Applying configuration group information to target configuration information
First Claim
1. A method for generating configuration information for use by a data forwarding device, the method comprising:
- a) defining a configuration group, the configuration group includingi) a configuration group name, andii) configuration information;
b) defining a target configuration; and
c) specifying a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group,wherein the act of specifying a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group includes entering an apply-group instruction, which identifies the configuration group name at the point in the target configuration.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interface permitting users (i) to create a group (also referred to as a “source”) containing configuration statements and (ii) to direct the inheritance of that group'"'"'s statements in the rest of the configuration information (also referred to as a “target”). The same group can be applied to different sections of the configuration information. Different sections of one group'"'"'s configuration statements can be inherited in different places in the configuration information. Supporting such configuration groups allows users to create smaller, more logically constructed configuration files, thereby making it easier to configure and maintain data forwarding device software. For example, users can group together statements that are repeated in many places in the configuration, such as when configuring interfaces, and thereby limit updates to just the group. Users can also use wildcards in a configuration group to allow configuration information of the configuration group to be inherited by any object(s) in the target configuration that matches a wildcard expression.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method for generating configuration information for use by a data forwarding device, the method comprising:
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a) defining a configuration group, the configuration group including i) a configuration group name, and ii) configuration information; b) defining a target configuration; and c) specifying a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group, wherein the act of specifying a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group includes entering an apply-group instruction, which identifies the configuration group name at the point in the target configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 36)
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11. A method for expanding configuration information including a previously defined configuration group, the configuration group including a configuration group name and configuration information, the method comprising, for each piece of configuration information:
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a) determining whether or not the piece of configuration information is an instruction to apply the configuration group; and b) if it is determined that the piece of configuration information is an instruction to apply the configuration group, then replacing the piece of configuration information with the configuration information of the configuration group. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon configuration information for use by a data forwarding device, the configuration information comprising:
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a) a configuration group including i) a configuration group name, and ii) configuration information; and b) target configuration information including, at a particular point in the target configuration information, an apply group instruction which identifies the configuration group name. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A data forwarding device comprising:
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a) a data forwarding table; b) a forwarding facility for forwarding data based on information in the data forwarding table; c) a storage facility for storing configuration information for use in the operation of the data forwarding device, the configuration information comprising; i) a configuration group including A) a configuration group name, and B) configuration information; and ii) target configuration information including, at a particular point in the target configuration information, an apply group instruction which identifies the configuration group name. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A machine-readable medium storing an instruction set for configuring a data processing device, the instruction set comprising:
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a) a first command supporting user input of a configuration group, the configuration group including i) a configuration group name, and ii) configuration information; b) a second command supporting user input of a target configuration; and c) a third command supporting user input of a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group, wherein the third command supports user input of an apply-group instruction, which identifies the configuration group name, at the point in the target configuration. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. An apparatus for expanding configuration information including a previously defined configuration group, the configuration group including a configuration group name and configuration information, the apparatus comprising:
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a) means for determining, for each piece of configuration information, whether or not the piece of configuration information is an instruction to apply the configuration group; and b) means for replacing, for each piece of configuration information, the piece of configuration information with the configuration information of the configuration group if it is determined that the piece of configuration information is an instruction to apply the configuration group. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. A machine-readable medium storing an instruction set for configuring a data processing device, the instruction set comprising:
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a) a first command supporting user input of a configuration group, the configuration group including i) a configuration group name, and ii) configuration information; b) a second command supporting user input of a target configuration; and c) a third command supporting user input of a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group, wherein the first command supports user input of the configuration group via a command line interface, wherein the second command supports user input of a target configuration via the command line interface, and wherein the third command supports user input of a point in the target configuration to inherit the configuration information of the configuration group via the command line interface.
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Specification