Device-specific pre-provisoining access-limiting for a modem and a consumer premise equipment device

• US 8,726,306 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• 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: Siripunkaw, Pak, Weber, Emery J
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Kieu Oanh T
• Application Number:
  US13/238,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20120017234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 725/25, 725/91, 725/98, 725/100, 725/111
• US Class Current: 725/25
• 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. A method comprising:

receiving a request for access provisioning from a device in an unprovisioned state on a network managed by a computing apparatus;

identifying a plurality of different pieces of consumer-premise equipment to be serviced by the device; and

transmitting a plurality of device-specific configuration files to the device, each configuration file indicating a different walled garden for a corresponding one of the plurality of different pieces of consumer-premise equipment to be serviced by the device while the device is in the unprovisioned state.

2. The method of claim 1, the transmitting further comprising transmitting different configuration files for different classes of the consumer-premise equipment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each different walled garden permits a different level of network access for a different class of the consumer-premise equipment while the device is in the unprovisioned state.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein while the device is in the unprovisioned state, one of the plurality of different walled gardens grants a first class of the consumer-premise equipment limited access to video-computing devices, and another of the plurality of different walled gardens denies a second class of the consumer-premise equipment access to the video-computing devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is a cable modem, the method further comprising granting network access to a first consumer-premise equipment of the plurality of different pieces of the consumer-premise equipment, the first consumer-premise equipment serviced by the cable modem before the cable modem is fully provisioned for network access.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first consumer-premise equipment is a set-top box.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the network access granted to the set-top box before the cable modem is fully provisioned includes access to a video-computing device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein network access granted to non-set top-box consumer-premise equipment to be serviced by the cable modem does not include access to the video-computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the device and at least one of the consumer-premise equipment are both embedded in a single device.

10. A method comprising:

identifying a plurality of different types of user devices to be serviced by a first computing device;

transmitting a provisioning request to a second computing device, the request identifying the plurality of different types of user devices; and

before receiving full provisioning from the second computing device, receiving, by the first computing device, a plurality of configuration files, each of the plurality of configuration files providing a different walled garden for a corresponding one of the plurality of different types of user devices.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of configuration files is associated with a plurality of different classes of user devices.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a plurality of different walled gardens permits a different level of network access for a different class of user device before the first computing device receives full provisioning.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the different walled gardens grants limited access for a first class of user device to video-computing devices, and denies access for a second class of user device to the video-computing devices.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first computing device is a cable modem configured to provide network access to a first user device serviced by the cable modem before the cable modem is fully provisioned for network access, first user device being one of the plurality of different types of user devices.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first user device is a set-top box.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the network access provided to the set-top box before the cable modem is fully provisioned includes access to a video-computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein network access provided to non-set top-box consumer-premise equipment to be serviced by the cable modem before the cable modem is fully provisioned does not include access to the video-computing devices.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the set-top box and cable modem are both embedded in a subscriber-gateway computing device.

19. A method comprising:

identifying, by a first computing device, a plurality of different user devices to be serviced by the first computing device;

transmitting, by the first computing device, a provisioning request to a second computing device, the provisioning request identifying the plurality of different user devices; and

before receiving full provisioning from the second computing device, receiving a plurality of configuration files, each of the plurality of configuration files providing a different walled garden for a corresponding one of the plurality of different user devices.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising granting, by the second computing device, a different level of network access to each of the plurality of different user devices serviced by the first computing device before the first computing device is fully provisioned.