JP6213009B2 - Network device and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a network device and a program.

  Patent Document 1 below describes a client device that obtains a list and a network address of service providing devices such as printers and facsimiles under the network when connected to a network. According to this, the user of the client device can use the service provided by the service providing device without manually setting the environment.

JP 07-262117 A

  An object of the present invention is to enable a service provided via a network interface to be set according to a network connected to the network interface in a network device including at least one network interface.

  The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that, when at least one network interface and any network is connected to the network interface, an acquisition unit that acquires a network address related to the network connected to the network interface; When any network is connected to the network interface, the network device includes association means for associating a service program corresponding to the network address acquired by the acquisition means with the network interface.

  A network device according to a second aspect is characterized in that the network device according to the first aspect is an image forming apparatus.

  The network device according to claim 3 is the network device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when any of the networks is connected to the network interface, the associating unit associates a network address with the service program. If the network address stored in the storing unit is the same as the network address acquired by the acquiring unit, the service program associated with the network address is associated with the network interface. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network device according to the third aspect, further comprising setting means for setting a service program associated with a network address stored in the storage means. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when any network is connected to the network interface, the computer having at least one network interface acquires a network address related to the network connected to the network interface. And a program for causing a service program corresponding to the network address acquired by the acquiring unit to function as an associating unit for associating with the network interface when any network is connected to the network interface.

  According to the first, second, and fifth aspects of the present invention, in a network device having at least one network interface, a service provided via the network interface can be set according to a network connected to the network interface.

  According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to set a service provided through the network interface according to a network connected to the network interface with a simple process.

  According to the invention of claim 4, when a network interface is connected to a predetermined network, it is possible to set which service is provided through the network interface.

It is a figure which shows the network structure containing a network apparatus. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function group implement | achieved by a network device. It is a figure which shows an example of a management table. It is a figure which shows an example of a service table.

  Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration including the network device 2. The network device 2 includes at least one network interface. Here, it is assumed that the network device 2 is realized as a network-compatible printer (for example, a multi-function device) that is an image forming device including the network interface NIF1 and the network interface NIF2. The network device 2 may be realized by another device (for example, a server computer, a network storage, etc.) provided with at least one network interface. In FIG. 1, the network interface NIF1 is connected to a network NW1 represented by an IP address “129.249.10.0”. In the present embodiment, the network NW1 is an in-house intranet. Under the network NW1, there are various information processing devices such as a router serving as a default gateway, a personal computer group, a file server, and a DHCP server (not shown). The IP address leased from the DHCP server is the IP address of the network interface NIF1.

  In FIG. 1, the network interface NIF2 is connected to a network NW2 represented by an IP address “192.168.0.0”. In the present embodiment, the network NW2 is a visitor network. Various information processing apparatuses such as a router and a DHCP server exist under the network NW2. The IP address leased from this DHCP server becomes the IP address of the network interface NIF2.

  Although the description will be continued here assuming that both the network interface NIF1 and the network interface NIF2 are wired network interfaces, at least one of them may be a wireless network interface. For example, the network interface NIF2 may be a wireless interface for directly connecting another device to the network device 2 in the Wi-Fi Direct format.

  In the network device 2, a service program for providing a service is stored in a storage unit such as a memory. Specifically, five service programs of mDNS (multicast DNS), port 9100, LPD (Line Priter Deamon), WSD (Web Services Dynamic Discovery) Printer, and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) are stored. Services provided vary from network to network. For example, the services of all service programs are provided to the network NW1, which is a company intranet having a high priority. In the state shown in FIG. 1, since the network interface NIF1 is connected to the network NW1, the services of these service programs are provided via the network interface NIF1. On the other hand, only the mDNS and port 9100 services are provided to the network NW2, which is a low-priority visitor network. In the state shown in FIG. 1, since the network interface NIF2 is connected to the network NW2, the services of these two service programs are provided via the network interface NIF2.

  In addition, the network device 2 includes a routing table (not shown) for each network interface.

  The network device 2 is configured to set a service provided through the network interface according to the network connected to the network interface. Therefore, when the network NW1 is connected to the network interface NIF1, the setting is made so that the services of all service programs are provided via the network interface NIF1. Further, when the network NW2 is connected to the network interface NIF1, it is set so that the services of the mDNS and the port 9100 are provided via the network interface NIF1. Therefore, for example, even if a network cable connected to the visitor network NW2 is mistakenly connected to the network interface NIF1, the services available to the user terminals under the network NW2 can be limited to only the services of the mDNS and the port 9100.

  Hereinafter, a technique for setting a service provided via a network interface according to a network connected to the network interface will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a group of functions realized by the network device 2. In the network device 2, the connection detection unit 4, the IP address acquisition unit 6, the storage unit 8, the setting unit 10, the comparison unit 12, and the association unit 14 are realized. In the case of the present embodiment, these functions are stored in a computer-readable information storage medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape, a magneto-optical disk, a flash memory, etc.) by the computer provided in the network device 2. Realized by reading and executing the program. The program may be supplied to the network device 2 via a data communication network such as the Internet.

  Each function will be described below. The connection detection unit 4 detects that any network is connected to the network interface. In the present embodiment, the connection detection unit 4 detects that a network cable is connected to the network interface.

  Hereinafter, each network interface detected to be connected to one of the networks will be referred to as a network interface X, and the description will be continued. For example, when a network cable connected to the visitor network NW2 is mistakenly connected to the network interface NIF1, and a network cable connected to the in-house intranet NW1 is mistakenly connected to the network interface NIF2, the network interface NIF1 and the network interface NIF2 Each corresponds to the network interface X.

  When the connection detection unit 4 detects that any network is connected to the network interface X, the IP address acquisition unit 6 acquires an IP address related to the network connected to the network interface X. Specifically, the IP address acquisition unit 6 acquires network information from a DHCP server under the network connected to the network interface X. The net information includes at least one IP address. Here, the IP address acquisition unit 6 transmits an IP address acquisition request from the network interface X to the DHCP server, and receives the IP address leased from the DHCP server to the network interface X as network information. The net information may include other IP addresses (for example, IP addresses such as a subnet mask and a default gateway) notified from the DHCP server.

  The IP address leased to the network interface X from the DHCP server becomes the IP address of the network interface X.

  The storage unit 8 stores an IP address in advance in association with the service program. Specifically, the storage unit 8 stores a management table and a service table.

  The management table stores net information. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the management table. In the present embodiment, the management table stores net information related to the network NW1 and net information related to the network NW2. Each net information includes at least one IP address. In the present embodiment, the network information related to the network NW1 includes an IP address leased from the DHCP server when the network interface is connected to the network NW1. In addition to this, other IP addresses notified from the DHCP server (for example, IP addresses such as a subnet mask and a default gateway) may be included. Further, the network information regarding the network NW2 includes an IP address leased from the DHCP server when the network interface is connected to the network NW2. In addition to this, other IP addresses notified from the DHCP server may be included. Here, the net information is registered in advance by the user.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the management table stores net information in association with the priority order. Here, the network information related to the network NW1, which is a high-priority intranet, is associated with the priority “1”. Further, the network information related to the network NW2 which is a visitor network with a low priority is associated with the priority “2”.

  The service table stores each priority level in association with at least one service program. FIG. 4 shows an example of the service table. The net information stored in the storage unit 8 is associated with at least one service program via priority.

  The setting unit 10 sets a service program associated with the net information stored in the storage unit 8 (that is, the management table). Specifically, the setting unit 10 sets a priority order to associate each net information in the management table when the user performs a priority order setting operation. By doing so, the setting unit 10 sets a service program to which each of the net information stored in the storage unit 8 is associated. For example, the setting unit 10 sets the priority for associating the net information regarding the network NW1 to “1” so that the net information is associated with all the service programs. Further, for example, the setting unit 10 sets the net information regarding the network NW2 to be associated with the mDNS and the port 9100 by setting the priority to which the net information regarding the network NW2 is associated with “2”.

  When the connection detection unit 4 detects that any network is connected to the network interface X, the comparison unit 12 stores the net information stored in the storage unit 8 and the net information acquired by the IP address acquisition unit 6. , And outputs the comparison result to the associating unit 14.

  When the connection detecting unit 4 detects that any network is connected to the network interface X, the associating unit 14 associates the service program corresponding to the network information acquired by the IP address acquiring unit 6 with the network interface X. For example, if the management table does not have the same net information as the net information acquired by the IP address acquisition unit 6, the network interface X is connected to an unknown network. In this case, the associating unit 14 associates a predetermined service program (here, only the port 9100) with the network interface X. That is, the associating unit 14 activates the port 9100 and performs net setting processing. For example, in the network setting process, the port 9100 is associated with the IP address of the network interface X leased from the DHCP server. In this way, the associating unit 14 sets so that the service of the port 9100 is provided via the network interface X.

  On the other hand, when the same net information as the net information acquired by the IP address acquisition unit 6 is present in the management table, the associating unit 14 first identifies the service program associated with the net information. Specifically, the associating unit 14 specifies the priority order in which the net information acquired by the IP address acquiring unit 6 is associated with reference to the management table, and at least one service program associated with the specified priority order Is identified with reference to the service table. Then, the associating unit 14 associates the identified service program with the network interface X. That is, the associating unit 14 activates the specified service program and performs net setting processing. For example, in the network setting process, the port of each service program is associated with the IP address of the network interface X leased from the DHCP server. Thus, the associating unit 14 sets so that the service of the identified service program is provided via the network interface X.

  The association unit 14 sets a service provided via the network interface X in accordance with the network connected to the network interface X. For example, when the network interface X is connected to the network NW1, all services are provided via the network interface X. When the network interface X is connected to the network NW2, the services of mDNS and port 9100 are provided via the network interface X. Will be offered.

  Further, the user can set a service provided to each of the network NW1 and the network NW2 by the setting unit 10. For example, the user can set the mDNS and port 9100 services as services to be provided to the network NW1, and can set all services as services to be provided to the network NW2, depending on the priority setting method. Therefore, for example, when the network NW1 is a visitor network and the network NW2 is an in-house intranet, the network NW1 is provided with mDNS and port 9100 services, and the network NW2 is provided with all services. Can do.

  In addition, embodiment of this invention is not restricted only to the said embodiment. For example, when the network apparatus 2 is realized by an apparatus other than the image forming apparatus, other service programs may be stored in the network apparatus 2 instead of a service program related to network printing such as the port 9100 and LPD.

  2 network device, 4 connection detection unit, 6 IP address acquisition unit, 8 storage unit, 10 setting unit, 12 comparison unit, 14 association unit, NIF1, NIF2 network interface, NW1, NW2 network.

Claims (6)

Multiple network interfaces;
An acquisition means for acquiring a network address related to a network connected to each network interface when any network is connected to the network interface;
Storage means for storing a table in which a network address related to a connected network and a service program are associated with each network interface;
An association means for associating a service program corresponding to the network address acquired by the acquisition means with the network interface based on the table when any network is connected to the network interface;
Including network equipment.   The network apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the network apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The association means includes
If any of the network to the network interface is connected, the network address stored in said storage means, the network address acquired by the acquisition means, but if the same, the network address is associated Associating a service program with the network interface;
The network device according to claim 1, wherein Setting means for setting a service program associated with a network address stored in the storage means;
The network device according to claim 3, further comprising:   5. The network apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the setting unit sets at least one service program even when a network address related to the connected network is not included in the table. A computer with multiple network interfaces
An obtaining means for obtaining a network address related to a network connected to each network interface when any network is connected to the network interface;
Storage means for storing a table in which a network address related to a network to be connected and a service program are associated with each network interface;
Association means for associating a service program corresponding to the network address acquired by the acquisition means with the network interface based on the table when any network is connected to the network interface;
Program to function as.

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