Patent ID: 8902458

Claim:
An information processing apparatus operable to be connected to a first external apparatus and one or more second external apparatuses in a communicable manner via a network, the first external apparatus receiving a job and first identification information transmitted from outside the first external apparatus and storing therein the job and the first identification information in a manner associated with each other, the one or more second external apparatus transmitting second identification information to the first external apparatus, acquiring the job associated with the first identification information specified based on the second identification information from the first external apparatus, and executing the job, the information processing apparatus comprising: a processor including a job transmitting unit configured to transmit the job and the first identification information to the first external apparatus; the processor including a requesting unit configured to request state information indicating a state of the job capable of being executed by any one of the one or more second external apparatuses and associated with the first identification information transmitted to the first external apparatus, from the first external apparatus; the processor including a state receiving unit configured to receive state information, the state information indicating a first stage in which the job is accumulated in the first external apparatus and a second stage in which the job acquired from the first external apparatus is executed by any one of the one or more second external apparatuses, as the state information of the job associated with the first identification information from the first external apparatus; the processor including an authentication query unit configured to generate a job tracking thread based on a job ID associated with the job, the job tracking thread transmitting job tracking information to the authentication query unit; and the processor including a state request transmitting unit configured to, receive the job tracking information from the authentication query unit, and transmit state information of the job along with the job ID to any one of the one or more second external apparatuses, the state information being based on the job tracking information.