Abstract:
To provide an information processing device management method contrived to improve operability by managing respective information processing devices via a network while eliminating any constraint in place for handling the management. A management device receives a request from an administrator terminal via the network, notifies the information processing device of a process responding to the request, acquires management data as a result of the process from the information processing device and transmits the management data to a requester administrator terminal, and the information processing device executes the process which the management device notifies of, generates the management data in a predetermined format on the basis of the result of the process, and transmits the management data in the predetermined format to the management device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a technology of managing information processing devices such as Web servers, etc. via a network.  
         [0002]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a conventional server system. In this server system, a rack  91  contains a plurality of server units  92 , a system monitoring mechanism (System Check Facility, which will hereinafter be abbreviated to SCF) for monitoring (checking) operating statuses of the server units  92 , and a system console (which will hereinafter be abbreviated to SMC) for displaying the operating statuses, and the like. The respective server units  92  may also be constructed of system boards (that will hereinafter be each abbreviated to SB) partitioned independently of each other.  
         [0003]     The SCF extracts pieces of information of the plurality of server units within the rack  91 , and sends the information to the SMC. The SMC accumulates the received data, generates a display screen based on the accumulated data, and displays the screen.  
         [0004]     Further, the prior arts related to the invention of the present application are technologies disclosed in, for example, Patent documents 1 and 2 given as below.  
         [0005]     [Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-7463  
         [0006]     [Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 11-306066  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The system described above needs to connect the SMC in every rack  91  in order to manage the respective server units within the rack  91 , resulting in an increase in costs for the entire system.  
         [0008]     Further, when a person in charge manages the server units, this person in charge is required to go to a place where the SMC is installed. Consequently this lacks promptness necessary for the system management and causes a delay to take a measure for occurrence of a fault. Moreover, the person in charge must be allocated so that the person can go to the place where the SMC is installed and can do the management, and this brings about a rise in costs for the management.  
         [0009]     Such being the case, the invention provides a technology contrived to improve operability by managing respective information processing devices via a network while eliminating any constraint in place for handling the management.  
         [0010]     To solve the problems, the invention adopts the following configurations.  
         [0011]     Namely, an information processing system of the invention is configured by a plurality of information processing devices and a management device for the information processing devices, 
        the management device comprises:     a request receiving module receiving a request from an administrator terminal via a network;     a process notifying module notifying the information processing device of a process responding to the request; and     a distribution module acquiring management data as a result of the process from the information processing device and transmitting the management data to the requester administrator terminal, and     the information processing device comprises:     a request processing module executing a process which the management device notifies of;     a data generation module generating the management data in a predetermined format on the basis of the result of the process; and     a processing result transmission module transmitting the management data in the predetermined format to the management device.        
 
         [0020]     With this configuration, the system management of the single or the plurality of information processing devices can be actualized by accessing the management device from the administrator terminal via the network.  
         [0021]     Further, an information processing device management method of the invention is conducted by a plurality of information processing devices and by a management device for the information processing devices, 
        the management device executes:     a step of receiving a request from an administrator terminal via a network;     a step of notifying the information processing device of a process responding to the request; and     a step of acquiring management data as a result of the process from the information processing device and transmitting the management data to the requester administrator terminal, and     the information processing device executes:     a step of executing a process which the management device notifies of;     a step of generating the management data in a predetermined format on the basis of the result of the process; and     a step of transmitting the management data in the predetermined format to the management device.        
 
         [0030]     Moreover, a management device of the invention, for providing an administrator terminal with management data of a plurality of information processing devices, comprises: 
        a request receiving module receiving a request from an administrator terminal via a network;     a process notifying module notifying the information processing device of a process responding to the request; and     a distribution module acquiring management data as a result of the process from the information processing device and transmitting the management data to the requester administrator terminal.        
 
         [0034]     The process notifying module may notify the information processing device of the process through a distribution function implemented CGI (Common Gateway Interface) started up in response to a request from the administrator terminal.  
         [0035]     The management device may further comprise an authentication module making authentication based on administrator identifying information inputted from the administrator terminal, and 
        the process notifying module may notify the information processing device of the request given from the administrator terminal authenticated by the authentication module.        
 
         [0037]     According to the invention, it is possible to provide the technology contrived to improve the operability by managing the respective information processing devices via the network while eliminating any constraint in place for handling the management. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0038]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a server system of the invention.  
         [0039]      FIG. 2  is a view of architecture of the server system of the invention.  
         [0040]      FIG. 3  is a functional block diagram of the server system of the invention.  
         [0041]      FIG. 4  is a processing sequence diagram.  
         [0042]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of a management method.  
         [0043]      FIG. 6  is an explanatory diagram of how an HTML content is generated.  
         [0044]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a conventional server system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0045]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a server system (information processing system)  1  in the embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the server system  1  has a rack  11  containing a plurality of server units (information processing devices)  2  and a management board (MMB corresponding to a management device)  3 , whereby the server system  1  provides management data of the server units  2  in response to a request given from an administrator terminal  4 .  
         [0046]     The MMB  3  is, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a general type of computer having a housing  31  that contains an arithmetic processing unit  32  constructed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory, etc., a storage unit (ROM)  33  stored with data and software for arithmetic processing, an I/O port  34 , a communication control unit  35 , etc.  
         [0047]     The communication control unit  35  controls communications with external computers via a network such as the Internet, etc. and with the computers (the server units  2 ) within the housing  31 .  
         [0048]     The storage unit  33  is stored with an operating system (OS) and application software (a management program). Further, the storage unit  33  is stored with authentication information in which an administrator ID (identifying information), a password and authority information are associated with each other. Note that the authority information is information representing, for instance, a management data request-enabled server unit and a type of a request-enabled process.  
         [0049]     The arithmetic processing unit  32  properly reads the OS and the application software from the storage unit  33  and executes the OS and the application software, and effects arithmetic processing upon pieces of information inputted from the I/O port  34  and from the communication control unit  35  and the information read from the storage unit  33 , thereby functioning, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a request analyzing module (request receiving module), a process notifying module, a data send-back module (distribution module), an authentication module and an authority-processing module.  
         [0050]     The request analyzing module receives a request from Web browser of the administrator terminal  4  via the network.  
         [0051]     The process notifying module starts up CGI (Common Gateway Interface) corresponding to the received request, thereby notifying each server unit  2  of a process corresponding to the request.  
         [0052]     The distribution module, as a result of the process, acquires an HTML-formatted management page generated by the server unit  2  and sends the management page to the requester administrator terminal  4 .  
         [0053]     The authentication module compares authentication information (e.g., an ID and a password) received from the administrator terminal with authentication information on the storage unit  33 , thus authenticating the authentication information.  
         [0054]     The authority-processing module, if the request given from the authenticated administrator terminal  4  is correspondent with the authority information, i.e., if the server unit  2  within the authority is requested for the management data within the authority, permits notification corresponding to the request but, if not correspondent, does not permit the notification. This authority management is not limited to a configuration that the authority management is conducted only by the authority-processing module of MMB (management device)  3 , and may take a configuration that the notification of the authority is given together with the process notification, and the server unit  2  generates the management data within the authority associated with the identifying information thereof and sends back the management data. In the example, the authority-processing module on the side of the MMB  3  judges which server the request is given to and whether this request should be permitted or not in accordance with the authority information, and a data generation module on the side of the server unit  2  judges which data should be displayed.  
         [0055]     Further, the server unit  2  is, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a general type of computer having a housing  21  that contains an arithmetic processing unit  22  constructed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory, etc., a storage unit (ROM)  23  stored with data and software for arithmetic processing, an I/O port  24 , a communication control unit  25 , etc. In particular, the server unit  2  in the embodiment is a Web server for providing HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) contents to the user terminals  5  via a network such as the Internet, etc. These server units  2  may be independent computers and may also be configured within a single computer in which an area is segmented by partitions into a plurality of areas, and the plurality of areas are ensured and assigned functions as separate servers.  
         [0056]     The communication control unit  25  controls communications with external user computers via the network such as the Internet, etc., and with the MMB  3 .  
         [0057]     The storage unit  23  is stored with an operating system (OS) and application software. Further, the storage unit  23  is stored with operating status logs, a template for generating a Web page for the management, contents to be provided to the users, and so on.  
         [0058]     The arithmetic processing unit  22  reads the OS and the application software from the storage unit  23  and executes the OS and the application software, and effects arithmetic processing upon pieces of information inputted from the I/O port  24  and from the communication control unit  25  and the information read from the storage unit  23 , thereby functioning as a request processing module, a data generation module and a processing result transmission module as shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0059]     The request processing module executes processes which the MMB  3  notifies of, such as acquiring hardware information, acquiring the operating status logs, changing the setting, applying a patch (a differential file) and so forth. Note that the request processing module, if the setting is changed such as a change in name of a file for recording the logs, a change in path, etc., records these changes and executes the processes based on a post-change configuration.  
         [0060]     The data generation module generates the management data in a predetermined format, i.e., in this example, an HTML-formatted management page on the basis of a processing result.  
         [0061]     The processing result transmission module transmits the management data in the predetermined format to the management device  3 .  
         [0062]     Further, the administrator terminal  4  is a general type of computer having a function of receiving and displaying (browsing) a request for the Web page for the management (which is also referred to as a management page) and also this management page through the Web browser.  
         [0063]     Next, a management method executed by the system  1  having the architecture will be explained with reference to  FIGS. 4-7 .  
         [0064]     When the administrator gives an instruction to manage the server units  2  by operating the Web browser on the administrator terminal  4 , the administrator terminal  4  sends the management request and the authentication information to the MMB  3 . The MMB  3 , when receiving the management request and the authentication information from the administrator terminal  4  (step  1 , which will hereinafter be abbreviated such as S 1 ), makes the authentication based on the authentication information received by the authentication module (S 2 ).  
         [0065]     If authenticated in step  2 , the MMB  3  analyzes the request and seeks which server unit  2  the request is given to and which process is requested (S 3 ).  
         [0066]     Then, the authority-processing module of the MMB  3  refers to the authority information and thus judges whether or not the administrator has the authority of executing the analyzed process (S 4 )  
         [0067]     When judging that the administrator has the authority, i.e., when judging that the process is suited to the authority information, the process notifying module notifies the server unit  2  of the process and the authority information as well (S 5 ).  
         [0068]     For example, if the request is to browse the system logs, a specified server unit  2  is notified of a process of acquiring a page describing the system logs. To be specific, the CGI is started up such as &lt;a href“=/cgi-bin/xxxxx.cgi/sample.html”&gt;PATH INFO &lt;/a&gt;, and a corresponding item of information is acquired from the server unit  2  specified by a socket. In the example, “sample.html” can be acquired as “PATH INFO”.  
         [0069]     Herein, the specified server unit  2  represents the server unit  2  specified by the request given from the administrator terminal  4  and may be any one of the server units  2  and may also be a plurality of server units.  
         [0070]     In the server unit  2  notified of the process, the request processing module executes the notified process, e.g., collection of the management data (S 6 ). In the example, the management data is the system log.  
         [0071]     The server unit  2  judges whether or not there is a display restriction by referring to the authority information (S 7 ).  
         [0072]     If there is no display restriction, the server unit  2  reads an HTML template with no display restriction and adds the acquired data, thus generating an HTML content (S 8 ).  
         [0073]     Whereas if there is the display restriction, the server unit  2  reads a template having this display restriction and adds the acquired data, thus generating an HTML content (S 9 ).  
         [0074]      FIG. 6  is an explanatory diagram in the case of generating an HTML content  56  by reading a template  51  with no display restriction and adding format data  54  and log data  55  as pieces of management data into a format setting box  52  and a log display box  53 .  
         [0075]     On the other hand, if there is the display restriction of the format data, the template describing nothing in the format setting box  52  in  FIG. 6  is read out, and only the log data  55  is added. Further, in the case of the administrator having no authority to change the setting, the format data  54  is added into the format setting box  52  and is thus displayed, however, editing may be set disabled, and a button  56  indicating a change of setting and so on may be set non-displayed.  
         [0076]     Then, the server unit  2  transmits the generated HTML content to the MMB  3  (S 10 ).  
         [0077]     The MMB  3  receiving the HTML content from the server unit  2  distributes the HTML content to the requester administrator terminal  4  (S 11 ).  
         [0078]     Thus, in the server system  1  in the embodiment, with the Web browser serving as a front end, the administrator can administer the servers, wherein the terminals are not limited as by the conventional SMC. Note that the types of the processes to be requested may be, without being limited to browsing, the change of setting (i.e., transmission of the data to be changed), a stop/startup/switchover of the server unit, uploading of the file, and so forth.  
         [0079]     Moreover, in the embodiment, each of the server units  2  is configured to generate the HTML content as the management data, thereby simplifying the configuration of the MMB  3 . The function of generating the HTML content is, if supposed to be the Web server, a function generally included for the server to provide the HTML content to the user terminal via the Internet, and can be used in common with the generation of the management data, whereby the server system can be simplified on the whole.  
         [0080]     Moreover, the request processing module generating the HTML content is disposed on the side of the server unit, and hence, if the configuration of the server unit is changed, there is no necessity of adding any change to the MMB when the process of the request processing module and the HTML template are changed corresponding to the change in configuration, whereby the configuration of the MMB can be simplified as by setting the ROM as the storage device of the MMB, etc.  
         [0081]     &lt;Others&gt; 
         [0082]     The invention is not limited to only the illustrated examples given above and can be, as a matter of course, changed in a variety of forms in the range that does not deviate from the gist of the invention.  
         [0083]     For example, the same effects as those in the embodiment discussed above can be acquired also from the configurations given in Notes that follow. Further, the components thereof can be combined to the greatest possible degree.  
       INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE  
       [0084]     The disclosures of Japanese patent application No. JP2005-054330 filed on Feb. 28, 2005 including the specification, drawings and abstract are incorporated herein by reference.