System for configuring a cellular telephone to operate according to policy guidelines of a group of users

• US 7,539,723 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Agrawal, Dakshi, Calo, Seraphin Bernard, DeCusatis, Casimer Maurice, Lipson, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nawaz; Asad M
• Application Number:
  US11/191,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20070027972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 709202-207, 709217-238, 709/244, 4554141-4143, 4554561-4563, 455/456.6
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

The present invention provides a system process to establish or configure a mode of operation for computing devices through the use of affinity groups, policy guidelines, and priority graphs. An affinity group is a group of peer devices identified by a network to which a target device is connected as being similar to the target device. Policy guidelines are parameters describing mode or configuration policies for a group of users and reflecting users'"'"' identified needs and requirements. A priority graph is a decision tree, which may or may not be graphically represented, describing hierarchically the organization of policies governing the mode or configuration of device operation and capturing the relative priorities of different policies. A key aspect of the present invention involves the sharing of information within an affinity group.

Claims

1. A system for configuring a cellular telephone to operate according to policy guidelines for a group of users, comprising:

a target device in the form of a cellular telephone and said cellular telephone having configuration settings;

a plurality of cellular telephones each of which employs one or more configuration settings;

a computer; and

a network connecting said target device, said plurality of cellular telephones, and said computer,

wherein said computer is arranged to group said cellular telephones into affinity groups according to a grouping based on the member cellular telephones'"'"' respective configuration settings,

wherein said computer is arranged to identify a plurality of default parameters for each of said affinity groups, said identifying including the computer determining configuration settings commonly associated with the members of the affinity group and identifying the default parameters based on said determining, wherein said default parameters represent an hierarchical priority of operation for the members of the affinity group,

wherein the computer is arranged to determine whether the target device may be added as a member to one or more of the affinity groups, wherein the determining includes;

the computer querying, through the network, the configuration setting of the target device,

the computer identifying, based on a comparison of the queried configuration setting of the target device and the default parameters of the affinity groups, affinity groups similar to the target device and, if at least one affinity groups is identified as similar, then

said computer presenting to said target device the default parameters of the affinity group the computer identifies as similar to the target device,

said computer receiving, using said network, input from said target device as to whether a default parameter of said default parameters of the affinity group the computer identifies as similar to the target device is to be implemented on said target device,

said computer adding the target device to the affinity group the computer identifies as similar to the target device, and

said computer adjusting the default parameters of the affinity group having the target device, based on said input from said target device and based on said configuration settings of said target device together with said configuration settings of said cellular telephones of said affinity group when said target device is added to said group.