System and method for automatically configuring remote computer
First Claim
1. A method of configuring a remote computer to access a network of computers, comprising:
- initiating, at a network administrator computer of the network of computers, an installer program having an empty binary file, the installer program being configured to generate an executable file using the binary file when the empty binary file is populated;
accessing, at the network administrator computer, a network database using a user data application to extract configuration data that represents binary settings of a network topology and binary settings of the remote computer;
applying, at the network administrator computer, the binary settings of the network topology and the binary setting of the remote computer to code a Remote Access Service (RAS) Application Programming Interface (API) to generate a configuration data binary file and prescribed RAS settings;
embedding, at the network administrator computer, the configuration data binary file as instructions in the RAS API;
replacing the empty binary file of the installer program with the configuration data binary file and generating the executable file using the configuration data binary file;
deploying the executable file comprising the configuration data binary file from the network to the remote computer;
executing the executable file on the remote computer to modify configuration settings of the remote computer by installing the prescribed RAS settings to edit RAS files of an operating system of the remote computer such that the remote computer is configured to establish a VPN connection to access the network;
configuring at the remote computer the RAS API as a connection application software;
configuring at the remote computer the executable file as a self-deleting file;
the step of executing the executable file further comprises;
executing on the remote computer the executable file such that the RAS API functions as the connection application software that issues instructions to the remote computer to establish the VPN connection with the network;
before establishing the VPN connection with a VPN server of the network, creating a connection profile that the RAS API is configured to provide to the operating system of the remote computer when the executable file is executed, wherein the connection profile contains information regarding at least one of an IP address, an address for a gateway, a DNS address, a WINS address, a DHCP address, and a NAT address;
coding WAN login credentials and automatically transmitting the WAN login credentials from the remote computer to the VPN server of the network when executing the executable file;
coding LAN login credentials and automatically transmitting the LAN login credentials from the remote computer to a domain controller of the network when executing the executable file;
wherein the WAN and the LAN login credentials are coded in a manner that the WAN and LAN login credentials are unknown to the user in order to prevent the user from becoming aware of the code of the WAN and LAN login credentials; and
automatically deleting the executable file from the remote computer after terminating the VPN connection.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for automatically configuring a remote computer to establish a VPN connection with a network is disclosed. According to the system and method, a configuration generator determines information necessary for the remote computer to establish the VPN connection, and generate an executable file to be run the remote computer. When run on the remote computer, the executable file automatically updates the remote computer'"'"'s configuration settings so as to enable it to establish the connection with the network. The information required by the configuration generator can either be extracted from a database automatically, or can be keyed in by a network administrator.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A method of configuring a remote computer to access a network of computers, comprising:
-
initiating, at a network administrator computer of the network of computers, an installer program having an empty binary file, the installer program being configured to generate an executable file using the binary file when the empty binary file is populated; accessing, at the network administrator computer, a network database using a user data application to extract configuration data that represents binary settings of a network topology and binary settings of the remote computer; applying, at the network administrator computer, the binary settings of the network topology and the binary setting of the remote computer to code a Remote Access Service (RAS) Application Programming Interface (API) to generate a configuration data binary file and prescribed RAS settings; embedding, at the network administrator computer, the configuration data binary file as instructions in the RAS API; replacing the empty binary file of the installer program with the configuration data binary file and generating the executable file using the configuration data binary file; deploying the executable file comprising the configuration data binary file from the network to the remote computer; executing the executable file on the remote computer to modify configuration settings of the remote computer by installing the prescribed RAS settings to edit RAS files of an operating system of the remote computer such that the remote computer is configured to establish a VPN connection to access the network; configuring at the remote computer the RAS API as a connection application software; configuring at the remote computer the executable file as a self-deleting file; the step of executing the executable file further comprises; executing on the remote computer the executable file such that the RAS API functions as the connection application software that issues instructions to the remote computer to establish the VPN connection with the network; before establishing the VPN connection with a VPN server of the network, creating a connection profile that the RAS API is configured to provide to the operating system of the remote computer when the executable file is executed, wherein the connection profile contains information regarding at least one of an IP address, an address for a gateway, a DNS address, a WINS address, a DHCP address, and a NAT address; coding WAN login credentials and automatically transmitting the WAN login credentials from the remote computer to the VPN server of the network when executing the executable file; coding LAN login credentials and automatically transmitting the LAN login credentials from the remote computer to a domain controller of the network when executing the executable file; wherein the WAN and the LAN login credentials are coded in a manner that the WAN and LAN login credentials are unknown to the user in order to prevent the user from becoming aware of the code of the WAN and LAN login credentials; and automatically deleting the executable file from the remote computer after terminating the VPN connection. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
13. A method of configuring a remote computer to access a network of computers, comprising:
-
accessing a database associated with a configuration program generator that runs on a network administrator computer of the network of computers, the database having networking information necessary for at least one remote computer to access the network of computers, wherein the network information includes a WAN profile for the network of computers, at least one DNS address for the network of computers, and at least one WINS address for the network of computers; executing a software module from within the database, the software module configured to; extract the networking information for a selected one of the at least one remote computer; convert the extracted networking information to a binary code representing configuration settings for the selected one of the at least one remote computer; apply the binary code of the at least one remote computer to code a Remote Access Service (RAS) Application Programming Interface (API) to generate a configuration data binary file and prescribed RAS settings; embed the configuration data binary file as instructions in the RAS API; generate an executable program file having the binary code embedded therein, the executable program file being configured to modify current configurations of the selected one of the at least one remote computer when executed by the remote computer; and provide the executable program file comprising the configuration data binary file from the network of the computers to the selected one of the at least one remote computer for execution; executing the executable program file on the remote computer to modify the current configurations of the selected one of the at least one remote computer by installing prescribed Remote Access Service (RAS) settings to edit RAS files of an operating system of the selected one of the at least one remote computer such that the selected one of the at least one remote computer is configured to establish a VPN connection to access the network of the computers; configuring, at the at least one remote computer, the RAS API as a connection application software; configuring, at the at least one remote computer, the executable program file as a self-deleting file; the step of executing the executable program file further comprises; executing on the at least one remote computer the executable program file such that the RAS API functions as the connection application software that issues instructions to the at least one remote computer to establish the VPN connection with the network of the computers; before establishing the VPN connection with a VPN server of the network of the computers, creating a connection profile that the RAS API is configured to provide to the operating system of the at least one remote computer when the executable program file is executed, wherein the connection profile contains information regarding at least one of an IP address, an address for a gateway, a DNS address, a WINS address, a DHCIP address, and a NAT address; coding WAN login credentials and automatically transmitting the WAN login credentials from the at least one remote computer to the VPN server of the network of the computers when executing the executable program file; coding LAN login credentials and automatically transmitting the LAN login credentials from the at least one remote computer to a domain controller of the network of the computers when executing the executable program file; wherein the WAN and the LAN login credentials are coded in a manner that the WAN and LAN login credentials are unknown to the user in order to prevent the user from becoming aware of the code of the WAN and LAN login credentials; and automatically deleting the executable program file from the at least one remote computer after terminating the VPN connection. - View Dependent Claims (14)
-
Specification