Configuring a network gateway

• US 20030200285A1
• Filed: 04/19/2002
• Published: 10/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PTC Inc.
• Original Assignee: Axeda (PTC Inc.)
• Inventors: Hansen, James R., Nelson, Tom, Trageser, Charlie, Dodge, Brian, Calder, Dale E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,082,460 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information

Abstract

A system includes a device, a gateway that is in communication with the device, and a server that is in communication with the gateway. The gateway includes circuitry to obtain data relating to the device, to transmit the data to a server, and to receive configuration information from the server that is generated based on the data. The server includes circuitry to receive the data from the gateway, to generate the configuration information based on the data, and to transmit the configuration information to the gateway.

Claims

1. A method performed by a gateway that is in communication with a device, comprising:

obtaining data relating to the device;

transmitting the data to a server; and

receiving configuration information from the server, the configuration information comprising customized information relating to the device that is generated based on the data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises identification information for the device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identification information identifies at least one of a type of the device, an instance of the device, a version of the device, and a manufacturer of the device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is obtained by communicating with the device using a discovery protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is obtained by reading a file.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the file resides on the gateway.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the data is transmitted to the server as an extensible Markup Language (XML) document using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

formatting the data as a self-describing computer language document prior to transmitting.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the gateway based on the configuration information.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting at least some of the configuration information to the device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information is generated dynamically based on the data.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of (i) instructions to process, collect and/or publish information received from the device, (ii) instructions to generate a graphical user interface to display information relating to the device;

(iii) instructions defining a language for presenting information relating to the device, and (iv) a list of files to download.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of files to download;

and

the method further comprises downloading at least one of the files from the list.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the gateway is in communication with plural devices, and wherein:

obtaining comprises obtaining data relating to each of the plural devices;

transmitting the data to a server; and

receiving configuration information from the server, the configuration information comprising customized information relating to each of the plural devices that is generated based on the data.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if communication with the device has been lost; and

reporting a loss of communication to the server.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if predetermined configuration information can be obtained from the device; and

receiving the predetermined configuration information from the device, wherein obtaining, transmitting and receiving are performed if the predetermined configuration information cannot be received from the device.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the gateway to monitor the device using the configuration information;

aggregating data from plural monitored devices; and

reporting the aggregated data to the server.

18. A method performed by a server that is in communication with a gateway that is in communication with a device, comprising:

receiving data from the gateway;

generating configuration information relating to the device based on the data; and

transmitting the configuration information to the gateway.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the data comprises at least one of identification information for the device and identification information for the gateway.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the identification information identifies at least one of a type of the device, an instance of the device, a version of the device, and a manufacturer of the device.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information is generated dynamically by selecting from a plurality of configurations based on the data.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information comprises an amalgamation of data retrieved from one or more sources by the server.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of (i) instructions to process, collect and/or publish information received from the device, (ii) instructions to generate a graphical user interface to display information relating to the device;

(iii) instructions defining a language for presenting information relating to the device, and (iv) a list of files to download.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information is generated by retrieving data from one or more sources and inserting the data into a predefined template.

25. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating a graphical user interface to enable selection of the device when configuring the gateway.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the gateway as an extensible Markup Language (XML) document using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of files to download;

and

the method further comprises downloading at least one of the files from the list to the gateway.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein the data comprises identification information that identifies the device, and wherein generating the configuration information comprises:

obtaining the configuration information based on a hierarchy of the identification information.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the hierarchy comprises searching first for configuration information relating to an instance of the device and then based on more general information relating to the device than the instance until appropriate configuration information is obtained.

30. The method of claim 18, further comprising obtaining capabilities of the device from a database;

wherein the configuration information is generated based on the capabilities of the device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein obtaining the capabilities comprises downloading the capabilities from a server that maintains a database of device capabilities.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the device capabilities are defined by one or more SNMP MIBs (Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes).

33. The method of claim 30, wherein:

the data comprises identification information for the device; and

the capabilities of the device are obtained based on the identification information.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of a type of the device and a version of the device.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein obtaining the capabilities comprises downloading the capabilities from a server that maintains a database of device capabilities.

36. A method comprising:

receiving identification information for a device;

searching a database of Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes (SNMP MIBs) based on the identification information to obtain SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device, the SNMP MIBs defining one or more capabilities of the device; and

outputting SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein searching comprises searching the database based on a hierarchy of the identification information.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein searching based on the hierarchy comprises searching first for SNMP MIBs relating to an instance of the device and then searching for SNMP MIBs based on more general information relating to the device than the instance until appropriate SNMP MIBs are found.

39. A storage medium that stores instructions that are executable by a gateway that is in communication with a device, the instructions causing the gateway to:

obtain data relating to the device;

transmit the data to a server; and

receive configuration information from the server, the configuration information comprising customized information relating to the device that is generated based on the data.

40. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the data comprises identification information for the device.

41. The storage medium of claim 40, wherein the identification information identifies at least one of a type of the device, an instance of the device, a version of the device, and a manufacturer of the device.

42. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the data is obtained by communicating with the device using a discovery protocol.

43. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the data is obtained by reading a file.

44. The storage medium of claim 43, wherein the file resides on the gateway.

45. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the data is transmitted to the server as an extensible Markup Language (XML) document using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

46. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising instructions that cause the gateway to:

format the data as a self-describing computer language document prior to transmitting.

47. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising instructions that cause the gateway to:

configure the gateway based on the configuration information.

48. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising instructions that cause the gateway to:

transmit at least some of the configuration information to the device.

49. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the configuration information is generated dynamically based on the data.

50. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of (i) instructions to process, collect and/or publish information received from the device, (ii) instructions to generate a graphical user interface to display information relating to the device;

(iii) instructions defining a language for presenting information relating to the device, and (iv) a list of files to download.

51. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of files to download;

and

the storage medium further comprises instructions to download at least one of the files from the list.

52. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the gateway is in communication with plural devices, and wherein:

obtaining comprises obtaining data relating to each of the plural devices;

transmitting the data to a server; and

receiving configuration information from the server, the configuration information comprising customized information relating to each of the plural devices that is generated based on the data.

53. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising instructions that cause the gateway to:

determine if communication with the device has been lost; and

report a loss of communication to the server.

54. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising instructions that cause the gateway to:

determine if predetermined configuration information can be obtained from the device; and

receive the predetermined configuration information from the device, wherein obtaining, transmitting and receiving are performed if the predetermined configuration information cannot be received from the device.

55. The storage medium of claim 39, further comprising instructions that cause the gateway to:

configure the gateway to monitor the device using the configuration information;

aggregate data from plural monitored devices; and

report the aggregated data to the server.

56. A storage medium that stores instructions that are executable by a server that is in communication with a gateway that is in communication with a device, the instructions causing the server to:

receive data from the gateway;

generate configuration information relating to the device based on the data; and

transmit the configuration information to the gateway.

57. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the data comprises at least one of identification information for the device and identification information for the gateway.

58. The storage medium of claim 57, wherein the identification information identifies at least one of a type of the device, an instance of the device, a version of the device, and a manufacturer of the device.

59. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the configuration information is generated dynamically by selecting from a plurality of configurations based on the data.

60. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the configuration information comprises an amalgamation of data retrieved from one or more sources by the server.

61. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of (i) instructions to process, collect and/or publish information received from the device, (ii) instructions to generate a graphical user interface to display information relating to the device;

(iii) instructions defining a language for presenting information relating to the device, and (iv) a list of files to download.

62. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the configuration information is generated by retrieving data from one or more sources and inserting the data into a predefined template.

63. The storage medium of claim 56, further comprising instructions that cause the server to:

generate a graphical user interface to enable selection of the device when configuring the gateway.

64. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the gateway as an extensible Markup Language (XML) document using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

65. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of files to download;

and

the storage medium comprises instructions to download at least one of the files from the list to the gateway.

66. The storage medium of claim 56, wherein the data comprises identification information that identifies the device, and wherein generating the configuration information comprises:

obtaining the configuration information based on a hierarchy of the identification information.

67. The storage medium of claim 66, wherein the hierarchy comprises searching first for configuration information relating to an instance of the device and then based on more general information relating to the device than the instance until appropriate configuration information is obtained.

68. The storage medium of claim 56, further comprising instructions that cause the server to obtain capabilities of the device from a database;

wherein the configuration information is generated based on the capabilities of the device.

69. The storage medium of claim 68, wherein obtaining the capabilities comprises downloading the capabilities from a server that maintains a database of device capabilities.

70. The storage medium of claim 68, wherein the device capabilities are defined by one or more SNMP MIBs (Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes).

71. The storage medium of claim 68, wherein:

the data comprises identification information for the device; and

the capabilities of the device are obtained based on the identification information.

72. The storage medium of claim 71, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of a type of the device and a version of the device.

73. The storage medium of claim 71, wherein obtaining the capabilities comprises downloading the capabilities from a server that maintains a database of device capabilities.

74. A storage medium comprising instructions that cause a machine to:

receive identification information for a device;

search a database of Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes (SNMP MIBs) based on the identification information to obtain SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device, the SNMP MIBs defining one or more capabilities of the device; and

output SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device.

75. The storage medium of claim 74, wherein searching comprises searching the database based on a hierarchy of the identification information.

76. The storage medium of claim 75, wherein searching based on the hierarchy comprises searching first for SNMP MIBs relating to an instance of the device and then searching for SNMP MIBs based on more general information relating to the device than the instance until appropriate SNMP MIBs are found.

77. A gateway that is in communication with a device, the gateway comprising circuitry to:

obtain data relating to the device;

transmit the data to a server; and

receive configuration information from the server, the configuration information comprising customized information relating to the device that is generated based on the data.

78. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the data comprises identification information for the device.

79. The gateway of claim 78, wherein the identification information identifies at least one of a type of the device, an instance of the device, a version of the device, and a manufacturer of the device.

80. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the data is obtained by communicating with the device using a discovery protocol.

81. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the data is obtained by reading a file.

82. The gateway of claim 81, wherein the file resides on the gateway.

83. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the data is transmitted to the server as an extensible Markup Language (XML) document using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

84. The gateway of claim 77, further comprising circuitry to:

format the data as a self-describing computer language document prior to transmitting.

85. The gateway of claim 77, further comprising circuitry to:

configure the gateway based on the configuration information.

86. The gateway of claim 77, further comprising circuitry to:

transmit at least some of the configuration information to the device.

87. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the configuration information is generated dynamically based on the data.

88. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of (i) instructions to process, collect and/or publish information received from the device, (ii) instructions to generate a graphical user interface to display information relating to the device;

(iii) instructions defining a language for presenting information relating to the device, and (iv) a list of files to download.

89. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of files to download;

and

the gateway further comprises circuitry to download at least one of the files from the list.

90. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the gateway is in communication with plural devices, and wherein:

obtaining comprises obtaining data relating to each of the plural devices;

transmitting the data to a server; and

receiving configuration information from the server, the configuration information comprising customized information relating to each of the plural devices that is generated based on the data.

91. The gateway of claim 77, further comprising circuitry to:

determine if communication with the device has been lost; and

report a loss of communication to the server.

92. The gateway of claim 77, further comprising circuitry to:

determine if predetermined configuration information can be obtained from the device; and

receive the predetermined configuration information from the device, wherein obtaining, transmitting and receiving are performed if the predetermined configuration information cannot be received from the device.

93. The gateway of claim 77, further comprising circuitry to:

configure the gateway to monitor the device using the configuration information;

aggregate data from plural monitored devices; and

report the aggregated data to the server.

94. The gateway of claim 77, wherein the circuitry comprises at least one of programmable logic, logic gates, a processor, and a memory.

95. An apparatus that is in communication with a gateway that is in communication with a device, the apparatus comprising circuitry to:

receive data from the gateway;

generate configuration information relating to the device based on the data; and

transmit the configuration information to the gateway.

96. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the data comprises at least one of identification information for the device and identification information for the gateway.

97. The apparatus of claim 96, wherein the identification information identifies at least one of a type of the device, an instance of the device, a version of the device, and a manufacturer of the device.

98. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the configuration information is generated dynamically by selecting from a plurality of configurations based on the data.

99. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the configuration information comprises an amalgamation of data retrieved from one or more sources by the apparatus.

100. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of (i) instructions to process, collect and/or publish information received from the device, (ii) instructions to generate a graphical user interface to display information relating to the device;

(iii) instructions defining a language for presenting information relating to the device, and (iv) a list of files to download.

101. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the configuration information is generated by retrieving data from one or more sources and inserting the data into a predefined template.

102. The apparatus of claim 95, further comprising circuitry to:

generate a graphical user interface to enable selection of the device when configuring the gateway.

103. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the configuration information is transmitted to the gateway as an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

104. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the configuration information comprises a list of files to download;

and

the apparatus further comprises circuitry to download at least one of the files from the list to the gateway.

105. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the data comprises identification information that identifies the device, and wherein generating the configuration information comprises:

obtaining the configuration information based on a hierarchy of the identification information.

106. The apparatus of claim 105, wherein the hierarchy comprises searching first for configuration information relating to an instance of the device and then based on more general information relating to the device than the instance until appropriate configuration information is obtained.

107. The apparatus of claim 95, further comprising circuitry to obtain capabilities of the device from a database;

wherein the configuration information is generated based on the capabilities of the device.

108. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein obtaining the capabilities comprises downloading the capabilities from a server that maintains a database of device capabilities.

109. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the device capabilities are defined by one or more SNMP MIBs (Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes).

110. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein:

the data comprises identification information for the device; and

the capabilities of the device are obtained based on the identification information.

111. The apparatus of claim 110, wherein the identification information comprises at least one of a type of the device and a version of the device.

112. The apparatus of claim 110, wherein obtaining the capabilities comprises downloading the capabilities from a server that maintains a database of device capabilities.

113. The apparatus of claim 95, wherein the circuitry comprises at least one of programmable logic, logic gates, a processor, and a memory.

114. An apparatus comprising circuitry to:

receive identification information for a device;

search a database of Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes (SNMP MIBs) based on the identification information to obtain SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device, the SNMP MIBs defining one or more capabilities of the device; and

output SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device.

115. The apparatus of claim 114, wherein searching comprises searching the database based on a hierarchy of the identification information.

116. The apparatus of claim 115, wherein searching based on the hierarchy comprises searching first for SNMP MIBs relating to an instance of the device and then searching for SNMP MIBs based on more general information relating to the device than the instance until appropriate SNMP MIBs are found.

117. The apparatus of claim 114, wherein the circuitry comprises at least one of programmable logic, logic gates, a processor, and a memory.

118. A system comprising:

a device;

a gateway that is in communication with the device; and

a server that is in communication with the gateway;

wherein the gateway comprises circuitry to obtain data relating to the device, to transmit the data to a server, and to receive configuration information from the server that is generated based on the data; and

wherein the server comprises circuitry to receive the data from the gateway, to generate the configuration information based on the data, and to transmit the configuration information to the gateway.

119. The system of claim 118, further comprising:

an apparatus comprising circuitry to;

receive identification information for the device from the server;

search a database of Simple Network Management Protocol Management Information Bytes (SNMP MIBs) based on the identification information to obtain SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device, the SNMP MIBs defining one or more capabilities of the device; and

output, to the server, SNMP MIBs that correspond to the device.

120. The system of claim 118, wherein the circuitry for the gateway and the circuitry for the server each comprises at least one of programmable logic, logic gates, a processor, and a memory.