Method and apparatus for remote installation of network drivers and software

• US 20070100936A1
• Filed: 12/19/2006
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Internet Security Systems Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Lum, Clinton
• Granted Patent: US 8,006,243 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A method and apparatus for remote installation of network drivers and software. The present invention provides for the remote installation of a rerouting driver into the network driver interface in the path between one or more media access control units and one or more protocol drivers in a computer system. Code in the network driver interface is disabled, patched to insert the rerouting driver, and then re-enabled. The disabling and re-enabling of the code is performed such that the computer system does not have to be restarted following installation of the patch.

Claims

1-29. -29. (canceled)

30. A distributed packet based security system installed and enabled without shutdown or restart across a plurality of computers in a network that enables each of said plurality of computers to evaluate packets received over the network according to a predetermined standard and selectively allow transmission of such packets from the network to a protocol driver.

31. The distributed packet based security system of claim 30, wherein the install is performed using a patching technique.

32. The distributed packet based security system of claim 30, wherein each of the plurality computers form a shared memory buffer between a user space that stores first code of the distributed packet based security system and a system address space that stores the protocol driver and second code of the distributed packet based security system, wherein said second code is coupled to said shared memory to store information regarding packets received over the network, and wherein said first code is coupled to the shared memory buffer to evaluate information stored in the shared memory buffer.

33. The distributed packet based security system of claim 30, wherein the install is performed remotely from a host computer on said network.

34. A computer system comprising:

a plurality of networked computers each including,

a media access control unit coupled to the physical transmission medium of the network to extract packets from data provided across said medium;

a protocol driver coupled to the media access control unit; and

filter code installed in between the media access control unit and the protocol driver and enabled without shutdown or restart to evaluate said packets and selectively allow continued transmission of different ones of said packets to the protocol driver.

35. The computer system of claim 34, wherein the install is performed using a patching technique.

36. The computer system of claim 34, wherein each of the plurality computers includes a shared memory buffer between a user space that stores a security application and a system address space that stores the media access control unit, the protocol driver, and the filter code, wherein said filter code is coupled to said shared memory to store information regarding packets received over the network, and wherein said security application is coupled to the shared memory buffer to evaluate information stored in the shared memory buffer.

37. The computer system of claim 34, wherein the install is performed remotely from a host computer on said network.

38. A computer implemented method comprising:

distributing from a remote host across a network to a plurality of computers code to be installed by each of said plurality of computers, each of said plurality of computers including routines to be executed to provide a communication path between a media access control unit coupled to the network and a protocol driver, said communication path for packets transmitted across said network;

transmitting from the remote host to each of the plurality of computers a command to cause each of the plurality of computers to execute said code; and

each of the plurality of computers responsive to said command performing,

installing a driver in the communication path between the media access control unit and the protocol driver, said installed driver being enabled, without restart of said computer, to evaluate selectively allowing continued transmission of different ones of said packets received over said network along the communication path.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein said installing is performed using a patching technique.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein each of the plurality computers responsive to said command also perform, forming a shared memory buffer between a system address space that stores the protocol driver and a user space that stores a security application, wherein said driver is coupled to said shared memory to store information regarding packets received over the network, wherein said application is coupled to the shared memory buffer to evaluate information stored in the shared memory buffer.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein said installing includes installing the driver in-between the network driver interface and the protocol driver.

42. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a set of processors, cause said set of processors to perform operations comprising:

distributing from a remote host across a network to a plurality of computers code to be installed by each of said plurality of computers, each of said plurality of computers including routines to be executed to provide a communication path between a media access control unit coupled to the network and a protocol driver, said communication path for packets transmitted across said network;

transmitting from the remote host to each of the plurality of computers a command to cause each of the plurality of computers to execute said code; and

each of the plurality of computers responsive to said command performing,

installing a driver in the communication path between the media access control unit and the protocol driver, said installed driver being enabled, without restart of said computer, to evaluate selectively allowing continued transmission of different ones of said packets received over said network along the communication path.

43. The machine-readable medium of claim 42, wherein said installing is performed using a patching technique.

44. The machine-readable medium of claim 42, wherein each of the plurality computers responsive to said command also perform, forming a shared memory buffer between a system address space that stores the protocol driver and a user space that stores a security application, wherein said driver is coupled to said shared memory to store information regarding packets received over the network, wherein said application is coupled to the shared memory buffer to evaluate information stored in the shared memory buffer.