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US 7,689,512 B2Granted
License management apparatus capable of efficiently executing job or workflow, license management system, license management method, and recording medium
AssigneeKonica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJunichi Hase, Fumiko Uchino
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A license management apparatus, a license management system, a license management method, and a recording medium are provided, in which a job or a work flow is executed efficiently. The order of grant of a license is controlled according to a grant request for a license for a function necessary to execute a job or a workflow.
Claims30
A license management apparatus comprising:
- a reception unit that receives a grant request for a license for an operational function to be used from one of plural devices connected to a network, the requested license being among plural licenses for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network;
- a determination unit that determines whether or not the license for which said grant request has been received is available;
- a control unit that controls an order of grant of said license based on a determination result from said determination unit and grant request information included in said grant request;
- and
- a reservation unit that reserves a use for a license determined to be unavailable by said determination unit,
- manages the use reservation based on whether contention exists with another use reservation for the unavailable license, and
- changes a reservation for the license to a time at which no contention for the license occurs, so that the reservation for the license agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of plural jobs designated by said grant request to execute a workflow.
4 more elements
A license management apparatus comprising:
- a reception unit that receives a grant request for a license for an operational function to be used, among licenses for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network;
- a determination unit that determines whether or not the license for which said grant request has been received is available;
- a control unit that controls an order of grant of said license based on a determination result from said determination unit and grant request information included in said grant request;
- and
- a reservation unit that reserves a use for a license determined to be unavailable by said determination unit, changes the time of reservation for said license for which reservation cannot be made, to a time after a time at which use of the license that has caused a contention is ended, and changes a time of reservation for a license for which no contention occurs and which corresponds to a job included in said workflow, to a time that agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of said job designated by said instruction to execute said workflow and at which no contention occurs for the license to be used.
2 more elements
A license management system comprising a license management apparatus managing a license and a client device in an environment in which said license is shared for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein
- said client device includes
- a registration unit that registers a workflow including at least one job,
- an analysis unit that analyzes an operational function used in registered said workflow, and
- a transmission unit that transmits a grant request for a license for an operational function necessary to execute said workflow analyzed by said analysis unit, and
- said license management apparatus includes
- a reception unit that receives said grant request for a license,
- a determination unit that determines whether or not the license for which said grant request has been received is available,
- a control unit that controls an order of grant of said license based on a determination result from said determination unit and grant request information included in said grant request;
- and
- a reservation unit that reserves a use for a license determined to be unavailable by said determination unit,
- and manages the use reservation based on contention with another use reservation for the unavailable license.
8 more elements
A license management method comprising the steps of:
- receiving, by a processor a grant request for a license for an operational function to be used, among licenses for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network;
- determining whether or not the license for which said grant request has been received is available;
- controlling order of grant of said license based on a determination result at said determining step and grant request information included in said grant request;
- and
- making a use reservation for a license determined to be unavailable by said determination unit,
- wherein the use reservation is made based on contention with another use reservation for the unavailable license
- wherein when said grant request for a license is received a reservation for the license is changed to a time at which no contention for the license occurs, so that the reservation for the license agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of plural jobs designated by said grant request to execute a workflow.
4 more elements
A license management method comprising the steps of:
- receiving, by a processor a grant request for a license for an operational function to be used, among licenses for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network;
- determining whether or not the license for which said grant request has been received is available;
- controlling order of grant of said license based on a determination result at said determining step and grant request information included in said grant request;
- and
- making a use reservation for a license determined to be unavailable by said determination unit,
- wherein when said receiving step has received a grant request for a license for an operational function necessary to execute a workflow including at least one job, if contention occurs and a reservation cannot be made for a license to be used at a time designated by an instruction to execute said workflow, said step of making a use reservation includes the step of changing the time of reservation for said license for which reservation cannot be made, to a time after a time at which use of the license that has caused said contention is ended, and also changing a time of reservation of a license for which no contention occurs and which corresponds to a job included in said workflow to a time that agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of said job designated by said instruction to execute said workflow and at which no contention occurs for the license to be used.
3 more elements
A recording medium having a license management program recorded thereon to be executed by a computer, said license management program including the steps of:
- receiving a grant request for a license for an operational function to be used, among licenses for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network;
- determining whether or not the license for which said grant request has been received is available;
- controlling order of grant of said license based on a determination result at said determining step and grant request information included in said grant request;
- and
- making a use reservation for a license determined to be unavailable by said determination unit,
- wherein the use reservation is made based on contention with another use reservation for the unavailable license
- wherein when grant request for a license is received a reservation for the license is changed to a time at which no contention occurs, so that the reservation for the license agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of plural jobs designated by said grant request to execute a workflow.
4 more elements
A license management apparatus comprising:
- a reception unit that receives a grant request for one of a plurality of licenses that are associated with one of a plurality of operational functions, the operational function being shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein a total number of licenses associated with each shared operational function is not more than a total number of devices on the network;
- a determination unit that determines an availability of a license for an operational function associated with the grant request;
- a reservation unit that manages a use reservation of a license based on the availability of the license and whether contention exists with another use reservation of the license and changes a reservation for the license to a time at which no contention occurs so that the reservation for the license with an interrelation of an execution timing of plural jobs designated by said grant request to execute a workflow;
- and
- a control unit that controls a sequence in which the licenses are granted to requesting devices based on a determination result of said determination unit, grant request information included in said grant request and associated use reservations.
2 more elements
A license management apparatus comprising:
- a reception unit that receives a grant request for one of a plurality of licenses that are associated with one of a plurality of operational functions, the operational function being shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein a total number of licenses associated with each shared operational function is not more than a total number of devices on the network;
- a determination unit that determines an availability of a license for an operational function associated with the grant request;
- a control unit that controls a sequence in which the licenses are granted to requesting devices based on a determination result of said determination unit, grant request information included in said grant request,
- a reservation unit that changes the time of reservation for said first license so that execution of the workflow is reserved after said contention is ended, and changes a time of reservation for a second license of the grant request for which no contention occurs and which corresponds to a second job included in said workflow, to a time that agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of said at least one job designated by said instruction to execute said workflow and at which no contention occurs for the second license to be used.
1 more element
A license management system comprising a license management apparatus managing a license and a client device in an environment in which said license is shared for each operational function shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein a total number of licenses associated with each shared operational function is less than a total number of devices on the network, and wherein
- said client device comprises:
- a registration unit that registers a workflow including at least one job;
- an analysis unit that analyzes an operational function used in registering said workflow;
- and
- a transmission unit that transmits a grant request for a license associated with an operational function necessary to execute said workflow analyzed by said analysis unit;
- and
- said license management apparatus comprises:
- a reception unit that receives said grant request for a license;
- a determination unit that determines an availability of the license of said received grant request;
- a reservation unit that manages a use reservation of a license based on the availability of the license and whether contention exists with another use reservation of the license and changes a reservation for the license to a time at which no contention occurs, so that the reservation agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of plural jobs designated by said grant request to execute a workflow;
- and
- a control unit that controls a sequence in which said license is granted to said client device with respect to said plurality of devices connected to the network based on a determination result from said determination unit, grant request information included in said grant request, and associated use reservations.
9 more elements
A license management method comprising the steps of:
- receiving, by a processor a grant request for one of a plurality of licenses that are associated with one of a plurality of operational functions, the operational function being shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein a total number of licenses associated with each shared operational function is not more than a total number of devices on the network;
- determining an availability of a license for an operational function associated with the grant request;
- managing a use reservation of a license based on the availability of the license and whether contention exists with another use reservation of the license;
- and
- controlling a sequence in which the licenses are granted to requesting devices based on a determination result of said determination unit and grant request information included in said grant request,
- wherein when said grant request is received reservation for the license is changed to a time at which no contention for the license occurs, so that the reservation agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of plural jobs designated by said grant request to execute a workflow.
3 more elements
A recording medium having a license management program recorded thereon to be executed by a computer, said license management program including the steps of:
- receiving a grant request for one of a plurality of licenses that are associated with one of a plurality of operational functions, the operational function being shared by a plurality of devices connected to a network, wherein a total number of licenses associated with each shared operational function is less than a total number of devices on the network;
- determining an availability of a license for an operational function associated with the grant request;
- managing a use reservation of a license based on the availability of the license and whether contention exists with another use reservation of the license;
- and
- controlling a sequence in which the licenses are granted to requesting devices based on a determination result of said determination unit, grant request information included in said grant request, and associated use reservations,
- wherein when said grant request is received a reservation for the license is changed to a time at which no contention occurs, so that the reservation agrees with an interrelation of an execution timing of said jobs designated by said grant request to execute said workflow.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.