Configuration file override

• US 8,224,936 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2008
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ford, Alan, Lee, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US12/125,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20090292795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,518 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/222, 725/111, 370/392
• US Class Current: 709/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]

Abstract

In one embodiment, a router is configured to relay a provisioning request originating from a remote network device to a remote provisioning server. When the router receives back a provisioning response including provisioning information identifying a first remotely stored configuration file, the router is configured to modify the provisioning information such that the modified provisioning information no longer identifies the first remotely stored configuration file. The router then relays the provisioning reply, which may identify a second different configuration file, to the remote network device.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory including instructions executable by the processors, the processors when executing the instructions operable to;

receive an input identifying provisioning parameters for a remote network device;

relay a provisioning request originating from the remote network device, the provisioning request relayed to a remote provisioning server;

receive a provisioning reply from the remote provisioning server, the provisioning reply including provisioning information identifying a first configuration file stored remotely with respect to the apparatus;

modify the provisioning information such that the modified provisioning information no longer identifies the first remotely stored configuration file and instead identifies a second different configuration file, the second different configuration file corresponding to the identified provisioning parameters; and

relay the provisioning reply having the modified provisioning information to the remote network device;

wherein the relayed provisioning reply is sent from a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) to a cable modem and is configured to prevent the cable modem from completing ranging with the CMTS.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first configuration file is enabled and the second configuration file is disabled.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second configuration file identified by the modified provisioning information does not exist on the remote provisioning server.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first configuration file is configured to, if loaded by a cable modem, enable a first maximum communication bandwidth for the cable modem, and the second configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the cable modem, enable a second different maximum communication bandwidth for the cable modem.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second configuration file identified in the modified provisioning response is stored on the remote provisioning server but unassociated with the remote network device by the remote provisioning server.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a filename of the modified provisioning information points to a non-existent or invalid configuration file.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a relay device, an input identifying provisioning parameters for a network device;

relaying, from the relay device, a provisioning request originating from the network device, the provisioning request relayed to a provisioning server;

receiving, at the relay device, a provisioning reply from the provisioning server, the provisioning reply including provisioning information identifying a first configuration file stored on the provisioning server;

modifying, using the relay device, the provisioning information such that the modified provisioning information no longer identifies the first configuration file stored on the provisioning server and instead identifies a second different configuration file, the second different configuration file corresponding to the identified provisioning parameters; and

relaying, from the relay device, the provisioning reply having the modified provisioning information to the network device;

wherein the relayed provisioning reply is sent from a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) to a cable modem and is configured to prevent the cable modem from completing ranging with the CMTS.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first configuration file is enabled and the second configuration file is disabled.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second disabled configuration file is configured to, when loaded by the cable modem, bring the cable modem online but prevent customer premise equipment connected to the cable modem from accessing a cable network.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the second configuration file identified by the modified provisioning information does not exist on the provisioning server.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the first configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the cable modem, enable a first maximum communication bandwidth for the cable modem, and the second configuration file is configured to, if loaded by the cable modem, enable a second different maximum communication bandwidth for the cable modem.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein both the first and second configuration files are stored on the provisioning server, wherein the first configuration file is associated with the network device by the provisioning server, wherein the second configuration file is unassociated with the network device by the provisioning server.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising dynamically generating the second configuration file, the second configuration file dynamically generated independently of the provisioning server.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the second configuration file comprises an invalid configuration file, a disabled configuration file, or a limited configuration file enabling less bandwidth than the first configuration file.

15. A Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), comprising:

a processing device configured to;

relay a provisioning request sent from a cable modem, the provisioning request relayed to a provisioning server;

receive a reply from the provisioning server, the reply including provisioning information including both a filename and location corresponding to a first configuration file stored remotely from the CMTS;

modify at least one of the filename or location of the provisioning information, wherein after modifying at least one of the filename or location the provisioning information corresponds to a second configuration file that is different than the first configuration file; and

relay the reply including the provisioning information having at least one of the modified filename or location to the cable modem;

wherein the relayed reply is sent from the CMTS to the cable modem and is configured to prevent the cable modem from completing ranging with the CMTS.

16. The CMTS of claim 15, wherein the CMTS controls which one of a plurality of remotely stored second configuration files is loaded on the cable modem.

17. The CMTS of claim 15, wherein the processing device is configured to modify a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) filename field and a DHCP siaddr field of the reply before relaying the reply.

18. The CMTS of claim 15, wherein the processing device is configured to:

identify provisioning replies corresponding to a group of cable modems having a common Organizational Unique Identifier (OUI); and

include the same provisioning information in the identified provisioning replies.

19. The CMTS of claim 15, wherein the second configuration file comprises an invalid configuration file, a disabled configuration file, or a limited configuration file enabling less bandwidth than the first configuration file.

20. The CMTS of claim 15, wherein the first configuration file is stored on a remote DHCP server and the second configuration file is not stored on the remote DHCP server.