Patent ID: 8392599

Claim:
A network device having a processor which executes a program for controlling communication with an information processing apparatus on a network, the device comprising: a communicator adapted to communicate with the information processing apparatus by using a first communication protocol requiring authentication when accessing configuration information of a network device and a second communication protocol requiring no authentication; a determination unit adapted to determine whether a request received from the information processing apparatus requests a part of the configuration information related to Plug and Play; and a communication controller adapted to (i) transmit, to the information processing apparatus which has transmitted the request, the part of configuration information by using the second communication protocol when said determination unit determines that the request received from the information processing apparatus requests the part of the configuration information related to the Plug and Play, and (ii) transmit, to the information processing apparatus, a response to the request by using the first communication protocol without transmitting the response to the request by using the second communication protocol when said determination unit determines that the request received from the information processing apparatus does not request the configuration information related to the Plug and Play, wherein it is set in advance, as an operation mode of said communicator, that the second communication protocol is used in a response to a request only for the configuration information related to the Plug and Play, and the first communication protocol is used in a response to a request other than the request for the configuration information related to the Plug and Play.