SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING APPLICATION, SERVICE, OR DATA VIA A NETWORK APPLIANCE
First Claim
1. A portable beacon suitable for use in a local network including a network appliance and an end device, the portable beacon including a processor, persistent storage accessible to the processor, and an interface, wherein the portable beacon is operable to register with the network appliance when the portable beacon is connected to the network appliance thereby enabling the network appliance to identify the portable beacon uniquely and further wherein the portable beacon is operable to enable communication of information between the network appliance and the end device.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable beacon for use in a local network having a network appliance and an end device includes a processor, persistent storage accessible to the processor, and an interface. The beacon registers with the appliance. Registration employs the beacon'"'"'s hardware identification to identify the beacon uniquely. The beacon enables communication of information between the appliance and the end device whether the end device is a networked end device that is connected or connectable to the appliance or a sequestered device that is isolated from the appliance. The beacon may be a U3 compliant or other type of USB flash drive device. The beacon may be connected to an end system to identify the system as an authorized system for a service that is provisioned on the appliance. The beacon may also be used as a controllable data transport device between the appliance and a sequestered device.
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Citations
22 Claims
- 1. A portable beacon suitable for use in a local network including a network appliance and an end device, the portable beacon including a processor, persistent storage accessible to the processor, and an interface, wherein the portable beacon is operable to register with the network appliance when the portable beacon is connected to the network appliance thereby enabling the network appliance to identify the portable beacon uniquely and further wherein the portable beacon is operable to enable communication of information between the network appliance and the end device.
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11. A method of providing a service in a computer network comprising a spoke device and a network appliance wherein the spoke device and the network appliance are operable to establish a network connection between them, comprising:
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enabling a network appliance to provide the service to identified spoke devices; enabling a portable beacon to respond to being inserted into the network appliance by registering with the network appliance; and enabling the portable beacon to respond to being inserted into the spoke device by identifying the spoke device to the network appliance and thereby enabling the spoke device to access the service. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions, stored on a computer readable medium of a portable beacon, for facilitating a transfer of information between a network appliance and an end device, the instructions comprising instructions to:
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respond to connecting the portable beacon to the network appliance by registering the portable beacon with the network appliance including providing the network appliance with a hardware ID unique to the portable beacon; respond to connecting the portable beacon to an end device by performing a step selected from the group consisting of (1) identifying the end device to the network appliance as an authorized end device via a network connection between the network appliance and the end device and (2) providing a storage resource to the end device wherein the access to the storage resource is restricted to the end device and the network appliance.
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22. A method of employing a portable beacon to enable an end device in a local network to communicate with a network appliance on the local network, comprising:
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configuring the portable beacon to respond to connecting to the network appliance by registering with the network appliance, wherein registering includes providing a unique identifier of the portable beacon to the network appliance; configuring the portable beacon to respond to connecting to an end device by performing a step selected from the group consisting of (1) identifying the end device to the network appliance as an authorized end device via a network path between the network appliance and the end device and (2) providing a storage resource for receiving data from the end device, wherein the received data is accessible only to the end device and the network appliance.
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Specification