Customer premise equipment device-specific access-limiting for a cable modem and a customer premise equipment device

• US 8,050,194 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2010
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Holdings LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Weber, Emery J, Siripunkaw, Pak
• Primary Examiner(s): Kizou; Hassan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Maglo; Emmanuel
• Application Number:
  US12/974,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20110093595A1
• Time in Patent Office: 315 Days
• Field of Search: 370/254, 370/352
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• 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 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42676 for modulating an analogue carrier signal to encode digital information or demodulating it to decode digital information, e.g. ADSL or cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4432 Powering on the client, e.g. bootstrap loading using setup parameters being stored locally or received from the server resetting in general G06F1/14; program loading or initiating in general G06F9/445; bootstrapping in general G06F9/4401; secure boots of computer platforms G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

A method of initializing, provisioning, and managing a cable modem and a customer premise equipment device includes, prior to receiving the configuration file for the cable modem, providing an equipment identification message containing a description of the customer premise equipment device connected to the cable modem. In the case where the cable modem has yet to be provisioned, the configuration file received from the network server is a particular access-limiting configuration file that is selected from a group of access-limiting configuration files. The selection of the particular access-limiting configuration file is based on the description of the customer premise equipment device in the equipment identification message. This allows different devices to have different network restrictions or different walled gardens.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by at least one computer, cause computer to perform the following:

receiving a request for access from an unprovisioned access device; and

prior to provisioning the access device, partially provisioning the access device to grant different levels of temporary access to a provisioning system for different types of customer premise equipment serviced by the access device, wherein

a first level of temporary access allows a first type of customer premise equipment to use the access device to temporarily access a resource offered by the provisioning system while the access device is awaiting provisioning, and

a second level of temporary access does not allow a second type of customer premise equipment to use the access device to access that resource offered by the provisioning system while the access device is awaiting provisioning.

2. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, further storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one computer, further cause the computer to perform the following:

prior to provisioning the access device, transmitting to the access device a location of a configuration file, wherein the configuration file is downloadable by the access device and partially provisions the access device to grant different levels of temporary access to the provisioning system for different types of customer premise equipment serviced by the access device.

3. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, further storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one computer, further cause the computer to perform the following:

downloading to a plurality of different unprovisioned access devices, different configuration files, granting different levels of temporary access to the provisioning system, based on types of customer premise equipment identified to the provisioning system by the different unprovisioned access devices.

4. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, further storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one computer, further cause the computer to perform the following:

downloading different configuration files to implement different device-specific walled gardens for different customer premise equipment devices serviced by access devices in an unprovisioned state.

5. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, further storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one computer, further cause the computer to perform the following:

directing requests from the second type of customer premise equipment to use the access device to access the resource offered by the provisioning system while the access device is awaiting provisioning to a provisioning server.

6. A server comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the server to perform a method including;

receiving a request for access from an unprovisioned access device; and

prior to the server provisioning the access device, the server partially provisioning the access device to grant different levels of temporary access to the server for different types of customer premise equipment serviced by the access device, wherein

a first level of temporary access allows a first type of customer premise equipment to use the access device to temporarily access a resource offered by the server while the access device is awaiting provisioning, and

a second level of temporary access does not allow a second type of customer premise equipment to use the access device to access that resource offered by the server while the access device is awaiting provisioning.

7. The server of claim 6, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the server to perform the method including:

prior to provisioning the access device, transmitting to the access device a location of a configuration file, wherein the configuration file is downloadable by the access device and partially provisions the access device to grant different levels of temporary access to the server for different types of customer premise equipment serviced by the access device.

8. The server of claim 6, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the server to perform the method including:

downloading to a plurality of different unprovisioned access devices, different configuration files, granting different levels of temporary access to the server, based on types of customer premise equipment identified to the server by the different unprovisioned access devices.

9. The server of claim 6, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the server to perform the method including:

downloading to access devices in an unprovisioned state, different configuration files to implement different device-specific walled gardens for different customer premise equipment devices serviced by the access devices in the unprovisioned state.

10. The server of claim 6, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the server to perform the method including:

directing requests from the second type of customer premise equipment to use the access device to access the resource offered by the server while the access device is awaiting provisioning to a provisioning server.

11. A gateway device, the gateway device comprising:

an access device configured to perform the following;

upon connection of the access device to a provisioning system, and prior to provisioning of the access device, the access device providing one or more equipment identification messages to the provisioning system, the one or more messages identifying a plurality of consumer premise equipment to be serviced by the access device; and

the access device receiving one or more access device configuration files from the provisioning system; and

the access device using the one or more configuration files to provide different levels of pre-provisioning network access to the plurality of consumer premise equipment based on device type while awaiting provisioning from the provisioning system.

12. The gateway device of claim 11, further configured to restrict access from the access device and direct network content requests from a set-top box to a provisioning server, based on the received configuration file and while the access device is in an unprovisioned state.

13. The gateway device of claim 11, wherein the access device is configured, by the configuration file, to restrict pre-provisioning network access of the consumer premise equipment using network address filtering while the access device is in an unprovisioned state.

14. The gateway device of claim 11, wherein the access device is configured, by the configuration file, to restrict pre-provisioning access of the consumer premise equipment using network address resolution manipulation while the access device is in an unprovisioned state.

15. The gateway device of claim 11 wherein the provider network is an Internet Protocol network.

16. A method of controlling network access, comprising:

receiving, by a provisioning system, a request for access provisioning from an unprovisioned access device on a network managed by the provisioning system;

identifying, by the provisioning system, a plurality of different pieces of consumer premise equipment to be serviced by the access device; and

granting, by the provisioning system and to the access device, different levels of pre-provisioning access to the network for the plurality of different pieces of consumer premise equipment to be serviced by the access device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the different levels correspond to different types of consumer premise equipment based on a type of data they consume.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a first type of consumer premise equipment is a video access device type.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the level of pre-provisioning network access for the video access device type of consumer premise equipment includes video server access, while the level of pre-provisioning network access for a non-video-access-device type of consumer premise equipment does not include video server access.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the video access device type is a set-top-box.