Method and apparatus for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a network device

• US 7,451,224 B1
• Filed: 04/23/2003
• Issued: 11/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stamler, Arnold
• Primary Examiner(s): JEAN GILLES, JUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/422,231
• Time in Patent Office: 2,029 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/245, 709224-229, 455/419, 455/411, 370/395, 370/410, 370/402
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0846 based on copy from other elements

Abstract

A method is disclosed for synchronizing a device identifier value with management point systems of a service provider. In one aspect, the method involves receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device, receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device, assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device, and communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device.

Claims

1. A method for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a device, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device;

automatically receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device;

automatically assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device; and

automatically communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device;

wherein the first device identifier is a chassis serial number for a chassis of the device and

wherein the step of receiving the first device identifier further comprises the step of receiving the chassis serial number from the device.

2. A method for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a device, the method comprising the computer-implemented steps of:

receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device;

automatically receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device;

automatically assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device; and

automatically communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device;

further comprising the step of receiving and executing a generic configuration at the device, wherein the generic configuration specifies a command for assigning the first device identifier as the unique identifier of the device;

wherein the generic configuration is a bootstrap configuration and the step of executing the bootstrap configuration is performed in response to booting the device up.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the command instructs the device to use its hardware serial number or chassis identifier as the unique identifier of the device.

4. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the command is a CLI command of the format “

cns id hardware-serial” and

wherein the “

hardware-serial”

sub string of the CLI command is replaced with the first device identifier.

5. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the command is a CLI command of the format “

cns id ipaddress” and

wherein the “

ipaddress”

sub string of the CLI command is replaced with the first device identifier.

6. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the command is a CLI command of the format “

cns id mac-address” and

wherein the “

mac-address”

sub string of the CLI command is replaced with the first device identifier.

7. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the first device identifier is a MAC address associated with the device and wherein the step of receiving the first device identifier further comprises the step of retrieving the MAC address of the device.

8. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the step of assigning the second device identifier further comprises the step of:

receiving and executing a second configuration at the device, wherein the second configuration specifies a command for assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the command instructs the device to use a specified string value as its unique identifier.

10. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the command is a CLI command of the format “

CNS ID STRING ‘

string’

”

, and wherein the ‘

string’

of the CLI command is replaced with the second device identifier.

11. A method as recited in claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting the first device identifier to a configuration server associated with the service provider; and

using the first device identifier to locate the second device identifier.

12. A method as recited in claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

using the first device identifier to locate the second device identifier; and

associating the second device identifier with the command that the second configuration specifies.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the step of using the first device identifier to locate the second device identifier further comprises the steps of:

using the first device identifier to locate a device object for the device; and

retrieving the second device identifier from the device object.

14. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the step of communicating a message further comprises publishing an event on an application level broadcast medium.

15. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein a particular system of the one or more systems is a management point system, a billing system, a provisioning system, and a fault detection system.

16. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the second device identifier is a unique administrative identifier associated with a subscriber of the device, and wherein the step of receiving the second device identifier from the service provider further comprises the step of receiving the unique administrative identifier from a management system of the service provider.

17. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the second device identifier is a service provider identifier that uniquely identifies the device, and wherein the step of receiving the second device identifier further comprises the step of receiving the service provider identifier.

18. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising the step of using the first device identifier to locate a third device identifier.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the third device identifier is a unique administrative identifier.

20. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the step of using the first device identifier to locate the third device identifier further comprises the steps of:

using the first device identifier to locate a device object for the device; and

retrieving the third device identifier from the device object.

21. A computer-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a device, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device;

automatically receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device;

automatically assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device; and

automatically communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device;

further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of receiving and executing a generic configuration at the device, wherein the generic configuration specifies a command for assigning the first device identifier as the unique identifier of the device

wherein the generic configuration is a bootstrap configuration and the instructions for carrying out the step of executing the bootstrap configuration is performed in response to booting the device up.

22. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the command instructs the device to use its hardware serial number or chassis identifier as the unique identifier of the device.

23. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the command is a CLI command of the format “

CNS ID HW-SER” and

wherein the “

HW-SER”

sub string of the CLI command is replaced with the first device identifier.

25. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the first device identifier is a MAC address associated with the device and wherein instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the first device identifier further comprise instructions for carrying out the step of retrieving the MAC address of the device.

26. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the instructions for carrying out the step of assigning the second device identifier further comprise instructions for carrying out the step of:

receiving and executing a second configuration at the device, wherein the second configuration specifies a command for assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device.

27. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the command instructs the device to use a specified string value as its unique identifier.

28. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the command is a CLI command of the format “

CNS ID STRING ‘

string’

”

, and wherein the ‘

string’

of the CLI command is replaced with the second device identifier.

29. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

transmitting the first device identifier to a configuration server associated with the service provider; and

using the first device identifier to locate the second device identifier.

30. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

using the first device identifier to locate the second device identifier; and

associating the second device identifier with the command that the second configuration specifies.

31. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 30, wherein the instructions for carrying out the step of using the first device identifier to locate the second device identifier further comprise instructions for carrying out the steps of:

using the first device identifier to locate a device object for the device; and

retrieving the second device identifier from the device object.

32. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the instructions for carrying out the step of communicating a message further comprise instructions for carrying out the step of publishing an event on an application level broadcast medium.

33. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein a particular system of the one or more systems is a management point system, a billing system, a provisioning system, and a fault detection system.

34. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the second device identifier is a unique administrative identifier associated with a subscriber of the device, and wherein the instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the second device identifier from the service provider further comprise instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the unique administrative identifier from a management system of the service provider.

35. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the second device identifier is a service provider identifier that uniquely identifies the device, and wherein the instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the second device identifier further comprise instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the service provider identifier.

36. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the step of using the first device identifier to locate a third device identifier.

37. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 36, wherein the third device identifier is a unique administrative identifier.

38. A computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 36, wherein the instructions for carrying out the step of using the first device identifier to locate the third device identifier further comprise instructions for carrying out the steps of:

using the first device identifier to locate a device object for the device; and

retrieving the third device identifier from the device object.

24. A computer-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a device, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device;

automatically receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device;

automatically assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device; and

automatically communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device;

wherein the first device identifier is a chassis serial number for a chassis of the device and wherein instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the first device identifier further comprise instructions for carrying out the step of receiving the chassis serial number from the device.

39. An apparatus for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a device, comprising:

a means for receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device;

a means for automatically receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device;

a means for automatically assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device; and

a means for automatically communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device;

further comprising a means for receiving and executing a generic configuration at the device, wherein the generic configuration specifies a command for assigning a first device identifier as the unique identifier of the device;

wherein the generic configuration is a bootstrap configuration and the means for executing the bootstrap configuration are employed in response to booting the device up.

40. An apparatus for automatically synchronizing a unique identifier of a device, comprising:

a processor; and

one or more stored sequence of instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of;

receiving a first device identifier that is assigned to the device by a manufacturer of the device as the unique identifier of the device;

automatically receiving a second device identifier from a service provider associated with the device;

automatically assigning the second device identifier as the unique identifier of the device; and

automatically communicating a message to one or more systems indicating that the second device identifier is the unique identifier of the device;

further comprising one or more stored sequence of instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the step of receiving and executing a generic configuration at the device, wherein the generic configuration specifies a command for assigning a first device identifier as the unique identifier of the device;

wherein the generic configuration is a bootstrap configuration and the instructions for carrying out the step of executing the bootstrap configuration are executed in response to booting the device up.