Remote management of a plurality of network devices is described wherein each
device is managed with its own unsigned Java applet. Unsigned applets launched
from different devices operate within the same shared environment of a webpage.
Furthermore, a transmitting applet communicates with a recipient applet. In one
embodiment, the recipient applet is a central management applet that combines data
from a plurality of devices into one data pool, which can then be used to provide
higher level management capabilities. A combination of centralized management and
distributed management is allowed within the Java security model, without having
to resort to signed Java applets or Java applications.