Patent ID: 7336671

Claim:
A network relay apparatus capable of being connected to a first network that performs communications based on a first protocol and further connected to a second network that performs communications based on a second protocol different from the first protocol, said apparatus comprising: an information collecting portion configured to collect information regarding identification and functionality of at least one device having a signal processing capability and being associated with the second network; a virtual unit generating portion configured to generate at least one virtual unit corresponding to the first protocol, based on the identification and functionality information collected about the at least one device, wherein information associated with the generated at least one virtual unit includes: information related to at least one sub-unit included in the generated virtual unit that corresponds to the at least one device; output function information indicating a function of a signal output corresponding to the at least one sub-unit; and input function information indicating a function of a signal input corresponding to the at least one sub-unit; when a connecting command to the generated virtual unit is received from the first network, a judgment portion configured to determine, based on the information associated with the generated virtual unit, whether or not the connecting command instructs a connection to the at least one sub-unit that corresponds to the at least one device associated with the second network, and configured to reject the connecting command based on a negative determination; and a relay portion configured to receive the connecting command based on a positive determination in the judgment portion and transmit the connecting command to the at least one device associated with the second network.