Portable device integrated with a provisioning application to aid in discovery of non-network attached resources and provide suggestions for physical setup of the resources based on data center needs

• US 9,037,686 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2008
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kugel, Jacob
• Primary Examiner(s): Desrosiers, Evans
• Assistant Examiner(s): COSBY, LAWRENCE V
• Application Number:
  US12/144,790
• Publication Number:
  US 20090319640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,520 Days
• Field of Search: 709/220, 709/228, 709/226, 370/254, 713/1
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/085 Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A portable, e.g. handheld, device that would assist in the discovery of hardware ‘in the box’, and non-connected resources in general, by using detection methods such as scanning a barcode, manually entering a UPC, or detecting an RFID tag on the asset or resource, and then recommending the physical location, cabling and other setup information based on datacenter needs and real-time load information and displaying the instructions on the portable device. The above-mentioned portable device may also include a GPS receiver to locate various resources, i.e. pieces of hardware, based on their location in a large datacenter.

Claims

1. A portable device for discovery of resources and for network configuration selection, comprising:

an identifier configured to input an identifier code of a discoverable non-connected resource discovered by the portable device into the portable device, the resource being a networkable hardware device, and to identify a type of the resource from the identifier code,

a communication module configured to send the type of the resource from the portable device to a provisioning server and to receive therefrom configuration information including one or more prospective configurations for the resource, wherein the one or more prospective configurations each include real-time load information;

a screen of the portable device displaying the one or more prospective configurations including recommendations for connections between the resource and other equipment;

an input device of the portable device accepting a user input and selecting by a user a desired configuration, including a desired location, from the one or more prospective configurations; and

an integrated navigational device, wherein

the screen is configured to display a current position of the portable device according to navigational information provided by the navigational device;

the communication module is configured to report the current position to the provisioning server; and

the screen is configured to display a distance and a direction from the current position to the desired location according to the navigational information provided by the navigational device and according to the configuration information provided by the provisioning server.

2. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the navigational device comprises a receiver configured to receive navigational reference signals from geostationary satellites.

3. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the communication module is an integrated cellular telephone.

4. The portable device according to claim 1, wherein the communication module is a wireless LAN card.

5. A method for discovery of resources and for network configuration selection, comprising:

inputting an identifier code of a discoverable non-connected resource discovered by a portable device into the portable device, the resource being a networkable hardware device in the vicinity of the portable device, and identifying a type of the resource from the identifier code,

sending the type of the resource from the portable device to a provisioning server and receiving therefrom configuration information including one or more prospective configurations for the resource, wherein the one or more prospective configurations each include real-time load information;

displaying the one or more prospective configurations at the portable device;

selecting a desired configuration, including a desired location, from the one or more prospective configurations according to a user input to the portable device,

wherein the desired configuration further includes recommendations for connections between the resource and other equipment, and

wherein the identifier code is selected from the group consisting of a code encoded in an RFID tag, a code transmitted wirelessly by the resource and a code entered into the input device by the user;

displaying a current position of the portable device at the portable device according to navigational information provided by a navigational device;

reporting the current position to the provisioning server; and

displaying at the portable device a distance and a direction from the current position to the desired location according to the navigational information provided by the navigational device and according to the configuration information provided by the provisioning server.

6. A computer program product for discovery of resources and for network configuration selection, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer usable medium in a portable device having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising;

instructions to input an identifier code of a discoverable non-connected resource discovered by the portable device, the resource being a networkable hardware device in the vicinity of the portable device;

instructions to identify a type of the resource from the identifier code,

instructions to send the type of the resource to a provisioning server and to receive therefrom configuration information including one or more prospective configurations for the resource, wherein the one or more prospective configurations each include real-time load information;

instructions to display the one or more prospective configurations at the portable device including recommendations for connections between the resource and other equipment;

instructions to select a desired configuration, including a desired location, from the one or more prospective configurations according to a user input to the portable device instructions to display a current position of the portable device according to navigational information provided by a navigational device;

instructions to report the current position to the provisioning server; and

instructions to display at the portable device a distance and a direction from the current position to the desired location according to the navigational information provided by the navigational device and according to the configuration information provided by the provisioning server.