System and method for setting up user self-activating network-based services
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- (a) defining a user self-activating service by configuring a configurable input engine;
(b) publishing an offer of the service to a first user, the offer including a value of a commercial term;
(c) receiving from the first user a first acceptance of the offer;
(d) in response to (c) the configurable input engine automatically generating a first activation; and
(e) sending the first activation to a policy distribution point, the policy distribution point translating the first activation to device-specific instructions and configuring a first networking device to set up the service.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method automates and simplifies tasks associated with setting up a user self-activating network-based service. A configurable input engine is configured to define the service. The service may, for example, use a plurality of networking devices and/or computing devices. After the service is defined, an offer of the service is published to a user. The offer includes values of commercial terms and/or values of configuration parameters associated with the offer. Upon receiving an acceptance of the offer from the user, the configurable input engine automatically generates activations for the devices to be used by the service. The activations are sent to policy distribution points (PDPs) where the activations are translated into device-specific instructions. The device-specific instructions are in turn sent to the devices (networking devices and/or computing devices) to be configured. The device-specific instructions configure the devices, thereby automatically setting up the service for the user.
14 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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(a) defining a user self-activating service by configuring a configurable input engine; (b) publishing an offer of the service to a first user, the offer including a value of a commercial term; (c) receiving from the first user a first acceptance of the offer; (d) in response to (c) the configurable input engine automatically generating a first activation; and (e) sending the first activation to a policy distribution point, the policy distribution point translating the first activation to device-specific instructions and configuring a first networking device to set up the service. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:
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(a) defining a user self-activating service by configuring a configurable input engine; (b) publishing an offer of the service to a first user, the offer including a value of a commercial term; (c) receiving from the first user a first acceptance of the offer; (d) in response to (c) the configurable input engine automatically generating a first activation; and (e) sending the first activation to a policy distribution point, the policy distribution point translating the first activation to device-specific instructions and configuring a first networking device to set up the service. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method, comprising:
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(a) defining a service by inputting a commercial term and a configuration parameter into a configurable input engine, the service involving a networking device; (b) using the configurable input engine to receive a value of the commercial term and to receive a value of the configuration parameter, the configurable input engine generating an activation; (c) sending the activation to a policy distribution point; (d) the policy distribution point translating the activation into a format understood by the networking device; and (e) sending the translated activation to the networking device, the translated activation configuring the networking device to set up the service. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method, comprising:
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(a) publishing a first user self-activating service to a first user; (b) the first user subscribing to the first user self-activating service and thereby causing a configuration system to use a first service driver on a policy distribution point to engage in a first communication with a billing system, the configuration system then configuring a networking device and a computing device to activate the first user self-activating service; (c) publishing a second user self-activating service to a second user; and (d) the second user subscribing to the second user self-activating service and thereby causing the configuration system to use the first service driver to engage in a second communication with the billing system, the configuration system then configuring the networking device and the computing device to activate the second user self-activating service. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A system for setting up user self-activating network-based services, comprising:
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(a) a billing system; (b) a networking device; (c) a computing device, the networking device and the computing device comprising means for providing a network-based service to a first user; (d) a core server, the core server comprising a configurable input engine, a user database and a library of service drivers, the configurable input engine comprising means for producing a service publication containing a description of an offer of a service, a value of a commercial term relating to the offer and the identity of the first user to whom the offer is made, the configurable input engine further comprising means for receiving an acceptance of the offer by the first user, the library of service drivers containing a first service driver for the billing system, a second service driver for the networking device and a third service driver for the computing device, the core server comprising means for producing a first activation, a second activation and a third activation; and (e) a policy distribution point (PDP), the PDP comprising means for receiving the activations and service drivers, using the service drivers to translate the activations into device-specific instructions and sending the device-specific instructions to the billing system, the networking device and the computing device, the device-specific instructions configuring the billing system, the networking device and the computing device to provide the network-based service to the first user. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification