Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Tom Haapanen

Matt Cecile

Jim Vopni

Shun Tanaka

Kenji Hagiwara

Qinlei Fan

Greg Melendez

Tom Mulholland

Greg Anderson

An approach is provided for distributed output device credential caching. An output device authenticates a user for accessing the output device. The output device receives a request to access a protected remote resource. The output device determines that credentials, for accessing the protected remote resource, are not stored at the output device. The output device retrieves data that specifies output device peers. The output device obtains the credentials by querying the output device peers specified by the data that specifies the output device peers. The output device verifies that the credentials are currently valid for the protected remote resource. The output device services the request by accessing the protected remote resource using the credentials.

Distributed output device credential caching

An approach is provided for configuring printing devices. A configuration manager maintains configuration data for a printing device and provides the configuration data to a configuration agent executing on the printing device. The configuration agent applies the settings specified by the configuration data to the printing device and generates configuration identification data that uniquely identifies the settings. The configuration agent uses the configuration identification data to determine whether the current configuration of the printing device has changed. If so, then the configuration agent acquires and applies configuration data from the configuration manager.

Configuring printing devices

Techniques for coordinating the monitoring of output devices. In one technique, one or more messages are received, at a mediation service, over a computer network from a cloud-based management server. The one or more messages include an identity of an output device, an identity of an active mediation service for the output device, and an identity of each failover mediation service in one or more failover mediation services for the output device. Based on the one of the messages, the mediation service determines that it is a failover mediation service. Later, it is determined whether the mediation service is to be a new active mediation service for the output device. In response to an affirmative determination, the mediation service transmits, to the cloud-based management server, a notification that indicates that the mediation service is the new active mediation service. The mediation service also initiates monitoring of the output device.

Assigning and prioritizing mediation servers for monitoring legacy devices

Techniques for coordinating the monitoring of output devices are provided. The output devices may be in an enterprise or corporate network. In one technique, for each of multiple mediation services executing on multiple computing devices, a list of multiple output devices is received over a computer network from each mediation service. A first list from a first mediation service identifies a particular output device. A second list from a second mediation service that is different than the first mediation service also identifies the particular output device. Based on the list from each mediation service, a mapping that maps each output device to a list of mediation services is generated. The mapping pertaining to the particular output device is transmitted over the computer network to the first and second mediation services.

Coordinated monitoring of legacy output devices

An approach is provided for configuring printing devices using a mobile device. The mobile device acquires, from a configuration manager, data that identifies a plurality of configurations available for a printing device. The mobile device displays the data and a user selects a configuration for the printing device. The mobile device causes the selected configuration to be applied to the printing device.

Configuring printing devices using a mobile device that receives and display data that identifies a plurality of configurations for a printing device and indicates that the current configuration of the printing device has changed from a prior configuration

An improved method for configuring and managing network devices using network mediators is provided. The improved method comprises receiving, at a network mediator executing on a network device, from a device management server, one or more policies for configuring or managing the network device. For each policy from the one or more policies: the network mediator determines, based on the policy, one or more instructions for configuring or managing the network device, and transmits the instructions to the network device. Upon receiving, from the network device, a response to the instructions, the network mediator determines whether the response satisfies one or more conditions set forth in the policy. In response to determining that the response satisfies the conditions set forth in the policy, the network mediator generates a message based on the response, and transmits the message to the device management server.

Mechanisms for cloud-based configuration and management of network devices using network mediators implemented in the network devices

An improved method for configuring and managing network devices using network mediators is provided. The improved method comprises receiving, from a device management server, one or more policies for configuring or managing one or more network devices. For each policy from the one or more policies: a network mediator determines, based on the policy, a network device to which the policy applies. Then, based on the policy, the network mediator determines instructions for configuring or managing the network device, and transmits the instructions to the network device. Upon receiving, from the network device, a response to the instructions, the network mediator determines whether the response satisfies one or more conditions set forth in the policy. In response to determining that the response satisfies the conditions set forth in the policy, the network mediator generates a message based on the response, and transmits the message to the device management server.

Mechanisms for cloud-based configuration and management of network devices using network mediators implemented separately from the network devices

An approach is provided for managing the configurations of printing devices in a distributed environment where printing devices are initially configured at a first physical location and then reconfigured at a second physical location. A configuration manager provides configuration data to a configuration system at the first location to be used to initially configure printing devices. The configuration manager also provides the configuration data to a device management system at the second physical location. The configuration manager receives changes to the configuration data from the device management system at the second physical location and propagates the changes to the configuration system at the first physical location. The configuration manager also tracks the configuration state of printing devices at both the first physical location and the second physical location.

Managing the configurations of printing devices

An approach is provided for authenticating users of mobile devices for accessing printing devices. According to the approach, a short-range communications method is used to establish the identity of printing devices, and then authentication is performed using a Local Area Network (LAN)/Internet or mobile network connection. Embodiments include the use of two-phase authentication to provide additional security.

Managing access by mobile devices to printing devices

A network device managing system is provided for determining network addresses of network devices using network switches. The system comprises a server that determines network switches that communicate with the server, and receives network addresses of devices that are to be excluded from an address search. For each network switch: one or more first addresses of one or more devices that are configured on a switch are received from the switch. For each device, from the one or more devices configured on the switch, in response to determining that a first address of a device does not match any of the addresses of devices that are to be excluded from the address search, the server determines whether an association between the first address and a second address is stored in a server data repository, and if it is, the server transmits the second address to a global data repository.

Output device discovery using network switches

Systems, apparatuses and methodologies to facilitate a capture-to-workflow feature on a terminal apparatus configured to upload captured content along with user specified metadata, via a network to a content management apparatus. Such terminal apparatus configured to enable to perform metadata entry using a cached workflow, even when the terminal apparatus is not connected via the network to the content management apparatus.

Offline mobile capture

Tools are provided to enable a service technician or administrator to apply settings, via a mobile terminal, from configuration templates to a device, particularly when the device is accessible through a network. Such configuration templates may be obtained or downloaded to the mobile terminal from a device management server on a regular basis or as needed or on demand.

Configuring devices using device management templates

Host terminals of a device management application (or other mobile application) are configured to obtain a missing devices list from a device management server, and to communicate, via short-range point-to-point communication with an output device, when the output device is within a short-range communication range threshold, to obtain a device identifier of the output device. The device management application compares the device identifier of the output device with device identifiers on the missing devices list, and when such comparison indicates that the output device corresponds to a missing device, marks the output device as a missing device in a tracked device record, and records an approximated location of the output device in the tracked device record. When connected to the device management server, the device management application transmits the tracked device record to the device management server.

Locating and tracking missing or relocated devices

Systems, apparatuses and methodologies, for secure operation of an image forming (or output) device, by automated handshaking between the image forming (or output) device and a user's mobile device, when the mobile device is within short-range operation range.

System, apparatus and method for secure operation of image forming device

Systems, apparatuses and methods are provided to allow for detection of an impact to an output apparatus. Such impact may be caused by a sudden force applied to one or more points on the apparatus housing or another part of the apparatus accessible from outside the apparatus housing. An impact detector outputs to an apparatus controller an impact report including impact time and impact data corresponding to the detected impact event.

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Kitchener, Canada

Tom Haapanen