Method and system for upgrading software or firmware by using drag and drop mechanism

• US 7,979,854 B1
• Filed: 09/29/2005
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Borole, Amol, Panda, Manoj, Vincent, Jean-Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Deng; Anna
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rampuria; Satish
• Application Number:
  US11/238,914
• Time in Patent Office: 2,112 Days
• Field of Search: 717168-178, 709220-224, 715733-737
• US Class Current: 717/172
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

The invention relates to upgrading software or firmware in a network. The invention simplify the process of upgrading the software or firmware by using a drag and drop mechanism. Accordingly, with the help of a user-friendly GUI, a user initiates the process of upgrading by dragging and dropping a software icon onto a device icon. The software icon may represent the software to be used for upgrading and the device icon may represent a network device including the software or firmware that is to be upgraded. A set of checks is performed during the process of upgrading. The set of checks includes checking the compatibility of the software used for upgrading with the network device.

Claims

1. A method for upgrading an element on a network device in a network, the method comprising:

displaying, on a network management system (NMS) workstation, a first icon and a second icon, wherein the first icon represents an upgraded version of a software to reside on at least one network device and the second icon represents a network device having an element with the software to be upgraded;

receiving information on the NMS workstation for a user selection of the first icon on a display;

receiving information on the NMS workstation that indicates a user dragging the first icon on the display;

receiving information on the NMS workstation for the user dropping the first icon onto the second icon to initiate upgrading of the software for the element in the network device represented by the second icon;

based on receiving the information for the dropping on the second icon, determining, by the NMS and without intervention by the user of the NMS workstation, a certification status of the upgraded version of the software that indicates the upgraded version of the software is certified;

based upon the determination that the upgraded version of the software is certified, prompting the user to confirm to proceed with updating the software of the element in the network device; and

based upon receiving a first confirmation from the user, prompting the user to confirm that the user has correctly chosen the network device for the upgrading of the software.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying information relating to the upgraded version of the software for upgrading the element, one or more device identification technique options and a network topology.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the device identification technique options comprise an auto-detection technique, and the auto-detection technique comprises:

monitoring at least one auto-smartport in the network; and

detecting if at least one network device in the network is connected to the auto-smartport.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the device identification technique options comprise a clustering technique, and performing the clustering technique comprises:

selecting at least one switch;

forming at least one cluster of the selected switches;

assigning an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the cluster; and

identifying one or more network devices supported by the cluster.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the device identification technique options comprise a community technique, and performing the community technique comprises:

assigning Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to one or more networking devices in the network;

connecting the networking devices; and

identifying one or more network devices supported by the networking devices.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the upgraded version of software for upgrading the element;

downloading the upgraded version of the software on the NMS workstation;

downloading data related to the upgraded version of the software; and

generating an identifier comprising the file-path of the downloaded upgraded version of the software.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising transferring the downloaded upgraded version of the software from the NMS workstation to the network device, the transferring comprising:

detecting automatically the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the NMS workstation;

detecting automatically the IP address of the network device; and

referring to the identifier for automatically acquiring the file-path of the downloaded upgraded version of the software.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising performing a set of checks based on receiving information for the user dragging the first icon and dropping on the second icon, wherein the performing the set of checks includes:

checking if an upgraded version of a software for upgrading the element is downloaded on the NMS workstation;

checking the certification status of the upgraded version of the software downloaded on the NMS workstation;

determining whether the network device is correctly chosen;

checking presence of a second version of the software on the network device;

checking a compatibility of the upgraded version of the software with the network device;

checking an available memory on the network device; and

determining whether the upgrading is to be performed.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the checking the certification-status of the upgraded version of the software comprises:

updating the certification status of the upgraded version of the software; and

displaying the certification status of the upgraded version of the software.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

providing the user a choice for overwriting the second version of the software, if the second version of the software is found on the network device; and

overwriting the second version of the software with the upgraded version of the software, based upon a determination that the user selects the choice for overwriting.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising aborting the upgrading if insufficient available memory is detected on the network device.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising aborting the process of upgrading if incompatibility is detected between the upgraded version of the software and the network device.

13. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

based upon receiving the confirmation from the user that the user has correctly chosen the network device, establishing, without intervention by the user, an electrical connection between the NMS workstation and the network device; and

based upon establishing the electrical connection, transferring, without intervention by the user, the upgraded version of the software from the NMS workstation to the network device over the established electrical connection.

14. A method for upgrading an element on a network device in a network, the method comprising:

displaying on a Network Management System (NMS) workstation information relating to a software upgrade, the information comprising a first icon representing an upgraded version of a software to reside on at least one network device and a second icon representing a network device having the element with software to be upgraded;

receiving information on the NMS workstation for a user selection of the first icon on a display;

receiving information on the NMS workstation that indicates the user dragging the first icon on the display;

receiving information on the NMS workstation for the user dropping the first icon onto the second icon to initiate upgrading the software of the element in the network device represented by the second icon;

based on receiving the information for the dropping on the second icon, determining, by the NMS and without intervention by the user of the NMS workstation, whether the upgraded version of the software is certified;

based upon the determination that the upgraded version of the software is certified, prompting the user to confirm to proceed with updating the software of the element in the network device; and

performing a set of checks, upon receiving the confirmation from the user, to determine whether the upgraded software is compatible with the network device.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

downloading the upgraded version of the software on the NMS workstation;

creating an identifier comprising a file path of the downloaded upgraded version of the software; and

transferring the upgraded version of the software to the network device, the transferring of the network software comprising;

detecting automatically the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the NMS workstation;

detecting automatically the IP address of the network device; and

referring to the identifier for automatically acquiring the file path of the downloaded upgraded version of the software.

16. A system for upgrading an element on a network device in a network, the network comprising an upgraded version of a software for upgrading the element, the system comprising:

a display for displaying on a Network Management System (NMS) workstation information related to upgrading software, the information including a first icon representing the upgraded version of the software and a second icon representing the network device having an element with the software to be upgraded; and

a processor in the NMS workstation for initiating the upgrading of the element when a user drags and drops the first icon onto the second icon, the processor being configured to perform operations comprising;

receiving information on the NMS workstation for a user selection of the first icon on a display;

receiving information on the NMS workstation that indicates a user dragging the first icon on the display;

receiving information on the NMS workstation for the user dropping the first icon onto the second icon to initiate upgrading of the software for the element in the network device represented by the second icon;

based on receiving the information for the dropping on the second icon, determining, without intervention by the user of the NMS workstation, a certification status of the upgraded version of the software that indicates the upgraded version of the software is certified;

based upon the determination that the upgraded version of the software is certified, prompting the user to confirm to proceed with updating the software of the element in the network device; and

based upon receiving a first confirmation from the user, prompting the user to confirm that the user has correctly chosen the network device for the upgrading of the software.

17. The system according to claim 16, further comprising at least one auto-smartport configured for monitoring and detecting a network device connected to the auto-smartport.

18. The system according to claim 16, further comprising a clustering module configured for performing a clustering technique, the clustering module comprising:

a switch selector configured for selecting at least one switch on the network to form a cluster;

a cluster assigning module configured for assigning an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the cluster; and

an identifying module configured for identifying network devices that are supported by the cluster.

19. The system according to claim 16, further comprising a community module configured for performing a community technique, the community module comprising:

a community assigning module configured for assigning Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to one or more networking devices in the network;

a channel linker configured for connecting the networking devices for communication; and

a community identifying module configured for identifying network devices that are supported by the networking devices.