Patent ID: 7761908

Claim:
A network apparatus connectable to a client through a network, comprising: a storage device configured to store device management data, an authentication indicator for indicating whether authentication is required by the network apparatus, and user information including user authentication data, authorized function data, and authorized data type data for each one of registered users of the network apparatus, the authorized function data indicating at least one of a plurality of functions of the network apparatus that is authorized for operation by the corresponding one of the registered users and the authorized data type data indicating a type of the device management data accessible by the corresponding one of the registered users; a command input configured to input a request command received from the client for requesting the network apparatus to provide client-specific device management data; a user authenticator configured to determine whether authentication is required based on the indication of the authentication indicator, and to authenticate the client using the user authentication data of the user information if the authentication indicator indicates authentication is required; and a data generator configured to generate client-specific device management data, in a predetermined format, wherein if the user authenticator determines that authentication is required and the client is authenticated, the data generator extracts client-related information related to a desired function performed by the client via the network apparatus from the device management data based on at least one of the authorized function data and the authorized data type data of the user information that corresponds to the user authentication data, and the data generator generates the client-specific device management data, in the predetermined format, based on the client-related information extracted from the device management data, and wherein if the user authenticator determines that authentication is not required, the data generator obtains the device management data from the storage device and generates the client-specific device management data, in the predetermined format, based on the device management data.