Provisioning network resources by environment and network address

• US 9,094,301 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2008
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Schneider, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parry, Chris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chou, Alan S
• Application Number:
  US12/156,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20090300024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,615 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play

Abstract

A method and apparatus for facilitating provisioning of network appliances based on different environments. A mapping server is provided to communicate with networked devices from different environments. The mapping server receives a request for a network address of a corresponding configuration server from one of the networked devices, determines a network identifier of this networked devices based on the request, and searches a mapping table for the network address of the corresponding configuration server using the network identifier of the networked device. The mapping server then provides the network address of the corresponding configuration server to the networked device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

communicating, by a mapping server, with networked devices operating in environments, wherein each of the environments is linked with a configuration server that maintains configuration information to configure networked devices of the environment for operation in the environment, and wherein the environments comprise two or more of a production environment, a quality assurance (QA) environment, a development environment, or a staging environment;

in response to a network device of the networked devices being placed in an environment of the environments and initializing operation in the environment, receiving, at the mapping server from the network device, a request for a network address of a configuration server that corresponds to the environment in which the requesting network device is initializing, wherein the network device is to send the request to the mapping server without human interaction;

determining, by the mapping server, the environment that the network device is located, the determining in view of a network identifier of the network device;

searching a mapping table of the mapping server for the requested network address of the configuration server using the determined network identifier, wherein the mapping table provides a correspondence between the network identifier of the network device, the requested configuration server, and the environment that the network device is located, wherein the searching the mapping table for the network address of the requested configuration server comprises;

when the mapping table comprises the network identifier of the network device, returning a network address of the requested configuration server corresponding to the network identifier; and

when the mapping table does not comprise the network identifier of the network device, returning a network address of a configuration server corresponding to a default environment of the environments; and

providing a response to the network device, the response comprising;

the network address of the configuration server to the network device, the configuration server maintaining configuration information identifying one or more servers to be interacted with by the network device in the environment that the network device is initialized; and

an environment identifier corresponding to the configuration server having the network address, wherein the environment identifier is used by the network device to perform operations specific to the environment of the environment identifier when the network device is initialized in the environment.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mapping server comprises a special-purpose domain name system (DNS) server.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the network device comprises a network appliance designated to monitor devices within the environment and send monitoring data to a service provider maintaining the environments.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the network identifier of the network device comprises at least one of an Internet protocol (IP) address of the network device or a subnet identifier of a subnet comprising the network device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing a user interface to facilitate user input for the mapping table.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein providing the network address of the requested configuration server to the network device comprises:

composing a message containing an IP address of the requested configuration server, and the environment comprising the one or more servers; and

sending the composed message to the network device.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing device, causes the processing device to:

communicate, by the processing device, a mapping server, with networked devices operating in environments, wherein each of the environments is linked with a configuration server that maintains configuration information to configure networked devices of the environment for operation in the environment, and wherein the environments comprise two or more of a production environment, a quality assurance (QA) environment, a development environment, or a staging environment;

in response to a network device of the networked devices being placed in an environment of the environments and initializing operation in the environment, receive, at the mapping server from the network device, a request for a network address of a configuration server that corresponds to the environment in which the requesting network device is initializing, wherein the network device is to send the request to the mapping server without human interaction;

determine, by the mapping server, the environment that the network device is located, the determining in view of a network identifier of the network device;

search a mapping table of the mapping server for the requested network address of the configuration server using the determined network identifier, wherein the mapping table provides a correspondence between the network identifier of the network device, the requested configuration server, and the environment that the network device is located, wherein the searching the mapping table for the network address of the requested configuration server comprises;

when the mapping table comprises the network identifier of the network device, returning a network address of the requested configuration server corresponding to the network identifier; and

when the mapping table does not comprise the network identifier of the network device, returning a network address of a configuration server corresponding to a default environment of the environments; and

provide a response to the network device, the response comprising;

the network address of the configuration server to the network device, the configuration server maintaining configuration information identifying one or more servers to be interacted with by the network device in the environment that the network device is initialized; and

an environment identifier corresponding to the configuration server having the network address, wherein the environment identifier is used by the network device to perform operations specific to the environment of the environment identifier when the network device is initialized in the environment.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein the mapping server comprises a special-purpose domain name system (DNS) server.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein the network device comprises a network appliance designated to monitor devices within the environment and send monitoring data to a service provider maintaining the environments.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein the network identifier of the network device comprises at least one of an Internet protocol (IP) address of the network device or a subnet identifier of a subnet comprising the network device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein providing the network address of the requested configuration server to the network device comprises:

composing a message comprising an IP address of the requested configuration server, and a corresponding environment comprising the one or more servers; and

sending the composed message to the network device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise providing a user interface to facilitate user input for the mapping table.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory comprising a mapping table to store network identifiers of networked devices and network addresses of configuration servers operating in environments, wherein the environments comprise two or more of a production environment, a quality assurance (QA) environment, a development environment, or a staging environment; and

a processing device, communicably coupled to the memory, the processing device to;

communicate with the networked devices operating in the environments, wherein each of the environments is linked with a configuration server that maintains configuration information to configure networked devices of the environment for operation in the environment;

in response to a network device of the networked devices being placed in an environment of the environments and initializing operation in the environment, cause a configuration server address provider to receive, from the network device, a request for a network address of a configuration server that corresponds to the environment in which the requesting network device is initializing, wherein the network device is to send the request to the mapping server without human interaction;

determine the environment that the network device is located, the determining in view of a network identifier of the network device;

search the mapping table for the requested network address of the configuration server using the determined network identifier, wherein the mapping table provides a correspondence between the network identifier of the network device, the requested configuration server, and the environment that the network device is located, wherein searching the mapping table for the network address of the requested configuration server comprises;

when the mapping table comprises the network identifier of the network device, returning a network address of the requested configuration server corresponding to the network identifier; and

when the mapping table does not comprise the network identifier of the network device, returning a network address of a configuration server corresponding to a default environment of the environments; and

provide a response to the network device, the response comprising;

the network address of the configuration server to the network device, the configuration server maintaining configuration information identifying one or more servers to be interacted with by the network device in the environment that the network device is initialized; and

an environment identifier corresponding to the configuration server having the network address, wherein the environment identifier is used by the network device to perform operations specific to the environment of the environment identifier when the network device is initialized in the environment.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein:

the apparatus comprises a special-purpose domain name system (DNS) server; and

the one of the networked devices comprises a network appliance designated to monitor devices within the environment and send monitoring data to a service provider maintaining the environments.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the network identifier of the network device comprises at least one of an Internet protocol (IP) address of the network device or a subnet identifier of a subnet comprising the network device.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing device to provide the network address of the requested configuration server to the network device further comprises the processing device to:

compose a message containing an IP address of the requested configuration server, and the environment comprising the one or more servers; and

send the composed message to the network device.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing device further to provide a user interface to facilitate user input for the mapping table.