Information processing system, management device, information processing device, server, and program

Abstract

To enable a server to perform data communication with an information processing device through a virtual leased line in response to a request from an organization having the server even when the server cannot perform data communication directly with the information processing device due to system environment.SOLUTION: A management server 300 has a company information storage unit 303 that associates and stores VPN server connection information and a VPN connection request flag for each company 200. An image processing device 110 includes an operation log storage unit 116 that stores operation logs relating to operations performed by employees of a company 200 to cause an image processing unit 114 to perform image processing in a shared office 100. When a connection request inquiry unit 115 detects that the VPN connection request flag has been set by the administrator of the company 200, a VPN connection processing unit 113 uses the VPN server connection information acquired from the management server 300 to perform VPN connection with a VPN server 210. An administrator PC 230 acquires operation logs from the image processing device 110 via VPN.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a management device, an information processing device, a server, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the spread of work style reform and remote work, the number of workplaces such as coworking spaces and shared offices used by cross-company workers, freelancers, students, etc. is expanding. Workplace managers install multifunction devices with printing and faxing functions in the workplace and provide services to workplace users.

[0003] Even company employees may use the Workplace. In this case, it would be convenient if the multifunction printer in the workplace could be connected to the company's internal system via a network. However, when connecting to a network, from a security standpoint, it is preferable to establish a virtual private line, known as a VPN (Virtual Private Network), and send and receive information via the VPN.

[0004] When an employee uses a multifunction printer installed in the workplace to perform some task, log information related to that task is accumulated in the multifunction printer. The company may want to obtain logs from the multifunction printer for the purpose of unifying management of the tasks performed by employees. However, there are cases where the company cannot directly access the multifunction printer.

[0005] Therefore, in the past, a technology has been proposed in which a cloud server indirectly obtains logs from a multifunction device installed in the workplace by using a log management server that can communicate with both the multifunction device and the company's cloud server (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-068835 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, when a log management server is used as in the conventional technology, even if a server in an organization cannot directly obtain data from an information processing device outside the organization, if there are many devices that exchange data, the load on the log management server will be concentrated. Also, if the data to be exchanged is a confidential log as in the conventional technology, it cannot be said that it is safe from a security standpoint to have the log management server hold the data even temporarily as an intermediary. Therefore, even when a server cannot directly communicate data with an information processing device, it is preferable that the server that acquires data by some method can directly communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line.

[0008] To provide a system that enables a server to communicate data with an information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from an organization that owns the server, even when the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device due to the system environment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The information processing system of the present invention includes a first processor mounted on a server connected to a local network of an organization to which a user belongs and having a virtual private line connection function, a second processor mounted on an information processing device installed outside the local network, and a third processor mounted on a management device installed outside the local network and capable of communicating with the server and the information processing device, the third processor causes the management device to store organization information including at least connection information used to connect to the server corresponding to the organization, the second processor acquires connection information corresponding to an organization to which a user who uses the information processing device belongs from the management device, and when it is detected via the management device that the organization to which the user belongs is requesting data communication with the information processing device, it connects a virtual private line with the server using the connection information acquired from the management device, and when the first processor recognizes that the information processing device and the virtual private line have been connected, it performs data communication via the virtual private line. death , the organizational information includes connection request flag information corresponding to the connection information and indicating the presence or absence of a connection request between the server and the information processing device, and the second processor, by monitoring the setting content of the connection request flag information, when detecting that the connection request flag information has been set, connects a virtual private line with the server using the connection information acquired from the management device; It is characterized by:

[0011] In addition, the present invention is characterized in that, by monitoring the setting contents of the connection request flag information, when it is detected that the connection request flag information has been reset, the virtual private line is disconnected. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

[0012] The connection request flag information is set by the organization.

[0013] The organizational information further includes set control information corresponding to the connection request flag information and specifying the timing for setting the connection request flag information, and the third processor sets the connection request flag information at the timing specified by the set control information.

[0014] The organizational information includes connection flag information corresponding to the connection information, which indicates whether the virtual private line is connected or not, and the second processor does not connect the virtual private line if the connection flag information is set even when the connection request flag information is set.

[0015] The second processor is also characterized in that, when the connection status of the virtual private line is changed, the second processor notifies the management device of the change, and the third processor changes the setting of the connection flag information in accordance with the notified change.

[0016] The third processor is characterized in notifying the organization side of the notified change contents.

[0017] In addition, when a plurality of the information processing devices are provided, the connection request flag information is set for each of the information processing devices.

[0018] The information processing system of the present invention includes a first processor mounted on a server connected to a local network of an organization to which a user belongs and having a virtual private line connection function, a second processor mounted on an information processing device installed outside the local network, and a third processor mounted on a management device installed outside the local network and capable of communicating with the server and the information processing device, the third processor causes the management device to store organization information including at least connection information used to connect to the server corresponding to the organization, the second processor acquires connection information corresponding to an organization to which a user who uses the information processing device belongs from the management device, and when it is detected via the management device that the organization to which the user belongs is requesting data communication with the information processing device, it connects a virtual private line with the server using the connection information acquired from the management device, and when the first processor recognizes that the information processing device and the virtual private line have been connected, it performs data communication via the virtual private line, The second processor is characterized in that, when a user logs in to the information processing device, it obtains connection information corresponding to the organization to which the user belongs from the management device, and connects a virtual dedicated line between the server and the user using the obtained connection information.

[0019] The second processor is also characterized in that, when a user logs out from the information processing device, the second processor disconnects the virtual private line.

[0020] The information processing system of the present invention includes a first processor mounted on a server connected to a local network of an organization to which a user belongs and having a virtual private line connection function, a second processor mounted on an information processing device installed outside the local network, and a third processor mounted on a management device installed outside the local network and capable of communicating with the server and the information processing device, the third processor causes the management device to store organization information including at least connection information used to connect to the server corresponding to the organization, the second processor acquires connection information corresponding to an organization to which a user who uses the information processing device belongs from the management device, and when it is detected via the management device that the organization to which the user belongs is requesting data communication with the information processing device, it connects a virtual private line with the server using the connection information acquired from the management device, and when the first processor recognizes that the information processing device and the virtual private line have been connected, it performs data communication via the virtual private line, The information processing device is an image processing device.

[0021] The management device according to the present invention comprises: A management device included in any one of the information processing systems described above. It is characterized by:

[0022] The information processing device according to the present invention comprises: An information processing device included in any one of the above-described information processing systems. It is characterized by:

[0023] The server according to the present invention comprises: A server included in any one of the above-described information processing systems. It is characterized by:

[0024] The program according to the present invention ,Ko Computer of , Functions as a management device included in any one of the above-described information processing systems To make.

[0025] The program according to the present invention ,Ko Computer of , Functions as an information processing device included in any one of the above-described information processing systems To make.

[0026] The program according to the present invention ,Ko Computer of , Functions as a server included in any one of the information processing systems listed above To make. Effect of the Invention

[0027] According to the invention described in claim 1, even when the system environment makes it impossible for the server to communicate data directly with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server. Furthermore, as the connection request flag information held in the management device is set, the server and the information processing device can be connected via a virtual private line.

[0029] Claim 2 According to the invention described in the above, the virtual private line can be disconnected when the connection request flag information held in the management device is reset.

[0030] Claim 3 According to the invention described in the above, the connection state of the virtual private line can be controlled at the timing when the organization side desires to change the connection state of the virtual private line.

[0031] Claim 4 According to the invention described in the above, the timing for setting the connection request flag information can be set in advance.

[0032] Claim 5 According to the invention described in the above, it is not necessary to execute a process for connecting a virtual private line when the line is already connected.

[0033] Claim 6 According to the invention described in the above, the management device can change the setting of the connection flag information in response to a notification from the information processing device.

[0034] Claim 7 According to the invention described in the above, the organization side can recognize that the connection state of the virtual private line has been changed via the management device without having to check it by itself.

[0035] Claim 8 According to the invention described in the above, the connection of the virtual private line can be controlled for each information processing device.

[0036] Claim 9 According to the invention described in Even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate with the information processing device, the server can communicate with the information processing device via the virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server. Immediately after the user logs in to the information processing device, data can be exchanged between the server and the information processing device.

[0037] Claim 10 According to the invention described in the above, it is possible to avoid leaving a virtual private line connected when it is no longer in use.

[0038] Claim 11 According to the invention described in Even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate with the information processing device, the server can communicate with the information processing device via the virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server. Data used for image processing can be exchanged with the server.

[0039] Claim 12 According to the invention described above, even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server.

[0040] Claim 13 According to the invention described above, even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server.

[0041] Claim 14According to the invention described above, even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server.

[0042] Claim 15 According to the invention described above, even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server.

[0043] Claim 16 According to the invention described above, even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server.

[0044] Claim 17 According to the invention described above, even when the system environment is such that the server cannot directly communicate data with the information processing device, the server can communicate data with the information processing device via a virtual private line in response to a request from the organization that owns the server. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0045] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of company information stored in a company information storage unit in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 3A] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a process performed when a user uses an image processing device installed in a shared office in the first embodiment. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B is a sequence diagram continuing from FIG. 3A. [Figure 4A] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process in which a company administrator acquires an operation log accumulated in an image processing device in the first embodiment. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a sequence diagram continuing from FIG. 4A. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of an information processing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of company information stored in a company information storage unit in the second embodiment. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of authentication log information stored in an authentication log information storage unit in the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process performed when a user uses an image processing device installed in a shared office in the second embodiment. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a flag set process performed by a VPN connection control unit in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0046] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0047] Embodiment 1 Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a block configuration of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. Fig. 1 shows a configuration in which systems installed in a shared office 100 and a company 200 are connected to a network 1 configured by the Internet or the like. In addition, a management server 300 installed outside both the shared office 100 and the company 200, for example, in a cloud, is further connected to the network 1. The information processing system according to the present embodiment can be realized as hardware by combining existing computers and the like, and as described later, the characteristic information processing control according to the present embodiment is realized by software running on each computer.

[0048] The information processing system may include a LAN (Local Area Network) system for multiple shared offices 100 and a company LAN system for multiple companies 200, but since each needs to have the configuration described below, only one of each is illustrated in Fig. 1. Only one management server 300 is provided in the information processing system. In this embodiment, the management server 300 is provided in the cloud, but it is not limited to the cloud as long as it is accessible from each LAN system of the shared offices 100 and the companies 200.

[0049] The shared office 100 in this embodiment is shown as an example of a shared space. A "shared space" is a space in which multiple users who do not belong to the same organization coexist. An "organization" refers to a group formed to achieve a specific purpose. In this embodiment, a company is used as an example of an organization. Therefore, in the following description, "organization" and "company" are used synonymously. Other examples of organizations include educational institutions such as universities.

[0050] In the shared office 100, a LAN system is formed by connecting the image processing device 110 and the router 120 to the LAN 130. The user terminal 140 is a PC (Personal Computer) that is brought into the shared office 100 and used personally by a user belonging to the company. Of course, the user terminal 140 is not limited to a PC, and may be another terminal device as long as it can be connected to the image processing device 110 as described later. The router 120 relays data exchanged between the image processing device 110 and another device having a communication function, which in this embodiment is a VPN server 210.

[0051] The image processing device 110 is also called an image forming device, and is a multifunction device equipped with various functions involving image processing such as a printing function, a copying function, and a scanning function, and functions as an information processing device with a built-in computer. The image processing device 110 includes a CPU as a second processor, a ROM, a RAM, a HDD, a scanner as an image reading device for reading an image on a medium such as paper, a print engine as an image forming device for forming an image on the medium, an operation panel for receiving instructions from a user and displaying information, and a network interface for connecting a communication line such as a network 1. The image processing device 110 may further include an external media interface for connecting an external memory device such as a USB memory or a flash memory, and a wireless communication means for performing short-distance wireless communication with the user terminal 140.

[0052] The image processing device 110 has a user authentication unit 111, a company information acquisition unit 112, a VPN connection processing unit 113, an image processing unit 114, a connection request inquiry unit 115, and an operation log storage unit 116. Note that components that are not used in the description of this embodiment are omitted from the drawing.

[0053] The user authentication unit 111 performs user authentication of a user who uses the image processing device 110. When the user logs in to the image processing device 110, the company information acquisition unit 112 acquires company information corresponding to the company to which the user belongs from the management server 300. The VPN connection processing unit 113 establishes a VPN connection with the VPN server 210 of the company 200 to which the user belongs. In this embodiment, a VPN connection is a connection between two parties, for example, the image processing device 110 installed in the shared office 100 and the VPN server 210 installed in the company 200, that allows communication via VPN. The VPN connection processing unit 113 also disconnects the connected VPN in response to a release request. The image processing unit 114 executes image processing in response to a request from the user. The connection request inquiry unit 115 periodically inquires of the management server 300 about the presence or absence of a VPN connection request from the company 200.

[0054] In the operation log storage unit 116, the operation contents of the user for using the image processing device 110 are accumulated as an operation log. The operation log includes date and time information specifying the date and time of the operation, identification information of the image processing device that performed the image processing (hereinafter, "device ID"), identification information of the user who performed the operation (hereinafter, "user ID"), and operation information indicating the operation contents, all associated with the date and time information. The data configuration of the operation log itself may be the same as before.

[0055] Each of the components 111 to 115 in the image processing device 110 is realized by cooperative operation between a computer mounted on the image processing device 110 and a program running on a CPU mounted on the computer. Also, the operation log storage unit 116 is realized by a HDD mounted on the image processing device 110. Alternatively, a RAM or a storage means of another information processing device in the shared office 100 may be used via a LAN 130.

[0056] In company 200, a company LAN system is formed by connecting VPN server 210, log server 220, and administrator PC 230 via LAN 240. Other devices may be connected to LAN 240, but they are omitted from the drawing because they are not used in the explanation of this embodiment.

[0057] The VPN server 210 in this embodiment can be realized by a general-purpose hardware configuration that has existed for some time. That is, the VPN server 210 has a CPU as a first processor, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive (HDD) provided as a storage means, a network interface provided as a communication means, etc. The log server 220 is also a server computer similar to the VPN server 210, and has a similar configuration.

[0058] The VPN server 210 has a connection function, called a VPN server function or a VPN router function, for connecting to a VPN in response to a VPN connection request from an external device, and establishes a VPN connection in response to a request from a device having an external communication function, in this embodiment, the image processing device 110 in the shared office 100. The log server 220 accumulates operation logs collected from the image processing device 110 in the shared office 100.

[0059] Administrator PC 230 in this embodiment can be realized by a general-purpose hardware configuration that has existed in the past. That is, administrator PC 230 has a CPU, ROM, RAM, a HDD provided as a storage means, a network interface provided as a communication means, and a user interface including input means such as a mouse and a keyboard, and display means such as a display.

[0060] Administrator PC 230 is a PC that is connected to LAN 240 and is used by an administrator of company 200. Administrator PC 230 has an operation log acquisition unit 231 and a connection flag control unit 232. Note that components that are not used in the description of this embodiment are omitted from the figure.

[0061] The operation log acquisition unit 231 acquires an operation log from the image processing device 110 in the shared office 100 via the VPN. The connection flag control unit 232 controls the setting / resetting of a VPN connection request flag held and managed by the management server 300. Specifically, when the company 200 side wishes to establish a VPN connection when the company 200 side is not connected to the image processing device 110 via VPN, the connection flag control unit 232 sets the VPN connection request flag held and managed by the management server 300. Also, when the company 200 side wishes to disconnect the VPN when the company 200 side is connected to the image processing device 110 via VPN, the connection flag is reset. In the case of flag information, it is common for a flag to be set to 1 and for it to be reset to 0, but the opposite is also possible.

[0062] Each of the components 231, 232 in the administrator PC 230 is realized by the cooperative operation of a computer installed in the administrator PC 230 and a program running on a CPU installed in the computer.

[0063] The management server 300 in this embodiment can be realized by a general-purpose hardware configuration that has been available for some time. That is, the management server 300 has a CPU as a third processor, a ROM, a RAM, a HDD provided as a storage means, a network interface provided as a communication means, and the like.

[0064] The management server 300 includes an information management unit 301, a notification unit 302, a company information storage unit 303, and a connection record information storage unit 304. Note that components that are not used in the description of this embodiment are omitted from the drawing.

[0065] The information management unit 301 manages information stored in each of the storage units 303 and 304, such as by registering and updating information in response to information and instructions obtained from outside. In response to a notification from the image processing device 110 that a VPN connection has been established with the VPN server 210, the notification unit 302 records log information indicating the content of the notification as connection record information in the connection record information storage unit 304, and notifies the administrator PC 230 of the company 200 that a VPN connection has been established.

[0066] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of company information stored in the company information storage unit 303 in the present embodiment. The company information is set for each company 200, and includes a company ID, VPN server connection information, an encryption key, an office ID, a VPN connection request flag, and a connected flag. The company ID is identification information of the company 200. The VPN server connection information is connection information including information required for the image processing device 110 to connect to the VPN server 210 of the company via VPN. The VPN server connection information includes a server address as address information for identifying the VPN server 210 to be accessed, and is basically an IP address. The port number is a port number for connecting to the VPN server 210. The authentication information is information required for the image processing device 110 to be authenticated by the VPN server 210 to which the image processing device 110 is connected, and includes an ID, a password, a certificate issued by the VPN server 210, and VPN settings including settings related to communication via VPN, such as an encryption method and a protocol. The encryption key is used when the operation log is encrypted and then recorded in the operation log storage unit 116.

[0067] The office ID is identification information for the shared office 100. The VPN connection request flag and the connected flag are set for each shared office. Of these, the VPN connection request flag is connection request flag information indicating whether or not there is a VPN connection request between the VPN server 210 of the company 200 and the image processing device 110 of the shared office 100. The presence or absence of a VPN connection request is indicated by the company 200 side, or in this embodiment, by an administrator. The connected flag is flag information indicating whether or not there is a VPN connection between the VPN server 210 of the company 200 and the image processing device 110 of the shared office 100.

[0068] For ease of explanation, this embodiment will be described assuming that only one image processing device 110 is installed in each shared office 100. However, if multiple image processing devices 110 are installed, the VPN connection request flag and the connected flag are set for each image processing device in each shared office.

[0069] Each of the components 301 and 302 in the management server 300 is realized by the cooperative operation of a computer installed in the management server 300 and a program running on a CPU installed in the computer. Also, each of the storage units 303 and 304 is realized by a HDD installed in the management server 300. Alternatively, a RAM or a storage means in another information processing device in the cloud may be used.

[0070] Furthermore, the programs used in the present embodiment can be provided not only by communication means, but also by being stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a USB memory. The programs provided from the communication means or recording medium are installed in a computer, and various processes are realized by the computer's CPU sequentially executing the programs.

[0071] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

[0072] First, assume that an employee of company 200 (hereinafter, "user") moves to shared office 100 to perform work. At this time, the user brings in and uses user terminal 140 in shared office 100. Below, the process performed when the user uses image processing device 110 installed in shared office 100 will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0073] After the image processing device 110 is started up and while it is operating, the connection request inquiry unit 115 in the image processing device 110 monitors the setting contents of the VPN connection request flag corresponding to the shared office 100 managed in the company information storage unit 303 by periodically inquiring of the management server 300. In other words, the connection request inquiry unit 115 periodically obtains the state of the VPN connection request flag by so-called polling (step 100). Note that polling is performed continuously, so in Figures 3A and 3B, the polling (step 100) is indicated by a dashed line along the time axis of the image processing device 110. The timing at which the connection request inquiry unit 115 inquires of the management server 300 may be different for each shared office 100 and each image processing device 110.

[0074] In response to an inquiry from the connection request inquiry unit 115, the information management unit 301 in the management server 300 replies with the state of the VPN connection request flag for the shared office 100 contained in the company information storage unit 303, i.e., set or reset. The processing according to the state of the VPN connection request flag will be described later.

[0075] In order for a user to use the image processing device 110, the user needs to log in to the image processing device 110. For example, if the image processing device 110 has a card reader (not shown), the user holds an IC card obtained by registering as a user of the shared office 100 over the card reader. The card reader reads user authentication information including a user ID and a password, and the company ID of the company to which the user belongs, from the held IC card (step 101).

[0076] Note that, although an example has been shown in which the image processing device 110 uses a card reader to obtain information necessary for logging in, etc., this is not limited to the above, and the image processing device 110 may obtain user authentication information and a company ID necessary for subsequent processing, for example, by having the user operate an operation panel of the image processing device 110.

[0077] The user authentication unit 111 performs user authentication by comparing the acquired user authentication information with the user authentication information of each user of the shared office 100 that is registered in advance in a user database (not shown) (step 102). Continuing the explanation here assuming that the user authentication is successful, the user logs in to the image processing device 110 as a result of the successful user authentication (step 103).

[0078] Next, the company information acquisition unit 112 in the image processing device 110 transmits an information acquisition request including the acquired company ID to the management server 300 (step 104).

[0079] When the information management unit 301 in the management server 300 receives an information acquisition request from the image processing device 110, it extracts the VPN server connection information and encryption key corresponding to the company ID included in the information acquisition request from the company information storage unit 303 and returns them (step 105).

[0080] Upon acquiring the VPN server connection information and the encryption key from the management server 300, the VPN connection processing unit 113 in the image processing device 110 sends a VPN connection request including authentication information to the server address and port number included in the VPN server connection information (step 106).

[0081] When the VPN server 210, which is the destination of the VPN connection request, receives the VPN connection request from the image processing device 110, it authenticates the image processing device 110 based on the authentication information included in the request (step 107). Continuing the explanation here assuming that the authentication is successful, the VPN server 210 replies with a connection permission in response to the VPN connection request.

[0082] In this manner, image processing device 110 establishes a VPN connection with VPN server 210 owned by the company to which the user who has held up his / her IC card belongs (step 108).

[0083] When the VPN connection processing unit 113 connects the VPN, it specifies the company ID of the destination company, which is the company ID obtained at the time of user login, and the office ID of its own shared office 100, and sends a notification of the change in the VPN connection status, i.e., that a VPN connection has been made, to the management server 300 (step 109).

[0084] For ease of explanation, this embodiment will be described using an example in which only one image processing device 110 is installed in each shared office 100. However, if multiple image processing devices 110 are installed, it will be necessary to notify the user of the VPN connection by including the device ID of the image processing device 110 connected via VPN.

[0085] When the information management unit 301 receives the notification that the VPN connection has been established, the information management unit 301 sets a connection flag corresponding to the office of the company (step 110). Furthermore, the information management unit 301 may generate connection record information including a pair of the VPN connection established, information on the date and time when the VPN connection was established, and the shared office 100 and the company 200 that respectively have the VPN-connected image processing device 110 and the VPN server 210, and register the generated connection record information in the connection record information storage unit 304 in order to manage the record of the VPN connection.

[0086] Next, the notification unit 302 may specify the office ID of the shared office 100 and send a notification of the change in the VPN connection status, i.e., the fact that the VPN has been connected, to the administrator PC 230 of the company 200 (step 111). By receiving this notification, the administrator knows that it is now possible to collect operation logs from the image processing device 110 via the VPN.

[0087] After logging in, the user operates the image processing device 110 to perform some kind of image processing, such as printing or copying, using the image processing device 110 (step 112). The image processing unit 114 performs image processing in response to this user operation (step 113). The image processing unit 114 then records the contents of the executed image processing as an operation log in the operation log storage unit 116, but at this time, from a security standpoint, the operation log is encrypted before being recorded (step 114).

[0088] The user may also carry out image processing by linking the user terminal 140 brought into the shared office 100 with the image processing device 110 using a wireless communication method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The user may also carry out image processing by accessing a data file stored in the LAN system of the company 200 via the connected VPN.

[0089] Although omitted in FIG. 3B, the processes of steps 112 to 114 are repeatedly executed in response to a user operation.

[0090] When the user finishes using the image processing device 110 and logs out (step 115), the VPN connection processing unit 113 disconnects the VPN (step 116). Next, the VPN connection processing unit 113 specifies the company ID of the connection destination, which is the company ID acquired at the time of user login, and the office ID of the shared office 100, and transmits the change in the VPN connection status, i.e., a notification that the VPN has been disconnected, to the management server 300 (step 117).

[0091] In response to the notification from the VPN connection processing unit 113, the information management unit 301 resets the connection flag corresponding to the office of the company (step 118). Furthermore, the information management unit 301 may generate connection history information including a pair of the image processing device 110 and the company 200, which respectively have the VPN disconnection-related image processing device 110 and the VPN server 210, and register the generated connection history information in the connection history information storage unit 304 in order to manage the history of VPN disconnection.

[0092] Next, the notification unit 302 may specify the office ID of the shared office 100 and send a notification of the change in the VPN connection status, i.e., that the VPN has been disconnected, to the administrator PC 230 of the company 200 (step 119). By receiving this notification, the administrator knows that it is no longer possible to collect operation logs from the image processing device 110 via the VPN.

[0093] When a user logs out, the information about the user and the company to which the user belongs that has been referenced by the image processing device 110 becomes unnecessary. For this reason, from the viewpoint of security, it is preferable to have the image processing device 110 delete the relevant information.

[0094] In this embodiment, when the image processing device 110 is used as described above, an operation log is accumulated in the operation log storage unit 116 .

[0095] Next, a process in which the administrator of the company 200 acquires the operation log stored in the image processing device 110 will be described with reference to the sequence diagrams shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

[0096] When an administrator wishes to obtain an operation log from image processing device 110 at a desired timing, connection flag control unit 232 in administrator PC 230 accesses company information storage unit 303 of management server 300 in response to an operation by the administrator, and sets a VPN connection request flag corresponding to the office in which image processing device 110 from which the operation is to be obtained is installed (step 131). Connection flag control unit 232 may instruct information management unit 301 to process the setting of the VPN connection request flag.

[0097] As described above, the connection request inquiry unit 115 periodically obtains the state of the VPN connection request flag of its own shared office by polling. Therefore, when the connection request inquiry unit 115 detects that the VPN connection request flag has been set (step 132), the company information acquisition unit 112 transmits a VPN connection request including authentication information to the server address and port number included in the VPN server connection information of the company corresponding to the set VPN connection request flag (step 133). The VPN server connection information may be acquired by the connection request inquiry unit 115 from the management server 300 when responding to the polling, or an information processing request may be transmitted separately as in step 104.

[0098] Incidentally, the processing of steps 133 to 138 may be the same as the above-mentioned steps 106 to 111, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0099] However, the connection request inquiry unit 115 performs polling periodically. Therefore, if polling is performed after the administrator PC 230 sets the VPN connection request flag in step 131 and before resetting it in step 141, the VPN connection processing unit 113 determines that a VPN connection is requested from the company 200 side based on the state of the VPN connection request flag, and attempts to execute VPN connection processing (steps 133 to 135) even though the connection is in progress. Therefore, even if the VPN connection request flag is set, if the connected flag is set, the information management unit 301 replies that the VPN is connected, rather than VPN server connection information. In other words, the information management unit 301 returns a message to the connection request inquiry unit 115 indicating that a VPN connection is being requested, that is, VPN server connection information, only when the VPN connection request flag is set and the connected flag is reset. This allows the VPN connection processing unit 113 to not perform VPN connection processing again when the VPN is connected.

[0100] When the image processing device 110 is informed of the establishment of a VPN connection by receiving a notification from the management server 300, the image processing device 110 performs a predetermined operation to acquire the operation log. In response to this operation, the operation log acquisition unit 231 transmits an operation log acquisition request to the image processing device 110, acquires the operation log transmitted from the image processing device 110 via the VPN in response to the acquisition request (step 139), and stores the operation log in the log server 220 (step 140). Note that the operation log to be acquired is processed so as to acquire the operation log after the most recently acquired operation log by referring to the recording state of the log server 220, etc., so that duplicate acquisition is not required, which is efficient. Note that the operation logs accumulated in the image processing device 110 are encrypted, so that an operation log that can be decrypted with a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key used for encryption can be easily identified as the company's own operation log.

[0101] When the operation log is acquired in the above manner, the connection flag control unit 232 accesses the company information storage unit 303 of the management server 300 in response to the operation of the administrator, and resets the VPN connection request flag corresponding to the office in which the image processing device 110 for which acquisition of the operation log has been completed is installed (step 141). The connection flag control unit 232 may instruct the information management unit 301 to perform processing to reset the VPN connection request flag.

[0102] As described above, the connection request inquiry unit 115 periodically obtains the state of the VPN connection request flag of its own shared office by polling. Therefore, when the connection request inquiry unit 115 detects that the VPN connection request flag has been reset (step 142), the VPN connection processing unit 113 disconnects the VPN (step 143). This disconnection of the VPN is notified to the management server 300, but the subsequent processing of steps 144 to 146 can be the same as the above-mentioned steps 117 to 119, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0103] As described above, according to this embodiment, even when the company 200 cannot obtain the operation log because the image processing device 110 is not connected to the VPN server 210 via VPN, the administrator PC 230 at the company 200 operates independently in response to an instruction from the administrator to set a VPN connection request flag held and managed by the management server 300. This allows the image processing device 110 to be connected via VPN, and the VPN server 210 can communicate data with the image processing device 110 via the VPN. As a result, the company 200 can obtain the operation log recorded when a user belonging to the company 200 uses the image processing device 110 in the shared office 100.

[0104] The administrator can know that the VPN is connected from the notification in step 111. If the VPN is connected, the administrator can obtain the operation log via the currently connected VPN without setting the VPN connection request flag in step 131.

[0105] Embodiment 2 Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a block configuration of an information processing system according to the present embodiment. In Fig. 5, the same components as those in Fig. 1 described in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. The information processing system according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a VPN connection control unit 305 and an authentication log information storage unit 306 are added to the management server 300 in addition to the configuration shown in the first embodiment.

[0106] In the above-mentioned first embodiment, the setting of the VPN connection request flag included in the company information was changed by the administrator PC 230 itself, whereas in this embodiment, the VPN connection control unit 305 changes it in accordance with the settings of the set conditions, which will be described later.

[0107] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of company information stored in company information storage unit 303 in this embodiment. In the company information, set conditions are added to the items described in embodiment 1. The set conditions are information items set by company 200, and are therefore set for each company. Of course, they may also be set for each company, shared office, and image processing device. The set conditions include the timing for setting the VPN connection request flag, which is specified by company 200.

[0108] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of authentication log information stored in the authentication log information storage unit 306 in this embodiment. Authentication log information is generated each time user authentication is performed by the user authentication unit 111 in the shared office 100, and is recorded in the authentication log information storage unit 306. The authentication log information includes a date and time, an office ID, a user ID, and a company ID. The date and time is the date and time when the user authentication was performed. The office ID is the office ID of the shared office 100 where the user authentication was performed. The user ID is the user ID of the user who was authenticated. The company ID is the company ID of the company to which the user belongs.

[0109] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

[0110] First, the process performed when a user uses the image processing device 110 installed in the shared office 100 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in Fig. 8. Note that the same processes as those shown in Figs. 3A and 3B used in the description of the first embodiment are assigned the same step numbers, and descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0111] The process in this embodiment may basically be the same as the process explained using Figures 3A and 3B. In this embodiment, as in the above-mentioned embodiment 1, the connection request inquiry unit 115 in the image processing device 110 periodically inquires of the management server 300 about the setting contents of the VPN connection request flag while the image processing device 110 is in operation (step 100).

[0112] The user logs in to the image processing device 110 in the same manner as in the first embodiment (steps 101 to 103), and if the login is successful, the user authentication unit 111 adds the office ID of the shared office to the authentication log and transmits it to the management server 300 (step 210).

[0113] The information management unit 301 in the management server 300 generates authentication log information including the authentication log and the office ID transmitted from the image processing device 110, and records the generated information in the authentication log information storage unit 306 (step 220). The subsequent processes (steps 104 to 119) are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0114] Next, a process in which the administrator of the company 200 acquires the operation log stored in the image processing device 110 will be described. The process in this embodiment may be the same as the process shown in Figs. 4A and 4B described in the first embodiment. However, as described above, in the first embodiment, the administrator PC 230 operates independently to set the VPN connection request flag at a desired timing (step 131 in Fig. 4A), whereas in this embodiment, the VPN connection control unit 305 sets the VPN connection request flag according to a preset set condition without performing step 131. That is, the process of acquiring the operation log in this embodiment is different in that the VPN connection control unit 305 operates without performing step 131 of the process shown in Figs. 4A and 4B. The flag set process performed by the VPN connection control unit 305 in this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 9.

[0115] The VPN connection control unit 305 operates all the time while the management server 300 is operating. The VPN connection control unit 305 acquires the set conditions of each company 200 set in the company information storage unit 303 (step 201). Then, the set contents of each set condition are compared with information related to the current time, specifically, information such as the date, the day of the week, and the time. The comparison with the set conditions of each company 200 is repeated until the current time matches the set conditions, that is, until it is time to set the VPN connection request flag (N in step 202). Then, if there is a company 200 for which the current time is the time to set the VPN connection request flag (Y in step 202), the VPN connection control unit 305 acquires authentication log information corresponding to the company 200 whose timing matches the set conditions (step 203). Next, the VPN connection control unit 305 acquires authentication log information corresponding to the company 200 from the authentication log information storage unit 306 (step 203). It is sufficient to acquire only authentication log information within the most recent period that can be specified from the set conditions. For example, if the set condition is set to "every Friday," "authentication log information within the most recent cycle" refers to authentication log information containing a date and time within the most recent week. More precisely, in the case of company 200 (hereinafter "company A") with company ID "A" shown in Fig. 6, it refers to authentication log information based on user authentication from 15:00 last Friday to the present time (i.e., 15:00 on the current Friday).

[0116] Then, the VPN connection control unit 305 refers to the office ID set in the acquired authentication log information. Here, if there is a shared office 100 whose office ID is not included in any of the acquired authentication log information among the multiple shared offices 100, it is found that no employee of the company has logged in to the image processing device 110 installed in that shared office 100, that is, the employee of the company has not used the image processing device 110. Since the image processing device 110 is not being used, the operation log corresponding to that company 200 is not recorded in the operation log storage unit 116. Therefore, since there is no need to acquire an operation log from that shared office 100, there is no need to connect a VPN. In other words, since there is no logged-in user within the period for acquiring the operation log (N in step 204), the VPN connection control unit 305 does not set the VPN connection request flag corresponding to the shared office 100 of the company 200.

[0117] On the other hand, the image processing device 110 installed in the shared office 100 whose office ID is included in the acquired authentication log information may be logged in and used by an employee of the company 200. Therefore, since there is a logged-in user within the period for acquiring the operation log (Y in step 204), the VPN connection control unit 305 sets a VPN connection request flag corresponding to the shared office 100 of the company 200. As a result, the connection request inquiry unit 115 in the image processing device 110 of the shared office 100 detects that the VPN connection request flag has been set (step 132), as described with reference to FIG. 4A. The processing (steps 133 to 146) after detecting that the VPN connection request flag has been set may be the same as in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. A specific example will be described below.

[0118] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the set conditions of the company 200 with company ID "B" (hereinafter "company B") are set to a closing date of the 28th of each month and a closing time of 18:00. If the current time is the 28th of a certain month and the current time is 18:00, it is the timing for the VPN connection request flag to be set in company B. In this case (Y in step 202), the VPN connection control unit 305 acquires authentication log information of company B for the most recent month by referring to the time interval of the set conditions (i.e., the 28th of each month) (step 203). Here, it is assumed that company B can use the shared office 100 with office ID "P" (hereinafter "office P") and the shared office 100 with office ID "Q" (hereinafter "office Q") by contract. If the office ID of office P is not included in any of the office IDs in the authentication log information of company B for the most recent month, it means that no employee of company B has logged in to the image processing device 110 of office P. In other words, since no employee of company B uses the image processing device 110, it is understood that the operation log to be acquired is not recorded in the image processing device 110 of office P. In this way, if there is no logged-in user within the acquisition period of the operation log in company B (i.e., within the most recent month) that can be specified by referring to the set conditions (N in step 204), there is no need to acquire the operation log from the image processing device 110 in office P, so the VPN connection control unit 305 does not set the VPN connection request flag corresponding to office P of company B.

[0119] On the other hand, if the office ID of office Q is included in the office ID of the authentication log information for the most recent month of company B, some employee of company B has logged in to the image processing device 110 of office Q, so that the image processing device 110 of office Q may be used by an employee of company B. In this way, if there is a logged-in user within the acquisition period of the operation log of company B that can be specified by referring to the set condition (Y in step 204), the VPN connection control unit 305 sets a VPN connection request flag corresponding to office Q of company B (step 205). As a result, the connection request inquiry unit 115 in the image processing device 110 of office Q detects that the VPN connection request flag has been set (step 132), and the VPN connection processing unit 113 establishes a VPN connection with the VPN server 210 of company B (steps 133 to 135). As a result, the administrator of company B can acquire the operation log of his company from office Q by operating the administrator PC 230 (step 139).

[0120] As for resetting the VPN connection request flag, similarly to the first embodiment, it is performed by the administrator PC 230 (step 141).

[0121] According to this embodiment, the VPN connection request flag is set automatically and repeatedly by the management server 300 without the administrator having to give an instruction each time.

[0122] In this embodiment, a time is set as a set condition. However, for example, as in the setting example of company B, polling is not necessarily performed from the image processing device 110 at exactly 18:00. Therefore, it is preferable to take measures such as allowing a certain degree of time to be set as the set condition, taking into account the polling cycle. Also, as in the first embodiment, it is preferable to refer to the VPN connection flag to prevent overlapping VPN connections.

[0123] Also, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which a time-related condition is set as a set condition. However, the set condition does not need to be limited to a time-related condition. For example, the amount of information stored in the authentication log information storage unit 306 may be referenced, and the VPN connection request flag may be set when a predetermined threshold is reached. In this case, since it can be predicted that a certain amount of operation logs will have been accumulated, the company 200 side can obtain the operation logs after a certain amount of accumulation.

[0124] In the above embodiment, the processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, and may be a general-purpose processor (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) or a dedicated processor (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, etc.). g Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, programmable logic device, etc.

[0125] In addition, the operations of the processor in the above embodiments may be performed not only by one processor, but also by multiple processors located at physically separate locations working together. The order of the operations of the processor is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments, and may be changed as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0126] 1 network, 100 shared office, 110 image processing device, 111 user authentication unit, 112 company information acquisition unit, 113 VPN connection processing unit, 114 image processing unit, 115 connection request inquiry unit, 120 router, 130, 240 LAN, 140 user terminal, 200 company, 210 VPN server, 220 log server, 230 administrator PC, 231 operation log acquisition unit, 232 connection flag control unit, 300 management server, 301 information management unit, 302 notification unit, 303 company information storage unit, 304 connection record information storage unit, 305 VPN connection control unit, 306 authentication log information storage unit.

Claims

1. A first processor installed in a server connected to a local network of an organization to which a user belongs and having a virtual private line connection function; a second processor installed in an information processing device installed outside the local network; a third processor installed in a management device that is installed outside the local network and is capable of communicating with the server and the information processing device; having The third processor, storing organization information in the management device, the organization information including at least connection information used to connect to the server corresponding to the organization; The second processor comprises: acquiring connection information corresponding to an organization to which a user who uses the information processing device belongs from the management device; when detecting, via the management device, that an organization to which the user belongs is requesting data communication with the information processing device, connecting a virtual private line with the server using connection information acquired from the management device; The first processor, When it is recognized that the information processing device and the virtual private line are connected, data communication is performed through the virtual private line; The organization information includes connection request flag information, which is associated with the connection information and indicates whether or not there is a connection request between the server and the information processing device; and The second processor comprises: by monitoring the setting contents of the connection request flag information, when it is detected that the connection request flag information has been set, a virtual private line is established between the server and the server using the connection information acquired from the management device; An information processing system comprising:

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the second processor monitors the setting contents of the connection request flag information and, when it detects that the connection request flag information has been reset, disconnects the virtual private line.

3. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the connection request flag information is set by the organization.

4. the organization information includes set control information associated with the connection request flag information and specifying a timing for setting the connection request flag information; The third processor, Set the connection request flag information at a timing designated by the set control information.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

5. the organization information includes connection flag information, which is associated with the connection information and indicates whether the virtual private line is connected; The second processor comprises: even if the connection request flag information is set, if the connection in progress flag information is set, the virtual private line is not connected.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1 .

6. The second processor comprises: When a connection state of the virtual private line is changed, the change is notified to the management device; The third processor, changing the setting of the connection flag information in accordance with the notified change content; 6. The information processing system according to claim 5.

7. 7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the third processor notifies the organization side of the notified change contents.

8. 5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein, when the information processing system has a plurality of information processing devices, the connection request flag information is set for each of the information processing devices.

9. A first processor mounted on a server connected to a local network of an organization to which a user belongs and having a virtual private line connection function; a second processor installed in an information processing device installed outside the local network; a third processor installed in a management device that is installed outside the local network and is capable of communicating with the server and the information processing device; having The third processor, storing organization information in the management device, the organization information including at least connection information used to connect to the server corresponding to the organization; The second processor comprises: acquiring connection information corresponding to an organization to which a user who uses the information processing device belongs from the management device; when detecting, via the management device, that an organization to which the user belongs is requesting data communication with the information processing device, connecting a virtual private line with the server using connection information acquired from the management device; The first processor, When it is recognized that the information processing device and the virtual private line are connected, data communication is performed through the virtual private line; The second processor comprises: When a user logs in to the information processing device, connection information corresponding to an organization to which the user belongs is obtained from the management device; connecting a virtual private line to the server using the acquired connection information; An information processing system comprising:

10. 10. The information processing system according to claim 9, wherein the second processor disconnects the virtual private line when a user logs out from the information processing device.

11. A first processor mounted on a server connected to a local network of an organization to which a user belongs and having a virtual private line connection function; A second processor installed in an information processing device installed outside the local network; a third processor installed in a management device that is installed outside the local network and is capable of communicating with the server and the information processing device; having The third processor, storing organization information in the management device, the organization information including at least connection information used to connect to the server corresponding to the organization; The second processor comprises: acquiring connection information corresponding to an organization to which a user who uses the information processing device belongs from the management device; when detecting, via the management device, that an organization to which the user belongs is requesting data communication with the information processing device, connecting a virtual private line with the server using connection information acquired from the management device; The first processor, When it is recognized that the information processing device and the virtual private line are connected, data communication is performed through the virtual private line; The information processing system is characterized in that the information processing device is an image processing device.

12. A management device characterized by being a management device included in an information processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. An information processing device, characterized in that it is an information processing device included in an information processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. A server characterized by being a server included in an information processing system described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

15. A computer comprising: A program for causing the information processing system according to claim 1 to function as a management device included in the information processing system according to claim 1 .

16. A computer comprising: A program for causing an information processing device included in the information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11 to function as the information processing device.

17. A computer comprising: A program for causing the information processing system according to claim 1 to function as a server.

Images