System and method for remote discovery and configuration of a network device

• US 7,340,512 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2005
• Issued: 03/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Little, Billy S., Cochran, Charles W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kindred; Alford
• Assistant Examiner(s): SORRELL, ERON J
• Application Number:
  US11/213,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20060004915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0883 Semiautomatic configuration, e.g. proposals from system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/50 Address allocation

Abstract

A method for operating a network of computing devices is disclosed. The method includes analyzing a network with a computing device having an addressing system to determine if a second addressing system is present on the network. The method also includes selectively providing a network address to a second computing device based on whether a second addressing system is present on the network.

Claims

1. A method of operating a network of computing devices, the method comprising:

analyzing a network, from the perspective of a first computing device having a first addressing system, to determine whether a second addressing system is present on the network, the network comprising the first computing device and a second computing device;

detecting an address request from the second computing device;

monitoring, via the first computing device, whether the address request is answered by the second addressing system; and

selectively providing a network address to the second computing device via the first addressing system if the address request is not answered by the second addressing system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second addressing system is absent from the network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second addressing system is present on the network and the address request is answered by the second addressing system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively providing a network address to the second computing device comprises selectively providing a temporary network address to the second computing device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying the second computing device via the first computing device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying the second computing device via the first computing device comprises triggering a sensory identification event to identify the second computing device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein triggering the sensory identification event comprises transmitting an identification signal between the first computing device and the second computing device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein triggering the sensory identification event comprises activating a light on the second computing device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein triggering the sensory identification event comprises activating a visual indicator on a display of the first computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring network parameters of the second computing device via the first computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively providing a network address to the second computing device comprises prompting a user to permit the first addressing system to assign the network address to the second computing device.

12. A computing system comprising:

a network;

a first computing device coupled to the network, the first computing device having a first addressing system, wherein the first computing device is configured to analyze the network to determine whether a second addressing system is present on the network; and

a second computing device coupled to the network;

wherein the first computing device is configured to selectively provide a network address to the second computing device via the first addressing system only if the second addressing system does not respond to an address request from the second computing device and only if the second computing device includes a desired identification characteristic.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second addressing system is absent from the network.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the desired identification characteristic includes at least one of a particular manufacturer of the second computing device, the second computing device belongs to a particular class of devices, or a particular TCP/IP port is associated with the second computing device.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the first computing device is configured to identify the second computing device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first computing device is configured to identify the second computing device by triggering an identification event to identify the second computing device.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the first computing device is configured to configure network parameters of the second computing device.

18. A device comprising:

a processor; and

a first addressing system controlled by the processor, wherein the first addressing system is configured to analyze a network to determine whether a second addressing system is present on the network, to detect an address request from a networked computing device, to monitor whether the address request is answered by the second addressing system, and to selectively provide a network address to the networked computing device via the first addressing system if the address request is not answered by the second addressing system.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the first addressing system is configured to provide network addresses only to particular types of networked devices.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the first addressing system is configured to identify the networked computing device upon the triggering of a sensory identification event to identify the networked computing device.

21. A machine-readable medium having application instructions for device configuration stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions adapted to analyze a network to determine whether an external addressing system is present on a network;

instructions adapted to detect an address request from a networked computing device;

instructions adapted to monitor whether the address request is answered by the external addressing system; and

instructions adapted to selectively provide a network address to the networked computing device if the address request is not answered by the external addressing system.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 21, the instructions further comprising instructions adapted to identify the networked computing device by triggering a sensory identification event to identify the networked computing device.