Various methods and apparatuses for a central management station for automatic distribution of configuration information to remote devices

• US 8,825,816 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lantronix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Lantronix Incorporated
• Inventors: Deutsch, Jonathan Peter, Sung, Danny Te-An
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, John B.
• Application Number:
  US12/306,069
• Publication Number:
  US 20120284374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,139 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/221
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2514 between local and global IP addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2517 using port numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2528 Translation at a proxy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and system are described for a central management system to configure remote devices. A device service manager server (DSM) may have an IP redirector module configured to cooperate with two or more device service controllers (DSCs) that are behind a firewall on a wide area network relative to a location of the DSM on the wide area network, where the DSM serves as a central management station for a distribution of initial configuration information to the DSCs, wherein an executable boot up file uploaded via a drive port in that DSC is scripted to gather configuration information for that DSC and network devices on the same network as that DSC and without a prompt by the DSM then sends configuration files to the DSM which makes a master copy of the device configuration file in the DSM'"'"'s registry for that DSC.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a device service manager server (DSM) having an IP redirector module configured to coordinate network device communication between at least a first and second device service controllers (DSCs) behind respective firewalls, and that each have a management module to manage an access module to proxy communications for networked devices behind a firewall on a wide area network relative to a location of the DSM on the wide area network, where the DSM serves as a central management station for a distribution of configuration information to the DSCs, wherein an a priori installed executable boot up file in the first DSC is scripted with code to provide a unique ID of the first DSC, to determine a current IP address of the first DSC, to supply a DSM IP address on the wide area network of the DSM, and to activate code to initiate communications with the DSM, wherein a device configuration engine in the first DSC without a prompt by the DSM then sends an initial configuration file with at least the unique ID of the first DSC and the first DSC'"'"'s current IP address information via a secure communication channel to the supplied DSM IP address of the DSM, and the IP redirector module receives this configuration information, cooperates with a user data replication manager module in the DSM to create a new device configuration file with the initial configuration information and additional information for the first DSC and then makes a master copy of the device configuration file in a registry of the DSM.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a copy of the executable boot up file is embedded in a thumb drive with the executable boot up file scripted to request no network configuration settings from an end-user to properly install the DSC onto an existing network, where the thumb drive accompanies the DSC device and the DSC is a standalone device further including a power connection and a network connection, which is deployed in the existing network by merely physically plugging in power to the power connection, plugging in the network connection to the existing network, and inserting the supplied thumb drive into a drive port.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DSC uploads the boot up file from the thumb drive via the drive port, uses contents of the executable boot up file to establish the secure communication channel, implemented via Secure Shell, between the DSC and the DSM, connects to the DSM using the IP address of the DSM on a WAN implemented via the Internet, and then authenticates itself via the unique ID to the DSM, wherein the DSM then looks up the unique ID in a reference table maintained in the DSM.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user data replication manager module distributes the device configuration file back out across the wide area network to the first DSC in response to the first DSC'"'"'s registering with the registry in the DSM and also in response to the first DSC performing a system reset.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an auto discovery service resident in each DSC configured to find networked equipment on a local network, and the auto discovery service is configured to discover associated network devices on the local network by using a polling technique, wherein the DSC has a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to ask whether each discovered piece of network equipment protected by the firewall should be visible for remote access by at least the DSM, and then the DSC device collects and sends out the initial configuration file with the designated visible network device information to the DSM via the secure communication channel, which the DSM automatically registers both the DSC and any associated network devices in the DSM-hosted Identity Registry.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a graphic user interface of the DSM to configure an automated device discovery service for each associated DSC, which creates multiple individual scan records that specify a specific protocol as a search mechanism, wherein when the automated device discovery service is activated, scan records for the first DSC are copied to the first DSC, which uses the scan records to initiate periodic scans of the first DSC'"'"'s local LAN for attached network devices.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a discovery record created by the first DSC for each network device discovered by the first DSC, and the discovery record includes at least an IP address of the discovered device, a discovery protocol used to locate the discovered network device, and an identifier of the first DSC;

wherein resulting discovery records are replicated back to the DSM for use by the DSM.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a graphic user interface of the DSM creates a full device configuration record in the registry from the initial configuration file with additional information including making pair associations of an existing device configuration with a specific discovered device and a master copy of the device configuration file is stored in the DSM.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DSM provides registry service for each associated DSC and network devices connected to each DSC, and support services including dynamic Domain Name System (DNS), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a graphic user interface of the DSM configured to specify individual device associations, which are defined as a pairing of an existing device configuration with a specific discovered DSC device, wherein once a device has been associated, the DSM applies configuration changes and begins forwarding proxy connections to the DSC for network equipment following a preset set of Access Rules maintained in the DSM.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

a data replication manager in the DSM generates a local copy of the device configuration file from the master copy and then sends the local copy to the DSC for use and storage in the DSC.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the DSC uses the secured communications channel implemented in Secure Shell to fetch the local copy of the device configuration file from the DSM, and then the DSC updates a locally stored copy of the device configuration file, where the DSC then signals to DSM that the updated locally store copy is complete and the DSM updates the DSC'"'"'s status of remote configuration in the registry of the DSM.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the DSM provides centralized administration of a distributed system of DSCs across the wide area network and proxy communications between those DSCs, where each DSC of the two or more DSCs serves as a local registration authority, accepting registration requests from associated network devices on a local network, as well as polling for associated network devices on a LAN.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

a device service controller (DSC) having a power connection, a network connection, a port for a portable computer readable medium, code resident in the DSC to read configuration information in the portable computer readable medium with an executable boot up file when prompted, and an access module to proxy communications between networked devices behind a firewall and on a local area network with the DSC and remote networked devices behind a remote firewall and on a remote local area network having a second DSC, wherein the executable boot up file in the DSC is scripted to at least include device configuration information to determine a unique ID of the DSC, determine the DSC'"'"'s current IP address, supply the a DSM IP address of a device service manager server (DSM) on a wide area network, and code to initiate communications with the DSM, and where the DSC uploads the executable boot up file from the portable computer readable medium, uses contents of the boot up file to establish a secure communication Secure Shell channel between the DSC and the DSM, connects to the DSM at DSM IP address on the wide area network, the DSC authenticates itself to the DSM, and then the DSM distributes a device configuration file to be locally used by the DSC to coordinate proxy communications among the local and remote networked devices based on the device configuration information supplied from the DSC to the DSM.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a device configuration engine in the DSC configured to without a prompt by the DSM to send the device configuration information in an initial configuration file with at least the unique ID of the DSC device and the DSC'"'"'s current IP address information via the secure communication channel to the DSM, and an IP redirector module receives this configuration information in the DSM, wherein DSM also has a user data replication manager module to create the device configuration file with the supplied device configuration information and additional information and then to make a master copy of the device configuration file in the DSM'"'"'s registry.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the DSC has a module configured to serve as a local registration authority accepting registration requests from associated network devices on a local network, the user data replication manager module distributes the device configuration file back out across the wide area network to the first DSCs in response to the first DSC'"'"'s registering with the DSM and also in response to a given DSC performing a system reset, and the portable computer readable medium is a Universal Service Bus drive.

17. A method for administration of a distributed system of remote device controllers across a wide area network and proxy communications between those remote device controllers, comprising:

cooperating a central management station with two or more remote device controllers behind respective firewalls in the distributed system of remote device controllers, where a first remote device controller of the two or more remote device controllers proxies network device communications with other another device controller through the central management station for networked devices behind the respective firewalls on the wide area network relative to a location of the central management station on the wide area network;

distributing configuration information to the first remote device controller via a portable computer readable medium;

reading, by the first device controller, configuration information in the portable computer readable medium with an executable boot up file when prompted;

determining, by the first device controller, device configuration information including a current IP address of the first remote device controller and other information unique to the first remote device controller, and central management station IP address;

initiating a secure communication channel with the central management station IP address supplied in the configuration information in the portable computer readable medium;

creating the secure communication channel with the central management station via opening an outward bound bi-directional connection from the first remote controller through its firewall with the central management station;

sending an initial configuration file with at least the first remote device controller'"'"'s current IP address and other information unique to the first remote device controller via the secure communication channel to the central management station;

receiving, by the central management station, this configuration information and creating a new device configuration file with the configuration information and additional information and then making a master copy of the device configuration file in the central management station'"'"'s registry;

generating a local copy of the device configuration file from the master copy; and

distributing the local copy to the first remote device controller for use and storage in the first remote device controller.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

deploying the first remote device controller in a local network protected by the firewall by merely supplying power to the first remote device controller, plugging in a network connection of the first remote device controller to the local network, and reading the configuration information from the supplied portable computer readable medium.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

accepting registration requests from associated network devices on a local network;

polling for associated network devices on a LAN;

reporting whether each polled network device should be visible for remote access by at least the central management station; and

sending out the initial configuration file also including a designated visible network device information to the central management station via the secure channel, which the central management station registers both the first remote device controller and any associated network devices in the central management station'"'"'s registry.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

creating a full device configuration record in a central registry from the initial configuration file with additional information including making pair associations of an existing device configuration with a specific discovered device.

21. An apparatus, comprising:

a device service manager server (DSM) having an IP redirector module configured to coordinate proxy communications among network devices with first and second device service controllers (DSCs) that are behind respective firewalls on a wide area network relative to a location of the DSM on the wide area network, where the DSM serves as a central management station for a distribution of configuration information to the DSCs, wherein an executable boot up file uploaded via a drive port in the first DSC is scripted to gather configuration information for the first DSC and network devices on a network that the first DSC is on and without a prompt by the DSM then sends an initial configuration file to the DSM which makes a new master copy of a device configuration file in a registry of the DSM for the first DSC.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein an executable boot up file uploaded via a drive port in the first DSC is scripted with code to at least include to determine a unique ID of the first DSC device, to determine a current IP address of the DSC, to supply an IP address on the wide area network of the DSM, to determine an IP address of any network devices on a network that the first DSC is on, and to activate code to initiate communications with the DSM, wherein a device configuration engine in the DSC without a prompt by the DSM then sends the initial configuration file with at least the unique ID of that individual DSC device and the DSC'"'"'s current IP address information via a secure communication channel to the supplied IP address of the DSM, and the IP redirector module receives this configuration information, cooperates with a user data replication manager module in the DSM to create a device configuration file with the initial configuration information and additional information and then makes the master copy of the device configuration file in the DSM'"'"'s registry.