System and method for monitoring a computer system process or peripheral6785015Abstract A computer system includes workstations and a peripheral having a processor. The workstations and the peripheral communicate via email over a network. Email messages include commands and requests that control access to status and reconfiguration of the peripheral, establish subscriptions to status of the peripheral, and invoke reconfiguration of the peripheral. Email messages also include publications of the status of the peripheral according to reporting criteria. Reporting criteria identify a report of process or state variables, define publication criteria for directing the monitoring of state variables, and define delivery criteria to avoid network undesirable network traffic and irritating addressees of subscriptions. Claims What is claimed is: Description FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TABLE 1
Purpose Description
Access Control For security and to permit configuration control of the
peripherals and/or processes in a computer system, a
system manager may limit access to the status of a
peripheral or process. A user or other process may be
granted permission to review peripheral or process
status as limited to particular state variables,
particular groups of state variables, or for
limited periods of time. A user or other process may
be granted authority to reconfigure the peripheral or
process as limited to particular state variables,
ranges of values for particular state variables, groups
of state variables (e.g., an operating mode control), or
a set of values for a group of state variables
(e.g., a particular operating mode for an
operating mode control).
Subscription When permitted to do so, users or other processes may
subscribe to receive notice of changes in the status
of a peripheral or process. The subscription request
may include information describing the user or other
process to send notice to (i.e., the recipient), a
reference to one or more state variables (e.g., a
identifier of a state variable or an identifier of a
report), and conditions that when met will cause notice
of a change of the state variable or the specified report
to be prepared and sent to the recipient. Such notices
or reports will continue to be sent (without further user
interaction) until the subscription is canceled.
Reconfiguration A user or other process having appropriate authority
may specify changes to any setting of a process or to
any setting or the contents of any device in a
peripheral. Memory in the peripheral may include stor-
age of information related to access control, reports,
operating modes, subscriptions, and conditions for
preparing and sending reports.
A peripheral, according to various aspects of the present invention, supports any conventional peripheral functions (e.g., input, output, or input/output) as described above and includes a processor and a network controller for network communication involving the processor. A peripheral may include one or more processors. Network communication functions may be executed by the same processor used for other functions of the peripheral. For example, printer 108 of FIG. 2 includes print engine 202, media handler 206, print controller 204, processor 208, memory 212, network controller 214, and bus 210 coupling print controller 204, processor 208, memory 212, and network controller 214. Print engine 202, media handler 206, print controller 204, bus 210, memory 212, and network controller 214 are of conventional structure and include conventional software and firmware except as described below. Processor 208 may include any conventional microcontroller or microprocessor based circuit. Processor 208 executes various processes for performing all peripheral and network communication functions of peripheral 108. Although all such processes may be implemented in a single process or in various numbers of processes partitioned in any suitable manner, particular advantages are obtained in printer 108 by processes that cooperate, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 where peripheral and network communication functions are supported by the following processes: print formatter 226, message I/O 222, mail I/O 230, list processor 232, and process monitor 238. Processes may be implemented using any software technology or a combination of hardware and software technology. In addition to printing in accordance with data received via intranet 106 through network controller 214, these processes may cooperate to accomplish the purposes described above using a command/reply session. Any command semantics and syntax may be used to accomplish the purposes discussed above with reference to Table 1. One implementation according to various aspects of the present invention is described in Table 2. In Table 2, the descriptions apply within the context of a particular peripheral that receives the command to effect, for example, access control, aliases, subscriptions, and reconfiguration. Angles "< >" enclose named parameters which the user replaces with argument values. In a reply, the parameter names are replace by the peripheral with appropriate values. Repetition is indicated ", . . . " for a comma separated list. Brackets "[ ]" surround optional forms. Braces "{ }" and the vertical bar ".vertline." indicate alternatives from which one form must be used. Replies are prefixed by an arrow ".fwdarw.".
TABLE 2
Command/Reply Description
SETACL <Addressee>, . . . ({+.vertline.-} Addressees are associated
(or
<AccessControlCode>), . . . disassociated) with respective
access control codes known
by the peripheral or process
being monitored. Access
control codes are pre-
requisites, inter alia, for
access to menu levels, for
acceptance of a subscription,
and for successful processing
of various commands includ-
ing SETACL.
-> SETACL {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
APPOINT <Addressee>, . . . ({+.vertline.-} An addressee is associated
<Role>), . . . with a predefined role to
simplify specifying access
control, inter alia, for
subscribing and invoking
a reconfiguration.
-> APPOINT {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
PERMIT {<Addressee> .vertline. <Role>} Permission is granted
for an
{<ReportID> .vertline. <ModeControl>} addressee (or all
addressees
associated with a role) to,
inter alia, subscribe to a
particular report or invoke
reconfiguration according to
a particular operating
mode control.
-> PERMIT {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
MENU [<MenuLevel> <MenuSelection>] Provides a list of menu
items.
A user or other process may
respond to such a list with a
MenuSelection to traverse a
hierarchical menu or a menu
driven command entry
session.
-> <MenuLevel> <MenuItemList> The contents of any memory
may be obtained as a list of
menu items. The menu level
is provided for use in a sub-
sequent MENU command as
described above.
SUBSCRIBE (<Addressee>, . . . {+.vertline.-} The addressee is added
to a
<ReportID>), . . . subscriber list associated (or
disassociated) with each
specified report. Report
identifiers may be
described in particular menu
item lists. In alternate forms
of this command, reporting
criteria (discussed below) may
be identified or defined in
place of ReportID; or,
additional commands may be
used to associate reporting
criteria with each particular
ReportID.
-> SUBSCRIBE {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
SETALIAS <Alias>, . . . {=.vertline.+.vertline.-} Each Addressee is
associated
<Addressee>, . . . (or disassociated) with one or
more aliases. An alias
associated with more than one
addressee operates as a mail-
ing list. Use of the equals sign
defines (or replaces) an alias
whereas use of the plus and
minus signs revise
associations to an existing
alias.
-> SETALIAS {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
CONFIG <StateVariable> = <NewValue> Four forms facilitate
CONFIG <ModeControl> = <Mode> reconfiguration. In a first
CONFIG <ModeControl> :: <Mode>, . . . form, a setting or the
contents
CONFIG <Mode> :: (<StateVariable> = of a memory in the
peripheral
<NewValue>), . . . ) identified by StateVariable is
set to the value specified by
NewValue. In a second form,
an operating mode control is
set to a specified operating
mode. In a third form, an
operating mode control is
defined to include specified
operating modes. And,
in a fourth form, an operating
mode is defined to include
specified settings of state
variables. The current value
and identity of a state variable
or operating mode control
may be provided in a report.
Reconfiguration may, for
example, direct the mail
server to create a mail box,
direct a process to edit a
subscriber list, access control
list, or alias list (any of
which may be hierarchical),
or set a physical
process variable.
-> CONFIG {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
BATCH <Attachment> Each line of the attachment
text file is interpreted as a
command to facilitate, for
example, download of lists
and detailed configurations.
-> BATCH {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
PRINT <Attachment> The attachment, in any
conventional file format, is
printed.
-> PRINT {Succeeded .vertline. Failed}
Print formatter 226 interprets data from print data store 224 to drive print engine 202 in cooperation with print controller 204. Print formatter 226 may include any conventional formatting operations including font support, edge enhancement, rotation, color processing, and media selection and control (in cooperation with media handler 206). Message I/O 222 receives data from intranet 106 via network controller 214 and performs (in cooperation with network controller 214) suitable protocols for one or more levels of the OSI model including, for example, the physical layer, the data link layer, the network layer, the transport layer, and the session layer. Other layers may also be supported. Message I/O 222 suitably adds data received from intranet 106 to print data store 224, which may be organized as a print buffer, pipe, or FIFO. Data in print data store 224 may conform to any conventional printer control language, for example, PCL printer control language (a trademark for a product marketed by Hewlett Packard) or POSTSCRIPT printer control language (a trademark for a product marketed by Adobe Systems). Message I/O 222 distinguishes data intended for printing from other network communication containing commands as described above (e.g., email) and stores the later in message data store 228. Message I/O 222 also reads data from message data store 228 (e.g., formatted as a message containing a reply as discussed above) and accomplishes sending the data via network controller 214 onto intranet 106. Message data store 228 may operate as a buffer, a FIFO, a database, or as a directory of files. Messages in message data store 228 may conform to any conventional format, for example, defined by one of the protocols discussed above. When network communication is accomplished by email, any email format may be used, for example, SNMP, SMTP, MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension), or SMIME (Secure MIME). Mail I/O 230 receives messages containing commands from message data store 228 and stores messages containing replies in message data store 228. Mail I/O 230 performs the functions of a mail server as discussed above for providing access to received messages to any process executed by processor 208. Mail I/O 230 may in addition provide the services of a mail client as discussed above for the preparation of properly formatted email messages from data supplied by other processes executed by processor 208. Further, Mail I/O 230 may read properly formatted email messages, determine data for one or more processes executed by processor 208 and provide the data in any format suitable for such processes. For example, print formatter 226 may have one or more mail boxes in a post office supported by mail I/O 230. As a mail client, mail I/O 230 may read incoming mail addressed to these mail boxes (e.g., to parse a PRINT command) and write contents of the messages or attachments to print data store 224. Process monitor 238 may have one or more mail boxes; and, mail I/O 230 may read incoming mail addressed to these mail boxes (e.g., to parse a CONFIG command). Process monitor 238 may provide data from which mail I/O 230 creates a message containing a reply to be sent. The addressee used may be a predetermined or default addressee (e.g., signaling connection of printer 108 for coordinating automated installation). List processor 232 may have one or more mail boxes; and, mail I/O 230 may operate as a mail client, for example, to place mail in mail boxes according to the command and to prepare messages containing replies (e.g., acknowledgments) from data and addressees known to mail I/O 230. List processor 232 may provide information from which mail I/O 230 creates a message containing a reply. Memory 212 of FIG. 2 represents the data storage function of any of the functional blocks coupled to it by bus 210. For example, memory 212 may include storage for instructions executed (or interpreted) by processor 208; storage for data used by any process executed by processor 208; and registers and register sets used by print controller 204 or network controller 214. Memory 212 may be implemented by any conventional combination of memory devices (e.g., circuits, drives, semiconductor devices, magnetic devices, and optical devices). Process monitor 238 provides an interface for reading any status (e.g., a state variable) accessible to processor 208 and for invoking any reconfiguration to any device or process controllable by processor 208. Process monitor 238 may read or write any configurable device including any setting (e.g., closing a switch in processor 208, print controller 204, print engine 202, media handler 206, or network controller 214) or any portion of memory 212 as discussed above. Generally, status includes any physical process variable available by virtue of the design and functions of a computer peripheral. For example, status for printer 108 may include print engine information (e.g., dates, times, rates, temperatures, humidities, vibration, shocks, current quantities of consumables, installed/operable features, and device metrics related to utilization), media handler information (e.g., media types, and status analogous to print engine information), information describing printer controller, network controller, memory, and processor (e.g., dates, times, operating environment, installed/operable features, utilization metrics such as current/min/max capacity in a predetermined period of time), and information describing processes executed by processor 208 (version identification, certification, errors, and utilization metrics such as current/min/max latencies and operation durations). The status of printer 108 may be described as a multiplicity of named state variables each having a value selected within a set of valid values for that state variable. Process monitor 238 may perform validity checks and provide error descriptions for status read or for attempts to write new values for state variables. A state variable may have any form suitable for implementation (e.g., a bit, a register, an integer, an array, a string, a data structure, a portion of RAM, a file, a file attribute, a directory, an index, or combinations thereof). List processor 232 may include any of the functions generally associated with a mail client and/or a mailing list distribution system. For example, list processor 232 may include suitable functions of the type performed by LISTSERV (a trademark for a product marketed by L-Soft International, Inc.). For example, list processor 232 receives from mail I/O 230 messages containing commands (or receives commands directly as discussed above), provides to mail I/O 230 messages containing replies (or provides information for construction of a such a message as discussed above), directs collection of status and changes to configuration by controlling process monitor 238, receives values of state variables from process monitor 238, maintains access control lists 236, and maintains subscriber lists 234. Access control lists 236 may include any architecture for the storage and recall of addressee information that is associated with access control information for state variables. The association of addressee, access control code, and state variable identifier may be made in any conventional manner including one or more arrays, data structures, or records. When a state change is detected, access to a list of associated addressees may be desirable; and, when an addressee requests a reconfiguration, access to a list of state variables may be desirable. Therefore, access control lists 236 may include one or more indexes for efficient recall of associations. In alternate implementations, reference to groups of state variables may be made to facilitate assignment of suitable access control codes. For example, when permission is granted for an addressee to receive a report (e.g., by a PERMIT command), suitable associations of the addressee and access control codes for all state variables in the report may be automatically made. Likewise when permission is granted for an addressee to assert a particular command (e.g., by a PERMIT command), suitable associations of the addressee and access control codes for all state variables affected by the command may be automatically made. Further, roles may be defined to include permission for particular reports and commands. When an addressee is associated with a role (e.g., by an APPOINT command), suitable associations of the addressee to access control codes for state variables may be automatically made. Forms of the CONFIG command may be defined with respect to predefined operating modes of operating mode controls. For example, reconfiguration may be made by applying a predefined group of values to a group of state variables. Each group of values may be defined as an operating mode for a mode control. When an addressee (or a role) is given authority to invoke a CONFIG command with reference to a particular mode control (or a limited set of operating modes for a mode control), appropriate access control codes may be associated with a particular addressee for a limited capability. Subscriber lists 234 may include any architecture for the storage and recall of addressee information and reporting criteria. Addressee information may be in any form as discussed above with reference to access control lists 236. Reporting criteria may include a identifier that identifies a report (e.g., identifying one or more state variables whose identifiers and values are to be reported), a publication criteria (e.g., conditions that when satisfied direct a report to be created as a publication), and a delivery criteria (e.g., conditions that when satisfied direct a publication to be sent). Examples of various criteria are described in Table 4.
TABLE 4
Reporting
Criteria Description
Report A ReportID or a list of one or more StateVariables as
Identification discussed above.
Publication Any suitable criteria for avoiding unnecessary report
Criteria creation including, for example: await tested value to go
out of (or enter) a specified range a specified number of
times in a specified period of time. Adaptive ranges may
be used. Any tested value may be derived from one or
more measured values. The tested value may be a rate
of change, or may be filtered or averaged. A tested
value may be any state variable; a calendar date,
formula, or time-of-day; or a quantity (or absence) of
accumulated data.
Delivery Any suitable criteria for avoiding undesirable network
Criteria traffic or irritating an addressee including, for example:
send only during specified time of day depending on
email address; do not send more than a specified
maximum number of identical reports to the same
addressee in a specified period of time; send specified
report types immediately; delay between sending
identical reports where delay increases in a 1-2-5
sequence; send to primary addressee and if same report
is published in a specified period of time, send instead to
secondary addressee; and do not send to more than a
specified number of addressees to avoid alias recursion
and looping.
Mail I/O 230 in the exemplary implementation of FIG. 3, according to various aspects of the present invention, includes the following processes: in-flow agent 312, append-to-file 314, pipe-to-program 316, deliver-to-mail-box 318, out-flow agent 330, create-header 332, and create-envelopes 334. In-flow agent 312 receives messages (e.g., each as a separate data structure or file) from message data store 228. In-flow agent 312 determines on the basis of the message format or content which of process 314, 316, or 318 is to dispatch the message. For example, messages received in a file transfer protocol as used by a file transfer program may be handed off to process 314; messages received in a CORBA format may be passed to process 316 (e.g., a data structure including a mailing list); and messages received in a MIME (or SMIME) format may be passed to process 318. In-flow agent 312 may examine the content of an email message for attachments and pass attachments to process 314. Other email content may indicate special handling, for example, content directing reconfiguration of a type that may not be suitable for handling by list processor 232 may be passed to process 314 (e.g., peripheral software updates or installs, and JAVA class updates or installs) or process 316 (e.g., buffer clear and restart commands, and peripheral software version number queries by automated update processes). Append-to-file 314 may accept message content and store it in a file system maintained by the processor of the peripheral. Message content may be appended to an existing file or be used to establish a new directory or new file. Pipe-to-program 316 may accept message content, assure adequate memory space is available for use by the program (identified by default, or by the current or prior messages) and make the message content available to the program in any conventional manner. Deliver-to-mail-box 318 may accept message content, analyze the envelope or header portion of the message and place the body in a suitable mail box. The envelope and header may be placed in the mail box with the body or may be discarded. When a process prepares a reply, the body and one or more suitable addressees are provided to mail I/O 230. Addressees are accepted by create-header 332 and are expanded or are substituted with addressees that are determined in a conventional manner by create-header 332 with reference to aliases store 336. Addressees are also expanded or substituted by create-envelopes 334 in a conventional manner. Out-flow agent 330 combines the header created by create-header 332 with the body and an envelope from create-envelopes 334 and stores the combination in queue 338 as a message to be sent. This process is repeated for each envelope until all envelopes for this body have been used. Out-flow agent 330 passes a copy of each message recalled from queue 328 to message data store 228. When the successful sending of a message is confirmed in any conventional manner, out-flow agent 330 deletes the message from queue 338; otherwise, out-flow agent 330 may repeat the step of passing a copy of a message to message data store 228 for a subsequent attempt at sending the message. Aliases store 336 may have any conventional organization and may be initialized or revised as discussed above. Aliases store 336 may be organized as a list or entries, each entry having an alias and an addressee. Multiple entries for the same addressee may be used for mailing lists. In an alternate implementation, aliases store 336 is organized as an array of linked lists with an index of pointers to array entries to enable sorting and efficient access. List processor 232 in an exemplary implementation of FIG. 4, according to various aspects of the present invention, includes the following processes: parse-mail 414, revise-access-control 416, revise-subscriber-list 420, direct-data-reporting-and-reconfiguration 424, assemble-report 426, determine-addressees 428, and create-body 430. Parse-mail 414 monitors the contents of the mail box bearing the address of the peripheral (or the address of the list processor if other processes use mail boxes maintained by mail I/O 230). On receipt of mail directed to list processor 232, parse-mail 414 parses the mail by (a) reading a message from mail box 412 and (b) determining from the body of the message whether to pass the message to process 416, 420, or 424. When the body includes a BATCH command and an attachment as discussed above, parsing further includes determining from each line of the attachment whether to pass the line to process 416, 420, or 424 until all lines of the attachment have been parsed. The determination may include conventional command line syntax analysis, for example, comparing portions of the message or line to predetermined text strings (e.g., "SETACL" etc.) to identify a command, validating values of arguments provided in the syntax of the command, and preparing a data structure for passing to the appropriate process. Revise-access-control 416 receives argument values from parse-mail process 414 and adds, deletes, or modifies information in access control lists 236 in any conventional manner. Notice of completion of such a revision is passed to create-body 430. Revise-subscriber-list 420 receives argument values from parse-mail 414 and adds, deletes, or modifies information in subscriber lists 234 in any conventional manner. Revise-subscriber-list 420 uses the requester's addressee information to verify appropriate entries exist in access control lists 236. Notice of completion of such a revision is passed to create-body process 430. Revision may not complete successfully when the user requesting a subscription has not been permitted to access the requested report (e.g., no prior PERMIT command, no association of access control codes for this addressee for state variable identifiers, or requested reporting criteria are inconsistent or not valid in association with this user). Direct-data-reporting-and-reconfiguration 424 receives argument values from parse-mail 414 and directs process monitor 238 to accomplish the intent of the underlying command. For example, process 424 may identify in a data structure passed to process monitor 238 a state variable, a rate of monitoring, a definition of the extent of change that serves as a threshold for reporting a new value of the state variable, an identifier of a report (or task) by which the new value is to be reported, and a reporting period (e.g., a period from a start date/time, a duration, an expiration date/time, a total number of reports, or a schedule of reports not necessarily dependent on an extent of change). Process 424 may determine the reporting period in accordance with publication criteria and delivery criteria as discussed above. Notice of completion of such direction is passed to create-body 430. Assemble-report 426 receives from time to time notices of new values of state variables from process monitor 238 and organizes these new values into a data structure corresponding to a predetermined report. Information specifying when the report is to be published (i.e., used to form a message) may be provided by direct-data-reporting-and-reconfiguration 424 and/or process monitor 238. Notice of a report to be published is provided to processes 428 and 430. Determine-addressees 428 receives notice from any of processes 416, 420, and 424 of an action completed; and receives notice of a report to be published from assemble-report 426. Addressee information for sending acknowledgments is provided to determine-addressees 428 by parse-mail 414. Addressee information for publishing a report may be determined according to an identifier of the report (or task) and the identity of each addressee who is currently subscribed to receive that kind of report. Because subscriptions for the same report may vary as to publication criteria and delivery criteria, determine-addressees 428 selects addressees to satisfy these criteria as to each subscription (e.g., an addressee may be named on multiple subscriptions for the same report with different reporting criteria). Create-body 430 operates to create the body portion of each acknowledgment message and to create the body portion of each report message. For an acknowledgment message, notice of the action completed by processes 416, 420, and 424 is received and create-body 430 prepares a predetermined reply (e.g., as discussed above) in any conventional manner. A method of operating a system according to various aspects of the present invention may include any method for maintaining a peripheral or process via network communication with reference to a subscription that is received by the peripheral or by the monitoring processor and thereafter directs publication of reports from time to time while the subscription is active. By including reporting criteria, as discussed above, in the network communication, the effect on network utilization of monitoring and maintaining several peripherals may be managed to avoid excessive network traffic. For example, method 510 of FIG. 5 as performed by a user or other process from one or more workstations accomplishes maintaining a peripheral with monitoring and reconfiguration. The steps of method 510 may be accomplished with any lapse of time between steps and suitable portions of the method may be repeated to revise or cancel subscriptions no longer of interest. Prior to performing method 510, a system manager may configure a peripheral for being monitored or maintained by any user or other process. Initialization may include (a) defining access control codes for use with this peripheral; (b) defining roles for groups of users and the access control codes appropriate for each role; (c) assigning roles or access control codes to each user (e.g., by username, email address, etc. as discussed above) expected to be interested in subscribing to status from this peripheral; (d) defining aliases (e.g., mailing lists); (e) specifying the contents of various reports and the role or access control code prerequisites for reviewing each one; and (f) entering subscriptions for reports associated with managing the peripheral, (e.g., notification of low consumable quantities directed to consumable suppliers; notification of hard error conditions directed to parts suppliers and service personnel; notification of network related emergency conditions to network service personnel; notification of network related busy conditions to network management personnel; and notification of media low and various environmental abnormalities to co-located site support). Initialization may be accomplished by network communication as discussed above. For example, the system manager may form one or more messages containing commands (e.g., CONFIG, SETACL, SETALIAS, APPOINT, PERMIT, and BATCH, as discussed above) and send these messages by email to the email address of the peripheral. At step 514, any user (whose address is initialized as a permitted addressee) may request by network communication a list of reports. For example, the user may form a message body with the MENU command as discussed above and send the message by email to the peripheral. A list of reports may be presented to the user in a message containing a reply sent by network communication. For example, a process in the peripheral may prepare a message containing a reply and send it by email to the user, as discussed above. If the user has a particular report or type of information in mind, the user may correspond by email with the peripheral by giving commands by email and reviewing replies sent by email from the peripheral. For example, using the MENU command described above, the user may navigate a hierarchical list of menu items, making selections to advance his or her search until a report is identified. Menu selections, in addition to providing a report identifier, may include a description and/or sample of the report. At step 516, the user prepares a request to subscribe to the report identified in step 514 and sends the request by network communication to the peripheral. For example, such a request may be prepared by forming a message body with a SUBSCRIBE command as described above and sending the message by email to the peripheral. Preparation of a subscription request may be assisted by offering menu selections. For example, control may flow from step 514 to step 516 in response to a menu selection that designated the report identifier for subscription preparation. In an alternate implementation of step 514, several reports may be identified and a combination subscription request is prepared in step 516. Menu selections may list alternate values for publication criteria and delivery criteria for aiding in specifying these portions of the subscription request. Finally, the recipient of the report may be specified (if not presumed to be the user making the request). Again, menu selections may be used to assure that only permitted addressees receive the report. At step 518, the peripheral prepares a message containing a reply to the request for subscription and sends the reply to the user by network communication. For example, a process in the peripheral may prepare a message confirming subscription and send it by email to the return address of the email message bearing the subscription request. At step 520, after receiving and reviewing one or more reports received from the peripheral by network communication (e.g., by email), the user (initialized as an authorized addressee) may direct reconfiguration of the peripheral by network communication. For example, the user may prepare the body of a message containing a CONFIG command identifying a state variable identifier (or an operating mode control) and a new value (or an operating mode) and send the message to the peripheral by email. Further reconfiguration may be accomplished by this user from time to time. When report publication and delivery criteria are met, this user will receive a report by network communication. In other words, the subscription remains in force until canceled by the user, canceled by a system administrator, or a condition for automatically canceling the subscription occurs and a process in the peripheral deletes the subscription or marks it as inactive. By marking a subscription inactive, a system manager may have a record of subscriptions for system management purposes (e.g., operations research, failure analysis, or analysis of a breach of security). A processor, as discussed above, includes any circuit that executes instructions of a process, for example, to provide data, communications, or control functions of a computer system. A processor may be virtual as opposed to dedicated, for example, when instructions are cooperatively executed by any one or more physical processors, not necessarily in a predetermined fashion throughout the entire duration of execution (e.g., a portion of a distributed processing application as performed from time to time by assignments from a pool of physical processor circuits). A processor according to various aspects of the present invention may include a circuit (e.g., a microprocessor, workstation, or server) for performing a method as described below or may include cooperating circuits (e.g., bus-connected microprocessors; or workstations and servers suitably coupled as needed by any conventional network). For example, server 114 of FIGS. 1 and 6 includes processor 608, disk 611, memory 612, and network controller 614 each coupled for data communication by network 610. Items identified in FIG.6 have structure and function as discussed above with reference to similar items numbered less 400, except as discussed below. Process monitor 639 provides an interface for reading any status (e.g., a state variable) accessible to processor 608 and for invoking any reconfiguration to any process controllable by processor 608. Process monitor 639 may read or write any portion of memory 612 to derive process status or to effect process control of one or more processes, as discussed above. Generally, process status includes any process variable available by virtue of the design and functions of an application program or computer system. For example, process status for processes monitored by process monitor 639 may include any value of a program variable, identification or certification of installed/operable version and features, data version and format currently being processed, identity of a physical processor responsible for execution, and metrics related to performance (e.g., memory utilization, errors, or actual duration of particular tasks, current/min/max latencies and operation durations). The status of any process (executed by processor 608 or otherwise monitored by processor 608) may be described as a multiplicity of named state variables each having a value selected within a set of valid values for that state variable. Process monitor 639 may perform validity checks and provide error descriptions for status read or for attempts to write new values for state variables (e.g., for controlling or reconfiguring a process monitored by process monitor 639). A state variable may have any form suitable for implementation (e.g., a bit, a register, an integer, an array, a string, a data structure, a portion of RAM, a file, a file attribute, a directory, an index, or combinations thereof). A method for monitoring and/or controlling a process being executed by the same or a different processor may include steps 514 through 518 as discussed above and as applied in the context of monitoring a process. In place of step 520, reconfiguration of the monitored process may be accomplished in any suitable manner as discussed above. For example, when a product dispensing process (e.g., a beverage or newspaper vending machine or a process of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,515) is monitored or subject to reconfiguration, a user suitably authorized for appropriate access may subscribe to status including the number of each type of product dispensed, the identification of customers receiving product, times of delivery, dates of restocking and maintenance, errors, etc. Such a subscription may include reporting criteria as discussed above, including for example, publication criteria and/or delivery criteria. A service providing process (e.g., a down-load agent for delivery of data or an accounting or inventory subsystem for maintaining data) may similarly be monitored or subject to reconfiguration. A user who is suitably authorized for appropriate access may subscribe (or a subscription for such a user may be defined by another suitably authorized user) to status for receiving an invoice for product or services received (e.g., restocking) or delivered. Still further, a user or program may be notified by subscription to control (e.g., in response to or in accordance with status reported to it) any other device or process. For example, a first process may subscribe to a report of the frequency of downloads provided by a second process and use that information (a) to periodically invoke a third process for gathering data for use by the second process (e.g., identities of alternate suppliers) and (b) to control the second process (e.g., to change the price being charged for the download service). When, for example, a system according to various aspects of the present invention includes peripherals or processes (e.g., servers or instrumentation) at fixed or mobile locations, a user, program, or another peripheral may subscribe to a report (e.g., of raw measurements or results) according to reporting criteria discussed above. Publication criteria may-include a condition based on location or a condition based on information reported by another peripheral (e.g., sufficient raw data is received for analysis, a redundant peripheral is unavailable, a network communication failure or diagnostic was observed, or a function of a particular peripheral is to be performed by a substitute or supplemental peripheral). Greater system flexibility and reliability may result. The foregoing description discusses preferred embodiments of the present invention which may be changed or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. While for the sake of clarity of description, several specific embodiments of the invention have been described, the scope of the invention is intended to be measured by the claims as set forth below.
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