Techniques for zero touch provisioning of edge nodes for a virtual private network by pushing configuration from a server
First Claim
1. A method for configuring a network interface on an intermediate network node at an edge of a provider network to support a virtual private network, comprising the steps of:
- storing configuration data at a server on a host computer on a provider network,determining without human intervention whether conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data to a particular node at an edge of the provider network without receiving a request message from the particular node; and
if it is determined that conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data, then sending the configuration data to the particular node to cause the particular node to configure a particular interface without human intervention for a particular virtual private network over the provider network based on the configuration data,wherein;
the provider network is a packet-switched network;
the particular virtual private network is a link layer virtual private network;
the particular node is different from the host; and
the particular interface is for a direct communication link to a customer network node outside the provider network.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for configuring a network interface to support a virtual private network includes storing configuration data at a server on a host computer on the provider network. It is determined without human intervention whether conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data to a particular node at an edge of the provider network without receiving a request message from the particular node. If it is determined that conditions are satisfied, then the configuration data is sent to the particular node to cause the particular node to configure a particular interface for supporting a virtual private network over the provider network based on the configuration data. The particular node is different from the host. These techniques allow changes in configuration data to be pushed to provider edge nodes without human intervention.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for configuring a network interface on an intermediate network node at an edge of a provider network to support a virtual private network, comprising the steps of:
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storing configuration data at a server on a host computer on a provider network, determining without human intervention whether conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data to a particular node at an edge of the provider network without receiving a request message from the particular node; and if it is determined that conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data, then sending the configuration data to the particular node to cause the particular node to configure a particular interface without human intervention for a particular virtual private network over the provider network based on the configuration data, wherein; the provider network is a packet-switched network; the particular virtual private network is a link layer virtual private network; the particular node is different from the host; and the particular interface is for a direct communication link to a customer network node outside the provider network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for configuring a network interface on an intermediate network node at an edge of a provider network to support a virtual private network, comprising the steps of:
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means for storing configuration data at a server on a host computer on a provider network, means for determining without human intervention whether conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data to a particular node at an edge of the provider network without receiving a request message from the particular node; and means for sending the configuration data to the particular node to cause the particular node to configure a particular interface without human intervention for a particular virtual private network over the provider network based on the configuration data, if it is determined that conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data, wherein; the provider network is a packet-switched network; the particular virtual private network is a link layer virtual private network; the particular node is different from the host; and the particular interface is for a direct communication link to a customer network node outside the provider network.
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15. An apparatus for configuring a network interface on an intermediate network node at an edge of a provider network to support a virtual private network, comprising:
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a network interface that is coupled to a provider network for communicating therewith a data packet; one or more processors; a computer-readable medium; and one or more sequences of instructions stored in the computer-readable medium, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to carry out the step of; storing configuration data on the computer-readable medium; determining without human intervention whether conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data to a particular node at an edge of the provider network without receiving a request message from the particular node; and if it is determined that conditions are satisfied for sending the configuration data, then sending the configuration data to the different node to cause the different node to configure a particular interface without human intervention for a particular virtual private network over the provider network based on the configuration data, wherein; the provider network is a packet-switched network; the particular virtual private network is a link layer virtual private network; and the particular interface is for a direct communication link to a customer network node outside the provider network. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification