Method for controlling operations of computing devices
First Claim
1. A method for configuring a target device comprising the steps of:
- identifying a target device connectable to a computer network;
identifying on said network one or a plurality of groups of peer devices which employ configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device;
for each of said groups of peer devices, receiving input from the target device as to whether the target device is to be included as a member of the group;
for each group of which the target device is to be included as a member, identifying one or a plurality of default parameters associated with the group, such that each default parameter describes a configuration setting determined to be suitable as a default setting for the configuration to which it relates based on a determination that it is commonly used by members of the group;
presenting each of said default parameters to the target device;
for each default parameter presented to the target device,receiving input from the target device as to whether the default parameter is to be implemented for the target device and implementing or not implementing the default parameter for the target device in accordance with said input,comparing input received from the target device to input received from other members of said group,determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of the group, andwhereinthe step of identifying a target device connectable to a network comprises at least the steps of;
determining a context for the target device comprising at least the location of the target device and time at which it is being identified, andquerying the target device forconfiguration settings of the target device andidentification of each configuration setting which is subject to change to conform to a default parameter of a group of peer devices; and
whereinthe identification on said network of one or a plurality of groups of peer devices which employ configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device is made with reference to said context, said target device configuration settings, and said identification of configuration settings subject to change to conform to default parameters.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a 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.
27 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for configuring a target device comprising the steps of:
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identifying a target device connectable to a computer network; identifying on said network one or a plurality of groups of peer devices which employ configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device; for each of said groups of peer devices, receiving input from the target device as to whether the target device is to be included as a member of the group; for each group of which the target device is to be included as a member, identifying one or a plurality of default parameters associated with the group, such that each default parameter describes a configuration setting determined to be suitable as a default setting for the configuration to which it relates based on a determination that it is commonly used by members of the group; presenting each of said default parameters to the target device; for each default parameter presented to the target device, receiving input from the target device as to whether the default parameter is to be implemented for the target device and implementing or not implementing the default parameter for the target device in accordance with said input, comparing input received from the target device to input received from other members of said group, determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of the group, and wherein the step of identifying a target device connectable to a network comprises at least the steps of; determining a context for the target device comprising at least the location of the target device and time at which it is being identified, and querying the target device for configuration settings of the target device and identification of each configuration setting which is subject to change to conform to a default parameter of a group of peer devices; and
whereinthe identification on said network of one or a plurality of groups of peer devices which employ configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device is made with reference to said context, said target device configuration settings, and said identification of configuration settings subject to change to conform to default parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for configuring a target device comprising the steps of:
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identifying a target device connectable to a computer network; identifying on said network one or a plurality of groups of peer devices which employ configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device; for each of said groups of peer devices, receiving input from the target device as to whether the target device is to be included as a member of the group; for each group of which the target device is to be included as a member, identifying one or a plurality of default parameters associated with the group, such that each default parameter describes a configuration setting determined to be suitable as a default setting for the configuration to which it relates based on a determination that it is commonly used by members of the group; presenting each of said default parameters to the target device; for each default parameter presented to the target device, receiving input from the target device as to whether the default parameter is to he implemented for the target device and implementing or not implementing the default parameter for the target device in accordance with said input, comparing input received from the target device to input received from other members of said group, determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of the group, and wherein the step of determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of the group comprises; assigning each parameter a numeric priority, representing each parameter by a node in a decision tree describing hierarchically the organization of parameters, if parameters in one node have a precedence over parameters in another node, connecting the two nodes with each other by an edge, assigning a numeric weight to each edge to represent a degree of precedence between two nodes, and setting default parameters to reflect configuration choices made by members of the group. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A system for configuring a target device, comprising:
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a target device and a computer network to which the target device may be connected; one or a plurality of groups of devices which are peers to the target device and which may be identified as employing configuration settings similar to configuration settings used. by the target device; a computer, connected to the network, receiving input from the target device, for each of said groups of peer devices, as to whether the target device is to be made a member of the group; a computer, connected to the network, identifying one or a plurality of default parameters associated with each group of which the target device is to be made a member, such that each default parameter describes a configuration setting determined to be suitable as a default setting for the configuration to which it relates based on a determination that it is commonly used by members of the group; a computer, connected to the network, presenting each of said default parameters to the target device; a computer, connected to the network, presenting each default parameter presented to the target device and receiving input from the target device as to whether the default parameter is to be implemented for the target device and implementing or not implementing the default parameter for the target device in accordance with said input, comparing input received from the target device to input received from other members of said group, determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of the group, and wherein the computer identifying a target device connectable to the network also determines a context for the target device comprising at least the location of the target device and time at which it is being identified, and queries the target device for configuration settings of the target device and identification of each configuration setting which is subject to change to conform to a default parameter of a group of peer devices; and
whereinthe computer identifying on said network of one or a plurality of groups of peer devices which employ configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device include instructions for processing data describing said context, said target device configuration settings, and said identification of configuration settings subject to change to conform to default parameters. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A system for configuring a target device, comprising:
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a target device and a computer network to which the target device may be connected; one or a plurality of groups of devices which are peers to the target device and which may be identified as employing configuration settings similar to configuration settings used by the target device; a computer, connected to the network, receiving input from the target device, for each of said groups of peer devices, as to whether the target device is to be made a member of the group; a computer, connected to the network, identifying one or a plurality of default parameters associated with each group of which the target device is to be made a member, such that each default parameter describes a configuration setting determined to be suitable as a default setting for the configuration to which it relates based on a determination that it is commonly used by members of the group; a computer, connected to the network, presenting each of said default parameters to the target device; a computer, connected to the network, presenting each default parameter presented to the target device and receiving input from the target device as to whether the default parameter is to be implemented for the target device and implementing or not implementing the default parameter for the target device in accordance with said input, comparing input received from the target device to input received from other members of said group, determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of the group, and wherein the computer determining whether default parameters associated with the group are consistent with configuration choices commonly made by members of said group as expanded to include the target device and, if not, changing default parameters to the extent necessary to reflect configuration choices commonly made by members of a group also assigns each parameter a numeric priority, represents each parameter by a node in a decision tree describing hierarchically the organization of parameters, connects the two nodes with each other by an edge, if parameters in one node have a precedence over parameters in another node, assigns a numeric weight to each edge to represent a degree of precedence between two nodes, and sets default parameters to reflect configuration choices made by members of the group. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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Specification