System for registering, locating, and identifying network equipment
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed toward providing a system for registering, locating, and identifying network servers within a data center containing many such servers. Parallel and serial port couplers with an erasable, programable read-only memory are encoded with a unique ID number, and a label with a bar code corresponding to the ID number is affixed to each coupler. A server to be installed in a data center has an encoded coupler attached to one of its communication ports, and information related to that particular server is stored in a system database. Upon encountering a problem with a network server, the system displays the logical name of the server at issue. The location and identification information for the server are retrieved from the system database and displayed to a technician responsible for the server at issue. Using the displayed location information, the technician reads the label on the coupler connected to the suspected server and verifies that the ID number on the coupler matches the ID number displayed for the server requiring service.
99 Citations
64 Claims
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1-3. -3. (canceled)
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4. An apparatus for registering a network server, comprising:
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a coupler associated with a unique identifier;
a first memory of the coupler initialized with a unique identification number associated with the unique identifier;
a network server to which the initialized coupler is associated;
a scanner reading the unique identifier; and
a second memory storing the scanned unique identifier. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11-13. -13. (canceled)
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14. A method for registering a network server, comprising:
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associating a unique identifier with a coupler;
initializing the memory of the coupler with a unique identification number associated with the unique identifier;
associating the initialized coupler with a network server;
scanning the unique identifier; and
storing the scanned unique identifier in a database. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21-62. -62. (canceled)
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63. An apparatus for identifying a server on a network, comprising:
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a unique identifier associated with a network server;
an interface retrieving the logical server name of the network server on the network;
a database storing the unique identifier data and the location data for the network server as related information;
a display displaying the unique identifier and the location information from the database for a selected network server;
a reader reading an identifier associated with a server at the displayed location; and
a processor comparing the read identifier with the displayed unique identifier for a match to verify the identity of the server at the displayed location.
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64-81. -81. (canceled)
Specification