UNIFIED INTERFACE FOR CONFIGURING MULTIPLE NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES
First Claim
1. A method for use in a computer system comprising at least one computer, the at least one computer comprising at least a first media manager that enables the at least one computer to communicate using a first network connection technology and a second media manager that enables the at least one computer to communicate using a second network connection technology that is different than the first network connection technology, the method comprising an act of:
- (A) providing a common management interface that enables an administrator to establish a first set of one or more network connection settings for the first media manager to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using the first network connection technology and a second set of one or more network connection settings for the second media manager to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using the second network connection technology.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A network and connection provisioning framework for configuring and provisioning multiple aspects of network connectivity (e.g., multiple networks, media types, and/or connections). The framework may comprise a unified configuration interface that enables an administrator to configure multiple different types of network connectivity. A single configuration file comprising settings for multiple aspects of network connectivity may be generated based on preferences entered by a system administrator, or by exporting current settings from a particular computing device. Global configuration policies or other configuration settings that span multiple types of network connectivity may be also created and stored in one or more configuration files. Stand-alone media managers and/or plug-in modules may implement one or more standardized application programming interface functions so that they may interoperate with the network and connection provisioning framework. The standardized API may be used to ensure that configuration information is handled and stored in a standardized manner by different media managers and/or plug-in modules.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for use in a computer system comprising at least one computer, the at least one computer comprising at least a first media manager that enables the at least one computer to communicate using a first network connection technology and a second media manager that enables the at least one computer to communicate using a second network connection technology that is different than the first network connection technology, the method comprising an act of:
(A) providing a common management interface that enables an administrator to establish a first set of one or more network connection settings for the first media manager to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using the first network connection technology and a second set of one or more network connection settings for the second media manager to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using the second network connection technology. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. At least one computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, perform a method for use in a computer system comprising at least one computer, the at least one computer comprising a plurality of media managers comprising first and second media managers, the method comprising an act of:
(A) providing a common management interface via a single application program that provides a common application user interface that enables an administrator to establish a respective set of one or more network connection settings for each of the plurality of media managers to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using a respective network connection technology, wherein the single application program comprises a framework and a plurality of plug-ins incorporated into the framework, each of the plug-ins being specially adapted to provide the single application program with functionality that enables the single application program to be used to establish the network connection settings for a corresponding one of the plurality of media managers. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for use in a computer system comprising at least one computer, the at least one computer comprising at least a first media manager that enables the at least one computer to communicate using a first network connection technology and a second media manager that enables the at least one computer to communicate using a second network connection technology that is different than the first network connection technology, the apparatus comprising:
at least one processor programmed to perform an act of; (A) providing a common management interface that enables an administrator to establish a first set of one or more network connection settings for the first media manager to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using the first network connection technology and a second set of one or more network connection settings for the second media manager to use in configuring the at least one computer to communicate using the second network connection technology. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification