INTEGRATED CONFIGURATION AND MANAGEMENT OF HARDWARE DEVICES

• US 20080005380A1
• Filed: 02/21/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pacific Star Communications, Inc. (Curtiss-Wright Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pacific Star Communications, Inc. (Curtiss-Wright Corporation)
• Inventors: Barber, Jim, Kawasaki, Charlie
• Application Number:
  US11/677,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005380A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1458 Management of the backup or restore process
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• 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

The integrated management system provides a unified interface for common management tasks related to managing interconnected devices, such as in an integrated computer system. First, the integrated management system provides a unified backup and restoration facility for backing up and restoring the configuration of multiple devices through a single user interface presented to the operator. The integrated management system also provides a monitoring facility for monitoring the health of multiple hardware devices in through a single user interface. Finally, the integrated management system makes configuration of multiple devices easier by providing a unified interface for common configuration tasks.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for backing up the configuration of multiple devices, the method comprising:

receiving from a user a selection of devices to backup;

for each selected device, requesting the configuration data from the device without requesting additional information from the user;

combining the configuration data from each device to create backup data;

storing the backup data on a storage device.

2. The method of claim 1 including receiving an encryption key from the user and encrypting the backup data.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the encryption key is a passphrase.

4. The method of claim 1 including compressing the backup data.

5. The method of claim 1 including restoring the backup data to the computer system.

6. The method of claim 1 including restoring the backup data to a different computer system.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one device is located at a location remote from the computer system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one device is manufactured by a different vendor than at least one other device.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the system accesses the devices through a device abstraction layer.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein requesting the configuration data from the device comprises requesting the configuration data through a protocol selected from the group consisting of WMI, TCP, COM, SNMP, Telnet, SSH, SOAP, and FTP.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the devices are selected from the group consisting of a server, firewall, switch, wireless access point, and PBX.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the storage device is a removable storage device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein requesting the configuration data from the device comprises invoking an backup facility provided by the device.

14. A computer system for managing the configuration of multiple peripherals, comprising:

a backup component configured to request configuration data from each peripheral and combine the configuration data from each peripheral to create backup data;

a device abstraction component configured to communicate with each peripheral through a management interface exposed by the peripheral; and

a device status component configured to monitor the health of each peripheral.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the management interface is selected from the group consisting of WMI, TCP, SNMP, Telnet, SSH, SOAP, and FTP.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the device abstraction component is further configured to communicated with each peripheral through an alternative management interface if a primary management interface is unavailable.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the backup component is further configured to store the backup data on a removable storage device.

18. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions for controlling a computer system to create a peer relationship between two computer systems, by a method comprising:

requesting information from an operator at a first system for accessing a second system, wherein the second system comprises a server and a firewall device;

configuring the firewall of the second system to accept data from the first system;

creating a secured connection between the first and second systems through the firewall;

sharing data between the first and second system over the secured connection.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein requesting information from an operator at a first system comprises requesting an IP address and network key from the operator.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein sharing data comprises sending phone call information from the first system to the second system.