JP6318959B2 - Information processing system and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing system and an information processing program for monitoring a plurality of devices such as image forming apparatuses via a network.

  For example, in an image forming apparatus that is an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) such as a printer, a multifunction printer, or a multifunction device, it is used by the user when starting, restarting, or returning from an energy saving mode (such as deep sleep). The function you want to start up is slow and you may have to wait.

  As a countermeasure when the start-up of such a function is slow, for example, applying a core assignment method in an image processing apparatus that uses a device having a plurality of cores as an accelerator proposed in Patent Document 1 is applied. Conceivable. In an image processing apparatus that uses a device that can be set by configuration as an accelerator, whether to operate each core in a dedicated mode dedicated to one function or to operate in a shared mode shared by multiple functions, Based on the usage history of the function and profile results, the core assignment determination means for deciding the optimal function core allocation in the current setting mode of each core and the optimal setting on the assumption that the setting mode of each core is changed The setting mode of each core and the core allocation determining means for determining the allocation of cores of functions are switched in stages.

JP 2012-194947 A

  The above-described image processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a device having a plurality of cores, and has a mode in which the core is dedicated to one function and a mode in which the core is shared, and the frequency with which the core is frequently used. Therefore, since the optimum core allocation is performed, the overall processing efficiency can be improved.

  However, in the method of assigning cores in Patent Document 1, the function usage frequency is measured based on the processing time of the small function, and the core is assigned to the optimization of the entire system. The core cannot be assigned to the function you want to use. For this reason, as described above, there is a problem in that the function that the user wants to use is delayed and waits at the time of startup, restart, and return from an energy saving mode such as deep sleep.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing system and an information processing program capable of solving the above problems.

An information processing system according to the present invention includes a plurality of CPU cores, a plurality of devices that transmit status information including usage frequency information for each function via a network, the status information, and the usage frequency information. And a monitoring server that transmits setting information indicating allocation of the CPU core to the device that has transmitted the status information, and the plurality of devices are arbitrarily grouped, and the monitoring server is grouped into a group. Storing the device included, storing the setting information in association with a corresponding group, and when a new device is added to any group, setting information associated with the group to which the new device has been added Transmitting to the new device .
The monitoring server may assign the CPU core of the newly added device based on usage frequency information included in the status information of the same model as the newly added device .
In addition, the monitoring server assigns the CPU core of the newly added device based on usage frequency information included in status information of the same model as the model that can perform the same printing as the newly added device. It is characterized by that .
Further, the monitoring server includes the assignment of the CPU core of the newly added device in the status information of the other device if the newly added device is a replacement of another device in the group. It is performed based on the usage frequency information .
In addition, a report generation processing unit that outputs a report indicating the usage frequency for each function and the allocation of CPU cores based on the usage frequency information is provided.
An information processing program of the present invention includes a step of receiving status information including usage frequency information for each function from a plurality of devices equipped with a plurality of CPU cores via a network, and usage frequency information included in the status information. And transmitting the setting information indicating the allocation of the CPU core to the device that has transmitted the status information to a computer that controls a monitoring server that monitors the plurality of devices, The monitoring server stores the devices included in the group, stores the setting information in association with the corresponding group, and when a new device is added to any of the groups, Setting information associated with the group to which the new device has been added And transmits to a device.
Further, the report generation processing unit causes the computer to execute a step of outputting a report indicating the usage frequency for each function and the allocation of the CPU core based on the usage frequency information.
In the information processing system and the information processing program of the present invention, status information including usage frequency information for each function is transmitted from a plurality of devices equipped with a plurality of CPU cores to the monitoring server via the network, and the status information is received. Setting information indicating allocation of CPU cores based on usage frequency information included in the status information is transmitted to the device that has transmitted the status information from the monitoring server. Thereby, on the device side, for example , a CPU core is assigned to a frequently used function.

According to the information processing system and the information processing program of the present invention, since the CPU core has been assigned to the frequently used function on the device side, for example, from the energy saving mode such as startup, restart, and deep sleep. The function that the user wants to use can be quickened when returning.

It is a figure for demonstrating one Embodiment of the information processing system of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the control system of the monitoring server of FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a control system of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining CPU core allocation processing on the monitoring server side in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining CPU core assignment processing on the image forming apparatus side in FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating the allocation process of the other CPU core on the monitoring server side of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an information processing system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system includes a monitoring server 100 and an image forming apparatus 200 as a device. The monitoring server 100 and the image forming apparatus 200 are connected via a network 300. The image forming apparatus 200 is assumed to have a multi-CPU core.

  The monitoring server 100 monitors the plurality of image forming apparatuses 200 via the network 300. In other words, the monitoring server 100 acquires status information indicating how many functions of the plurality of image forming apparatuses 200 to be monitored are used, and based on the frequency of use of functions for each image forming apparatus 200. The CPU core allocation of each image forming apparatus 200 is optimized. It also outputs a report for proposing optimization. Thereby, on the image forming apparatus 200 side, the initialization time of a specific function can be shortened at the time of starting, restarting, returning from an energy saving mode (such as deep sleep).

  When the monitoring server 100 monitors each image forming apparatus 200, for example, each image forming apparatus 200 side may transmit status information to the monitoring server 100 on a regular basis (such as once a day). The server 100 may issue a request for status information on a regular basis (once a day, etc.) to each image forming apparatus 200.

  The image forming apparatus 200 is, for example, an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) such as a printer, a multifunction printer, or a multifunction peripheral. Note that the image forming apparatus 200 has a self-monitoring function for monitoring the operating status of a plurality of functions that the image forming apparatus 200 has. The status information transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200 to the monitoring server 100 includes, for example, information such as errors and alarms indicating the image processing state in addition to various counter information and firmware information indicating the usage status. The monitoring server 100 receives the status information and optimizes the CPU core assignment of the image forming apparatus 200. In addition, the monitoring server 100 receives these status information and provides services such as report display of a billing counter, notification of failure events such as errors / alarms, calculation of component consumption, and management of the number of toner stocks to the sales company.

<Configuration example of control system of monitoring server 100>
Next, the control system of the monitoring server 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The control system of the monitoring server 100 mainly shows a case where CPU core allocation processing is controlled. The control system is composed of a part for system management and a part for management of CPU core assignment processing. The system management part includes an operation unit 101, an I / F (interface) 102, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, a storage device 105, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106. Yes. Also, the part that manages the CPU core allocation process is composed of an IO control unit 107, a device monitoring processing unit 109, a CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110, a CPU core allocation setting processing unit 111, and a report generation processing unit 112. Yes. These parts are connected to the system bus 108 and the processing management bus 113.

  The operation unit 101 includes a display unit and a key input unit, and is controlled by the CPU 106. The I / F 102 is an interface unit for connecting to the network 300. The I / F 102 communicates with each image forming apparatus 200 via the network 300.

  The CPU 106 executes a control program stored in the ROM 103 or the storage device 105. The RAM 104 is a work memory for executing a program. The CPU 106 reads out various programs stored in the ROM 103 to the RAM 104, analyzes them, and executes various processes.

  The IO control unit 107 is a bus bridge for transferring data at high speed between the system bus 108 and the process management bus 113. The device monitoring processor 109 receives status information from each image forming apparatus 200 via the network 300 and collects usage frequency information (counter information and the like) for each function included in the status information. Note that status information including usage frequency information (counter information and the like) for each function from each image forming apparatus 200 is transmitted from each image forming apparatus 200 on a regular basis (such as once a day), for example. To do. As described above, the status information including the usage frequency information (counter information or the like) for each function is periodically transmitted, so that the load on the network 300 can be prevented.

  Then, the device monitoring processing unit 109 determines the usage frequency of each function of the image forming apparatus 200 from the usage frequency information (counter information or the like). That is, it is possible to identify which function is frequently used by referring to usage frequency information (counter information and the like) of a scanner unit 216, a printer unit 217, and a FAX unit 218 described later on the image forming apparatus 200 side. it can.

  The CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110 confirms the number of CPU cores mounted in each image forming apparatus 200 so that the frequently used function specified by the device monitoring processing unit 109 can be used preferentially. CPU core assignment is determined. Note that the number of CPU cores mounted on each image forming apparatus 200 may be included in status information from each image forming apparatus 200, for example.

  The CPU core allocation setting processing unit 111 generates setting information for setting CPU core allocation in accordance with the CPU core allocation determined by the CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110, and transmits the setting information to each image forming apparatus 200. To do.

  The report generation processing unit 112 outputs a report indicating the usage frequency for each function of each image forming apparatus 200 and the optimal CPU core assignment. Report output methods include output on a web page and print data. That is, for example, if the target device is the image forming apparatus 200, the image forming apparatus 200 may print out the report, or may display a report web page on the display panel of the image forming apparatus 200. . The report generation processing unit 112 may temporarily save the print data of the report in the box of the image forming apparatus 200 and take it out at an arbitrary timing. Then, the administrator of the image forming apparatus 200 confirms the display content of the web page or the output content of the print data, and assigns the CPU core so that the frequently used function can be used preferentially by starting the task manager, for example. Can be set.

<Configuration Example of Control System of Image Forming Apparatus 200>
Next, the control system of the image forming apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIG. The control system includes a part that performs system management and a part that performs image processing management. The system management part is composed of an I / F (interface) 202, a line I / F 203, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 204, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 205, a storage device 206, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 207. ing. The part that performs image processing management includes an IO control unit 208, an image processing unit 210, an I / F 212, a display control unit 213, and an input control unit 214. These parts are connected to the system bus 209 and the image bus 215.

  The I / F 202 is an interface unit for connecting to the network 300. The I / F 202 communicates with the monitoring server 100 via the network 300. For example, the image forming apparatus 200 transmits status information and the like to the monitoring server 100 via the I / F 202 using a protocol such as HTTP or HTTPS.

  A line I / F 203 is connected to an ISDN or a public telephone network, and transmits / receives data to / from a remote terminal. The line I / F 203 is controlled by a communication control program and performs data transmission / reception such as facsimile.

  The CPU 207 executes a control program for the image forming apparatus 200 and a monitoring program related to the monitoring control stored in the ROM 204 and the storage device 206. A RAM 205 is a work memory for executing a program. The CPU 207 reads various programs stored in the ROM 204 into the RAM 205, analyzes them, and executes various processes. The RAM 205 temporarily stores, for example, status information necessary for the monitoring program for monitoring the image forming apparatus 200 to manage device information, setting information indicating CPU core assignment received from the I / F 202, and image data. The CPU 207 assigns CPU cores based on the setting information from the monitoring server 100.

  The storage device 206 is a non-volatile storage device, and various operation mode settings that need to be retained even after the image forming apparatus 200 is restarted, counter values (the number of printed sheets for each size, the number of times of document reading, etc.) Stores status flags and the like.

  The CPU 207 executes processing such as copying and printing instructed by the user by executing the control program. The monitoring program executed by the CPU 207 reads operation information such as a counter value and operation log in the storage device 206 and failure information, and transmits the information as status information of the image forming apparatus 200 to the monitoring server 100 via the I / F 202. To do. Here, the operation information indicates information generated when performing normal operation such as a counter value and a log. The failure information indicates information when processing such as a jam or an error cannot be performed.

  The IO control unit 208 is a bus bridge that allows image data to be transferred between the system bus 209 and the image bus 215 at high speed. The image bus 215 is configured by a bus such as a PCI bus or IEEE1394.

  The I / F 212 connects the scanner unit 216, the printer unit 217, and the FAX unit 218 of the image forming apparatus 200 and a control system, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. Information detected by various sensors (not shown) arranged at various locations in the scanner unit 216, the printer unit 217, and the FAX unit 218 is output to the system bus 209 via the I / F 212 and the IO control unit 208. For example, the image processing unit 210 performs image processing (rasterization) on print data. At the time of image processing, correction / processing / editing is also performed on the print data.

  The display control unit 213 causes the display unit 219 to display contents related to settings such as a copy, a printer, a scanner, and a FAX. The input control unit accepts an operation from the operation unit 220. The user issues various setting instructions and operation / stop instructions regarding the scanner unit 216, the printer unit 217, and the FAX unit 218 through the operation unit 220. Further, the user can check the usage frequency for each function and the remaining amount in the loaded toner container via the display unit 219.

Next, CPU core allocation processing on the monitoring server 100 side will be described with reference to FIG.
(Step S101)
First, the CPU 106 determines whether status information from the image forming apparatus 200 has been received via the I / F 102. If status information has not been received (step S101: No), reception is awaited. If status information has been received (step S101: Yes), the process proceeds to step S102.

(Step S102)
The device monitoring processor 109 collects usage frequency information (counter information and the like) included in the status information.
(Step S103)
The device monitoring processing unit 109 determines the usage frequency of the function of each image forming apparatus 200 from the collected usage frequency information (counter information and the like). That is, as described above, it is possible to identify which function is frequently used by referring to the usage frequency information (counter information, etc.) of the scanner unit 216, printer unit 217, and FAX unit 218 on the image forming apparatus 200 side. can do.

(Step S104)
The CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110 confirms the number of CPU cores mounted in each image forming apparatus 200 so that the frequently used function specified by the device monitoring processing unit 109 can be used preferentially. CPU core assignment is determined. It is assumed that the number of CPU cores mounted on each image forming apparatus 200 is included in status information from each image forming apparatus 200, for example. Further, the number of CPU cores installed in each image forming apparatus 200 may be acquired when each image forming apparatus 200 is connected to the network 300.

(Step S105)
The CPU core allocation setting processing unit 111 generates setting information for setting the CPU core allocation in accordance with the CPU core allocation determined by the CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110.
(Step S106)
The CPU core assignment setting processing unit 111 transmits setting information for setting the generated CPU core assignment to each image forming apparatus 200.

Next, CPU core assignment processing on the image forming apparatus 200 side will be described with reference to FIG.
(Step S201)
First, the CPU 207 determines whether setting information for setting CPU core assignment from the monitoring server 100 side is received via the I / F 202. If setting information has not been received (step S201: No), the system waits for reception. If the setting information has been received (step S201: Yes), the process proceeds to step S202.

(Step S202)
The CPU 207 temporarily stores setting information received from the I / F 202 and indicating CPU core assignment in the storage device 105.
(Step S203)
The CPU 207 performs CPU core allocation based on setting information indicating CPU core allocation once stored in the storage device 105.

(Step S204)
The CPU 207 determines, for example, whether to return from an energy saving mode (such as deep sleep). If it is not a return (step S204: No), since it is a normal mode, control in a normal mode is continued. If it is determined that it is a return (step S204: Yes), the process proceeds to step S205.
(Step S205)
The CPU 207 causes functions to be executed according to the allocation of CPU cores.

  Thus, in this embodiment, status information including usage frequency information for each function is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 200, which is a plurality of devices equipped with a plurality of CPU cores, to the monitoring server 100 via the network 300, The setting information indicating the allocation of the CPU core based on the usage frequency information included in the status information is transmitted from the monitoring server 100 that has received the status information to the image forming apparatus 200 that is the device that has transmitted the status information.

  Specifically, the device monitoring processing unit 109 collects usage frequency information and identifies a function with a high usage frequency for each device. The CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110 uses the usage specified by the device monitoring processing unit 109. CPU core allocation is determined so that a frequently used function can be used preferentially, and the CPU core allocation setting processing unit 111 determines the CPU core according to the CPU core allocation determined by the CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110. Generate setting information to set the allocation of.

  As a result, since the CPU core is assigned to the frequently used function for the image forming apparatus 200, the function that the user wants to use at the time of startup, restart, return from the energy saving mode such as deep sleep, etc. The rise of can be made faster.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the report generation processing unit 112 outputs a report indicating the usage frequency for each function and the optimal CPU core allocation based on the usage frequency information, and therefore is output on the image forming apparatus 200 side. CPU core allocation can be set based on the report.

  In the present exemplary embodiment, the case where the CPU cores on the respective image forming apparatuses 200 are assigned based on the status information from the respective image forming apparatuses 200 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, FIG. As shown, the image forming apparatuses 200 may be grouped as a group 1, a group 2, and the like, and CPU cores may be assigned to each group.

  In this case, a customer DB (database) 120 is prepared on the monitoring server 100 side. The customer DB 120 stores information on each customer and information on the image forming apparatus 200 on each customer side. Further, information obtained by grouping the image forming apparatuses 200 on the customer side into groups such as group 1 and group 2 is stored. Further, the above-described setting information already assigned to each group is stored in association with each group.

  When a new image forming apparatus 200 is added to any group, setting information associated with the group is transmitted to the newly added image forming apparatus 200, and CPU cores are assigned.

The grouping can be performed based on, for example, information shown in the following (1) to (12).
(1) Corporate name of the customer installing the image forming apparatus 200 (2) Organization name of the customer installing the image forming apparatus 200 (3) Building name of the building where the image forming apparatus 200 is installed (4 ) The floor name of the building where the image forming apparatus 200 is installed (5) The name of the sales company or dealer that sold the image forming apparatus 200 to the customer (6) The organization name of the sales company or dealer that sold the image forming apparatus 200 to the customer (7 ) Name of person in charge who sold image forming apparatus 200 to customer (8) Name of sales company or dealer maintaining image forming apparatus 200 (9) Organization name of sales company or dealer maintaining image forming apparatus 200 (10) Image forming apparatus 200 Name of the person in charge of the sales company or dealer who maintains the image (11) By model of the image forming apparatus 200 (A3 / A4, color / monochrome, etc.)
(12) Other arbitrary group names

  In the case of such a group, the device monitoring processing unit 109 shown in FIG. 2 similarly uses the frequency information (counter information etc.) included in the status information from each image forming apparatus 200 in the same manner as described above. The usage frequency of the function on the 200 side is determined. Further, the CPU core allocation determination processing unit 110 confirms the number of CPU cores installed in each image forming apparatus 200 so that the frequently used function specified by the device monitoring processing unit 109 can be used preferentially. Next, CPU core allocation is determined. In addition, the CPU core assignment setting processing unit 111 generates setting information for setting the CPU core assignment according to the CPU core assignment determined by the CPU core assignment determination processing unit 110.

  The setting information generated by the CPU core assignment setting processing unit 111 is stored in association with each group. When a new image forming apparatus 200 is added to any group, setting information related to the group to which the new image forming apparatus 200 is added is transmitted to the newly added image forming apparatus 200, and the image forming apparatus 200 is added. CPU core allocation on the side. Thus, the CPU core on the newly added image forming apparatus 200 can be assigned without acquiring status information from the newly added image forming apparatus 200. The reason for grouping is that the functions to be used tend to be similar in the case of the image forming apparatuses 200 in the same group.

  In addition, when generating a report of CPU core assignment, the report generation processing unit 112 acquires setting information related to the group to which the new image forming apparatus 200 has been added from the customer DB 120, and similarly to the above, Performs output and print data output.

Note that the following methods (1) to (3) can be used to perform more optimal CPU core allocation.
(1) Only use frequency information (counter information or the like) included in status information of the same model as the newly added image forming apparatus 200 is used.
(2) If the newly added image forming apparatus 200 is a model capable of printing in A4 color, only use frequency information (counter information, etc.) included in status information of the same model as this model is used.
(3) If the newly added image forming apparatus 200 is replaced with another image forming apparatus 200 in the same group, usage frequency information (counter information or the like) included in the status information of the replaced image forming apparatus 200 ).

  The image forming apparatus 200 may belong to a plurality of different groups. In this case, for example, when there is a group A grouped by the dealer's organization name and a group B grouped by the A4 color model group, they are included in the status information of the image forming apparatus 200 belonging to both groups A and B. The CPU core of the newly added image forming apparatus 200 is assigned based on the usage frequency information (counter information and the like).

  In the present embodiment, the target to which the CPU core is assigned by the monitoring server 100 has been described as the image forming apparatus 200. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and a car navigation system, a PC (personal computer), a portable terminal, or the like is used. It can be applied to other devices.

100 Monitoring server 101 Operation unit 102, 202, 212 I / F
103, 204 ROM
104, 205 RAM
105, 206 Storage device 106, 207 CPU
107, 208 IO control unit 108, 209 System bus 109 Device monitoring processing unit 110 CPU core allocation determination processing unit 111 CPU core allocation setting processing unit 112 Report generation processing unit 113 Processing management bus 120 Customer DB (database)
200 Image forming apparatus 203 Line I / F
220 Operation unit 210 Image processing unit 213 Display control unit 214 Input control unit 215 Image bus 216 Scanner unit 217 Printer unit 218 FAX unit 219 Display unit 300 Network

Claims (7)

A plurality of devices equipped with a plurality of CPU cores and transmitting status information including usage frequency information for each function via a network;
A monitoring server that receives the status information and transmits setting information indicating allocation of the CPU core based on the usage frequency information to the device that has transmitted the status information;
The plurality of devices are arbitrarily grouped,
The monitoring server is
Storing the devices included in a group, storing the setting information in association with a corresponding group;
When a new device is added to any group, the setting information associated with the group to which the new device has been added is transmitted to the new device.   The monitoring server performs assignment of the CPU core of the newly added device based on usage frequency information included in the status information of the same model as the newly added device. The information processing system described.   The monitoring server performs allocation of the CPU core of the newly added device based on usage frequency information included in status information of the same model as the model capable of printing the same as the newly added device. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein:   The monitoring server allocates the CPU core of the newly added device if the newly added device is a replacement of another device in the group and is included in the status information of the other device. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information management system is performed based on frequency information.   5. The information processing according to claim 1, further comprising: a report generation processing unit that outputs a report indicating the usage frequency for each function and CPU core allocation based on the usage frequency information. system. Receiving status information including usage frequency information for each function from a plurality of devices equipped with a plurality of CPU cores via a network;
A step of transmitting setting information indicating the CPU core assignment to the device that has transmitted the status information based on usage frequency information included in the status information, and a computer that controls a monitoring server that monitors the plurality of devices To run
The plurality of devices are arbitrarily grouped,
The monitoring server is
Storing the devices included in a group, storing the setting information in association with a corresponding group;
When a new device is added to any group, the setting information associated with the group to which the new device has been added is transmitted to the new device. The report generation processor, based on the frequency of use information, and the frequency of use of each of the functions, described a process of outputting a report indicating the allocation of the CPU core to claim 6, characterized in that to be executed by the computer Information processing program.

Images