Patent ID: 7882180

Claim:
A monitoring apparatus for acquiring information by communication from at least one image forming apparatus to be monitored and communicating with a management apparatus, the monitoring apparatus comprising: an e-mail unit that carries out communication with the management apparatus by e-mail; a receiving unit that receives an update instruction e-mail containing second modules for updating first modules, on which the monitoring apparatus operates, and an install script thereof; a processing unit operable when said receiving unit has received an update instruction e-mail containing the second modules and the install script, to automatically update the first modules in operation to the second modules corresponding to description of the install script, so that the management apparatus enables the first modules of the monitoring apparatus to update to the second modules with the update instruction e-mail, wherein said processing unit starts the updating at first timing when said first modules does not start in accordance with the description of the install script, second timing when said first modules are caused to stop, third timing when said first module finishes executing, and fourth timing when said monitoring apparatus has just restarted; an information collecting unit that collects version information on the first modules when said e-mail unit has received a version information acquisition request from the management apparatus by e-mail; and a returning unit that sends the version information collected by said information collecting unit to the management apparatus by return e-mail, so that the management apparatus enables to determine with the return e-mail whether or not the first modules in operation is updated.