Method and apparatus for identifying processing units to a network

• US 20020083176A1
• Filed: 08/30/2001
• Published: 06/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Heffernan, Peter, King, James E., Jones, Rhod J., Littlewood, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 6,968,378 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/225
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 13/085 using an arrangement for locking the inserted card
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A processing unit is connectable to a communications network. The processing unit has a data carrier reader operable to read a network identity from a portable data carrier. The processing unit is operable on being powered up to check for the presence of a said data carrier, and when a data carrier is present to use the network identity from the data carrier for communicating via the network. The data carrier can be in the form of a card having readable storage, for example a portable storage device having a readable semiconductor memory of a type know, for example, as a smart card, or memory card. The processing unit may be arranged to use only the network address read from the data carrier, and, in the absence of such a data carrier to prevent access to the network. Access to the network can be achieved by aborting the power up of the processing unit. The processing unit may therefore access the network only when the network address is present in the carrier reader when the processing unit is powered up.

Claims

1. A processing unit connectable to a communications network, said processing unit having a data carrier reader operable to read a network identity from a portable data carrier, said processing unit being operable on being powered up to check for the presence of a said data carrier, and, when a said data carrier is present, to use the network identity from said data carrier for communicating via the network.

2. The processing unit of claim 1, wherein the processing unit is operable, on detecting the absence of a said data carrier, to prevent access to said network.

3. The processing unit of claim 2, wherein the processing unit is operable, on detecting the absence of a said data carrier, to record a fault condition.

4. The processing unit of claim 2, wherein the processing unit is operable, on detecting the absence of a said data carrier, to terminate its power-up sequence.

5. The processing unit of claim 1, wherein the data carrier is a memory card and said data carrier reader is a memory card reader.

6. The processing unit of claim 1, wherein said data carrier is a smart card and said data carrier reader is a smart card reader.

7. The processing unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said data carrier reader includes a securing mechanism to hinder removal of said data carrier when present in said reader.

8. The processing unit of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is replaceably mountable in a carrier.

9. The processing unit of claim 7, wherein the carrier is a rack.

10. The processing unit of claim 1, wherein said processing unit is a rack-mountable computer server.

11. A computer server system comprising a communications network for providing data communications to devices connected to said network, and at least one processing unit connectable to a communications network, said processing unit having a data carrier reader operable to read a network identity from a portable data carrier, said processing unit being operable on being powered up to check for the presence of a said data carrier, and when a said data carrier is present to use the network identity from said data carrier for communicating via the network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the processing unit, on detecting the absence of a said data carrier, records a fault condition.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the processing unit, on detecting the absence of a said data carrier, terminates its power-up sequence.

16. The method of claim 12, comprising a user manually providing a said data carrier carrying a said network identity to said data carrier reader to prior to powering up the processing unit.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the data carrier is a memory card.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said data carrier is a smart card.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising securing said data carrier with respect to said data carrier reader.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein said processing unit is replaceable, and the step of connecting a processing unit to a computer network comprises:

disconnecting a first processing unit from said communications network, and

connecting a second replacement processing unit to said communications network in place of said first processing unit.

12. A method of operating a processing unit connected to a communications network, said processing unit having a data carrier reader for reading a data carrier carrying a network identity for use in communicating via said network;

the method comprising the processing unit, on being powered up;

checking for the presence of a said data carrier; and

when a data carrier is present, using the network identity from the data carrier for communicating via the network.

13. The method of claims 12, comprising the processing unit, on detecting the absence of a said data carrier, preventing access to said network.

21. A portable data carrier configured to be removably inserted in a data reader of a processing unit connectable to a communications network, the data carrier carrying a network identity for the processing unit to use for communicating via the network, the data carrier being readable by processing unit on being powered up when the data carrier is present, whereby the network identity from the data carrier is used by the processing unit for communicating via the network.

22. The data carrier of claim 21 in the form of a memory card.

23. The data carrier of claim 21 in the form of a smart card.

24. A carrier medium carrying program code for a processing unit connected to a communications network, said processing unit having a data carrier reader for reading a data carrier carrying a network identity for use in communicating via said network;

the program code being operable, when the processing unit is powered up;

to check for the presence of a said data carrier; and

when a data carrier is present, to use the network identity from the data carrier for communicating via the network.