Patent ID: 7234066

Claim:
A method for shutting down the power of a plurality of computers on a network, the method comprising the steps of: sending a power-off request from a first computer on the network to other computers on the network when the first computer is subjected to a power-off operation; executing processing for shutting down the power of the first computer after the power-off request is sent from the first computer; making a first determination as to whether or not a second computer on the network that has received the power-off request from a sending computer can be powered off; shutting down the power of the second computer if the first determination indicates that the second computer can be powered off or making a second determination as to whether the sending computer is a communication partner of the second computer if the first determination indicates that the second computer cannot be powered off; keeping the second computer powered on if the second determination indicates that the sending computer is not a communication partner of the second computer or sending a response indicating a refusal to accept the power-off request from the second computer to the sending computer if the second determination indicates that the sending computer is a communication partner of the second computer; and keeping the sending computer powered on if sending the computer receives a response indicating a refusal to accept the power-off request or shutting down the sending computer if the sending computer does not receive a response indicating a refusal to accept the power-off request.