Patent ID: 7761520
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. An information management system comprising: at least one information processing apparatus; and a management information acquiring apparatus which acquires management information stored in the at least one of information processing apparatuses; each information processing apparatus including at least the following, a management information acquisition section to acquire management information stored in the information processing apparatus, and a communications section to receive a management information transmission order containing a first ID and a management information transmission order containing a second ID, the first ID being an ID of a requested object and including an ID of the information processing apparatus, the ID of the information processing apparatus being usable to distinguish the information processing apparatus from another one of the at least one information processing apparatus, the second ID being an ID of the requested object and including an ID of a common information processing apparatus, the ID of the common information processing apparatus not being usable to distinguish between the information processing apparatuses, and a first ID conversion section to convert the first ID into the second ID which represents the same requested object represented by the first ID, the management information acquisition section acquires the management information, which is the requested object identified by the second ID, and the communications section sends the management information acquired by the management information acquisition section to an orderer of the management information, the management information acquiring apparatus including at least the following, a first communications section to receive a management information transmission order containing a third ID from an external manager, the third ID being an ID of the requested object and including an ID of one of the at least one information processing apparatus, a second ID conversion section to convert the third ID contained in a management information transmission order received by the first communications section into the second ID, and a second communications section to send a management information transmission order containing the second ID obtained by the second ID conversion section to the one of the at least one information processing apparatus and to receive management information returned from the one of the least one information processing apparatus, the first communications section sends the management information received by the second communications section to the external manager which is the orderer of the management information, and the communications section of each of the at least one information processing apparatus is capable of directly receiving, from the external manager, without intervention of the management information acquisition section, the management information transmission order containing the first ID.