Remote management apparatus and method of setting IP address thereof

• US 7,778,200 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2007
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hanwha Vision Company Limited (Hanwha Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Techwin Co., Ltd. (Hanwha Corporation)
• Inventors: Jang, Chuel-jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Sefcheck; Gregory B
• Application Number:
  US11/685,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20080043738A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,252 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses

Abstract

A remote management apparatus and a method of setting an IP address thereof. The remote management apparatus includes a determination unit to determine whether an IP address of a server connected through a network coincides with an IP address intended to be used for communications with the server, and a control unit to perform an IP address mapping for the server and automatically allocating the mapped IP address to the server if the IP address of the server and the IP address intended to be used for the communications with the server do not coincide with each other. When an IP-based device is added to a network in which the remote management apparatus takes part, the IP address of the added device is automatically set for the convenience of the user.

Claims

1. A remote management apparatus of a network to which a plurality of servers are connected, the apparatus comprising:

a determination unit which determines whether an original Internet protocol (IP) address of a new server, which is not included in the plurality of servers, coincides with an IP address intended to be used for communications with the new server, when the new server is connected to the network; and

a control unit which performs an IP address mapping for the new server and automatically allocates the intended IP address to the new server according to the IP address mapping if the determination unit determines that the original IP address of the new server and the intended IP address do not coincide with each other;

wherein the intended IP address is one of pre-allocated IP addresses which are not currently being used by any of the plurality of servers and the remote management apparatus when the new server is connected to the network.

2. The remote management apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the IP address mapping based on last figures of the pre-allocated IP addresses in either an ascending order or a descending order.

3. The remote management apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-allocated addresses are IP addresses intended to be used for communications with a plurality of new servers, including the new server, any one of which is not included in the plurality of servers connected to the network, and

wherein, if the plurality of new servers are connected to the network, the control unit allocates the intended IP addresses to the plurality of new servers in the order of reception of hello packets transmitted from the plurality of new servers, respectively, the hello packets comprising respective original IP addresses of the plurality of new servers.

4. The remote management apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transmission/reception unit which receives a hello packet from the new server, the hello packet comprising information on the original IP address of the new server, transmits information on the intended IP address allocated by the control unit to the new server, and receives from the new server an IP acknowledgment (ACK) signal that acknowledges receipt of the transmitted information on the intended IP address at the new server;

wherein if the determination unit determines that the IPACK signal has not been received at the transmission/reception unit, the control unit controls the transmission/reception unit to re-transmit the data that includes information on the intended IP address allocated by the control unit to the new server.

5. The remote management apparatus of claim 4, wherein:

the hello packet further comprises at least one of an identifier of the new server and state information on the new server;

the determination unit determines whether the original IP address of the new server is set to the intended IP address on the basis of the state information on the new server; and

if the determination unit determines from the state information that the original IP address of the new server has already been set to the intended IP address, the control unit communicates with the new server by using the original IP address of the new server, without performing the IP address mapping.

6. The remote management apparatus of claim 5, wherein the state information has a flag “

1”

if the determination unit determines that the original IP address of the new server has already been set to the intended IP address, and the state information has a flag “

0”

if the determination unit determines that the original IP address of the new server has not been set to the intended IP address.

7. A method of setting an Internet protocol (IP) address in a network to which a plurality of servers are connected, the method comprising:

determining, by a remote manager, whether an original IP address of a new server, which is not included in the plurality of servers, coincides with an IP address intended to be used for communications with the new server, when the new server is connected to the network; and

performing, by the remote manager, an IP address mapping for the new server and automatically allocating the intended IP address to the new server according to the IP address mapping if the original IP address of the new server and the intended IP address do not coincide with each other;

wherein the intended IP address is one of pre-allocated IP addresses which are not currently being used by any of the plurality of servers and the remote management apparatus when the new server is connected to the network.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the automatically allocating the intended IP address is performed based on last figures of the pre-allocated IP addresses in either an ascending order or a descending order.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the pre-allocated addresses are IP addresses intended to be used for communications with a plurality of new servers, including the new server, any one of which is not included in the plurality of servers connected to the network, and

wherein the automatically allocating the intended IP address is performed when the intended IP addresses are allocated to the plurality of new servers in the order of reception of hello packets respectively transmitted from the plurality of new servers, respectively, the hello packets comprising respective original IP addresses of the plurality of new servers.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a hello packet from the new server, the hello packet comprising information on the original IP address of the new server, transmitting information on the intended IP address allocated by the control unit to the new server, and receiving from the new server an IP acknowledgment (ACK) signal that acknowledges receipt of the transmitted information on the intended IP address at the new server;

wherein if it is determined that the IP ACK signal has not been received, the information on the intended IP address is re-transmitted to the new server.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the hello packet further comprises at least one of an identifier of the new server, and state information on the new server;

wherein the determining comprises determining whether the original IP address of the new server is set to the intended IP address on the basis of the state information on the new server; and

wherein if it is determined from the state information that the original IP address of the new server has already been set to the intended IP address, communicating with the server by using the original IP address of the server, without performing the IP address mapping.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the state information has a flag “

1”

if it is determined that the original IP address of the new server has already been set to the intended IP address, and the state information has a flag “

0”

if it is determined that the original IP address of the new server has not been allocated set to the intended IP address.

13. A method of a network host to assign Internet protocol (IP) addresses to respective servers, comprising:

providing a network to which a plurality of servers are connected;

providing a plurality of new servers, each server being newly connected to the network;

waiting to receive a hello packet at the network host over the network from a new server among the plurality of new servers;

determining if the hello packet includes an original IP address of the new server;

if the hello packet does not include the original IP address, then addressing the new server by allocating and transmitting an intended IP address to the new server, wherein the intended IP address is one of pre-allocated IP addresses which are not currently being used by any of the plurality of servers and the network host when the plurality of new servers are connected to the network; and

if the hello packet includes the original IP address, determining if any IP address has already been allocated to the new server by the network host, and, if no IP address has already been so allocated, then allocating one of the pre-allocated IP addresses to the new server to replace the original IP address at the new server; and

waiting for a new hello packet from another new server among the plurality of new servers.

14. The method according to claim 13, comprising:

generating the intended IP address by arithmetically incrementing or decrementing a numerical field of an IP address which is currently being used by the network host or a corresponding numerical field of a starting IP address predetermined by the network host.

15. A network host for a network to which a plurality of servers are connected, the network host comprising:

a comparator to determine if an original Internet protocol (IP) address included in a hello packet received from a new server, which is not included in the plurality of servers, is the same as any intended IP address that is stored in a memory, when the new server is connected to the network; and

a controller to map pre-allocated IP addresses which are not currently being used by any of the plurality of servers and the network host, and to allocate a new intended IP address from among the pre-allocated IP addresses to the new server if the original IP address is not the same as any intended IP address stored in the memory.

16. The network host of claim 15, wherein the new intended IP address is arithmetically equal to an increment or a decrement of an IP address previously allocated by the network host and is not equal to any IP address stored in the memory.

17. The network host of claim 15, wherein the new intended IP address is not stored in the memory.