Location-based network device operation

• US 10,057,875 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2016
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Upadhyaya, Vigneshwara, Nambisan, Gopakumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US15/337,568
• Publication Number:
  US 20180124734A1
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4563, 370338
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Example implementations relate to location-based network device operation. For example, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is described that stores instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to provide network permissions to a network device joining a network; responsive to acceptance of the network permissions, propagate a location policy to the network device; and modify an operating mode of the network device based on the determined location and the location policy.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

provide network permissions to a network device responsive to a request from the network device to join a network;

detect, from a packet transmitted between the network device and the network, a hardware configuration of the network device, responsive to the request;

detect a plurality of operation functions executable by the network device from the detected hardware configuration of the network device;

determine a location of the network device within a range of the network, responsive to the request;

determine a location policy for the network device based on the location of the network device and the plurality of operation functions;

responsive to acceptance of the network permissions, propagate the location policy to the network device; and

modify an operating mode of the network device based on the determined location, the determined plurality of operation functions, and the location policy, by modifying an operational setting on the network device to disable network transmissions from the network device.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, the location being a first location within the range of the network and the operating mode being a first operating mode, further including instructions to:

determine a second location of the network device within the range of the network; and

modify the operating mode of the network device based on the second determined location and the location policy.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, the instructions to:

determine that the network device is no longer in the first location; and

terminate the operating mode on the network device responsive to the determination that the network device is no longer in the first location.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to modify the operating mode of the network device include instructions to modify a camera functionality of the network device.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions to modify the operating mode of the network device include instructions to modify a ring volume of the network device.

6. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

detect a network device within a range of a network controller;

provide network permissions to the network device responsive to a request from the network device to join a network provided by the network controller;

determine, by the network controller, a location of the network device within the range of the network controller, responsive to the request;

detect, from a packet transmitted between the network device and the network controller, a hardware configuration of the network device, responsive to the request;

detect by the network controller, a plurality of operation functions executable by the network device from the detected hardware configuration of the network device;

identify, by the network controller, a location policy for the network device based on the location of the network device and the operation functions; and

propagate an operating mode of the network device to the network device based on the location policy.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, including instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to determine a type of the network device and identify the location policy based on the type of the network device.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, including instructions to receive the location policy from a policy server.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, including instructions to receive the operating mode from a location policy server.

10. A method, comprising:

discovering a first network device within a range of a network;

obtaining, by a second network device, user information responsive to the first network device accepting network permissions of the network;

obtaining by the second network device, from a packet transmitted between the first network device and the second network device, a hardware configuration of the first network device, responsive to the first network device accepting the network permissions;

identifying, by the second network device on the network, a plurality of operation functions executable by the first network device from the detected hardware configuration of the network device, responsive to the first network device accepting the network permissions;

identifying, at the second network device, a location policy based on the operation functions;

identifying a location of the first network device within the range of the second network device, responsive to the first network device accepting the network permissions; and

propagating the location policy to the first network device based on the user information, the operation functions and the location of the first network device, wherein the location policy modifies an ability of the first network device to perform an operation function.

11. The method of claim 10 including identifying the location of the first network device based on identification of an access point to which the first network device is connected.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein propagating the location policy to the first network device includes disabling a recording feature of the first network device while the first network device is in the location.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein propagating the location policy to the first network device includes disabling a notification feature of the first network device while the first network device is in the location.