version information of the software included in the software 12 and the hardware information 11
Client information management means 1 for creating identification information for specifying
4, software receiving means 15 for receiving newly installed or updated software transmitted from the software transmitting means 25 of the server 2 and introducing the software to the software 12, and connecting the client 1 to the network 3 to which the server 2 is connected. And a communication means 16 for connection.

The server 2 is connected to one or a plurality of clients 1 via a network 3,
, Identification information of the client 1 received from the client 1 by the client information inquiry means 24, update information including the update date and time of the software, and client self-diagnosis determined by the action determination means 23 Comprehensive client information 21 for recording client information composed of error information from the means 13 and unique information capable of individually recognizing the client 1 in the network 3;
Based on the client software 22 in which the software to be used is registered and the diagnostic information transmitted from the client self-diagnosis unit 13 of the client 1, the possibility of an error or a failure state of the client 1 is determined, and new software is introduced. Alternatively, new software to be upgraded by receiving the identification information including the client information from the client information management unit 14 of the client 1 and registering it in the comprehensive client information 21 by the treatment determination unit 23 that determines a countermeasure such as software downgrade, etc. According to the client information registered in the general client information 21 when registered in the client software 22, the client 1 that needs to be upgraded with the software registered in the client software 22 is identified. Client information inquiry means 2 for constant
4, a software transmission unit 25 for transmitting the client software 22 to the corresponding client 1 according to the judgment of the client information inquiry unit 24, and a communication for connecting the server to the network 3 to which one or more clients 1 are connected. Means 26.

Next, the collection of client identification information by the device management system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, (C) shows a client and (S) shows a server. First, in step 2C1 on the client 1 side, when software is introduced or updated by the software receiving unit 15 of the client 1, information on software update is transmitted to the client information managing unit 14. Next, in step 2C2, the hardware information 11 is acquired.

In step 2C3, software information including the type and version information of the introduced or updated software is obtained. In step 2C4,
In step 2C3, the client information management unit 14
And the hardware information acquired in step 2C2 as identification information to be transmitted to the server 3. In step 2C5, the identification information is transmitted from the client information management unit 14 to the client information inquiry unit 2 of the server 2 via the communication unit 16.
4 is transmitted.

Next, in step 2S1 on the server 2 side, the client information inquiry means 24 receives the identification information sent from the client information management means 14 in step 2C5. In step 2S2, the same hardware information is searched from the client information based on the hardware information in the identification information in order to register the identification information and the update information in the comprehensive client information 21. Step 2S
In 3, if the same hardware information is not found in the general client information 21 (yes), the process proceeds to step 2S6. In step 2S6, the client 1
Of the client self-diagnosis means 13 to collect information of the client 1.

If NO in step 2S3, it means that the same hardware information has been found, and the process proceeds to step 2S4, where the software information in the identification information is registered in the general client information 21. In step 2S5, the reception time of the identification information from the client 1 is registered in the general client information 21 as software update information. With this configuration, the server has information on the software configuration of the client 1, so that the server 1 can inquire about the version upgrade of the client 1.

Next, with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 3, diagnosis of a client state in the device management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG.
, (C) indicates a client, and (S) indicates a server. First, in step 3C1 on the client 1 side, when the user feels that the client (communication terminal) 1 is inconvenient to use, the client self-diagnosis unit 13 is activated. In step 3C2, the client self-diagnosis unit 13 sends the hardware information 1 of the client 1
Get 1 In step 3C3, all software information in the software 12 is collected. In step 3C4, failure information of the client 1 is collected based on the hardware and software diagnosis information collected by the client self-diagnosis unit 13. In step 3C5, the collected data is transmitted as diagnostic information to the treatment determining means 23 of the server 2 through the network 3.

Next, in step 3S1 on the server 2 side, the treatment determining means 23
Receive diagnostic information from. In step 3S2,
The information of the client information inquiry means 24 and the corresponding client information of the client 1 in the corresponding comprehensive client information 21 are referred to and confirmed. As a result of confirming the comprehensive client information 21, in step 3S3, it is determined that there is missing information, and if yes, step 3S
In step 4, the missing information is added to the general client information 21. No in step 3 S3, or step 3
After the end of S4, the process proceeds to step 3S5, where the treatment determining means 2
3 to determine the possibility of an error condition based on the received diagnostic information.

If yes in step 3S6,
This is the case where it is determined that there is no problem from the result of the determination of the possibility of the error state, and in step 3S13, the processing determining unit 23 ends. If “NO” in the step 3S6, the process proceeds to the step 3S7 to perform some treatment. If YES in step 3S7, it means that downgrade of the software existing in the client 1 is necessary, and the process proceeds to step 3S10.

If no in step 3S7, the process proceeds to step 3S8, and if yes in step 3S8, the client 1 needs to install new software. If NO in step 3S8, it is necessary to transmit data for restricting software existing in the client 1. In step S10, necessary software or data is transmitted from the software transmission unit 25 to the client 1 through the network 3 via the network 3. In step 3S11,
An error state determined at that time and an error avoidance method are created as error information. Step 3S12
In the above, the error information is
Register with.

With the configuration described above, the error state of the client 1 can be centrally managed, and the server can know the state of each client 1 such as the need for downgrade. In addition, by accumulating the error state of the client 1, it is possible to limit the conditions for upgrading the client software. In addition, since the server can recognize all error states due to the configuration of the software version, it can be beneficially used for creating client software with reduced errors.

Next, with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 4, an upgrade of client software in the device management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 4, (C) is a client, (S)
Indicates a server. First, in step 4S1 on the server 2 side, new software is registered in the client software 22 using an input device or the like of the server 2. In step 4S2, a conditional expression based on the client information is registered in the client information inquiry means 24 in order to select the client 1 into which the software is to be installed.
In step 4S3, the client information inquiry means 2
4 selects the client 1 that matches the registered conditional expression from the general client information 21.

In step 4S4, a search is made to see if there is a corresponding client 1. If yes, the process proceeds to step 4S5 as YES. In step 4S5, an update schedule for one or more corresponding clients 1 is determined. In step 4S6, the client information to be updated and the software information to be updated are transmitted to the software transmission means 25 according to the update schedule, and the software is transmitted from the client software 22. If NO in step 4S4, it means that the corresponding client 1 does not exist, and the process proceeds to step 4S7 in the standby state.

Next, step 4C1 on the client 1 side
In step 4S6, the reception of the software transmitted from the server 2 is recognized, and the reception of the software is started. In step 4C2, the software is temporarily stored in a buffer until the reception is completed. Step 4
In C3, if all data is received, the result is YES, and the process proceeds to Step 4C4. Only when all data has been received, in step 4C4, the received software is introduced into the software 12, and the process proceeds to the standby state (step 4C6). If NO in step 4C3, it means that all data could not be received. If all the data has not been received, in step 4C5, the client self-diagnosis unit 13 is activated, and communication of failure in receiving the software is communicated as diagnostic information.

With the configuration described above,
The server 2 can assemble the software update schedule of the client 1, and the software update in the client 1 can be performed efficiently. Further, the client 1 can reliably install the software.

Next, referring to the block diagram shown in FIG.
An example of an association between files stored in the comprehensive client information of the device management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Each file shown in FIG. 5 includes a hardware information file 51, a software information file 52, a client connection information file 53, an error information file 54, and other information files 55. However, other files can be added as needed.

Since information on all the clients 1 connected to the network 3 is registered in the comprehensive client information, key information is required for searching. Therefore, different pieces of information can be associated with each other by using the hardware information 51 of the client information as a key. The software information file 52 is registered corresponding to the hardware,
The client connection information file 53 is stored in the network 3
, The client 1 can be individually recognized.
The error information file 54 can register software and hardware error information. In the other information file 55, log information, server record items, and the like can be registered.

In the above-described embodiment, the software version upgrade and the status confirmation have been described. However, the server side can automatically transmit information to the target client 1, and the operation of the client 1 can be performed. The server may be able to check the status at any time.

As described above, in this embodiment, the communication terminal is used as the client and the computer is used as the server. However, the present invention may be applied to various devices using a network. In addition, the network may be a network as any connection path such as a wired, wireless, public, or private network.

[0029]

The device management system according to the present invention is constructed as described above, and particularly, by remotely diagnosing version information and error statuses of a plurality of clients by a server connected to a network and centrally managing them. This eliminates unnecessary upgrade and downgrade operations in the client and unnecessary version information inquiries to the client, thereby reducing maintenance time by the client and enabling high-speed and stable communication speed. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a device management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of collecting client information by the device management system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a client state diagnosis operation by the device management system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of upgrading the client software by the device management system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of association between client information files on the server side in the device management system shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 client (communication terminal) 2 server (computer) 3 network 11 hardware information 12 software 13 client self-diagnosis means 14 client information management means 15 software reception means 16, 26 communication means 21 general client information 22 client software 23 treatment determination means 24 Client information inquiry means 25 Software transmission means

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device management system in which one or more clients are connected to a server via a network, wherein the clients include hardware information including unique types of hardware and individually recognizable information, and types of software. And software information including version information, and client information management means for transmitting to the server identification information for identifying the client combined with the hardware information and software information, diagnosis of software and hardware failures, software and A client self-diagnosis unit that transmits self-diagnosis information including information of all hardware configurations to the server; anda software reception unit that receives software to be newly introduced or updated from the server. Device management system, characterized in that the separate information and the self-diagnosis information and transmitted to the server, to consolidate by supplying software individually for each client from the server. 2. A device management system in which one or more clients are connected to a server via a network, the server comprising: identification information for specifying a client combining hardware and software information received from the client; Error information discovered from the self-diagnosis information received from the client, update information consisting of software update date and time, and client information consisting of unique information capable of individually recognizing a client are stored, and when new software is registered, Client information reference means for referring to the client information to determine a client to use the new software; and determining the possibility of an error or a failure state of the client based on the client information to introduce new software or downgrade the software. And a software transmission unit that transmits software to a client that needs new software according to the determination of the client information inquiry unit. Identification information,
A device management system which receives self-diagnosis information and client information, individually supplies software to each client, and performs centralized management. 3. The client according to claim 1 and a client according to claim 2.
Wherein the server performs centralized management while individually coping with each other based on software and hardware diagnostic information of each client.