Communication device and setting method therefor

• US 20060129677A1
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Buffalo Incorporated (Melco Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Buffalo Incorporated (Melco Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Tamura, Yoshiteru
• Granted Patent: US 8,161,148 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

Upon no completion of setting of a user ID and a password to be sent to a PPPoE server, in response to reception of a DNS request from a client, a communication device of the invention sends back a unique LAN IP address, which is allocated to the communication device, as a DNS reply to the client, regardless of the contents of the DNS request. The client then sends an HTTP request to the received LAN IP address, and the communication device sends back a Web page for entry of the user name and the password as an HTTP response to the client. The Web page for entry of the user ID and the password is displayed on an active Web browser of the client. This arrangement enables the user to readily complete setting for communication in the communication device.

Claims

1. A communication device that utilizes specified communication setting to establish communication with a server via a certain network, said communication device comprising:

a judgment module that determines whether the communication setting has been completed;

an IP address reply module that, when said judgment module determines no completion of the communication setting, in response to reception of a request for retrieval of an IP address corresponding to an arbitrary server name from a computer, sends back a unique IP address, which is allocated to said communication device, as a reply to the computer, regardless of contents of the received request;

a page return module that receives a page display request, which is sent from the computer to the unique IP address, and returns a specific page for entry of information required for the communication setting;

a setting information receiving module that receives the information entered in the specific page from the computer; and

a setting module that concludes the communication setting based on the received information and registers a result of the communication setting.

2. A communication device in accordance with claim 1, said communication device working to relay communication between a primary network and the certain network,

wherein said judgment module determines no completion of the communication setting, when information used for acquisition of the IP address, which is used for communication via the certain network, from the server connecting with the certain network has not been set as the communication setting.

3. A communication device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said setting module receives the information used for acquisition of the IP address and registers the received information into a nonvolatile memory.

4. A communication device in accordance with claim 2, wherein the selected server is a PPPoE server, and

the information used for acquisition of the IP address includes a user ID and a password to be sent to the PPPoE server.

5. A communication device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the certain network is a wireless network, and

said judgment module determines no completion of the communication setting, when at least one of an SSID, a WEP key, and a radio channel used for communication via the wireless network has not been set as the communication setting.

6. A communication device in accordance with claim 5, wherein in response to setting of at least one of the SSID, the WEP key, and the radio channel, said setting module registers the setting into a nonvolatile memory.

7. A communication device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said IP address reply module receives the request as a DNS request and sends back the unique IP address as a DNS reply.

8. A setting method of a communication device, said communication device utilizing specified communication setting to establish communication with a server via a certain network,

said setting method of the communication device comprising the steps of:

determining whether the communication setting in said communication device has been completed;

when a result of the determination shows no completion of the communication setting, in response to reception of a request for retrieval of an IP address corresponding to an arbitrary server name from a computer, sending back a unique IP address, which is allocated to said communication device, as a reply to the computer, regardless of contents of the received request;

receiving a page display request, which is sent from the computer to the unique IP address, and returning a specific page for entry of information required for the communication setting;

receiving the information entered in the specific page from the computer; and

concluding the communication setting based on the received information and registering a result of the communication setting.