Apparatus and method for secure configuration of shared medium devices

• US 7,908,643 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2006
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Linksys Holdings Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Harrington, Kendra S., McRae, Matthew, Huotari, Allen J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smithers; Matthew B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fields; Courtney D
• Application Number:
  US11/510,449
• Publication Number:
  US 20080052764A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,663 Days
• Field of Search: 726/3, 713/150, 713/153, 370/338
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

An UNENROLLED adapter responds to an enrollment activation signal by generating an enrollment supplicant signal. The enrollment supplicant signal is received by an ENROLLED adapter, an enrollment provider, which responds by formulating and transmitting an enrollment provider signal, including security management service information, to the UNENROLLED adapter. The UNENROLLED adapter changes a network adapter configuration responsive to the security management service information provided by the ENROLLED adapter, by which the network adapter is configured securely, and secure communications are effectuated. Enrolled adapter can solicit enrollment of an UNENROLLED adapter. The activation signal can be a physical or virtual activation sequence.

Claims

1. A network adapter, comprising:

an enrollment manager, configured to receive an activation command from an activation source and configured to emit an enrollment command in response thereto; and

a hardware adapter controller connected to the enrollment manager to receive the enrollment command and configured to manage an enrollment signal in response thereto,

wherein the enrollment signal can be both an OUTBOUND enrollment signal or an INBOUND enrollment signal;

wherein each of the OUTBOUND enrollment signal and the INBOUND enrollment signal can be both an enrollment provider signal or an enrollment supplicant signal;

wherein the adapter controller transmits an OUTBOUND enrollment signal and receives an INBOUND enrollment signal;

wherein at least one of the enrollment manager and the adapter controller changes a network adapter configuration in accordance with an INBOUND enrollment signal; and

wherein the network adapter effectuates a secure communication across a shared medium network in response to the network adapter configuration.

2. The network adapter of claim 1, wherein the network adapter configuration is an UNENROLLED state, wherein the OUTBOUND enrollment signal is an enrollment supplicant signal, wherein the INBOUND enrollment signal is an enrollment provider signal comprising a security management service information, and wherein the network adapter configuration is changed to an ENROLLED in accordance with the security management service information.

3. The network adapter of claim 1, wherein the network adapter configuration is an ENROLLED state, wherein the activation command is the INBOUND enrollment signal, wherein the INBOUND enrollment signal is an enrollment supplicant signal, and wherein the OUTBOUND enrollment signal is an enrollment provider signal comprising a security management service information.

4. The network adapter of claim 1, wherein the activation command comprises a one-button security management service enrollment sequence.

7. The network adapter of claim 1, wherein the network adapter operates within a customer premises.

8. The network adapter of claim 1, wherein the network adapter operates with at least one of an Ethernet network, a powerline network, a phone-line network, or a cable network.

9. The network adapter of claim 1, wherein the network adapter is configurable for being integrated in a host device.

10. The network adapter of claim 3, wherein the network adapter is operable to accept or deny signals communicated by an UNENROLLED network device.

5. A method of configuring a network adapter, comprising:

receiving by an enrollment manager of the network adapter an activation command from an enrolled network adapter the same as the network adapter;

generating by the enrollment manager an enrollment supplicant signal in response to the activation command;

managing by an adapter controller connected to the enrollment manager the enrollment supplicant signal;

transmitting the enrollment supplicant signal to the enrolled network adapter;

receiving an enrollment provider signal from the enrolled network adapter, wherein the enrollment provider signal includes a security management service information; and

configuring a network adapter in conformance with the security management service information, wherein the network adapter responds to configuring the network adapter by communicating securely across a shared medium.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving an enrollment supplicant signal;

formulating an enrollment provider signal to include the security management service information, responsive to the enrollment supplicant signal; and

transmitting the enrollment provider signal to effectuate configuring the network adapter, wherein the network adapter responds to configuring the network adapter by communicating securely across a shared medium.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising establishing a defined neighborhood among a plurality of client adapters.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising designating a further client adapter disposed in the defined neighborhood as a neighbor to the plurality of client adapters.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising offering by the enrollment provider information regarding additional networked devices that co-exist in the neighborhood.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising offering by the enrollment provider information regarding additional networked devices that perform specific security management services.

15. A network adapter, comprising:

an enrollment manager, configured to receive an activation command from an activation source and configured to emit an enrollment command in response thereto; and

a hardware adapter controller connected to the enrollment manager to receive the enrollment command and configured to manage an enrollment signal in response thereto,

wherein the enrollment signal can be both an OUTBOUND enrollment signal or an INBOUND enrollment signal;

wherein each of the OUTBOUND enrollment signal and the INBOUND enrollment signal can be both an enrollment provider signal or an enrollment supplicant signal;

wherein the adapter controller transmits an OUTBOUND enrollment signal and receives an INBOUND enrollment signal;

wherein at least one of the enrollment manager and the adapter controller changes an network adapter configuration in accordance with an INBOUND enrollment signal;

wherein the network adapter effectuates a secure communication across a shared medium network in response to the network adapter configuration; and

wherein the activation command is received by the enrollment manager from one of an actuator, a power state cycling signal, and activation input over a shared medium.

16. The network adapter of claim 15, wherein the actuator includes an activation button that is manually actuated.

17. The network adapter of claim 15, wherein the activation input over the shared medium includes a software activation input.

18. The network adapter of claim 15, wherein the software activation input may be issued by a computer based graphic user interface over the shared medium.

19. The network adapter of claim 15, further including a transmitted power adapter.

20. The network adapter of claim 15, further including a transmitted bit rate adapter.