Automated registration and licensing tool

• US 7,917,605 B1
• Filed: 07/24/2007
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: McQuarrie, Michael Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Tammy T
• Application Number:
  US11/782,501
• Time in Patent Office: 1,344 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/223, 709/224, 709/221, 715/733
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level

Abstract

Methods and systems are disclosed for managing registrations of computers. The methods and systems provide a registration tool that may be used to automatically register the computers. For each computer to be registered, information uniquely identifying the computer is collected and sent to a remote registration server. The information is then used by the remote registration server to perform the registration on behalf of the computer. The registration may be with a software vendor, a third-party database, or with the remote registration server itself in some cases. The registration server thereafter returns a registration code or other information to the computer to complete the registration. Such an arrangement allows the registration process to be controlled from a central location.

Claims

1. A system for managing registration of computers with one or more databases, the method comprising:

at least one subsystem configured with a client agent deployed by a remote registration server on each of a plurality of computers on a private network, the client agent configured to collect identification information identifying a particular computer and to send the identification information to the remote registration server on the private network;

at least one subsystem configured to execute a registration agent on the remote registration server, the registration agent configured to send the identification information for the particular computer to an external database and to receive registration confirmation based on the identification information from the external database, where the registration confirmation includes a registration code that is required to identify the particular computer to a software application and that is generated by the remote registration server; and

at least one subsystem configured to update an access control list to automatically grant access to each the particular computer based on the identification information, and further comprising at least one subsystem configured to control the client agent and the registration agent using a control agent, the control agent configured to allow a user to automatically start, stop, and restart the client agent and the registration agent.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the client agent and the registration agent are implemented using a computer scripting language.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the external database is one of:

a domain name server, and a software vendor registration server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein registration confirmation includes one or more of:

registry update information for a software application, configuration update information for the computer, and security update information for the computer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the client agent is configured to send the identification information to the remote registration server through a private network port, and the registration agent is configured to send the identification information to the external database through a public network port.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computers include personal computers, workstations, servers, and mainframes.

7. A method of managing registration of computers with one or more databases, the method comprising:

deploying, by a remote registration server a client agent on each of a plurality of computers on a private network, the client agent configured to collect identification information identifying a particular computer and to send the identification information to the remote registration server on the private network;

executing a registration agent on the remote registration server, the registration agent configured to send the identification information for the particular computer to an external database and to receive registration confirmation based on the identification information from the external database, where the registration confirmation includes a registration code that is required to identify the particular computer to a software application and that is generated by the remote registration server; and

updating an access control list to automatically grant access to each the particular computer based on the identification information, and further comprising controlling the client agent and the registration agent using a control agent, the control agent configured to allow a user to automatically start, stop, and restart the client agent and the registration agent.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the client agent and the registration agent are implemented using a computer scripting language.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the external database is one of a domain name server, and a software vendor registration server.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein registration confirmation includes one or more of registry update information, configuration update information, and security update.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the client agent is configured to send the identification information to the remote registration server through a private network port, and the registration agent is configured to send the identification information to the external database through a public network port.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the computers include personal computers, workstations, servers, and mainframes.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with computer-readable instructions for managing registration of a plurality of computers with one or more databases, the computer-readable instructions comprising instructions for causing a computer to:

install a client agent deployed by a remote registration server on each of the plurality of computers on a private network, the client agent configured to collect identification information identifying a particular computer and to send the identification information to the remote registration server on the private network;

execute a registration agent on the remote registration server, the registration agent configured to send the identification information for the particular computer to an external database and to receive registration confirmation based on the identification information from the external database, where the registration confirmation includes a registration code that is required to identify the particular computer to a software application and that is generated by the remote registration server; and

updating an access control list to automatically grant access to each the particular computer based on the identification information, wherein the computer readable instructions further comprising instructions for controlling the client agent and the registration agent using a control agent, the control agent configured to allow a user to automatically start, stop, and restart the client agent and the registration agent.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the client agent and the registration agent are implemented using a computer scripting language.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the external database is one of:

a domain name server, and a software vendor registration server.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein registration confirmation includes one or more of:

registry update information, configuration update information, and security update.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the client agent is configured to send the identification information to the remote registration server through a private network port, and the registration agent is configured to send the identification information to the external database through a public network port.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computers include personal computers, workstations, servers, and mainframes.