Automated deployment and management of network devices
First Claim
1. A system for automatically configuring a plurality of different types of network devices, comprising:
- A memory for storing a library and a database;
the library being a library of generic commands that can be applied to said devices and converters for converting each of said generic commands into device-specific commands to be applied to individual network devices;
the database being a database storing configuration parameters for said plurality of network devices; and
a hardware processor configured to provide a configuration interface;
the configuration interface receives said parameters from said database and issues generic commands to said library to cause individual ones of said devices to be configured using said device-specific commands and in accordance with said parameters;
wherein said configuration interface displays identifications of firewall devices associated with a network and conduits within said firewall devices, and permits a user to select at least one of said firewall devices.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automated provisioning and management system for network devices includes a library of commands that are generic to all devices of interest, and device-specific plug-ins for implementing those commands in each of the different devices. A user can select any one of the standard commands and have it applied to a particular device of interest in a manner which is capable of being handled by that device. An interface between the library and a source of configuration information, such as a database, enables the various tasks associated with the provisioning and management of network devices to be automatically carried out on multiple devices, thereby minimizing, or even eliminating, the need to manually configure each such device. Various tools are provided to facilitate the ability of support personnel to identify and monitor functions performed by various devices, as well as detect and correct errors in the operation of those devices.
22 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A system for automatically configuring a plurality of different types of network devices, comprising:
-
A memory for storing a library and a database; the library being a library of generic commands that can be applied to said devices and converters for converting each of said generic commands into device-specific commands to be applied to individual network devices; the database being a database storing configuration parameters for said plurality of network devices; and a hardware processor configured to provide a configuration interface; the configuration interface receives said parameters from said database and issues generic commands to said library to cause individual ones of said devices to be configured using said device-specific commands and in accordance with said parameters; wherein said configuration interface displays identifications of firewall devices associated with a network and conduits within said firewall devices, and permits a user to select at least one of said firewall devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A method for automatically configuring a plurality of different types of network devices, comprising the following steps:
-
storing a library of generic commands for configuring said devices;
linking a plurality of converters respectively associated with different ones of said network devices to said library, to convert said generic commands into device-specific commands to be applied to the associated devices;retrieving a set of parameters from a database that pertains to the configuration of one type of network device; in response to receipt of said set of parameters, issuing generic commands to said library to cause a device of said one type to be configured in accordance with said parameters; and displaying a plurality of identifications of firewall devices associated with a network and a conduit for each such firewall device, each firewall device identification being user-selectable. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification