Patent ID: 8707335

Claim:
A system comprising: a plurality of information processing apparatuses, the apparatuses configured to detect if events in a predetermined occurrence pattern have occurred in one or more apparatus of the plurality of information processing apparatuses, each of the plurality of information processing apparatuses comprising: a storage device where at least one piece of pattern data indicating an occurrence pattern of events to be detected in that information processing apparatus is stored; a generation section that specifies a collection of events to be detected in the occurrence pattern based on the pattern data read from the storage device and generates necessary event data indicating the specified collection of events; a selection section that selects an event included in the necessary event data from events which have occurred in that information processing apparatus and events transferred from another information processing apparatus; a detection section that detects if the selected event matches with the occurrence pattern indicated by the pattern data, and outputs a detection result; and a transfer section that transfers, to another information processing apparatus, an event included in the necessary event data generated by the generation section of the other information processing apparatus among events which have occurred in that information processing apparatus and events transferred from another information processing apparatus, wherein in each of the information processing apparatuses, the storage device stores, for each adjacent information processing apparatus, a collection of events included in the necessary event data of the adjacent information processing apparatus or event data of another information processing apparatus adjacent to the adjacent information processing apparatus, and the transfer section selects an event included in requested event data corresponding to another information processing apparatus adjacent to the information processing apparatus from events which have occurred in the information processing apparatus, and transfers the selected event to the adjacent information processing apparatus.