Patent ID: 7895321
Filing Date: 2011-02-22
Classification: H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. In a communication system having one or more monitored image output devices communicatively coupled to a monitoring system and a digital repository having information related to the one or more monitored image output devices, a method of obtaining and maintaining, in the monitoring system, information related to the monitored image output devices, comprising: a) accessing the one or more monitored image output devices and obtaining therefrom a first model name and a first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices by using a first network identifier; b) storing configuration information corresponding to each of the one or more monitored image output devices, said configuration information including a second vendor name, a second model name and a second network identifier of the one or more monitored image output devices; c) updating the configuration information to include the first model name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first model name is different than the second model name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier; d) updating the configuration information to include the first vendor name of the one or more monitored image output devices when the first vendor name is different than the second vendor name and the first network identifier is the same as the second network identifier; e) enabling the monitoring system to access the digital repository in order to retrieve information related to the monitored image output devices; f) populating a first data structure with information retrieved from the digital repository; g) determining if a monitored image output device is supported by the monitoring system using information from the digital repository; h) establishing communication with the monitored image output device in order to obtain status information of the monitored image output device if the monitored image output device is determined to be supported by the monitoring system; i) accessing XML formatted data from a web server stored in the respective monitored image output devices so as to obtain a line from the XML formatted data; and j) parsing, without human interaction, the line from the XML formatted data to obtain the status information in accordance with information included in the first data structure, said parsing includes searching the line from the XML formatted data for a key included in the first data structure, and the information included in the first data structure includes a location of the status information within the XML formatted data with respect to a location of the key in the XML formatted data.