Network management program, network system, and network management method

A network system comprising a slave apparatus and a master apparatus connected to a network, the slave and master devices being interconnected to the network on a basis of a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), the network system comprising:

• first software executed by an operation unit of the master apparatus;
• and
• second software executed by an operation unit of the slave apparatus,
• wherein the first software is configured to execute:
• a first requesting process configured to generate a first request command for requesting system description information and transmit the generated first request command to the slave apparatus, the system description information containing system information of the slave apparatus;
• a second requesting process configured to generate, in a case where a specific object ID is contained in the system description information received by a first response command, a second request command including the specific object ID and transmit the generated second request command to the slave apparatus, the first response command being replied from the slave apparatus in response to the first request command, the specific object ID designating protocol information that can be used by the slave apparatus;
• and
• a communication software selecting process configured to refer to a protocol name corresponding to the slave apparatus to start communication with the slave apparatus after communication software for executing the communication with the slave apparatus is switched into communication software corresponding to a protocol that can be used by the slave apparatus, the protocol name being included in a second response command replied from the slave apparatus in response to the second request command, and wherein the second software is configured to execute:
• a first responding process configured to generate the first response command containing the system description information stored in the slave apparatus in response to the first request command, and transmit the generated first response command to the master apparatus;
• and
• a second responding process configured to generate, in a case where the specific object ID is included in the second request command, the second response command containing the protocol information in which the protocol name corresponding to the slave apparatus specified by the specific object ID is described, and transmit the generated second response command to the slave apparatus.

A network managing method to be executed using commands transmitted or received between a master apparatus for managing a slave apparatus on a basis of a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the slave apparatus on a basis of software processing executed by each of the master apparatus and the slave apparatus, the network managing method comprising:

• a first requesting process configured to generate, by the master apparatus, a first request command for requesting system description information and transmit the generated first request command to the slave apparatus, the system description information containing system information of the slave apparatus;
• a first responding process configured to generate, by the slave apparatus, a first response command containing the system description information stored in the slave apparatus in response to the first request command, and transmit the generated first response command to the master apparatus;
• a second requesting process configured to generate, by the master apparatus, a second request command including a specific object ID in a case where the specific object ID is contained in the system description information received by the first response command, and transmit the generated second request command to the slave apparatus, the specific object ID designating protocol information that can be used by the slave apparatus;
• a second responding process configured to generate, by the slave apparatus, a second response command containing the protocol information in a case where the specific object ID is included in the second request command, and transmit the generated second response command to the slave apparatus, the protocol name corresponding to the slave apparatus specified by the specific object ID being described in the protocol information;
• and
• a communication software selecting process configured to refer, by the master apparatus, to a protocol name corresponding to the slave apparatus to start communication with the slave apparatus after communication software for executing communication with the slave apparatus is switched into communication software corresponding to a protocol that can be used by the slave apparatus, the protocol name being included in the second response command.