Configuration file override

• US 8,473,589 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2012
• Issued: 06/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ford, Alan, Lee, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US13/490,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20120246283A1
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/222, 725/111, 370/392
• US Class Current: 709/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]

Abstract

In one embodiment, a router is configured to relay a provisioning request originating from a remote network device to a remote provisioning server. When the router receives back a provisioning response including provisioning information identifying a first remotely stored configuration file, the router is configured to modify the provisioning information such that the modified provisioning information no longer identifies the first remotely stored configuration file. The router then relays the provisioning reply, which may identify a second different configuration file, to the remote network device.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a processing device; and

a memory including instructions executable by the processing device, the processing device when executing the instructions operable to;

receive an input identifying provisioning parameters for a remote network device;

relay a provisioning request originating from the remote network device, the

provisioning request relayed to a remote provisioning server;

receive a provisioning reply from the remote provisioning server, the provisioning reply including provisioning information identifying a first configuration file stored remotely with respect to the processing device;

modify the provisioning information such that the modified provisioning information no longer identifies the first remotely stored configuration file and instead identifies a second different configuration file, the second different configuration file corresponding to the identified provisioning parameters; and

relay the provisioning reply having the modified provisioning information to the remote network device;

wherein the relayed provisioning reply is sent from a gateway of an access network to customer premise equipment and is configured to prevent the customer premise equipment from completing ranging with the gateway.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first configuration file is enabled and the second configuration file is disabled.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second configuration file identified by the modified provisioning information does not exist on the remote provisioning server.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the relayed provisioning reply is sent from a router to an Internet Protocol (IP) phone.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the network device, enable a first maximum communication bandwidth for the network device, and the second configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the network device, enable a second different maximum communication bandwidth for the network device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second configuration file identified in the modified provisioning information is stored on the remote provisioning server but unassociated with the remote network device by the remote provisioning server.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a relay device, an input identifying provisioning parameters for a network device;

relaying, from the relay device, a provisioning request originating from the network device, the provisioning request relayed to a provisioning server;

receiving, at the relay device, a provisioning reply from the provisioning server, the provisioning reply including provisioning information identifying a first configuration file stored on the provisioning server;

modifying, using the relay device, the provisioning information such that the modified provisioning information no longer identifies the first configuration file stored on the provisioning server and instead identifies a second different configuration file, the second different configuration file corresponding to the identified provisioning parameters; and

relaying, from the relay device, the provisioning reply having the modified provisioning information to the network device;

wherein the first configuration file is enabled and the second configuration file is disabled, and wherein the second disabled configuration file is configured to, when loaded by the network device, bring the network device online but prevent customer premise equipment connected to the network device from communicating with an access network corresponding to the relay device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the network device, enable a first maximum communication bandwidth for the network device, and the second configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the network device, enable a second different maximum communication bandwidth for the network device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein both the first and second configuration files are stored on the provisioning server, wherein the first configuration file is associated with the network device by the provisioning server, wherein the second configuration file is unassociated with the network device by the provisioning server.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising dynamically generating the second configuration file, the second configuration file dynamically generated independently of the provisioning server.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the second configuration file identified by the modified provisioning information does not exist on the provisioning server.

12. A router, comprising:

a processing device configured to;

relay a provisioning request sent from a network device, the provisioning request relayed to a provisioning server;

receive a reply from the provisioning server, the reply including provisioning information including both a filename and location corresponding to a first configuration file stored remotely from the processing device;

modify at least one of the filename or location of the provisioning information, wherein after modifying at least one of the filename or location the provisioning information corresponds to a second configuration file that is different than the first configuration file; and

relay the reply including the provisioning information having at least one of the modified filename or location to the network device;

wherein the relayed reply is sent from the processing device to the network device and is configured to prevent the network device from completing ranging with the processing device.

13. The router of claim 12, wherein the processing device controls which one of a plurality of remotely stored second configuration files is loaded on the network device.

14. The router of claim 12, wherein the processing device is configured to modify a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) filename field and a DHCP server field of the reply before relaying the reply.

15. The router of claim 12, wherein the processing device is configured to:

identify provisioning replies corresponding to a group of network devices having a common Organizational Unique Identifier (OUI); and

include the same provisioning information in the identified provisioning replies.

16. The router of claim 12, wherein the first configuration file is stored on a remote DHCP server and the second configuration file is not stored on the remote DHCP server.

17. The router of claim 12, wherein the second configuration file comprises an invalid configuration file, a disabled configuration file, or a limited configuration file enabling less bandwidth than the first configuration file.