Apparatus, and associated method, for retrieving mobile-node logic tree information

• US 7,983,226 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2002
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Mittal, Gaurav, Oommen, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Gesesse; Tilahun
• Application Number:
  US10/308,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20030103484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,150 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/408, 370/256, 370/229, 370/392.32, 370/402, 370/466, 370/349, 370/238, 370/252, 370/253, 455/419, 455/418, 455/422.1, 455/420, 455/434, 455/408, 455/519, 455/518, 455/433.1
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating exchange of configuration indicia associated with a mobile node operable in a radio communication system. The mobile node is dynamically-configurable, and includes a logic tree. The indicia is provided to a network manager responsive to request therefore or upon initiation by the mobile node. When initiated at the network, a request message generator located at a network manager generates a get message to request that certain configuration indicia be provided to the network manager. The mobile node, upon delivery of the get message thereto, retrieves the requested information, at a selected level of detail, and returns the indicia to the network manager.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to maintain information for a mobile node logic tree, said mobile node logic tree information defining mobile node functionality, said mobile node functionality being alterable dynamically and independently of a device management server in a communication network, and

a processing circuitry configured to

detect indications of a request for capability indicia, associated with at least one selected set of objects, of the mobile node logic tree, at a selected level of detail, and

retrieve the capability indicia at the selected level of detail indicated in the request.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request for capability indicia comprises a self-generated request formed at the mobile node.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to automatically generate the self-generated request in response to a change in the logic tree objects.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to automatically generate the self-generated request in response to roaming operation of the mobile node.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the capability indicia comprises a semantic meaning associated with an object, of the logic tree.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the capability indicia comprises bearer-specific device information associated with the mobile node, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to retrieve capability indicia that comprise the bearer-specific device information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus supports synchronization markup language protocol and wherein the indications of a request comprise a synchronization markup language formatted message.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the bearer-specific device information comprises indicia associated with the selected set of objects, the selected set of objects being associated with a specific management task.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the synchronization markup language formatted message comprises a synchronization markup language Exec command.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to generate a response to the request for capability indicia, the response comprising retrieved values of the capability indicia at the selected level of detail, and

a radio transceiver is configured to send the generated response to the device management server.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to format the generated response.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to compress the generated response pursuant to a compression scheme.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the generated response comprises at least one uniform resource identifier of a logic tree object.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mobile node logic tree comprises a logic-tree structure having one or more sub-tree structures, and wherein the selected set of logic tree objects comprises at least one sub-tree structure of the one or more sub-tree structures.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the one or more sub-tree structures is defined in terms of a device description framework description of objects and wherein the capability indicia, associated with the selected set of logic tree objects, are related to the device description framework description of objects.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request for capability indicia comprises at least one identifier for at least one logic tree object, in the at least one selected set of logic tree objects, and a list of attributes for the at least one identified object.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said at least one identifier comprises at least one uniform resource identifier of at least one logic tree node.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a processing circuitry configured to

generate a request message, for communication to a remotely located mobile node of a radio communication system, to request capability indicia, associated with at least one selected set of objects of a logic tree corresponding to the mobile node, at a selected level of detail, and

a radio transceiver configured to send the request message to the mobile node, wherein said apparatus operating as a device management server in a communication network; and

wherein logic tree information of the logic tree defines mobile node functionality, said mobile node functionality being alterable dynamically and independently of a device management server in a communication network, the logic tree information including the at least one selected set of objects.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the requested capability indicia are associated with a first selected set of the logic tree objects at a first selected level of detail and with at least a second selected set of the logic tree objects at a second selected level of detail.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the logic tree comprises a logic-tree structure having a first sub-tree structure and at least a second sub-tree structure and wherein the generated request message requests the capability indicia associated with the first sub-tree structure and with the second sub-tree structure.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the request message comprises at least one identifier for at least one logic tree object, in the at least one selected set of logic tree objects, and a list of attributes for the at least one identified logic tree object.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said at least one identifier comprises at least one uniform resource identifier of at least one logic tree node.

23. A method comprising:

generating a request message, for communication to a remotely located mobile node of a radio communication system, the request message requesting capability indicia associated with at least one selected set of objects of a logic tree corresponding to the mobile node, at a selected level of detail; and

sending the request message to the mobile node;

wherein logic tree information of the logic tree defines mobile node functionality, said mobile node functionality being alterable dynamically and independently of a device management server in a communication network, the logic tree information including the at least one selected set of objects.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

detecting at the mobile node values representative of a selected set of logic tree objects for which the capability indicia is requested.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the requested capability indicia are associated with a first selected set of the logic tree objects at a first selected level of detail and with at least a second selected set of the logic tree objects at a second selected level of detail.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the logic tree comprises a logic-tree structure having a first sub-tree structure and at least a second sub-tree structure and wherein generating a request message includes generating a request message requesting the capability indicia associated with the first sub-tree structure and with the second sub-tree structure.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the request message comprises at least one identifier for at least one logic tree object, in the at least one selected set of logic tree objects, and a list of attributes for the at least one identified logic tree object.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein said at least one identifier comprises at least one uniform resource identifier of at least one logic tree node

29. A method comprising:

detecting indications of a request for capability indicia, associated with at least one selected set of objects of a mobile node logic tree, at a selected level of detail,

retrieving the capability indicia at the selected level of detail indicated in the request, wherein mobile node logic tree information, maintained in the mobile node, defines mobile node functionality, said mobile node functionality being alterable dynamically and independently of a device management server in a communication network.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

generating a response to the request for capability indicia, the response comprising the retrieved capability indicia at the selected level of detail, and

sending the generated response to the device management server.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising formatting the generated response.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising compressing the generated response pursuant to a compression scheme.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the generated response comprises at least one uniform resource identifier of a logic tree object.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the capability indicia associated with the selected set of logic tree objects is related to a device description framework description of objects in the logic tree.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein the request for capability indicia comprises at least one uniform resource identifier and at least one attribute associated with at least one logic tree object in the at least one selected set of logic tree objects.

36. The method of claim 29, wherein the request for capability indicia comprises a self-generated request formed at the mobile node.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising automatically generating the self-generated request in response to a change in the logic tree objects.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising automatically generating the self-generated request in response to roaming operation of the mobile node.

39. The method of claim 29, wherein the capability indicia comprises a semantic meaning associated with an object, of the logic tree.

40. The method of claim 29, wherein the capability indicia comprises bearer-specific device information associated with the mobile node, and further comprising retrieving capability indicia that comprise the bearer-specific device information.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the detecting indications of a request and the retrieving the capability indicia at the selected level of detail are performed in an apparatus that supports synchronization markup language protocol, and wherein the indications of a request comprise a synchronization markup language formatted message.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the bearer-specific device information comprises indicia associated with the selected set of objects, the selected set of objects being associated with a specific management task.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the synchronization markup language formatted message comprises a synchronization markup language Exec command.

44. The method of claim 29, wherein the mobile node logic tree comprises a logic-tree structure having one or more sub-tree structures, and wherein the selected set of logic tree objects comprises at least one sub-tree structure of the one or more sub-tree structures.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein each of the one or more sub-tree structures is defined in terms of a device description framework description of objects and wherein the capability indicia, associated with the selected set of logic tree objects, are related to the device description framework description of objects.

46. The method of claim 29, wherein the request for capability indicia comprises at least one identifier for at least one logic tree object, in the at least one selected set of logic tree objects, and a list of attributes for the at least one identified object.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein said at least one identifier comprises at least one uniform resource identifier of at least one logic tree node.