METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR SUPPORTING MULTIPLE NAME SERVERS IN A SOFTWARE PROVISIONING ENVIRONMENT

• US 20100128639A1
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: DEHAAN, MICHAEL PAUL, Eckersberg, John Joseph II
• Granted Patent: US 9,124,497 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/255
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]

Abstract

A provisioning server can be configured to include a network configuration module that can set-up, configure, and manage network connections served by the provisioning server including name servers, such as Domain Name System (DNS) servers, in the network connections. The provisioning server can be configured to maintain a set of network modules, each network module corresponding to a different type of name server. Each of the network modules can be configured to include logic for generating or altering a configuration file for the corresponding type of name server.

Claims

1. A method of managing network connections in a software provisioning environment, comprising:

maintaining, in a provisioning server, a set of network modules representing different types of name servers, wherein each network module in the set of modules comprises instructions for generating a configuration file for an associated type of name server;

identifying an alteration to at least one connection of a set of network connections;

identifying a network module from the set of network modules that corresponds to a type of a name server in the at least one connection affected by the alteration; and

altering a configuration of the name server in the at least one connection utilizing the identified network module.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the alteration to the at least one connection comprises altering network parameters in the at least one connection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the alteration to the at least one connection comprises adding a new name server to the at least one connection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each network module in the set of network modules comprises a template of the configuration file of the corresponding type of name server.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein altering the configuration comprises:

generating a configuration file for the name server in the at least one connection utilizing the identified network module; and

providing the configuration file to the name server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each network module in the set of network modules comprises an interface for communicating with the corresponding type of name server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein altering the configuration comprises:

communicating with the name server utilizing the interface of the identified network module to alter a configuration file of the name server.

8. A system for managing network connections in a software provisioning environment, comprising:

a network interface to a network comprising a set of network connections; and

a provisioning server, communicating with the network interface, the provisioning server being configured to—

maintain, in a provisioning server, a set of network modules representing different types of name servers, wherein each network module in the set of modules comprises instructions for generating a configuration file for an associated type of name server;

identify an alteration to at least one connection of a set of network connections;

identify a network module from the set of network modules that corresponds to a type of a name server in the at least one connection affected by the alteration; and

alter a configuration of the name server in the at least one connection utilizing the identified network module.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the alteration to the at least one connection comprises altering network parameters in the at least one connection.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the alteration to the at least one connection comprises adding a new name server to the at least one connection.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein each network module in the set of network modules comprises a template of the configuration file of the corresponding type of name server.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein altering the configuration comprises:

generating a configuration file for the name server in the at least one connection utilizing the identified network module; and

providing the configuration file to the name server.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein each network module in the set of network modules comprises an interface for communicating with the corresponding type of name server.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein altering the configuration comprises:

communicating with the name server utilizing the interface of the identified network module to alter a configuration file of the name server.

15. A provisioning application, the provisioning application being embodied in a computer readable medium and comprising instructions for causing a processing system to perform a method comprising:

maintaining, in a provisioning server, a set of network modules representing different types of name servers, wherein each network module in the set of modules comprises instructions for generating a configuration file for an associated type of name server;

identifying an alteration to at least one connection of a set of network connections;

identifying a network module from the set of network modules that corresponds to a type of a name server in the at least one connection affected by the alteration; and

altering a configuration of the name server in the at least one connection utilizing the identified network module.

16. The provisioning application of claim 15, wherein the alteration to the at least one connection comprises altering network parameters in the at least one connection.

17. The provisioning application of claim 15, wherein the alteration to the at least one connection comprises adding a new name server to the at least one connection.

18. The provisioning application of claim 15, wherein each network module in the set of network modules comprises a template of the configuration file of the corresponding type of name server.

19. The provisioning application of claim 18, wherein altering the configuration comprises:

generating a configuration file for the name server in the at least one connection utilizing the identified network module; and

providing the configuration file to the name server.

20. The provisioning application of claim 15, wherein each network module in the set of network modules comprises an interface for communicating with the corresponding type of name server.

21. The provisioning application of claim 20, wherein altering the configuration comprises:

communicating with the name server utilizing the interface of the identified network module to alter a configuration file of the name server.