Device server, connection method and program

Abstract

To provide a device server that can improve usability when using a device server.SOLUTION: A device server 10 includes a communication unit 11 that notifies a user of a configuration file containing address information necessary for being connected to the device server 10, and a control unit 12 that connects a device connected to the device server 10 using address information and a user terminal that has made a connection request to the device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device server, a connection method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, devices called device servers have become widespread (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A device server is a device that connects computer peripherals (hereinafter also referred to as devices) such as MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals), scanners, and terrestrial digital tuners connected to itself via USB (Universal Serial Bus) to a network, and enables multiple users' terminals (for example, PCs or tablets) to use these devices via the network. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-12414 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in order for a user's terminal to connect to such a device server via a network, address information is required. Therefore, the administrator of the device server must provide the address information directly to the user, which is time-consuming for the administrator. Furthermore, when the user's terminal connects to the device server using an application installed on the user's terminal, the user must set the address information provided by the administrator in the application, which requires a lot of advance preparation.

[0005] Furthermore, for example, if a user wants to use a device server connected to a local area network (such as an internal company LAN) via an external network (such as the Internet) from a user's terminal, the administrator must provide the user with not only the address information of the device server but also the address information of a relay device (such as a router) that relays the external network before using the device server. In other words, the user needs to know the address information required to connect to the device server.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has an object to provide a device server or the like that can improve usability when using the device server. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a device server according to one aspect of the present invention is a device server that includes a communication unit that notifies a user of a configuration file that includes address information required to connect to the device server, and a control unit that connects a terminal of the user that has made a connection request to a device connected to the device server using the address information to the device server.

[0008] Since the device server notifies the user of a configuration file containing address information necessary for connecting to the device server, the device server administrator does not need to provide this address information to the user one by one, thereby reducing the administrator's workload. Furthermore, the user can connect their device to the device server simply by importing the configuration file into an application installed on the user's device (specifically, an application for connecting to the device server and using the device), thereby reducing the amount of advance preparation required. Thus, the device server of the present invention can improve usability when using the device server.

[0009] The communication unit may also notify the user of the setting file by sending the setting file to an email address of the user.

[0010] Because sending and receiving files via email is a common and widely used method, the device server can easily notify the user of the configuration file by sending it to the user's email address. The user can easily connect their device to the device server without having to configure any additional settings to connect to the device server by simply obtaining the configuration file from the email server of the user's email address (for example, by downloading the configuration file to the user's device) and importing it into an application installed on the user's device. Furthermore, because the configuration file is sent to a pre-registered email address, security is excellent.

[0011] In addition, when the communication unit receives a connection request to the device from the terminal, it may notify the user of a password for the terminal to connect to the device, and the control unit may connect the device to the terminal that made the connection request to the device using the password.

[0012] A password is required to connect a user's terminal to the device, and the password is notified to the user who makes a connection request using the address information contained in the configuration file, thereby further strengthening security.

[0013] The password may also be a one-time password.

[0014] Since the password notified to the user is a one-time password, the risk of password leakage can be reduced, further strengthening security.

[0015] Furthermore, when the communication unit receives a connection request from the terminal to the device, the communication unit may notify an administrator who manages the device server of user information related to the user.

[0016] This allows the administrator of the device server to manage who has made a connection request to a device.

[0017] The user information may also include information for identifying the user in association with the device used.

[0018] This allows the administrator of the device server to manage or monitor who is using the device.

[0019] In addition, a plurality of the devices may be connected to the device server, and the configuration file may further include information indicating the devices, among the plurality of devices, to which the terminal is permitted to connect.

[0020] This makes it easy to restrict the connection of a user's terminal to multiple devices by notifying the user of a configuration file that also contains information indicating the devices to which the user's terminal is permitted to connect.

[0021] The configuration file may further include information indicating a time period during which the terminal is permitted to connect to the device, or information indicating a period during which the terminal is permitted to connect to the device.

[0022] This makes it easy to restrict the time periods or periods during which the user's terminal is allowed to connect to the device by notifying the user of a configuration file that also includes the time periods or periods during which the user's terminal is allowed to connect to the device.

[0023] The communication unit may also notify the user of the configuration file in response to an instruction from an administrator who manages the device server.

[0024] This allows the administrator to notify the setting file to authorized users.

[0025] The device server and the terminal may be connectable via a wide area network, and the address information may be a global IP address of a router for connecting the terminal to the device server.

[0026] If the device server and the user's terminal are connectable via a wide area network, the user is notified of the router's global IP address, and the user's terminal can use this global IP address to request a connection to the device from the device server.

[0027] The device server and the terminal may be connectable via a local area network, and the address information may be a private IP address of the device server.

[0028] When the device server and the user's terminal are connectable via a local area network, the private IP address of the device server is notified to the user, and the user's terminal can use this private IP address to request a connection to the device to the device server.

[0029] Furthermore, when the connection between the terminal and the device server is disconnected, the communication unit may notify an administrator who manages the device server of information indicating that the connection between the terminal and the device server has been disconnected.

[0030] This allows the administrator of the device server to manage or monitor the usage status of the device server.

[0031] In order to solve the above problem, a connection method according to one aspect of the present invention is a connection method executed by a device server to connect a user's terminal to a device connected to the device server, and includes a notification step of notifying the user of a configuration file including address information necessary for connecting to the device server, and a connection step of connecting the device to the terminal that has made a connection request to the device using the address information.

[0032] This makes it possible to provide a connection method that can improve usability when using a device server.

[0033] In order to solve the above problem, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above connection method.

[0034] This makes it possible to provide a program that can improve usability when using a device server. [Effects of the Invention]

[0035] The present invention can improve usability when using a device server. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a system including a device server according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a device server according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow in a system including a device server according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a connection method according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

[0038] The embodiments described below each illustrate a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection configurations, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not recited in the independent claims will be described as optional components that constitute a more preferred embodiment. Note that the same components will be assigned the same reference numerals, and their description may be omitted.

[0039] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

[0040] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a system including a device server 10 according to an embodiment. In addition to the device server 10, the system includes, for example, a device 20, a terminal 30 of a user 100, and a router 40. FIG. 1 also shows an administrator 200 who manages the user 100 and the device server 10.

[0041] The device server 10 is connected to a terminal 30 via a network and is a device (computer) having a function for allowing the terminal 30 to use a device 20 locally connected to the device server 10 via a USB interface (USB connection in FIG. 1 ). For example, the network is a wide area network (WAN), and the device server 10 is connected to a router 40 with a NAT (Network Address Translation) function. That is, the device server 10 and the terminal 30 can be connected via a WAN and a LAN. The terminal 30 can connect to the router 40 by specifying the global IP address of the router 40, and can further connect to the device server 10 connected via a local area network (LAN). This allows the terminal 30 to be connected to the device 20 so that they can communicate with each other.

[0042] The network may be a LAN, and the device server 10 and the terminal 30 may belong to the same network segment. In other words, the device server 10 and the terminal 30 are connectable via a LAN, and the terminal 30 can connect to the device server 10 and then to the device 20 by specifying the private IP address of the device server 10. In this case, the router 40 does not need to be provided.

[0043] The device 20 is a computer peripheral such as an MFP, scanner, or terrestrial digital tuner, and is a USB device connectable to a USB interface of the device server 10. Multiple devices 20 may be connected to the device server 10, and the device server 10 may have a function for allowing a terminal 30 to access each of the multiple devices 20 via a network. While a terminal 30 is connected to a device 20 via the device server 10, the terminal 30 occupies the device 20, and other terminals 30 cannot connect to the device 20. For this reason, it is important for an administrator to know who is using which device 20. In particular, when a user uses a device 20 connected to the device server 10 from a terminal 30 via a WAN, it is important for the administrator to know the user 100 from a security perspective.

[0044] The terminal 30 is a device such as a PC or tablet used by the user 100, and has functions such as connection and disconnection for using the device 20 via the device server 10. This function is realized, for example, by an application (such as a connection tool) installed on the terminal 30. Note that an application having this function will hereinafter also be simply referred to as an application. By using this application, the user 100 can connect the terminal 30 to a desired device 20 or disconnect a connected device 20, and can use the device 20 connected to the device server 10 as if it were directly connected to the terminal 30.

[0045] The device server 10 can notify information to the user 100 and the administrator 200. For example, the device server 10 has an email sending function and can notify information by email.

[0046] Next, the configuration of the device server 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0047] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the device server 10 according to the embodiment.

[0048] The device server 10 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, a user interface (UI) 13, a table 14, and a local communication unit 15. The UI 13 is optional. The device server 10 is a computer including hardware such as a processor, a memory, an input / output interface, a communication interface, and a USB interface. The memory may be a ROM or RAM, and may store a program executed by the processor. The control unit 12 is implemented by a processor or the like that executes a program stored in the memory. The communication unit 11 is implemented by a communication interface or the like, and transmits and receives information under the control of the control unit 12. Here, the communication interface of the communication unit 11 may be, for example, a wired interface conforming to the IEEE 802.3 communication standard or a wireless interface conforming to the IEEE 802.11 communication standard. The table 14 is stored in memory, but the memory in which the program is stored and the memory in which the table 14 is stored may be separate. The local communication unit 15 communicates with computer peripherals such as the device 20 and is implemented by a communication interface or the like. Here, the communication interface of the local communication unit 15 may include, for example, a USB interface conforming to the USB communication standard, or may include a serial interface conforming to a serial communication standard (such as RS-232C). Note that the local communication unit 15 may be, for example, a wired interface conforming to the IEEE802.3 communication standard, or a wireless interface conforming to the IEEE802.11 communication standard.

[0049] The communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of a configuration file including address information required for connecting to the device server 10. As a means of notification, for example, the communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of the configuration file by sending the configuration file to the email address of the user 100, specifically by sending the configuration file to a mail server of the email address of the user 100. The email including the configuration file may be received by the terminal 30 to which the user 100 has logged in, or may be received separately by a smartphone or other device owned by the user 100. Because sending and receiving files via email is generally and widely used in WAN environments, the device server 10 can easily notify the user 100 of the configuration file by sending the configuration file to the email address of the user 100, even if the email goes through the router 40. Furthermore, the user 100 can easily connect the terminal 30 to the device server 10 without having to perform any additional settings for connecting to the device server 10, simply by obtaining the configuration file from the mail server of the email address of the user 100 (for example, by downloading the configuration file to the terminal 30) and importing it into an application installed on the terminal 30. The communication unit 11 may transmit the setting file to a cloud server or the like that is accessible by the user 100, thereby notifying the user 100 of the setting file.

[0050] For example, the communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of the configuration file in response to an instruction from the administrator 200. For example, the table 14 is a correspondence table in which the user information of the user 100 (e.g., the IP address and / or user ID of the terminal 30, etc.) is associated with the email address of the user 100, and when the communication unit 11 receives an instruction from the administrator 200 to designate a specific user 100, the communication unit 11 refers to the table 14 and transmits the configuration file to the email address corresponding to the specific user 100. For example, the administrator 200 may use the UI 13 (e.g., a touch panel display, or a keyboard, mouse, and display, etc.) to designate the user information of the specific user 100, causing the communication unit 11 to transmit the configuration file to the email address corresponding to the specific user 100, or the administrator 200 may transmit the configuration file to the email address corresponding to the specific user 100 by issuing an instruction from a terminal used by the administrator 200 himself (specifically, an application for managing the device server 10, etc.).

[0051] The setting file is a file that, when imported into an application installed on the terminal 30, causes the application to automatically set the connection destination of the terminal 30. When the setting file, which includes address information necessary for connecting to the device server 10, is imported into the application of the terminal 30, the application becomes able to connect the terminal 30 to the device server 10 in accordance with the address information included in the setting file. For example, the setting file can be edited by the administrator 200, and the setting file edited by the administrator 200 for the user 100 may be notified to the user 100 via email.

[0052] When the device server 10 and the terminal 30 are connectable via a WAN, the address information included in the configuration file is the global IP address of the router 40 for connecting the terminal 30 to the device server 10. In this case, the global IP address of the router 40 is notified to the user 100, and the terminal 30 can use this global IP address to make a connection request to the device 20 to the device server 10.

[0053] When the device server 10 and the terminal 30 are connectable via a LAN, the address information included in the configuration file is the private IP address of the device server 10. In this case, the private IP address of the device server 10 is notified to the user 100, and the terminal 30 can make a connection request to the device 20 to the device server 10 using this private IP address.

[0054] Furthermore, as described above, a plurality of devices 20 may be connected to the device server 10, and the configuration file may further include information indicating which of the plurality of devices 20 the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to. For example, the administrator 200 may have some devices 20 that the user 100 wants to use and some devices 20 that the user 100 does not want to use, depending on the plurality of devices 20. In this case, the administrator 200 can edit the configuration file to include information indicating the devices 20 that the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to, thereby allowing the user 100 to use only specific devices 20 among the plurality of devices 20. For example, the information indicating the devices 20 that the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to may be information indicating the USB port to which the devices 20 are connected, the product ID of the devices 20, or the like.

[0055] In this way, by notifying the user 100 of a configuration file that also contains information indicating the devices 20 to which the terminal 30 is permitted to connect, it is possible to easily restrict the connection of the terminal 30 to multiple devices 20.

[0056] The configuration file may further include information indicating a time period during which the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to the device 20, or information indicating a period during which the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to the device 20. For example, the administrator 200 may want some users 100 to use the device 20 only during a specific time period, or may not want some users 100 to use the device 20 continuously for a long period of time. In this case, the administrator 200 can edit the configuration file to include information indicating the time period or the period in the configuration file, thereby allowing the users 100 to use the device 20 only during a specific time period or period. For example, the time period may be working hours, and the period may be one day. Time management may be performed by a timer provided in the terminal 30 or the device server 10.

[0057] In this way, by notifying the user 100 of the configuration file that also includes the time period or period during which the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to the device 20, it is possible to easily restrict the time period or period during which the terminal 30 is permitted to connect to the device 20.

[0058] The setting file may also include information to be updated in accordance with firmware updates of the device server 10. For example, when a new function of the device server 10 is added or upgraded, the administrator 200 can provide the user 100 with the latest functions of the device server 10 by editing the setting file and including information related to the function update as necessary.

[0059] In this way, by notifying the user 100 of the configuration file, the user 100 can use the latest functions of the device server 10 simply by importing the configuration file, without having to be aware of the version of the functions that the device server 10 has.

[0060] For example, when the communication unit 11 receives a connection request from the terminal 30 to the device 20 using address information included in the setting file, the communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of a password for connecting the terminal 30 to the device 20. For example, the communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of the password by sending the password to the email address of the user 100. Note that the communication unit 11 may also send the password to a cloud server or the like that is accessible by the user 100, thereby notifying the user 100 of the password. For example, the communication unit 11 can notify the user 100 of the password by identifying the user 100 from information such as a user ID (login ID) in an application of the terminal 30 that has made the connection request.

[0061] A password is required to connect the terminal 30 to the device 20, and the password is notified to the user 100 who has made a connection request using the address information included in the setting file, thereby enabling enhanced security.

[0062] It is preferable that the password is, for example, a one-time password. If the password notified to the user 100 is a one-time password, the risk of password leakage can be reduced, and security can be further strengthened.

[0063] On the other hand, when the communication unit 11 receives a connection request to the device 20 from the terminal 30 using address information included in the configuration file, it notifies the administrator 200 of user information about the user 100. For example, the communication unit 11 notifies the administrator 200 of the user information by sending the user information to the administrator 200's email address. This allows the administrator 200 to manage who made a connection request to the device 20 and when. For example, the user information may include information for identifying the user 100 in association with the device used (e.g., the IP address and / or user ID of the terminal 30). This allows the administrator 200 to manage or monitor who is using the device 20.

[0064] For example, when the connection between the terminal 30 and the device server 10 is disconnected, the communication unit 11 notifies the administrator 200 of information indicating that the connection between the terminal 30 and the device server 10 has been disconnected. This allows the administrator 200 to manage or monitor the usage status of the device server 10.

[0065] When a terminal 30 that has connected to the device server 10 using address information included in the configuration file makes a connection request to the device 20, the control unit 12 connects the terminal 30 to the device 20. Specifically, for example, if the communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of a password after receiving a connection request to the device 20 from the terminal 30, the control unit 12 connects the terminal 30 that made the connection request to the device 20 using the password to the device 20. For example, by inputting the password on an application on the terminal 30, the user 100 can use the device 20 via the terminal 30, and can use the device 20 as if it were directly connected to the terminal 30.

[0066] Next, the flow of operations of the user 100, the terminal 30, the device server 10, and the administrator 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0067] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of operations in a system including the device server 10 according to the embodiment.

[0068] First, the user 100 applies to the administrator 200 to use the device server 10 (step S101). The method of application for use is not particularly limited, and may include applying directly to the administrator 200 or applying by email. For example, when applying to use the device server 10, the user 100 notifies the administrator 200 of the user information of the user 100 (for example, the IP address and / or user ID of the terminal 30) and the email address.

[0069] Next, the administrator 200 performs user registration of the user 100 who has applied for use in the device server 10 (step S102). For example, the administrator 200 adds the user information and email address of the user 100 who has applied for use to the table 14 by operating the UI 13 of the device server 10. Alternatively, for example, the administrator 200 adds the user information and email address of the user 100 who has applied for use to the table 14 by issuing an instruction on the terminal used by the administrator 200 (specifically, an application that manages the device server 10, etc.).

[0070] Next, the device server 10 notifies the user 100 of the setting file (step S103). For example, when the user information of the user 100 is added to the table 14, the device server 10 notifies the user 100 who has been added to the table 14 of the setting file. This notification is sent by email, but may also be sent not only to the terminal 30 operated by the user 100 but also to, for example, a smartphone owned by the user 100. Note that the contents of the setting file may be updated, for example, when the address information of the device server 10 is changed. For this reason, the setting file may be notified to each user 100 listed in the table 14 every time the contents of the setting file are updated, or at predetermined intervals.

[0071] Next, the user 100 imports the notified setting file into an application installed on the terminal 30 (step S104). For example, the user 100 downloads the setting file from a mail server or a cloud server to the terminal 30 and imports it into the application on the terminal 30.

[0072] Next, when the user 100 wishes to use the device 20 connected to the device server 10, the user 10 makes a connection request to the device 20 to the device server 10 via an application on the terminal 30 (step S105). As described above, the setting file contains address information of the device server 10, and the setting file has been imported into the application, so the terminal 30 can make a connection request to the device 20 to the device server 10. For example, when a connection request is made from the terminal 30 to the device 20, the application on the terminal 30 asks the user 100 to enter a password. For example, the application on the terminal 30 displays a password entry screen on the display or the like of the terminal 30.

[0073] Next, the device server 10 notifies the user 100 of the password (step S106). At the same time, the device server 10 notifies the administrator 200 of the user information (step S107). Note that step S107 may be performed after step S106, or step S106 may be performed after step S107. At this point, the user information is notified to the administrator 200, so that the administrator 200 can recognize the user 100 who has made a connection request to the device 20.

[0074] Next, the user 100 inputs the notified password (step S108). For example, the user 100 inputs the notified password into the input screen of the terminal 30 displayed in step S105.

[0075] As a result, the terminal 30 is connected to the device 20 (step S109).

[0076] Then, the device server 10 notifies the administrator 200 of the user information (step S110). At this point, by notifying the administrator 200 of the user information, the administrator 200 can recognize that the user 100 is using the device 20.

[0077] Furthermore, when the user 100 has finished using the device server 10, the user 100 operates the terminal 30 (specifically, an application on the terminal 30) to disconnect the terminal 30 from the device server 10 (step S111). Then, when the terminal 30 and the device server 10 are disconnected, the device server 10 notifies the administrator 200 of the disconnection, and informs the administrator 200 that the user 100 has finished using the device server 10 (step S112).

[0078] Although an example has been described in which user information is notified to the administrator 200 both when a connection request is made from the terminal 30 and when a password is entered to connect the terminal 30 and the device 20, notification of user information to the administrator 200 may be performed at only one of the two times.

[0079] As described above, since the device server 10 notifies the user 100 of a configuration file containing address information, the administrator 200 does not need to directly provide address information to the user 100 each time, thereby reducing the administrator's workload. Furthermore, the user 100 can connect the terminal 30 to the device server 10 simply by importing the configuration file into an application installed on the terminal 30, thereby reducing the amount of advance preparation required. Thus, the device server 10 can improve usability when using the device server 10. Furthermore, even in a WAN environment, the administrator 200 can restrict the devices 20 that the user 100 can access by registering the user in the device server 10, thereby enhancing security. In particular, various notifications sent by email make it easier for the administrator 200 to monitor the user 100 and further improve usability.

[0080] (Other embodiments) The device server 10 of the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. As long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention, various modifications that a person skilled in the art can make to the present embodiment, and configurations constructed by combining components of different embodiments, are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0081] For example, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the communication unit 11 notifies the user 100 of a password for connecting the terminal 30 to the device 20 when a connection request is received from the terminal 30, but the password does not have to be notified to the user 100. In other words, the terminal 30 may be able to connect to the device 20 without a password.

[0082] For example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the communication unit 11 notifies the administrator 200 of user information when a connection request is received from the terminal 30, but the user information does not have to be notified to the administrator 200, and instead, for example, the user information may be stored as log information.

[0083] For example, the present invention can be realized not only as the device server 10, but also as a connection method including steps (processing) performed by the components that make up the device server 10 (for example, the communication unit 11 and the control unit 12).

[0084] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a connection method according to another embodiment.

[0085] The connection method is a connection method executed by the device server 10 for connecting the terminal 30 of the user 100 and the device 20 connected to the device server 10, and includes, as shown in FIG. 4, a notification step (step S11) of notifying the user 100 by email or the like of a setting file including address information of the device server 10, and a connection step (step S12) of connecting the device 20 to the terminal 30 that has made a connection request to the device 20 using the address information included in the setting file.

[0086] Also, for example, each step in the connection method may be executed by a computer (computer system).The present invention can be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute the steps included in the connection method.Furthermore, the present invention can be realized as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, such as a CD-ROM, on which the program is recorded.

[0087] For example, when the present invention is realized as a program (software), each step is performed by running the program using hardware resources such as a computer's CPU, memory, input / output circuits, etc. In other words, each step is performed by the CPU acquiring data from memory or input / output circuits, etc., performing calculations on the data, and outputting the calculation results to memory or input / output circuits, etc.

[0088] Furthermore, each of the multiple components included in the device server 10 of the above embodiment may be realized as a dedicated or general-purpose circuit. These components may be realized as a single circuit or multiple circuits.

[0089] Furthermore, the multiple components included in the device server 10 of the above-described embodiment may be realized as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), which is an integrated circuit (IC). These components may be individually integrated into single chips, or some or all of the components may be integrated into a single chip. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may be called a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI.

[0090] Furthermore, the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. As mentioned above, a programmable FPGA or a reconfigurable processor in which the connections and settings of circuit cells within an LSI can be reconfigured may also be used.

[0091] Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or other derived technologies, it is natural that each component included in the device server 10 may be integrated into an integrated circuit using that technology.

[0092] In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by making various modifications to the embodiments that a person skilled in the art would think of, and forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions in each embodiment within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0093] The present invention can be used in a device server or the like for using devices such as computer peripherals from a user's terminal via a network. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 10 Device Server 11 Communications Department 12 Control Unit 13 UI 14 tables 15 Local Communication Section 20 devices 30 devices 40 Router 100 users 200 Administrator

Claims

1. 1. A device server, comprising: a communication unit that notifies a user of a setting file that includes address information required for connecting to the device server; a terminal of the user that has made a connection request to a device connected to the device server using the address information, and a control unit that connects the device; a plurality of the devices are connected to the device server; The setting file further includes information indicating the device to which the terminal is permitted to connect, among the plurality of devices. Device server.

2. A device server, a communication unit that notifies a user of a setting file that includes address information required for connecting to the device server; a terminal of the user that has made a connection request to a device connected to the device server using the address information, and a control unit that connects the device; The setting file further includes information indicating a time period during which the terminal is permitted to connect to the device, or information indicating a period during which the terminal is permitted to connect to the device. Device server.

3. the communication unit notifies the user of the setting file by sending the setting file to the user's email address; The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

4. when receiving a connection request from the terminal to the device, the communication unit notifies the user of a password for the terminal to connect to the device; the control unit connects the terminal that has made a connection request to the device using the password to the device; The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The password is a one-time password. The device server of claim 4 .

6. When the communication unit receives a connection request from the terminal to the device, the communication unit notifies an administrator who manages the device server of user information related to the user. The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

7. The user information includes information for identifying the user in association with the device used. The device server of claim 6 .

8. the communication unit notifies the user of the configuration file in response to an instruction from an administrator who manages the device server. The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

9. The device server and the terminal are connectable via a wide area network, the address information is a global IP address of a router for connecting the terminal to the device server; The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

10. The device server and the terminal are connectable via a local area network, The address information is a private IP address of the device server. The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

11. When the connection between the terminal and the device server is disconnected, the communication unit notifies an administrator who manages the device server of information indicating that the connection between the terminal and the device server has been disconnected. The device server according to claim 1 or 2.

12. 1. A connection method executed by a device server for connecting a user terminal and a device connected to the device server, comprising: a notification step of notifying the user of a configuration file including address information required for connecting to the device server; a connection step of connecting the device to the terminal that has made a connection request to the device using the address information, a plurality of the devices are connected to the device server; The setting file further includes information indicating the device to which the terminal is permitted to connect, among the plurality of devices. How to connect.

13. A connection method executed by a device server for connecting a user terminal and a device connected to the device server, comprising: a notification step of notifying the user of a configuration file including address information required for connecting to the device server; a connection step of connecting the device to the terminal that has made a connection request to the device using the address information, The setting file further includes information indicating a time period during which the terminal is permitted to connect to the device, or information indicating a period during which the terminal is permitted to connect to the device. How to connect.

14. A program for causing a computer to execute the connection method according to claim 12 or 13.

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