Systems, apparatus and methods for managing networking devices

• US 20050267928A1
• Filed: 05/10/2005
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Todd J. Anderson
• Original Assignee: Todd J. Anderson
• Inventors: Anderson, Todd J., Phillipi, Mark P., Ross, Bradley S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,966,391 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/28 Restricting access to network management systems or functions, e.g. using authorisation function to access network configuration

Abstract

Provided are systems, apparatus and methods for the management and control of a plurality of networking devices. Embodiments include a database at each node of a communications network, where the database stores all networking and/or security data associated with each networking device at all nodes. Further, a replication module communicates any networking and/or security data changes to the databases, and insures that each database has the same information. Other embodiments may include an adaptive networking module operable to analyze and optimize the behavior, performance and/or security of the networking devices, and a simulation module to insure that any optimization-related changes do not adversely affect any of the networking devices. Therefore, the network management systems, apparatus and methods advantageously provide a decentralized system of all networking and/or security data that allows each network node to individually optimize its, and the entire network'"'"'s, networking performance and security.

Claims

1. A network management system, comprising:

a networking database module disposed at a first one of a plurality of nodes of a communications network, the networking database module comprising a data repository having a plurality of networking device configuration data corresponding to a plurality of networking devices each associated with one of the plurality of nodes; and

wherein the networking database module is operable to store a control version of the data repository at the first node, and operable to transmit at least a portion of the control version to, at least, a second one of the plurality of nodes to define a distributed version of the data repository, wherein the plurality of networking device configuration data in control version and the distributed version are identical.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the distributed version of the data repository is transmitted to every one of the plurality of nodes except the first one.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of networking device configuration data comprises a set of operational data suitable to control a predetermined functionality of the respective networking device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of networking device configuration data comprises at least one of physical data and behavioral data, wherein the physical data comprises data associated with an identification of the respective node or the respective networking device and the behavioral data comprises data associated with one or more rules, configurations, or settings that control a function of the respective networking device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the data repository further comprises status-related data associated with a networking performance status or a security status of at least one of the plurality of networking devices.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the data repository comprises data selected from the group consisting of routing data, firewall data, virtual private network data, encryption key data, proxy gateway data, intrusion detection data, intrusion prevention data, network forensic data, vulnerability assessment data, anti-virus data, content filter data, network anomaly data, authentication data, access control data, authorization data, spam filter data, application filter data, media access control address filter data, port filter data, physical site data, network site data, protocol data, network performance data, network control data, web cache data, quality of service data, banned data, trusted data, dynamic host control protocol data, networking information data, communication protocol data, and distributed site data.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network comprises a public communications network, and wherein a predetermined group of the plurality of networking devices at predetermined ones of the plurality of nodes distributed across the public communications network defines a predetermined wide area network.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a network management module operable to change the networking device configuration data associated with at least one of the plurality of networking devices corresponding to one of the plurality of nodes.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a replication module operable to communicate between at least the first one and the second one of the plurality of nodes, the replication module having at least a first data output that changes at least one of the plurality of networking device configuration data in either the control version or the distributed version of the data repository such that the plurality of networking device configuration data in the control version and the distributed version are identical.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an adaptive networking module operable to receive actual performance data or actual security data associated with at least one of the plurality of networking devices, the adaptive networking module further operable to generate new networking device configuration data that changes either the control version or the distributed version of the database based on the actual performance data or the actual security data.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a network simulation module having at least one network model operable to receive the new networking device configuration data and generate simulated performance data or simulated security data.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a data analyzer operable to compare the simulated performance data or the simulated security data to the actual performance data or the actual security data, respectively, and determine if the new networking device configuration data improves networking performance or networking security, respectively.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the networking database module is further operable to update the control version with the new networking device configuration data and to transmit the new networking device configuration data to, at least, the second node if the new networking device configuration data improves the networking performance or the networking security, respectively.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a networking services module having at least one predetermined networking communication function.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the predetermined networking communications function is selected from the group consisting of routing, quality of service, firewall, virtual private network, web cache, web filter, intrusion detection, performance monitoring, intrusion prevention, spam prevention, virus prevention, content filtering, network analysis, and broadband network communications optimization.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of networking device configuration data comprise networking level instructions, wherein the networking services module further comprises at least one networking service application operable with service-specific instructions having a different protocol than the networking level instructions, and further comprising a translator module having a translator mechanism operable to receive the networking level instructions and generate the corresponding service-specific instructions.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the control version of the data repository further comprises networked device data corresponding to a networked device, and wherein the distributed version of the data repository at the respective one of the plurality of nodes at which the networked device resides further comprises the networked device data.

27. The system of claim 14, further comprising a local network management device having a memory operable to store the networking database module and a processor operable to execute the networking database module.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the control version of the data repository further comprises networked device data corresponding to a networked device, and wherein the distributed version of the data repository at the respective one of the plurality of nodes at which the networked device resides further comprises the networked device data.

17. A network system, comprising:

a first data repository associated with a master networking device at a first node of a plurality of nodes on a communications network, wherein the first data repository comprises at least networking device configuration data relating to a functionality of the master networking device;

a second data repository associated with each of a plurality of distributed networking devices at each of the remaining nodes of the plurality of nodes, wherein the networking device configuration data further comprises data relating to a functionality of each of the plurality of distributed networking devices; and

wherein the second data repository is synchronizable with the first data repository.

18. A networking system, comprising:

a predetermined plurality of networking devices associated with a predetermined plurality of interconnected nodes of a communications network, wherein each of the predetermined plurality of nodes includes at least one of the predetermined plurality of networking devices;

a first networking database at a first one of the predetermined plurality of nodes, the first networking database comprising a first set of at least one of networking data and security data associated with each one of the predetermined plurality of networking devices at each one of the predetermined plurality of nodes; and

a second networking database at each of the remaining ones of the predetermined plurality of nodes, each second networking database comprising a second set of at least one of networking data and security data; and

a replication module operable to synchronize each second networking database with the first networking database such that each second set of at least one of networking data and security data is identical to the first set of at least one of networking data and security data.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

a distributed version of a networking database at one of a plurality of nodes of a communications network, the distributed version of the networking database comprising at least one of networking data and security data associated with each of a plurality of networking devices respectively located at each of the plurality of nodes; and

wherein the distributed version of the networking database is synchronizable with a control version of the networking database at a first one of the plurality of nodes.

20. A method of managing a communications network, comprising:

maintaining a first data repository at a first one of a plurality of nodes each having at least one networking device, where the first data repository comprises at least networking device configuration data associated with the networking device at each of the plurality of nodes; and

causing a synchronization of a second data repository at, at least, a second one of a plurality of nodes with the first data repository.

21. A method of adaptive networking, comprising:

receiving performance data or security data associated with a first networking device of a plurality of networking devices that each manage communications through one of a plurality of nodes in a communications network;

comparing the received performance data or security data to a predetermined standard and identifying anomalous data;

generating proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or proposed security-related networking device configuration data based on the identified anomalous data, where the proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or the proposed security-related networking device configuration data respectively results in new performance data or new security data falling within the predetermined standard; and

updating and synchronizing a data repository associated with each of the plurality of networking devices with the proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or proposed security-related networking device configuration data.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising iteratively generating the proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or proposed security-related networking device configuration data until an optimized performance-related networking device configuration data or optimized security-related networking device configuration data is achieved.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising generating simulated performance data or simulated security data to predict the new performance data or the new security data.

24. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to manage networking information, the control logic comprising;

first computer readable program code for maintaining a first data repository at a first one of a plurality of nodes each having at least one networking device, where the first data repository comprises at least networking device configuration data associated with the at least one networking device at each of the plurality of nodes; and

second computer readable program code for causing a synchronization of a second data repository at, at least, a second one of a plurality of nodes with the first data repository.

25. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to adaptively manage networking information, the control logic comprising;

first computer readable program code for receiving performance data or security data associated with a first networking device of a plurality of networking devices that each manage communications through one of a plurality of nodes in a communications network;

second computer readable program code for comparing the received performance data or security data to a predetermined standard and identifying anomalous data;

third computer readable program code for generating proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or proposed security-related networking device configuration data based on the identified anomalous data, where the proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or the proposed security-related networking device configuration data respectively results in new performance data or new security data falling within the predetermined standard; and

fourth computer readable program code for updating and synchronizing a data repository at each of the plurality of nodes with the proposed performance-related networking device configuration data or proposed security-related networking device configuration data.