JP3617499B2 - Electronic equipment, program - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to electronic devices that can be connected to a network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a method of setting its own address used for communication by an electronic device, a method of statically setting a predetermined address or a server for assigning an address such as a DHCP server in TCP / IP is provided, There is known a method of setting an address given from the server as its own address. Also known is a method of automatically determining (self-determining) its own address, such as APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing).
[0003]
In recent years, APIPA is a method that is being standardized as an OS function in a PC. When an electronic device sets its own address, a range of IP addresses called a link local address (169.254. 0.0 to 169.254.255.255), one IP address between 169.254.1.0 and 169.254.254.255 is randomly selected as a candidate for its own IP address, and the other After confirming by ARP that the electronic device is not already using the candidate IP address, the candidate IP address is determined as its own IP address. APIPA is also called AutoIP.
[0004]
A specific example of this APIPA process will be described with reference to FIG. In the APIPA process, first, candidates for its own IP address are selected at random as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, 169.254.123.98 is selected. And it is confirmed by ARP whether the electronic device which uses 169.254.123.98 as an IP address exists. As shown in FIG. 4, when the reply to the ARP is from the address 169.254.123.98, the candidate IP address 169.254.123.98 is an already used IP address. A candidate IP address is selected at random. In the example of FIG. 4, 169.244.78.22 is selected. Here, it is confirmed again by ARP whether this candidate IP address is already used. This time, since there is no reply, it can be determined that the IP device does not exist. Here, in order to make sure again, if there is no reply after checking with ARP, the candidate IP address (169.254.78.22 in FIG. 4) is set as its own IP address. In this way, its own IP address is determined and set by itself.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when such an IPIP self-determination function by APIPA is added to a conventional electronic device, the address determined by the device itself cannot be specified from other devices, and other devices cannot communicate with this device. There is a case.
[0006]
For example, conventionally, a printer, which is an electronic device that can be connected to a network, is set to communicate with a predetermined default IP address (for example, 192.0.192) at the time of purchase. The management software executed on the PC or the like has a function for communicating with the printer using the default IP address, and for example, setting a new IP address suitable for the network environment for the printer.
[0007]
However, when the above-mentioned function for self-determining the IP address by APIPA is added to the printer, one IP address between 169.254.1.0 and 169.254.254.255 is always determined as a self IP address at random. Resulting in. For this reason, communication cannot be performed with the default IP address as in the prior art, and the printer cannot be accessed from the management software or the like unless the IP address determined by the self-determined APIPA is known. In such a case, for example, it is necessary to perform various settings and controls by directly operating the device, such as operating the operation panel of the printer.
[0008]
As described above, in the conventional device, even when the address is not self-determined, the self-address is always determined by itself. Therefore, when communicating from other devices, various problems are caused. Occur.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device or the like that can appropriately set an address used for communication.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
The electronic device according to claim 1, which has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, has its own address when a device having a function of determining its own address used for communication by itself performs communication via a network. Is determined based on the communication contents in the network, and the determination result is output.
[0010]
Therefore, for example, a network administrator should refer to this determination result and should enable or disable the function of a device having the function of determining its own address when the device is connected to the network. Can determine. For example, if the result of the decision is that it should determine its own address, the administrator can connect a device that has the function to determine its own address to the network with that function enabled. It can be judged that it may be kept. On the other hand, if the determination result is that the self address should not be determined by itself, for example, the default address may be set so as not to operate the function for determining the self address, A device having a function of determining its own address after it has been assigned can be connected to the network.
[0011]
As described above, since the determination result can be referred to, an address used for communication can be appropriately set.
The output by the output means can be performed, for example, as a display on the display means, a print on the print means, an output to the sound output means, or an output to various notifying means including these. Moreover, you may perform the output by an output means with respect to a network, for example.
[0012]
The determination as to whether or not an electronic device having the function of determining its own address itself should determine its own address has, for example, an address belonging to a predetermined address group as shown in claim 2 The determination can be made based on the communication content related to the device. In particular, the determination may be made based on the communication content related to a device having an address belonging to a candidate address group when the address is determined by itself.
[0013]
The predetermined address group can be, for example, an address in a link local address as shown in claim 3. For example, if the network is an IPv4 environment, the addresses 169.254.1.0 to 169.254.254.255 in the link local addresses 169.254.0.0 to 169.254.255.255 Group, that is, an address group that may be set by APIPA.
[0014]
Whether or not a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is on the network can be determined, for example, by inquiring of the device on the network and according to a response result from the device. That is, for example, a response to this inquiry can be used as communication contents in claim 1.
[0015]
For example, as shown in claim 4, it is possible to make an inquiry to a device on the network, and determine whether or not it is an environment in which its own address should be determined according to a response result to the inquiry. For example, inquire whether there is a device that has an address belonging to a predetermined address group to a device on the network, and determine whether or not it is an environment in which its own address should be determined according to the response to the inquiry You can do that. When the self address is represented by an IP address, for example, as shown in claim 5, an inquiry is made by broadcasting an ICMP echo to a network address of a predetermined address group, and a response to the broadcast is returned. It is possible to determine whether or not it is an environment in which the self address should be determined by the situation. By making an inquiry in this way, the determination can be made in a relatively short time.
[0016]
Whether or not a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is on the network may be determined by monitoring an address attached to a packet used for communication between devices belonging to the network. . For example, the monitored communication content can be used as the communication content in claim 1.
[0017]
For example, as shown in claim 6, is an environment in which an address attached to a packet used for communication between devices belonging to a network is monitored and its own address should be determined according to the monitoring situation? It can be determined whether or not. For example, an address included in a packet used for communication can be monitored, and when an address belonging to a predetermined address group is included as the monitored address, it can be determined that the environment is to determine its own address. . This makes it possible to make a determination without transmitting information to the network. Therefore, the determination can be performed without increasing the network load.
[0018]
Whether or not it is an environment in which its own address should be determined belongs to a predetermined address group as the status of the response to the broadcast described in claim 5 or the status of the monitoring result described in claim 6. It can be determined by whether or not an address is detected. For example, when an address belonging to a predetermined address group is detected as a response status to a broadcast or a monitoring result status, it is determined that the environment should determine its own address, and the address is determined automatically. You can
[0019]
Here, when the determination is simply made based on the presence / absence of address detection, for example, when there is a device that has self-determined the address even though the network environment is not an environment in which the address should be determined by itself May be erroneously determined as an environment in which an address should be set by itself. In particular, such a situation is likely to occur in a network to which a device that determines its own address is connected, such as a PC in which an OS having an address setting function by APIPA is installed. Therefore, even when a response or communication related to such a device is detected, the electronic device needs to accurately determine that this network environment is not an environment in which an address should be determined.
[0020]
Therefore, as described in claim 7, when a predetermined number or more of devices having addresses belonging to a predetermined address group are detected, it may be determined that the own address should be determined by itself. Further, as described in claim 8, when a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is detected in a predetermined ratio or more, it may be determined that the own address should be determined by itself. Note that the predetermined ratio or more can be, for example, the ratio of the number of packets of addresses belonging to a predetermined address group out of the total number of monitored packets.
[0021]
Further, in claim 7 or 8, even if a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is not detected more than a predetermined number or a predetermined ratio, the number of responses to broadcast or the number of monitored packets is a predetermined number. When it is less than this, it is desirable to determine that its own address should be determined by itself. In other words, when trying to construct a new network in an environment in which an address should be determined from now on, even if an attempt is made to confirm a response to a broadcast or monitor a packet, the predetermined address shown in claim 7 or 8 A device having an address belonging to a group is not detected more than a predetermined number or a predetermined ratio, and it becomes impossible to construct a network of an environment in which an address should be determined by itself. Therefore, even if a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is not detected more than a predetermined number or a predetermined ratio, if the number of responses to broadcast or the number of monitored packets is less than the predetermined number, it is newly constructed. Assuming that the network is intended, in such a case, it is desirable to determine that its own address should be determined by itself. In particular, when the number of responses to broadcast or the number of monitored packets is 0, it is extremely effective to determine that its own address should be determined by itself.
[0022]
On the other hand, as described in claim 10, such a determination may be made again when it is determined that its own address should not be determined by itself. For example, as described in claim 2, it is determined whether or not its own address should be determined based on whether or not a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is on the network. In this case, even if the network environment is an environment in which its own address should be determined by itself, when only this electronic device is connected to the network for the first time, a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group is on the network. not exist. Therefore, it is determined that its own address should not be determined by itself. Therefore, when it is determined that the self address should not be determined by itself as in claim 10, the determination may be performed again. In this way, when a device such as a PC that determines its own address is connected to the network, it can be determined again that its own address should be determined by itself. Therefore, a correct determination result is always output.
[0023]
Now, an electronic device that performs such a determination and outputs a determination result and a device that has a function of determining its own address may be configured as different devices or may be configured as the same device.
When configured as the same device, as shown in claim 11, in place of or in addition to the output means of claim 1, an address determination means is provided, and the determination means assigns its own address. When it is determined that it should be determined, this address determination means may determine its own address.
[0024]
Note that “in place of the output means or in addition to the output means” indicates that the configuration for outputting the determination result may or may not be provided. In this way, when it is determined that the own address should be determined by itself, the electronic device determines its own address. Therefore, since the device uses the determination result as it is, it is not necessary for the administrator to refer to the determination result when connecting the device to the network.
[0025]
In this way, the address used for communication can be set appropriately, and as in the past, in any network environment, the electronic device itself determines its own address, making communication impossible. Such various problems can be prevented.
[0026]
For example, if it is determined that the address of the electronic device is set to the default address before the address is self-determined as defined in claim 12, Communication from another device to the electronic device can be performed with a default address.
[0027]
Further, for example, as shown in claim 13, a candidate for its own address is determined from a predetermined address group, and it is confirmed that no other electronic device having the candidate as an address exists on the network. , A method of using the candidate as its own address can be adopted. The predetermined address group can be an address in the link local address as in the third aspect.
[0028]
Then, it is preferable to determine whether or not to determine its own address when the electronic device is turned on, as shown in claim 14. In this way, if it is determined that the own address should be determined by itself, the address of the device is determined immediately after the power is turned on. Further, in the case of having the configuration of claim 12, if it is determined that its own address should not be determined by itself, it is possible to perform communication using the default address immediately after the electronic device is turned on.
[0029]
In addition, as shown in Claim 15, when the function as an electronic device in any one of Claims 11-14 is implement | achieved by a computer, it can be provided as a program executed with a computer, for example. In the case of such a program, for example, the program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a ROM, and a RAM, and loaded into a computer for execution as necessary. By loading and executing via a network, functions as each means can be realized.
[0030]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following examples, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.
[0031]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer 10 as an electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment.
The printer 10 includes a ROM 12 that stores data and programs necessary for various operations, a RAM 14 that temporarily stores data, an ASIC 16 that performs dedicated processing, an NVRAM 18 that is a rewritable nonvolatile memory, A network controller 20 that realizes data transmission / reception by monitoring packets flowing through the LAN and acquiring necessary packets or sending packets to the LAN; and a print engine 22 that performs a printing operation on printing paper; A real-time clock (RTC) 24 and a CPU 26 for controlling them.
[0032]
The LAN is connected to various devices such as a plurality of personal computers (not shown). Here, each personal computer includes a printer driver that makes a print request to the printer 10 and a management tool that makes various settings.
The printer 10 controls the network controller 20 and the like by the CPU 26 executing a program stored in the ROM 12, and realizes a communication function based on TCP / IP. The printer 10 performs the address setting process shown in FIG. 2 after the power is turned on.
[0033]
First, as shown in S110 of FIG. 2, it is determined whether or not an IP address has already been set by an IP address setting process by APIPA in S230 described later. That is, it is determined whether the IP address set by APIPA is stored in the NVRAM 18. If the IP address has been set by the IP address setting process by APIPA in S230 (S110: YES), the process proceeds to S240. On the other hand, when the IP address is not set by the process of S230 (S110: NO), the packet counter provided in the RAM 14 or the like for counting the number of acquired packets and the address of the detected APIPA (or After the value of the APIPA counter for counting the number of APIPA address types is set to 0 (S120), the process proceeds to S130.
[0034]
In S130, an ICMP echo is broadcast to the IP address 255.255.255.255 to the LAN. As a result, all devices connected to the LAN transmit ICMP replies to the LAN.
In subsequent S140, it is determined whether 5 seconds have elapsed since the address setting process was started. If 5 seconds have not yet elapsed (S140: NO), a response to the ICMP echo broadcast in S130 (ICMP reply). It is determined whether a packet has been acquired (S150). If the response packet for the ICMP echo has not been acquired (S150: NO), the process returns to S140 again. On the other hand, if the response packet for the ICMP echo is acquired (S150: YES), the packet counter is incremented. After that (S160), it is determined whether the IP address attached to the acquired packet is an IP address (169.254.1.0 to 169.254.254.255) set by APIPA. (S170).
[0035]
If it is determined in S170 that the IP address attached to the acquired packet is not an IP address set by APIPA (S170: NO), the process returns to S140 again to confirm the next packet. Returning, when it is determined that the IP address attached to the acquired packet is an IP address set by APIPA (S170: YES), after counting the APIPA counter (S180), the process returns to S140 again. And return. That is, by repeating these processes of S140 to S180, the number of responses (value of the packet counter) and the number of APIPA addresses (value of the APIPA counter) to the ICMP echo broadcast in S130 are counted (value of the packet counter). ≧ APIPA counter value).
[0036]
Then, the processes of S140 to S180 are repeated, and when it is determined that 5 seconds have elapsed from the start of the process (S140: YES), the processes after S190 are executed. That is, in S190, it is determined whether the APIPA counter is N or more. For example, N may be 1 or a plurality. If it is determined that the APIPA counter is not equal to or greater than N (S190: NO), whether the ratio of the APIPA counter to the packet counter is equal to or greater than 0.2, that is, the packet with the APIPA address in the acquired packet Is determined to be 20% or more (S200). The value of 20% may be appropriately changed by a network administrator or the like.
[0037]
If it is determined in S200 that the ratio of the APIPA counter to the packet counter is not 0.2 or more (S200: NO), it is further determined whether or not the packet counter is M or less (S210). .
Then, only when all the determinations in S190 to S210 are negative, the IP address of the printer 10 is set to 192.0.192 which is the default IP address (S220), and the process proceeds to S240. . On the other hand, if any one of the determinations in S190 to S210 is affirmative, IPIP setting processing by APIPA is performed (S230), and the process proceeds to S240.
[0038]
If it is determined in S110 that the IP address by APIPA has been set (S110: YES), the default IP address is set in S220, or the IP address setting process by APIPA is performed in S230. After having performed, in S240, it sleeps for 30 seconds and returns to S110 again.
[0039]
Here, the IP address setting processing (S230) by APIPA performed as shown in FIG. 4 will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
When this processing is started, first, IP address candidates are randomly selected from 169.254.1.0 to 169.254.254.255 (S300), and the network controller 20 selects the LAN. An ARP request is made with the candidate IP address thus obtained (S310), and it is determined whether or not there is a response to the ARP in S310 from the LAN to the network controller 20 (S320). That is, it is determined whether or not the selected candidate IP address is being used by another device connected to the LAN. If there is a response (S320: YES), the IP address of the candidate is being used by another device, so the process returns to S300 again to select the IP address candidate again. On the other hand, if there is no response (S320: NO), the candidate IP address is not used by other devices, so the IP address candidate is determined as its own (printer 10) address (S330), and the NVRAM 18 The IP address is stored.
[0040]
In this way, whether or not there are N or more devices (terminals, etc.) that set the IP address using the APIPA technology from the response status by broadcasting an ICMP echo at 255.255.255.255. (S190) Or, it is determined whether or not the ratio of the number of responses from the device for which the IP address is set using the APIPA technology among the number of responses to the broadcast is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (S200), etc. Since it is determined whether or not to set an IP address using the APIPA technology, it is possible to prevent execution of meaningless APIPA processing in a LAN environment that is considered not to employ APIPA. In other words, since the operation of APIPA is performed after confirming whether the network environment seems to be an APIPA environment, unnecessary IP address assignment (self-determination) is not performed.
[0041]
In addition, when trying to construct a new network in the APIPA environment, even if an ICMP echo is broadcasted in 255.255.255.255, there is no device that responds (or at the beginning of constructing the network, It is assumed that the determination in S190 or S200 is not affirmative, and it is assumed that an APIPA environment network cannot be constructed indefinitely. However, as in S210, a negative determination is made in S190 or S200. Even if the device responding to the broadcast is M or less (M is preferably 0 or an extremely small value with respect to the number of terminals connectable to the network) (S210: YES), the operation of APIPA is performed. If the configuration is to execute, set the address more appropriately It becomes possible.
[0042]
Therefore, when the LAN is not an APIPA environment, various operations are performed on the printer 10 such as setting a new IP address or the like from a management tool conventionally used on a PC or the like using a default IP address. Can do.
In this embodiment, the ICMP echo is broadcast (S130), and it is determined whether to perform APIPA based on the response status (S190 to S210, etc.). In the example configuration, a packet flowing through the LAN is monitored (acquired) via the network controller 20 (corresponding to S150: YES), and the IP address assigned to the monitored packet is an IP address using the APIPA technology. Or the like (corresponding to S170).
[0043]
In this embodiment, the determination result in S190 to S210 is not output. For example, as an output unit, the determination result in S190 to S210 is displayed on the operation panel of the printer 10, or via the print engine 22. You may print, output to LAN via the network controller 20, and may output an audio | voice from the speaker which is not shown in figure.
[0044]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the description has been given by taking as an example a printer that includes both determinations regarding S190 and S200, but a configuration including only one of them may be employed. Further, a configuration in which the determination in S210 is not executed may be adopted.
Further, in this embodiment, the ICMP echo is broadcasted at 255.255.255.255 in S130, the number of devices responding to the packet (packet counter) is counted, and the number of devices having the APIPA address among the responding devices. (APIPA counter) is counted, and an example in which the determination based on S190 to S210 is performed using these count results has been described. However, an ICMP echo may be broadcast in S130 at 169.254.255.255. good.
[0045]
With such a configuration, since the devices that respond to the broadcast are limited to the devices having the APIPA address, counting the number of devices that respond (S150 and S160) while reducing the load on the network and itself The number of devices having APIPA addresses can be counted (in this case, the determination in S170 and the processing in S180 are deleted). Then, based on the number of devices having the responding APIPA address, a determination corresponding to S190 may be executed to selectively determine whether to execute the APIPA function (in S200 and S210). Processing will be deleted).
[0046]
In the present embodiment, the printer 10 has been described as an example of an electronic device. For example, the electronic device is a PC connected to a LAN, and only the processing of S120 to S180 and the output of the determination result in S190 to S210 are performed. It may be done. In this way, when the printer 10 is connected to the LAN, it can be determined in advance whether the APIPA function of the printer 10 should be enabled or disabled based on the display content of the PC. Therefore, although the printer 10 having the APIPA function is connected to the LAN, it is possible to prevent an error such that the APIPA is executed without permission even though the network is not an APIPA environment, and communication cannot be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer as an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of address setting processing in the printer as the electronic apparatus according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an IP address setting process by APIPA.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a device address self-setting process by APIPA;
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Printer, 12 ... ROM, 14 ... RAM, 16 ... ASIC
18 ... NVRAM, 20 ... Network controller,
22 ... Print engine, 24 ... RTC, 26 ... CPU

Claims (15)

An electronic device capable of communicating via a network,
Based on the contents of communication in the network, whether or not a device having a function of determining its own address to be used for communication should determine its own address when performing communication via the network. Determination means for determining
An electronic device comprising: output means for outputting a determination result by the determination means. The electronic device according to claim 1,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit performs the determination based on a communication content related to a device having an address belonging to a predetermined address group. The electronic device according to claim 2,
The electronic device, wherein the predetermined address group is an address in a link local address. In the electronic device in any one of Claims 1-3,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit performs the determination based on a response result to an inquiry to the device on the network. The electronic device according to claim 2 or 3,
The self address is represented by an IP address;
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit makes an inquiry by broadcasting an ICMP echo to a network address of the predetermined address group, and performs the determination according to a response status to the broadcast. The electronic device according to claim 2 or 3,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit monitors an address attached to a packet used for communication between devices belonging to the network, and performs the determination according to the monitoring status. The electronic device according to claim 5 or 6,
The determination means determines that the self address should be determined by itself when a predetermined number of devices having addresses belonging to the predetermined address group are detected with respect to the situation. machine. The electronic device according to claim 5 or 6,
The electronic device is characterized in that when the device having an address belonging to the predetermined address group with respect to the situation is detected in a predetermined ratio or more, the determination unit determines that the self address should be determined by itself. machine. The electronic device according to claim 7 or 8,
The determination unit is configured to set the number of responses to the broadcast or the number of monitored packets to a predetermined number even when a device having an address belonging to the predetermined address group is not detected in a predetermined number or a predetermined ratio. If not, it is determined that the self address should be determined by itself. In the electronic device in any one of Claims 1-9,
The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that the self address should not be determined by itself, the determination is performed again. In the electronic device in any one of Claims 1-10,
The electronic device and the device having the function of determining the address itself are configured as the same device,
In place of the output means or in addition to the output means, an address determining means is provided,
The address determining means determines the address itself when the determining means determines that the address itself should be determined by itself. The electronic device according to claim 11,
An electronic device, wherein an address of the electronic device before the address is determined by the address determination means is set to a predetermined default address. The electronic device according to claim 11 or 12,
The determination of its own address by the address determination means determines a candidate for its own address from the predetermined address group, and confirms that no other electronic device having the candidate as an address exists on the network. An electronic device characterized in that the candidate is set as its own address. In the electronic device in any one of Claims 11-13,
The determination by the determination means is performed when the electronic device is powered on. The program for making a computer implement | achieve the function as an electronic device in any one of Claims 11-14.

Images