Communications networks
First Claim
1. A method of upgrading firmware installed on network elements of a communications network, comprising the steps of:
- loading a firmware upgrade onto a source network element on the communications network; and
broadcasting the firmware upgrade through the communications network to network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies, includingsending a notification message identifying a type of the network element to which the firmware upgrade applies to network elements that are adjacent the source network element by sending the notification message from the source network element by a network upgrade protocol (NUP) software agent comprised in the source network element, broadcasting the notification message through the communications network by each network element that receives the notification message passing the notification message to the adjacent network elements, and switching the network element of the type identified in the notification message to a receiving state for receipt of the firmware upgrade upon receipt of the notification message,sending an apply message from the source network element to the adjacent network elements, by sending the apply message from each network element at which the apply message is received to the adjacent network elements, the apply message instructing the network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies to apply the firmware upgrade, andperiodically sending an inventory message from a given network element to the adjacent network elements, the inventory message comprising a list of firmware stored at the given network element, and, at the adjacent network elements that receive the inventory message, comparing the received firmware list with its own firmware list and, if the comparison indicates that the given network element sending the inventory message does not have all the firmware in the receiving network element'"'"'s list, sending the missing firmware to the given network element originating the inventory message.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In order to upgrade firmware at network elements in a communications network a network upgrade protocol agent is installed on each network element. These agents run an upgrade protocol which allows an upgrade to be loaded onto a first network element and then broadcast through the network. The protocol includes notification messages, which change the state of the network elements to which the upgrade relates, download messages which include the firmware upgrade, apply messages which instruct relevant network elements to apply the upgrade, and inventory messages which send an inventory of firmware stored at a network element to neighboring elements to enable a determination to be made of whether a network element has received all relevant firmware upgrades.
29 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of upgrading firmware installed on network elements of a communications network, comprising the steps of:
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loading a firmware upgrade onto a source network element on the communications network; and broadcasting the firmware upgrade through the communications network to network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies, including sending a notification message identifying a type of the network element to which the firmware upgrade applies to network elements that are adjacent the source network element by sending the notification message from the source network element by a network upgrade protocol (NUP) software agent comprised in the source network element, broadcasting the notification message through the communications network by each network element that receives the notification message passing the notification message to the adjacent network elements, and switching the network element of the type identified in the notification message to a receiving state for receipt of the firmware upgrade upon receipt of the notification message, sending an apply message from the source network element to the adjacent network elements, by sending the apply message from each network element at which the apply message is received to the adjacent network elements, the apply message instructing the network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies to apply the firmware upgrade, and periodically sending an inventory message from a given network element to the adjacent network elements, the inventory message comprising a list of firmware stored at the given network element, and, at the adjacent network elements that receive the inventory message, comparing the received firmware list with its own firmware list and, if the comparison indicates that the given network element sending the inventory message does not have all the firmware in the receiving network element'"'"'s list, sending the missing firmware to the given network element originating the inventory message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of upgrading firmware installed on network elements of a communications network, comprising the steps of:
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installing a protocol software agent on each network element for running a network upgrade protocol (NUP); installing a firmware upgrade at a source network element; and broadcasting the firmware upgrade through the communications network to network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies by applying the NUP at each network element, the broadcasting step including sending a notification message identifying a type of the network element to which the firmware upgrade applies to network elements that are adjacent the source network element by sending the notification message from the source network element by a NUP software agent comprised in the source network element, broadcasting the notification message through the communications network by each network element that receives the notification message passing the notification message to the adjacent network elements, and the step of switching the network element of the type identified in the notification message to a receiving state for receipt of the firmware upgrade upon receipt of the notification message, sending an apply message from the source network element to the adjacent network elements, by sending the apply message from each network element at which the apply message is received to the adjacent network elements, the apply message instructing the network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies to apply the firmware upgrade, and periodically sending an inventory message from a given network element to the adjacent network elements, the inventory message comprising a list of firmware stored at the given network element, and, at the adjacent network elements that receive the inventory message, comparing the received firmware list with its own firmware list and, if the comparison indicates that the given network element sending the inventory message does not have all the firmware in the receiving network element'"'"'s list, sending the missing firmware to the given network element originating the inventory message.
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8. A communications network, comprising:
a plurality of network elements, each network element having a network upgrade protocol (NUP) software agent for receiving a network upgrade from adjacent network elements, broadcasting a received network upgrade to the adjacent network elements, upgrading firmware of the network elements according to content of the network upgrade, sending to the network elements that are adjacent to a respective network element a notification message identifying a type of the network element to which the network upgrade applies, and switching the network element of the type identified in the notification message to a receiving state for receipt of the network upgrade upon receipt of the notification message, the NUP software agent comprising a transmitter for sending an inventory of firmware stored at the NUP software agent to the adjacent network elements on the communications network, and a receiver for receiving an inventory from an adjacent network element on a communications element, for comparing the received inventory with its own inventory and, if the received inventory contains items not in its own inventory, identifying those items to the network element from which the inventory was received.
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9. A network element for a communications network, the network element being operative for sending and receiving messages to and from other network elements in the communications network, comprising:
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a memory; and a network upgrade protocol (NUP) software agent for receiving a network upgrade from at least one adjacent network element on the communications network, for broadcasting a received network upgrade to the at least one adjacent network element on the communications network, for upgrading firmware of the network element according to content of the network upgrade, for sending to the at least one adjacent network element a notification message identifying a type of the network element to which the network upgrade applies, and for switching the network element of the type identified in the notification message to a receiving state for receipt of the network upgrade upon receipt of the notification message, the NUP software agent comprising a transmitter for sending an inventory of firmware stored at the NUP software agent to the adjacent network elements on the communications network, and a receiver for receiving an inventory from an adjacent network element on a communications element, for comparing the received inventory with its own inventory and, if the received inventory contains items not in its own inventory, identifying those items to the network element from which the inventory was received.
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10. An apparatus for upgrading firmware installed on network elements of a communications network, comprising:
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a loader for loading a firmware upgrade onto a source network element on the communications network; and a broadcaster for broadcasting the firmware upgrade through the communications network to network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies, the broadcaster being operative for sending a notification message identifying a type of the network element to which the firmware upgrade applies to network elements that are adjacent to the source network element by sending the notification message from the source network element by a network upgrade protocol (NUP) software agent comprised in the source network element, and for broadcasting the notification message through the communications network by each network element that receives the notification message passing the notification message to the adjacent network elements, the NUP software agent comprising a transmitter for sending an inventory of firmware stored at the NUP software agent to the adjacent network elements on the communications network, and a receiver for receiving an inventory from an adjacent network element on a communications element, for comparing the received inventory with its own inventory and, if the received inventory contains items not in its own inventory, identifying those items to the network element from which the inventory was received. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A network upgrade method of upgrading firmware stored in network elements of a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:
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sending a notification message identifying a type of the network element to be upgraded by sending the notification message from a source network element by a network upgrade protocol (NUP) software agent comprised in the source network element, and switching the network element of the type identified in the notification message to a receiving state for receipt of a firmware upgrade upon receipt of the notification message, sending a download message for downloading the firmware upgrade to the network elements of the identified type, sending an apply message from the source network element to the adjacent network elements, by sending the apply message from each network element at which the apply message is received to the adjacent network elements, the apply message instructing the network elements to which the firmware upgrade applies to apply the firmware upgrade, and periodically sending an inventory message from a given network element to the adjacent network elements, the inventory message comprising a list of firmware stored at the given network element, and, at the adjacent network elements that receive the inventory message, comparing the received firmware list with its own firmware list and, if the comparison indicates that the given network element sending the inventory message does not have all the firmware in the receiving network element'"'"'s list, sending the missing firmware to the given network element originating the inventory message.
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Specification