OUTPUTTING A NETWORK DEVICE LOG FILE

A network device which interfaces between a local area network (LAN) and an image forming apparatus and which can output a log file. The network device includes a LAN interface for receiving image forming jobs and command signals from the LAN, and a peripheral interface for outputting image forming jobs to the image forming apparatus. The network device further includes a storage device that stores a log file of image forming jobs received from the LAN and output to the image forming apparatus. In addition, the network device includes a processor that updates the stored log file based on the image forming jobs received from the LAN and output to the image forming apparatus and detects a triggering condition of outputting the log file. In response to the triggering condition, the processor formats the log file into an image forming job and outputs the formatted log file to the image forming apparatus.