Abstract: An information processing apparatus configured to allow a new version of software to be executed therein is provided. The information processing apparatus acquires management information in a format corresponding to an old version of the software and converts the acquired management information into a format corresponding to the new version of the software. When converting data, the information processing apparatus adds a new value to a management item that is common to the formats of the management information of the old version and the new version of the software so that the value is suitable for the new version of the software.

Abstract: A transmission apparatus and method including transmitting software to a device, confirming that transmission of the software was successful based on information received from the device, and transmitting, after confirming successful transmission of the software, transmitting the software to a different device.

Abstract: A management apparatus includes a management unit configured to manage information associating each of a plurality of image processing apparatuses constituting a virtual device with a function executed by the each of the plurality of image processing apparatuses, a control unit configured to provide a display for setting a virtual device as a transmission destination of transmission data, an identification unit configured, if a virtual device is set as the transmission destination of the transmission data, to identify an image processing apparatus that executes a function corresponding to a type of the transmission data from among the plurality of image processing apparatuses constituting the set virtual device based on the information managed by the management unit, and a transmission unit configured to transmit the transmission data to the image processing apparatus identified by the identification unit.

Abstract: A network device control unit and method are provided in which, not all MIB objects under the control of the network management software are simultaneously acquired during startup of the network management software so the almost simultaneous flow of a large volume of SNMP packets in the LAN will not occur and along with a simultaneous reduction in the load on communications lines, the load on devices such as the printer and network board processing their SNMP packets will also become small. To accomplish this, windows allocated to individual network peripheral devices on a one to one basis and controlling the network device are utilized as device windows, and information to be displayed on the initial screen of the device window is acquired as the initial sheet and displayed. Device windows also acquire and display different sheet information on the device window when determined an entry has been made by the user requesting display of a different type of sheet information.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing network devices, which allow the user to intuitively recognize errors that have occurred in network devices. When an error monitoring module (701) detects any error that has occurred in a network device, a corresponding URL address acquisition module (702) acquires a URL address corresponding to an error category. An electrical generation component generates electrical message data for error information, which contains the acquired URL address, and sends it to an electrical sending module (706). Since the user can access error information provided by an HTTP server module (708) by clicking the URL address described on the received electrical message once, he or she can intuitively recognize the error contents by simple operations.

Abstract: A sever manages a network device connected to a network by storing location information of a providing site that provides state information associated with the network device and a status of the network device. The server determines whether a change in state of the network device has occurred by communicating with the network device, and if so, acquires the stored location information. Then, the server generates an electrical message (an e-mail message, for example) which contains the acquired location information associated with the network device and the determined state of the network device. The electrical message is sent by the server to a user's computer related to a predetermined address such tat the location information can be used by a displaying application in the user's computer to acquire information related to the network device.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus communicates with a device connected to a network through a network management application. The information processing apparatus includes a determination unit configured to determine whether an instruction to operate the device is allowed to be issued based on operation priority of the device and status of the device, and a device operation unit configured to issue the instruction to the device in the case where the determination unit determines that the instruction is allowed to be issued.

Abstract: This invention provides a technique for safely and readily managing a network device. To achieve this object, an authentication server (105) performs an authentication process by using a set of a login ID and password transmitted from a manager server apparatus (103), and transmits the authentication result to a multi-functional peripheral (102). The authentication server (105) also specifies a VLAN name corresponding to this set, and transmits the VLAN name to a DHCP server (106). The DHCP server (106) determines connection setting information corresponding to the VLAN name, and transmits the determined connection setting information to the multi-functional peripheral (102). The multi-functional peripheral (102) connects to VLAN 2 by using the obtained connection setting information.

Abstract: A network device control unit and method are provided in which, not all MIB objects under the control of the network management software are simultaneously acquired during startup of the network management software so the almost simultaneous flow of a large volume of SNMP packets in the LAN will not occur and along with a simultaneous reduction in the load on communications lines, the load on devices such as the printer and network board processing their SNMP packets will also become small. To accomplish this, windows allocated to individual network peripheral devices on a one to one basis and controlling the network device are utilized as device windows, and information to be displayed on the initial screen of the device window is acquired as the initial sheet and displayed. Device windows also acquire and display different sheet information on the device window when determined an entry has been made by the user requesting display of a different type of sheet information.

Abstract: According to this invention, a printing control program which is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium and generates default print setting information when a computer prints includes a code for a management table creation step of creating a setting management table in which at least one threshold is set for a restricted item in a print process and the setting value of at least one item belonging to the print setting information is related to the range of the value of the restricted item defined by the threshold, a code for a read step of acquiring the current value of the restricted item, and reading, from the management table, the setting value of at least one item that belongs to the print setting information and is related to the range of the value to which the value belongs, and a code for a creation step of creating and saving print setting information containing the setting value read in the read step as the setting of the item.

Abstract: A network device management system which is capable of preventing breakdown in communication between network devices connected to each other even when the IP address of one of the network devices is changed. When a change of the IP address of a multifunction peripheral is requested on a network device management apparatus, the apparatus issues an IP address-configuration changing request to the multifunction peripheral, determines whether or not the IP address has been successfully changed by the multifunction peripheral, acquires IP address information on an expansion computer from the multifunction peripheral, and then using the acquired IP address information on the expansion computer, notifies the expansion computer of the changed IP address of the multifunction peripheral.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, program, and storage medium, for managing a network device by communicating with an information processing device and the network device via a network and managing the network device in response to a request from the information processing device. If a request for execution of a process, which needs particular authorization, upon the network device, is received from the information processing device, it is determined whether a command to invalidate a password of said network device has been received together with the process execution request. When the password of the network device is to be invalidated, a password invalidation request is transmitted to the network device. This technique makes it possible for an administrator of a network device to use it even when the administrator forgets the device password assigned to the network device without having to perform initialization which would cause all setting data to be lost.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, program, and storage medium, for managing a network device by communicating with an information processing device and the network device via a network and managing the network device in response to a request from the information processing device. If a request for execution of a process, which needs particular authorization, upon the network device, is received from the information processing device, it is determined whether a command to invalidate a password of said network device has been received together with the process execution request. When the password of the network device is to be invalidated, a password invalidation request is transmitted to the network device. This technique makes it possible for an administrator of a network device to use it even when the administrator forgets the device password assigned to the network device without having to perform initialization which would cause all setting data to be lost.

Abstract: A network device managing apparatus is designed so that when a list of network devices or a list showing states of the network devices is displayed in accordance with a request from a data processing apparatus, the network device to be emphasis-displayed is changed every user or every data processing apparatus.

Abstract: A network device control unit and method are provided in which, not all MIB objects under the control of the network management software are simultaneously acquired during startup of the network management software so the almost simultaneous flow of a large volume of SNMP packets in the LAN will not occur and along with a simultaneous reduction in the load on communications lines, the load on devices such as the printer and network board processing their SNMP packets will also become small. To accomplish this, windows allocated to individual network peripheral devices on a one to one basis and controlling the network device are utilized as device windows, and information to be displayed on the initial screen of the device window is acquired as the initial sheet and displayed. Device windows also acquire and display different sheet information on the device window when determined an entry has been made by the user requesting display of a different type of sheet information.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing network devices, which allow the user to intuitively recognize errors that have occurred in network devices. When an error monitoring module (701) detects any error that has occurred in a network device, a corresponding URL address acquisition module (702) acquires a URL address corresponding to an error category. An electrical generation component generates electrical message data for error information, which contains the acquired URL address, and sends it to an electrical sending module (706). Since the user can access error information provided by an HTTP server module (708) by clicking the URL address described on the received electrical message once, he or she can intuitively recognize the error contents by simple operations.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, program, and storage medium, for managing a network device by communicating with an information processing device and the network device via a network and managing the network device in response to a request from the information processing device. If a request for execution of a process, which needs particular authorization, upon the network device, is received from the information processing device, it is determined whether a command to invalidate a password of said network device has been received together with the process execution request. When the password of the network device is to be invalidated, a password invalidation request is transmitted to the network device. This technique makes it possible for an administrator of a network device to use it even when the administrator forgets the device password assigned to the network device without having to perform initialization which would cause all setting data to be lost.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser device has at least an active layer and an optical waveguide region, which includes at least a part of the active layer, wherein &Dgr;gain/&Ggr; is at least 85 [cm−1/%], where &Dgr;gain [cm−1] is a difference in gain between a zero-order fundamental mode and a one-order high-order mode in a lateral transverse mode of the optical wvaveguide, and &Ggr; [%] is a total optical confinement rate of the at least part of the active layer in the zero-order fundamental mode.