Patent ID: 8069241

Claim:
A method of monitoring a printing device connected to a network by a monitoring device, comprising: storing an initial manufacturer and initial model of the printing device; storing a network address of the printing device within the network; obtaining the stored network address of the printing device; querying the printing device for an identity of a manufacturer of the printing device if the printing device is accessible at the obtained network address; updating in a first database the manufacturer of the printing device, if the querying for the identity of the manufacturer of the printing device is successful, the updating includes replacing the initial manufacturer with the manufacturer supplied by the printing device; querying the printing device, utilizing the identity of the manufacturer of the printing device, for an identity of a model of the printing device, if the querying of the printing device for the identity of the manufacturer of the printing device is successful, wherein obtaining the model is dependent upon previously obtaining the manufacturer; updating in the first database the identity of the model of the printing device, if the query for the identity of the model of the printing device is successful, the updating includes replacing the initial model with the model supplied by the printing device; establishing a communication protocol that the monitoring device uses to communicate with the printing device, said establishing of the communication protocol being dependent upon the manufacturer and model included in the first database after updating of the manufacturer and the model of the printing device; obtaining status of the printing device using the communication protocol; and sending the updated information of the first database to a second monitoring device via a network using an internet application layer protocol.