System and method for determining component version compatibility across a device ecosystem

• US 9,092,302 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2014
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Duo Security Incorporated (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Oberheide, Jon, Song, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAVIS, JOHN Q
• Application Number:
  US14/482,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20150074644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 321 Days
• Field of Search: 717/122
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2455 Query execution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

A system and method that include collecting device version profiles from a plurality of device sources; classifying the device version profiles into a device profile repository; receiving a component version query request; querying the device profile repository according to the version query request; and responding to the query request with results of the query.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

at a network connected platform, collecting device version profiles from a plurality of device instances, wherein a device version profile represents a device instance;

classifying the device version profiles into a device profile repository;

at a network connected platform, receiving a component version query request that includes a query device version profile that is an at least partial device version profile of a first device instance;

querying the device profile repository according to the query device version profile of the component version query request and identifying at least one recommended component that is predicted to be compatible with device instances with device version profiles corresponding to the query device version profile; and

responding to the query request with the at least one recommended component.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting device version information from a plurality of device instances comprises collecting operating system version information, firmware version information, and application version information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting device version profiles from a plurality of device instances comprises collecting carrier information, location information, user configuration information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting device version profiles from a plurality of device instances, comprises collecting hardware version identifiers and configuration information from a set of device instances of a hardware platform.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the recommended component specifies at least one recommended compatible device update.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the compatible device update is a vulnerability update.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the recommended component specifies at least one recommended compatible application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a device version profile includes a set of physical components of a configurable hardware platform, and wherein the recommended component specifies at least one recommended compatible physical device component.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the query device version profile of the first device instance includes multiple properties that include software version identifiers, at least one carrier identifier, and at least one hardware identifier.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the the at least one recommended component includes a set of component references compatible with the first device version profile.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising weighting component versions with trending adoption that are compatible with the query device version profile.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting device version profiles from a plurality of device instances further comprises periodically collecting device profile information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein querying the device profile repository according to the version query request comprises identifying emerging components.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising augmenting device profile repository with component version annotation.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein querying the device profile repository comprises weighting device version profile information of at least one device instances according to a source classification.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein weighting the device version profile information comprises penalizing consideration of device version profile with a first set of characteristics of tool version information.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a collection module to a plurality of device instances, and wherein collecting the tool version information from a plurality of device instances is through the collection module.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the collection module is an application.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the collection module is a development kit.