Provisioning server enhancement

• US 20050021614A1
• Filed: 07/28/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MediaOne Group Inc. (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Bahlmann, Bruce F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,281,037 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation

Abstract

An enhanced provisioning server and method of operating a provisioning server that allow for network lease customization for client groups and individual clients. The enhancement also provides a standard interface for exchanging the client lease customization information, a method for maintaining a one lease per client association when clients roam from network to network, and a method for transitioning all of the leases associated with one network to another network approximately simultaneously. The transition may include renumbering all of the IP addresses.

Claims

1. A method of operating a provisioning server having a plurality of leases on a current network of a plurality of networks, wherein each lease of the plurality of leases has a free state, an active state and an inactive state, for each lease of the plurality of leases the method comprising:

transitioning a first lease of the plurality of leases from the free state to the active state and associating the first lease with a first client of a plurality of clients in response to receiving a first lease request message from the first client on the current network;

transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases from the active state to the inactive state in response to receiving a lease discover message from the first client of the plurality of clients on a new network of the plurality of networks;

transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases from the inactive state to the active state in response to receiving the first lease request message from the first client of the plurality of clients on the current network of the plurality of networks; and

transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases from the active state to the free state and disassociating the first lease from the first client of the plurality of clients in response to receiving a first lease release message from the first client on the current network of the plurality of networks.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

offering the first lease of the plurality of leases in the free state to the first client of the plurality of clients in response to receiving a lease offer message from the first client on the current network of the plurality of networks while no lease of the plurality of leases on the current network are associated with the first client; and

offering the first lease of the plurality of leases associated with the first client of the plurality of clients and in the inactive state to the first client in response to receiving the lease offer message from the first client on the current network of the plurality of networks.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising offering the first lease of the plurality of leases associated with the first client of the plurality of clients and in the inactive state to a second client of the plurality of clients in response to receiving the lease offer message from the second client on the current network of the plurality of networks while no leases of the plurality of leases on the current network are in the free state.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases associated with the first client of the plurality of clients and in the inactive state to the active state and associated with a second client of the plurality of clients in response to receiving the first lease request message from the second client on the current network of the plurality of networks.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein each lease of the plurality of leases further has an expired state, the method further comprising:

transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases from the active state to the expired state in response to the first lease expiring;

transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases from the expired state to the active state in response to receiving the first lease request message from the first client of the plurality of clients on the current network of the plurality of networks; and

transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases from the expired state to the inactive state in response to receiving the lease discover message from the first client of the plurality of clients on the new network of the plurality of networks.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising offering the first lease of the plurality of leases associated with the first client of the plurality of clients and in the expired state to the first client in response to receiving the lease offer message from the first client on the current network of the plurality of networks.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising offering the first lease of the plurality of leases associated with the first client of the plurality of clients and in the expired state to the second client of the plurality of clients in response to receiving the lease offer message from the second client on the current network of the plurality of networks while no leases of the plurality of leases on the current network are in the free state and no leases of the plurality of leases on the current network are in the inactive state.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising transitioning the first lease of the plurality of leases associated with the first client of the plurality of clients and in the expired state to the active state and associated with a second client of the plurality of clients in response to receiving the first lease request message from the second client on the current network of the plurality of networks.