Method and apparatus for provisioning network devices using instructions in extensible markup language
First Claim
1. An apparatus for automatically configuring a network device, comprising:
- one or more processors; and
one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform;
receiving a request from the network device to provide configuration information;
retrieving a template describing a device configuration, wherein the template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter, wherein the parameter may receive values specific to particular devices;
based at least on the symbolic reference and the request, retrieving a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device; and
creating and storing a device-specific instance of the configuration information based at least on the template and the value of the parameter, wherein the configuration information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD).
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Abstract
A system and an apparatus are disclosed for carrying out automatic network device provisioning and configuration. A configuration service receives a request from a network device to provide configuration information. The configuration service retrieves a template describing the device configuration, where the template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to particular devices. Based at least on the symbolic reference and the request, the configuration service retrieves a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device. A device-specific instance of the configuration information is created and stored based at least one the template and the value of the parameter. The configuration information is stored in XML format and conforms to an XML DTD.
157 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An apparatus for automatically configuring a network device, comprising:
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one or more processors; and
one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform;
receiving a request from the network device to provide configuration information;
retrieving a template describing a device configuration, wherein the template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter, wherein the parameter may receive values specific to particular devices;
based at least on the symbolic reference and the request, retrieving a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device; and
creating and storing a device-specific instance of the configuration information based at least on the template and the value of the parameter, wherein the configuration information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A network device, comprising:
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means for generating a request to provide configuration information;
means for receiving a device-specific instance of the configuration information, wherein the configuration information is in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (XML DTD);
wherein the configuration information is instantiated as the device-specific instance based on a template, which describes a device configuration and associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to particular devices, and on a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device;
means for syntax checking the configuration information to determine whether configuration commands therein conform to a command language that is understood by the network device; and
means for applying the configuration information to the network device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for automatically provisioning network devices, comprising:
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a network device; and
a configuration server that is communicatively connected to the network device over a packet-switched network, wherein the configuration server comprises first one or more processors and first one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the first one or more processors, cause the first one or more processors to perform;
receiving a request from the network device to provide configuration information;
retrieving a template describing a device configuration, wherein the template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to particular devices;
retrieving a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device based at least on the symbolic reference and the request; and
creating and storing a device-specific instance of the configuration information based at least on the template and the value of the parameter, wherein the configuration information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD). - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A configuration server, comprising:
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one or more processors;
first one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform displaying a graphical user interface that comprises a tree pane, a template tab, and a parameter tab, wherein;
the tree pane displays a sub-tree of device objects that represent one or more network devices;
the template tab displays one or more templates that describe one or more device configurations that are associated with the one or more network devices, wherein each template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to the one or more network devices; and
the parameter tab displays device-specific instances of configuration information for the one or more network devices represented in the sub-tree of device objects; and
second one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform;
receiving first input from a user, wherein the first input selects a particular network device of the one or more network devices that is represented in the sub-tree of device objects; and
in response to the first input;
retrieving the contents of a particular template that describes a particular device configuration associated with the particular network device;
displaying the contents of the particular template in the template tab;
retrieving a device-specific instance of the configuration information that is based at least on the template and on a value of the parameter that is specific to the particular network device, wherein the configuration information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD); and
displaying the device-specific instance of the configuration information in the parameter tab. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification