Presentation during network address acquisition

• US 20020099803A1
• Filed: 01/19/2001
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Cheshire, Stuart
• Granted Patent: US 7,080,132 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5084 Providing for device mobility network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• 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 and apparatus for instructing a processing system to present information. In one embodiment of the invention a server processing system on a network uses the DHCP protocol to provide network configuration information for a client processing system. The server processing system uses DHCP option code 56 to include presentation information with the configuration information sent to the client. Option code 56 allows for text messages to be presented by the client processing system and also allows URL-formatted text that may cause web pages or other internet resources to be presented by the client processing system. Because the presentation information is included with the network configuration information, information is presented when the client processing system uses the configuration information (e.g., upon network initialization).

Claims

1. A method, implemented on a processing system, comprising:

receiving a request for network configuration information from a client processing system;

sending network configuration information from a server processing system to the client processing system, the network configuration information having added to it, at least one of presentation information, or an address representative of said presentation information such that information is presented when the client processing system uses the network configuration information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network configuration information is network initialization information and wherein said information is determined at least in part by said network configuration information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network configuration information is formatted in accordance with a configuration protocol.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configuration protocol is the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation information causes text to be presented.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation information includes a URL command.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the URL command references a web page.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the web page contains commercial information.

9. A method, implemented on a processing system, comprising:

requesting network configuration information from a server processing system;

receiving network configuration information at a client processing system, the network configuration information having added to it presentation information such that information is presented when the client processing system uses the network configuration information.

10. A device comprising:

a receiving unit to receive a request for network configuration information from a client processing system;

a sending unit to send network configuration information from a server processing system to the client processing system, the network configuration information having added to it presentation information such that information is presented when the client processing system uses the network configuration information.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the network configuration information is network initialization information.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the network configuration information is formatted in accordance with a configuration protocol.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the configuration protocol is the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the presentation information causes text to be presented.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the presentation information includes a URL command.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the URL command references a web page.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the web page contains commercial information.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the network configuration information is network initialization information.

21. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the network configuration information is formatted in accordance with a configuration protocol.

22. The machine-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the configuration protocol is the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

23. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the presentation information causes text to be presented.

24. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the presentation information includes a URL command.

25. The machine-readable medium of claim 24, wherein the URL command references a web page.

26. The machine-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the web page contains commercial information.

18. A device comprising:

a requesting unit to request network configuration information from a server processing system;

a receiving unit to receive network configuration information at a client processing system, the network configuration information having added to it presentation information such that information is presented when the client processing system uses the network configuration information.

19. A machine readable medium that provides executable instruction, which when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a request for network configuration information from a client processing system;

sending network configuration information from a server processing system to the client processing system, the network configuration information having added to it presentation information such that information is presented when the client processing system uses the network configuration information.

27. A machine-readable medium, that provides executable instruction, which when executed by a processing system, cause the processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:

requesting network configuration information from a server processing system;

receiving network configuration information at a client processing system, the network configuration information having added to it presentation information such that information is presented when the client processing system uses the network configuration information.