Patent ID: 7865580

Claim:
An information processing apparatus that identifies, groups, and manages communication devices, the apparatus comprising: a reading unit that reads identifying information, which identifies a plurality of communication devices, wherein none of the plurality of communication devices is permitted to access any other of the plurality of communication devices directly; a grouping unit that groups and manages the plurality of communication devices a receiving unit that receives, from a first communication device, a request to obtain data of a second communication device that has been grouped by the grouping unit; a determination unit that determines whether the grouping unit has grouped the first communication device and the second communication device in a same group; an obtaining unit that obtains data of the second communication device, if the determination unit determines that the first communication device and the second communication device are in the same group; and a sending unit that sends the obtained data to the first communication device, if the determination unit determines that the first communication device and the second communication device are in the same group, wherein at least one of the receiving unit and the determination unit is incorporated in a processor that is coupled to a memory, and wherein the grouping unit determines whether grouping of each of the plurality of communication devices is permitted, and, if a communication device is not permitted to be grouped, the grouping unit does not group that communication device.