MILARRS SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20090254646A1
• Filed: 04/30/2009
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lantronix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Lantronix Incorporated
• Inventors: Brown, Curtis D., Witchey, Nicholas J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,024,446 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

An add-on module provides extrinsic management functionality to legacy and other devices. Contemplated modules include: (a) a state agent that provides at least one of the MILARRS function, and (b) a product agent that communicates with the device using at least one serial interface. Implementations are contemplated for both legacy devices that natively provide less than complete MILARRS functionality, and newly developed devices for which the developer desires a ready-made implementation of MILARRS functionality.

Claims

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26. A method of remotely managing a device through an environment interface, comprising:

providing an add-on module that passes queries to the device and receives responses to the queries, at least in part through a serial interface; and

manipulating data within the responses in a manner that provides at least one of the MILARRS functionalities that is not native to the device.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the add-on-module includes (a) a state agent that provides that at least one of the MILARRS functionalities, and (b) a product agent that communicates with the device using the serial interface.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the product agent translates the data to an internal data format.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising the state agent translating the data from an internal format to a database store.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the step of translating data comprises manipulating the device data by at least one of filtering, abstracting, deleting, inserting, and altering the data.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the device communicates at least in part through an environment interface, and further comprising the module communicating with the device through the environment interface.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the environment interface translating data to and from an internal format to a format used by the environment

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the format used by the environment is selected from the list consisting of SNMP, WMX, DCML, and IPMI.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising the environment interface concurrently servicing the environment and at least one other environment.

35. The method of claim 26, wherein the device is managed by a device manager, and further comprising the module communicating with the device through the device manager.

36. The method of claim 26, further comprising the module providing at least some level of secure access to the device by providing at least one of confidentiality, integrity, authentication, risk mitigation, and asset protection against threats.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the module using at least one of SSL, SSH, and IPSec, through at least one of a VPN and a VLAN.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising the module encrypting a data stream using at least one of AES, DES, 3DES, BlowFish, SkipJack, TwoFish, and RC4.

39. The method of claim 36, further comprising the module signing a data stream using a message authentication code, which can include SHA-1, and MD5.

40. The method of claim 36 further comprising the module authenticating a remote host using at least one of DSA, RSA, and DH.

41. The method of claim 36, further comprising the administrator applying a set of rules to the data from the device

42. The method of claim 26, further comprising the first add-on module communicating with a plurality of administrators.

43. The method of claim 26, wherein at least two of the plurality of administrators manage different ones of the MILARRS functions.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising a second add-on module, wherein the first and second add-on modules communicate with different ones of the plurality of administrators with respect to different ones of the MILARRS functions.