New communication techniques for simple network management protocol

• US 20020065908A1
• Filed: 11/30/2000
• Published: 05/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Jensen, Kell Michael, Agerholm, Alex O.
• Granted Patent: US 7,093,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0273 using web services for network management, e.g. simple object access protocol [SOAP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer

Abstract

Simple network management protocol or SNMP is encapsulated into HTTP traffic. The HTTP traffic is in a form that allows said to pass through a firewall. At one end, and SNMP request is encapsulated and sent to a remote computer. The remote computer de-encapsulates the request and response to the SNMP request. The SNMP response is encapsulated as an HTTP response, and sent to the management station which interprets the results.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

obtaining, at a first node, information indicative of a network condition;

encapsulating said information into an HTTP protocol; and

sending said HTTP protocol to a network managing node.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said information is SNMP information.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said HTTP protocol is an HTTPs protocol.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said encapsulating comprises forming an HTTP message including said information therein.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said information is textual information, and wherein said encapsulating comprises forming an HTTP message including said textual information therein.

6. A method as in claim 5, wherein said HTTP message includes tags indicating SNMP information.

7. A system, comprising:

a first, monitoring computer, running a first program that monitors a network connection;

a second, monitored computer, running a second program which allows said first program to monitor some aspect of the network connection;

a connection between said first and second monitored computers, said connection including a firewall which blocks at least some kinds of communications but does not block HTTP communications; and

at least one of said first and second computers running a third program that encapsulates said network information into HTTP protocol.

8. A system as in claim 7 wherein said third program is part of one of said first and second programs.

9. A system as in claim 7 wherein said first and second programs each operate based on SNMP protocol.

10. A system as in claim 7 wherein said HTTP information is HTTPs information.

11. A system as in claim 9, wherein said encapsulating comprises forming tags in the HTTP protocol which represent said SNMP information.

13. A method as in claim 12, wherein said changed SNMP request is an SNMP request which is encapsulated into HTTP protocol.

14. A method as in claim 13 wherein said HTTP protocol includes a secure socket layer.

15. A method as in claim 13, wherein said changed SNMP request includes tags in a style usually used by said HTTP protocol.

16. A method as in claim 12 further comprising:

receiving said changed SNMP request in said remote computer; and

changing said changed SNMP request into a standard SNMP request.

17. A method as in claim 16, further comprising:

In said remote computer, preparing an SNMP response;

encapsulating said SNMP response as a changed SNMP response; and

sending said changed SNMP response through said firewall to said management station computer.

18. A method as in claim 17 further comprising, at said management station computer, changing said changed SNMP response to a standard SNMP response.

20. A program as in claim 19, wherein said SNMP format network information is an SNMP request.

21. A program as in claim 19 wherein said SNMP format information is an SNMP response.

22. A program as in claim 19 wherein said HTTP format is an HTTPs format.

23. A program as in claim 19 wherein said instructions further cause the computer to encapsulate said SNMP information using a secure socket layer.

24. A program as in claim 19 wherein said encapsulating comprises forming HTML tags representing SNMP information.

12. A method, comprising:

forming an SNMP request for information from a remote computer, in a management station computer;

changing said SNMP request to a form which will be passed by a firewall as a changed SNMP request; and

sending said changed SNMP request to said remote computer through said firewall.

19. A computer program, embodied on tangible program media, containing instructions causing a computer to:

detect SNMP format network information;

encapsulate said SNMP format network information into an HTTP format as encapsulated SNMP information; and

send said SNMP information to a remote location.