METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTRIBUTING SOFTWARE UPDATES

• US 20170075677A1
• Filed: 09/14/2015
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gross, David, Lackey, Joshua, Levy, Donald E., Jover, Roger Piqueras, Ramachandran, Jayaraman, Serban, Cristina
• Granted Patent: US 9,904,535 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/00 Arrangements for testing electric properties; Arrangements for locating electric faults; Arrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere measuring superconductive properties G01R33/1238; testing or measuring semiconductors or solid state devices during manufacture H01L22/00; testing line transmission systems H04B3/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/44 Testing lamps
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00 Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/155 Ground-based stations H04B7/204 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/121 using the power network as support for the transmission

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a first network device receiving from a second network device a software, the first network device adjusting operations at the first network device according to the software, the first network device providing a digital signature to the software to generate an adjusted software where the digital signature indicates that the first network device has received the software, and the first network device transmitting, to a third network device, the adjusted software. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A first waveguide system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving, from a second waveguide system, first electromagnetic waves via a transmission medium, wherein the first electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without utilizing an electrical return path, wherein the first electromagnetic waves are within a non-optical frequency range, wherein the first electromagnetic waves convey data, wherein the data comprises software, wherein the software is received by the first waveguide system from the second waveguide system without being received directly from a network source server that originated the software; and

adjusting operations at the first waveguide system utilizing the software.

2. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, to a third waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves via the transmission medium, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without utilizing the electrical return path, wherein the second electromagnetic waves have the non-optical frequency range, wherein the second electromagnetic waves convey the data; and

providing a digital signature to the data being transmitted to the third waveguide system, wherein the digital signature indicates that the first waveguide system has received the software.

3. The first waveguide system of claim 2, wherein the software comprises a software update associated with existing software at the first waveguide system, wherein the data received from the second waveguide system includes another digital signature indicating that the second waveguide system received the software update.

4. The first waveguide system of claim 2, wherein the first waveguide system is an adjacent node to the second waveguide system and to the third waveguide system, and wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system comprises adjusting an operating system of the first waveguide system according to the software.

5. The first waveguide system of claim 2, wherein the second waveguide system is a root node for a group of non-edge elements comprising the first waveguide system and the third waveguide system.

6. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining an applicability of the software to the operations of the first waveguide system, wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first waveguide system is responsive to a determination that the software is applicable to the operations of the first waveguide system.

7. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, to the second waveguide system, third electromagnetic waves via the transmission medium, wherein the third electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without utilizing the electrical return path, wherein the third electromagnetic waves have the non-optical frequency range, wherein the third electromagnetic waves convey an update request,

wherein the receiving of the software is responsive to the transmitting of the update request.

8. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the first waveguide system and the second waveguide system are adjacent nodes in a wired network comprising power lines that are the transmission medium, wherein the second waveguide system operates as a root node, and wherein the second waveguide system receives the data from the network source server that originated the software.

9. A method comprising:

authenticating, by a first network device, a second network device according to authentication information received from the second network device;

responsive to an authentication of the second network device, receiving, by the first network device from the second network device, a software;

adjusting operations at the first network device according to the software;

providing, by the first network device, a digital signature to the software to generate an adjusted software, wherein the digital signature indicates that the first network device has received the software; and

transmitting, to a third network device, the adjusted software.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first, second and third network devices are waveguide systems that transmit and receive electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without utilizing an electrical return path, wherein the electromagnetic waves are within a non-optical frequency range, and wherein the authentication information, the software and the adjusted software are conveyed via the electromagnetic waves.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the first network device is an adjacent node to the second and third network devices, and further comprising:

authenticating, by the first network device, a fourth network device according to other authentication information received from the fourth network device;

responsive to another authentication of the fourth network device, receiving, by the first network device from the fourth network device, a second software; and

comparing the second software with the software;

wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first network device according to the software is responsive to a determination that the software is a later version than the second software.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting, by the first network device, an update request to a group of network devices including the second network device, wherein the transmitting of the update request does not include providing the update request to a network source server that originated the software; and

determining, by the first network device, a latest version of the software being stored by each of the group of network devices,

wherein the receiving of the software is responsive to a determination that the second network device has the latest version of the software.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the software comprises a software update associated with existing software at the first network device, and further comprising determining an applicability of the software update to the operations of the first network device, wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first network device is responsive to a determination that the software update is applicable to the operations of the first network device, and wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first network device comprises adjusting an operating system of the first network device according to the software.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a group of network devices from a group of digital signatures included with the software, wherein the group of digital signatures includes a second digital signature of the second network device;

comparing the group of network devices to expected network devices along an expected communication path of the software,

wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first network device according to the software is responsive to a determination that the group of network devices matches the expected network devices along the expected communication path.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, by the first network device from the third network device, a third software;

determining a hierarchical configuration of the second and third network devices; and

discarding the third software according to a determination that the second network device is a parent node and the third network device is a child node.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

monitoring, by the first network device, for an expiration of software operating at the first network device;

responsive to a determination that the software has expired, transmitting, by the first network device, an update request to the second network device, wherein the transmitting of the update request does not include providing the update request to a network source server that originated the software or to a root node that forwarded the software,

wherein the receiving of the software is responsive to the update request.

17. A machine-readable storage device comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor of a first network device cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

monitoring for an expiration of software operating at the first network device;

responsive to a determination that the software has expired, transmitting update requests to a group of network devices;

responsive to the update requests, receiving first and second software from the group of network devices;

comparing the first and second software; and

responsive to a determination that the first software is a later version than the second software, adjusting operations at the first network device according to the first software,

wherein the transmitting of the update requests does not include providing the update requests to a network source server that originated the first software.

18. The machine-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the adjusting of the operations at the first network device comprises adjusting a communications protocol implemented by the first network device, and wherein the operations further comprise:

providing a digital signature to the first software to generate an adjusted software, wherein the digital signature indicates that the first network device has received the first software; and

transmitting, to a second network device, the adjusted software.

19. The machine-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

authenticating the second network device according to authentication information received from the second network device,

wherein the transmitting of the adjusted software is responsive to the authenticating.

20. The machine-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the first network device is a waveguide system that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves at a physical interface of a transmission medium, wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium without utilizing an electrical return path, wherein the electromagnetic waves are within a non-optical frequency range.