The present invention comprises a system, as well as a method for monitoring a network and for configuring a device, such as a printer, which is operatively linked to the network or a computer. The system is also for establishing communication between the network and the device in a format understandable by a human operator of the network. The present system and method is capable of communicating with virtually any type of operatively linked device utilizing any available device configured protocol and can generate a user interface in any supported human understandable language. The system can also automatically update itself with respect to newly developed devices or changes to device protocols by downloading any needed data from a central location using an existing communication network, such as the Internet.
Devices, such as printers are typically described by various configuration variables using a variety of different system protocols and languages including SNMP, PJL, HTTP, etc. machine languages which are not easily understood by humans. However, in each language there is a code or series of codes or characters which describe or identify a commonly performed task, instruction or characteristic. For example, all printers have a characteristic which in English is “Paper Tray Source”. The same characteristic in a PJL variable would be “OKIPAPERFEED” and in a SNMP variable would be “1.3.6.1.4.1.2001.1.1.1.1.1.40”. The present invention communicates with connected devices utilizing the system protocol or language of the device and “translates” information/data from the connected device into a selected human understandable format for presentation to a human operator.
The present invention reduces development and maintenance time and cost by building generic applications that are modular, data driven and utilize dynamic graphical user interface (GUI) generation instead of integral programs with hard-coded mapping of data to GUI. Using this approach the same software program can operate with any type of device and can present a user interface in any human understandable language. If a device of a previously unknown type is discovered by a system or network, the system or network can dynamically and automatically update itself to permit communication with the newly discovered device or to generate a user interface in a new language. Many network management applications have “knowledge” about device variables coded into the management program. With the present invention description of devices are stored externally so that a generic program can be used making different network protocols, system and human languages and device types and can obtain needed device configurations and variables from the external source as needed.