Patent ID: 8346916

Claim:
A search apparatus which searches for a device, comprising: at least a processor and memory, functioning as: a reception unit adapted to receive a search request including a search condition and information indicating at least one other search apparatus to which the search request was already transferred by another apparatus; a search unit adapted to search for the device satisfying the search condition included in the search request received by said reception unit; a judgment unit adapted to judge whether or not information indicating a transmission destination of the search result is included in the search request received by said reception unit; a transmission unit adapted to transmit a search result including information of the device searched for by said search unit; a transfer unit adapted to transfer the search request to a second search apparatus; a registering unit adapted to register a plurality of other search apparatuses as destinations to which the search request is transferred; and a specifying unit adapted to specify, from the plurality of other search apparatuses registered by said registering unit, at least one other search apparatus to which the search request was already transferred by another apparatus, wherein, in a case where it is judged by said judgment unit that the information indicating the transmission destination is included in the search request, said transmission unit transmits the search result to the transmission destination, and in a case where it is judged by said judgment unit that the information indicating the transmission destination is not included in the search request, said transmission unit transmits the search result to a client apparatus that is an original source of the search request, and wherein said transfer unit transfers the search request to, in the plurality of other search apparatuses registered by said registering unit, at least one other search apparatus other than the at least one other search apparatus specified by said specifying unit.