Method and arrangement for configuring a device in a data network

• US 7,680,903 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2004
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Scheering, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park; Jeong S
• Application Number:
  US10/529,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20060015642A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,199 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/222, 709/245
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for the configuration of a device in a data network. According to said method, a domain name is first stored in the device. The device then transfers an inquiry message comprising the domain name to an addressing server that serves for the conversion between the domain name and the associated internet addresses. In a further step, the addressing server transmits an address information of a parameter server associated with said device to the device as a response to said inquiry message. The device establishes a link to the parameter server on the basis of said address information. The parameter server transmits via this link parameters to the device which serve to configure the device.

Claims

1. A method for configuring a device in a data network, the data network comprising an address server, one or more devices requiring configuration, and one or more parameter servers, comprising:

storing a domain name for a device in the device;

storing in an address server on the data network a data record comprising an IP address of a particular parameter server of the one or more parameter servers, wherein the particular parameter server is associated with the domain name;

transmitting a request message from the device to the address server, wherein the request message includes the domain name;

ascertaining by the address server the data record associated with the domain name in the received message;

receiving a response message from the address server by the device, the response message comprising the IP address of the particular parameter server associated with the domain name from the data record;

setting up a connection to the particular parameter server by the device, the device using the IP address of the particular parameter server extracted from the response message to set up the connection;

receiving parameters by the device from the particular parameter server, wherein the parameters are used to configure the device; and

wherein both a fictitious domain name and a real domain name are stored in the device and wherein the device first transmits in the request message the real domain name to the address server and if, in response, the device receives a negative acknowledgement because no data record was associated with the real domain name, the device thereafter sends in the request message the fictitious domain name, thereby increasing the probability that the IP address of a particular parameter server will be sent to the device.

2. The method as claimed in patent claim 1, wherein the data network is a voice data network in which voice information is sent in data packets on the basis of Internet protocol.

3. The method as claimed in patent claim 1, wherein the IP address of a particular parameter server is stored in a domain name system server as the address server in a text field of the data record associated to the domain name, and wherein the text field is sent to the device in the response.

4. The method as claimed in patent claim 1, wherein the stored domain name is a fully-qualified domain name.

5. The method as claimed in patent claim 1, wherein the domain name is a fictitious domain name which does not belong to a real domain.

6. The method as claimed in patent claim 5, wherein both a real domain name and a fictitious domain name are stored in the device.

7. The method as claimed in patent claim 1 wherein a fictitious domain name comprising the generally known domain name of the device is stored by the manufacturer in the device and wherein the fictitious domain name is also stored in the address server and associated with a particular parameter server.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein a real domain name is stored in the device in addition to the fictitious domain name, and wherein the device first transmits in the request message the real domain name to the address server and if, in response, the device receives a negative acknowledgement because no data record was associated with the real domain name, the device thereafter sends in the request message the fictitious domain name, thereby increasing the probability that the IP address of a particular parameter server will be sent to the device.

9. A method for configuring a device in a data network, the data network comprising an address server, one or more devices requiring configuration, and one or more parameter servers, the method comprising:

storing a domain name for a device in the device, the stored domain name is a fictitious domain name which does not belong to a real domain;

storing in the device a real domain name with which the device is associated;

storing in an address server on the data network a data record comprising an IP address of a particular parameter server of the one or more parameter servers, wherein the particular parameter server is associated with the domain name;

transmitting a first request message to the addressing server by the device, the first request message comprising the domain name;

ascertaining by the address server the data record associated with the domain name in the received message;

transmitting the IP address of the particular parameter server to the device by the addressing server in response to a receipt of the first request message,

wherein the device uses the IP address to set up a connection to the particular parameter server, and

wherein the particular parameter server uses this connection to transmit to the device parameters which are used to configure the device,

prior to transmitting the first request message;

transmitting a second request message to the addressing server, the second request message comprising the real domain name; and

receiving a negative acknowledgement by the device from the addressing server when address information for the parameter server cannot be ascertained in the domain name system server based on the real domain name transmitted in the second request message,

wherein the transmission of the first request message with the fictitious domain name to the addressing server is in response to the receipt of the negative acknowledgement message.

10. The method as claimed in patent claim 9, wherein the IP address related to the particular parameter server associated with the device is stored in a text field which belongs to the data record which belongs to the domain name associated with this device, and wherein the text field is sent to the device as the response.

11. The method as claimed in patent claim 9, wherein the domain name is entered and stored in the device by a user or an administrator.

12. The method as claimed in patent claim 9, wherein the real domain name is a fully-qualified domain name.

13. The method as claimed in patent claim 9, wherein the stored domain name is a fully-qualified domain name.

14. An arrangement for configuring a device in a data network, the data network comprising an address server, one or more devices requiring configuration, and one or more parameter servers, the device having a memory, the arrangement comprising:

an addressing server for converting between a domain name of a device and an Internet protocol (IP) address of a particular parameter server comprising the parameters to configure the device;

wherein the device, the addressing server, and the parameter server are connected via the data network, wherein

the device is designed to;

store a fictitious domain name and a real domain name, the fictitious domain name is a fully-qualified domain name, the real domain name is associated with the device,

transmitting a first request message to the addressing server, the first request message comprising the real domain name;

receiving a negative acknowledgement from the addressing server when address information cannot be ascertained, by the address server, for the real domain name transmitted, and

transmit, after receiving the negative acknowledgement, a second request message to the addressing server, said second request message comprising the fictitious domain name stored in the device, wherein

the addressing server is designed to;

use the domain name transmitted by the device to look up a text field associated with the transmitted domain name, the text field having address information of the particular parameter server, the address information including a port number,

form a response message comprising the looked address information of the particular parameter server assigned to the device, the response being a negative acknowledgement when the address information cannot be ascertained, the response message transmitted to the device in response to the request message,

wherein the device is further designed to connect to the particular parameter server based on the response message, and

wherein the particular parameter server is adapted to send parameters to the device.

15. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 14, wherein the data network is a voice data network in which voice information is sent in data packets on the basis of an Internet protocol.

16. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 14, wherein the addressing server is a domain name system server.

17. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 16, further comprising:

a DHCP server connected to the device via the data network and designed to send the domain name to the device using a DHCP method after said device has been started up, the domain name being that domain name which is used by the device in the request message.

18. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 17, wherein the device is assigned to a domain in the data network, and the domain name sent in the request message is a name of this domain.

19. The arrangement as claimed in patent claim 14, wherein in the addressing server is stored the data record with a fictitious domain name which does not belong to a real domain, and wherein the fictitious domain name is simultaneously stored as domain name in the memory of devices in which no domain name for the real domain associated therewith is stored.