Information providing system having a network terminal and network management system which manages a network and provides information of the network to the network terminal

#The present invention relates to a network management system for managing a network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus and computer program for allowing management of a network by use of network equipment, being managed on the network by a network management system, by preferentially displaying partial information related to the network equipment that is required for network management on the network equipment.

#Generally, a network management system for collecting management information from each of plural network equipment existing in a network and storing the management information in the network management system is used for managing a network. Information required for network management including the collected management information is displayed by the network management system. Particularly, the network management information being displayed includes a configuration of the network being managed in the form of a map in which the network is schematically shown.

#A network is divided into hierarchies such as geographical classification, management classification and detailed information and is displayed in the form of a map having a plurality of hierarchical levels as described on pages 60 to 65 in “Hewlet-Packard Journal”, April 1990. Such is performed so that a management operator can readily grasp a large-scale complicated network configuration at an instant. A technique for changing displayed contents of a configuration according to a management operator in consideration of a case that a network management system is used by plural managers is disclosed in Japanese published unexamined patent application No. 7-312596. A technique for enabling an arbitrary computer except a network management system, to access the same contents as contents displayed by the network management system utilizing a web browser is disclosed on pages 38 and 39 in “Nikkei Computer” November 11 Appendix 1996 as a type of network management in the environment of an Internet/intranetwork. However, in such a technique, a web browser which can access only one screen at a time cannot access plural maps simultaneously when, for example, in case a network management system displays a map for each hierarchy level. Thus, there is a problem that the display of a network configuration using a web browser is difficult to grasp. The utilization of a web browser allows network equipment which is managed by a network management system, to access the same contents displayed by the network management system and to execute network management.

#The present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a network management system and a managed terminal respectively equivalent to a first embodiment;

#FIG. 2 is an explanatory drawing illustrating an example of the configuration of a network managed by the network management system;

#Referring to the drawings, embodiments to which a network management tool according to the present invention is applied will be described below.

#First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 17, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

#The first embodiment enables partial network configuration related to a network equipment to be preferentially displayed in the form of a containment tree if network management is executed from an arbitrary network equipment provided with a display function (hereinafter called a managed terminal) which is equipment managed by a network management system.