System and method for secure management of remote systems
DCFirst Claim
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1. A system providing secure communication between network devices, the system comprising:
- an administration site structured to create at least one file,a mail server disposed in a communicative relationship with said administration site,a first communications pathway established between said administration site and said mail server,said administration site structured to push said at least one file to said mail server via standard mail transfer protocol,a gateway site disposed in a communicative relationship with said mail server,a second communications pathway established between said gateway site and said mail server,said gateway site structured to pull said at least one file from said mail server via standard mail transfer protocol, without establishing a direct communications pathway between said administration site and said gateway site to transmit or retrieve said at least one file, andsaid gateway site further structured to eliminate a communications pathway for unauthorized access by eliminating a need to monitor for an incoming request for reconfiguration from said administration site.
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Abstract
A secure system and method for managing and monitoring remote devices preferably includes periodic pulling of configuration information from an accessible platform rather than pushing information from a central site. In one implementation, an electronic mail system is used as a staging platform in combination with a defined polling arrangement to transfer encrypted configuration information in a robust and secure method for updating remote device configurations.
11 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system providing secure communication between network devices, the system comprising:
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an administration site structured to create at least one file, a mail server disposed in a communicative relationship with said administration site, a first communications pathway established between said administration site and said mail server, said administration site structured to push said at least one file to said mail server via standard mail transfer protocol, a gateway site disposed in a communicative relationship with said mail server, a second communications pathway established between said gateway site and said mail server, said gateway site structured to pull said at least one file from said mail server via standard mail transfer protocol, without establishing a direct communications pathway between said administration site and said gateway site to transmit or retrieve said at least one file, and said gateway site further structured to eliminate a communications pathway for unauthorized access by eliminating a need to monitor for an incoming request for reconfiguration from said administration site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system to permit secure and remote management of gateway servers, the system comprising:
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an administrative machine structured to create at least one encrypted configuration file, a remote mail server disposed in a communicative relationship with said administrative machine, a first communications pathway established between said administrative machine and said remote mail server, said administrative machine structured to push said at least one encrypted configuration file to said remote mail server via standard mail transfer protocol, at least one remote gateway server disposed in a communicative relationship with said remote mail server, a second communications pathway established between said remote gateway server and said at least one remote mail server, said at least one remote gateway server structured to pull said at least one encrypted configuration file from said remote mail server via standard mail transfer protocol, without establishing a direct communications pathway between said administrative machine and said at least one remote gateway server, and said at least one remote gateway server further structured to periodically transmit a message via said remote mail server to said administrative machine to confirm configuration parameters of said at least one remote gateway server. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for securely configuring at least one remote gateway server comprising:
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creating an encrypted configuration file at an administration site, pushing the encrypted configuration file from the administration site to a remote mail server via standard mail transfer protocol, polling the remote mail server periodically to identify the presence of the encrypted configuration file and eliminating an open port at the remote gateway server to monitor for an incoming request for reconfiguration from the administration site, pulling the encrypted configuration file from the remote mail server to a remote gateway server via standard mail transfer protocol, decrypting the encrypted file on the remote gateway server, reconfiguring at least one configuration parameter of the remote gateway server in accordance with the configuration file, and periodically transmitting a message from the remote gateway server to the administration site via the remote mail server to confirm the remote gateway server is operating correctly. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification