The object of the present invention is to relieve the load of management of devices connecting with a network. The technique of the present invention registers classification of printers connecting with a network LAN into at least one group, and specifies target printers, which are objects of management, by the unit of registered group. Operation setting data is generated in any of three applications; 'Input', 'Obtain operation setting information from any model printer on the network', and 'Utilize default setting data', and is output to the printers belonging to the specified group. This arrangement enables the operation setting of multiple printers to be carried out collectively, thus effectively relieving the load in management.