Methods and applets for providing and contributing to an it network management service

• US 20030204579A1
• Filed: 04/26/2002
• Published: 10/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lutz, Manfred
• Granted Patent: US 7,603,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0266 using meta-data, objects or commands for formatting management information, e.g. using eXtensible markup language [XML]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/048 mobile agents

Abstract

The invention is directed to methods for providing a network management service for a user'"'"'s IT network by a network management service provider over the Internet. One of these methods comprises: sending mobile code to the user via the Internet, said mobile code, when running at the user'"'"'s side, acts as a network management gateway between the user'"'"'s network and the service provider connectable to it via the Internet; sending at least one request for the execution of a network management step to the network management gateway at the user'"'"'s side via the Internet, whereupon the network management step is carried out in the user'"'"'s network; receiving result data obtained in the network management step from the network management gateway via the Internet. The invention is also directed to corresponding methods for contributing to a network management service and to applets which are loaded in the user'"'"'s browser for carrying out these contributing methods.

Claims

1. A method for providing a network management service for a user'"'"'s IT network by a network management service provider over the Internet, comprising:

sending mobile code to the user via the Internet, said mobile code, when running at the user'"'"'s side, acts as a network management gateway between the user'"'"'s network and the service provider connectable to the user'"'"'s network via the Internet;

sending at least one request for the execution of a network management step to the network management gateway at the user'"'"'s side via the Internet, whereupon the network management step is carried out in the user'"'"'s network;

receiving result data obtained in the network management step from the network management gateway via the Internet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile code is an applet for running in a user'"'"'s web browser.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, when the user sends a corresponding web request to the service provider, the service provider returns a web response including the applet or a reference to the applet to be loaded in the user'"'"'s web browser.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, when the user sends a corresponding web request to the service provider, the service provider returns a web response which enables the user to either fetch and load the applet or, when the applet is already stored at the user'"'"'s side, to cause the stored applet to be loaded in the user'"'"'s web browser.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the execution of a network management step is sent to the network management gateway at the user'"'"'s side as a web response to a corresponding previous web request from the network management gateway.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the web response includes the request for the execution of a network management step in the form of an encapsulated network-management-protocol command.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the network-management-protocol command is one of an SNMP, Telnet, DMI and WBEM command.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the encapsulated network-management-protocol command is comprised in an XML document contained in or referenced by the web response.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the network management gateway is programmed for decapsulating the received network-management-protocol command and executing it in the user'"'"'s IT network.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the network management gateway is programmed such that, when it receives result data of the execution of the network management step in the user'"'"'s IT network, it sends them to the service provider in response to the execution request.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the result data are sent to the service provider contained in a web request.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the result data are analyzed by the service provider and a report comprising results of the analysis is provided to the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the report is provided by a web response comprising a report document or a reference to a report document.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein an operator carries out at least one network management step in the user'"'"'s network from the service provider'"'"'s side by sending at least one request for the execution of a network management step to the network management gateway via the Internet.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein an application for carrying out the network management service at the service provider'"'"'s side is divided in at least two parts, an application-logic part and a presentation part, wherein the application-logic part controls the provided network management service and the presentation part acts as an interface between the application-logic part and the network management gateway at the user'"'"'s side.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the communication between the application-logic part and the presentation part is performed on a more abstract level than the communication between the presentation part and the network management gateway.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein all data sent from the user to the service provider or from the service provider to the user have to pass a firewall gateway between the user'"'"'s IT network and the Internet.

18. A method for contributing to a network management service for a user'"'"'s IT network at a user'"'"'s side, said management service being provided by a network management service provider over the Internet, comprising:

receiving mobile code via the Internet, said mobile code, when running at the user'"'"'s side, acts as a network management gateway between the user'"'"'s network and the service provider connectable to the user'"'"'s network via the Internet;

receiving at least one request for a network management step from the service provider via the Internet and executing the request by the network management gateway;

returning result data obtained in the network management step to the service provider via the Internet.

19. An applet including program code, which when executed in a user'"'"'s Internet browser, acts as a network management gateway between a user'"'"'s network and a network-management service provider;

said applet, when receiving a request for a network management step from the service provider via the Internet, executes the request in the user'"'"'s network and returns result data obtained in the execution of the network management step to the service provider via the Internet.

20. A method for providing a network management service for a user'"'"'s IT network by a network management service provider over the Internet, comprising:

sending at least one network management command in an encapsulated form to the user'"'"'s side over the Internet for decapsulation into a network-management-protocol command at the user'"'"'s side and execution in the user'"'"'s IT network;

receiving result data obtained by executing the network-management-protocol command over the Internet.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein mobile code is sent to the user via the Internet before or simultaneously with the sending of at least one network management command, said mobile code, when running at the user'"'"'s site performs the decapsulation and execution of the network management command and sends the result data to the service provider.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the mobile code is an applet for running in a user'"'"'s web browser.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, when the user sends a corresponding web request to the service provider, the service provider returns a web response including the applet or a reference to the applet to be loaded in the user'"'"'s web browser.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein, when the user sends an corresponding web request to the service provider, the service provider returns a web response which enables the user to either download and execute the applet or, when the applet is already stored at the user'"'"'s side, to cause the stored applet to be executed in the user'"'"'s web browser.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the network management command is sent to the user as a web response to a corresponding previous web request from the user.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the network-management-protocol command is one of an SNMP, Telnet, DMI and WBEM command.

27. The method of claim 20, wherein the encapsulated network-management-protocol command is comprised in an XML document contained in or referenced by the web response.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the result data is sent to the service provider contained in a web request.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein the result data is analyzed by the service provider and a report comprising results of the analysis is provided to the user.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the report is provided by a web response comprising a report document or a reference to a report document.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein an operator executes at least one network management step in the user'"'"'s network from the service provider'"'"'s side by sending at least one network management command in an encapsulated form to the user'"'"'s side.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein an application for carrying out the network management service at the service provider'"'"'s side is divided in at least two parts, an application-logic part and a presentation part, wherein the application-logic part controls the network management service provided and the presentation part acts as an interface between the application-logic part and the user.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the communication between the application-logic part and the presentation part is performed on a more abstract level than the communication between the presentation part and the user.

34. The method of claim 20, wherein all data sent from the user to the service provider or from the service provider to the user have to pass a firewall gateway between the user'"'"'s IT network and the Internet.

35. A method for contributing to a network management service for a user'"'"'s IT network at a user'"'"'s side, said management service being provided by a network management service provider over the Internet, comprising:

receiving at least one network management command in an encapsulated form from the service provider over the Internet;

decapsulating the command and thereby obtaining a corresponding network-management-protocol command;

executing the network-management-protocol command in the user'"'"'s IT network;

returning result data obtained by executing the network-management-protocol command to the service provider over the Internet.

36. An applet including program code, when executed in a user'"'"'s Internet browser, for carrying out a method for contributing to a network management service for a user'"'"'s IT network, said management service being provided by a network management service provider over the Internet, comprising:

receiving at least one network management command in an encapsulated form from the service provider over the Internet;

decapsulating the network management command received in an encapsulated form from the service provider over the Internet and thereby obtaining a corresponding network-management-protocol command;

executing the network-management-protocol command in the user'"'"'s IT network;

returning result data obtained by executing the network-management-protocol command to the service provider over the Internet.