Network management

• US 8,671,184 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2011
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pure Networks, LLC
• Inventors: Bush, Steven M., Butcher, Thomas C., Tebbs, Matthew, Ferrari, Justin, Marl, Brett, Gery, Ron, Acker, Kristin, Hinds, Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAW, PELING ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US13/030,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20110167154A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2807 Exchanging configuration information on appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving network analysis for automatically determining the actual topology of a network H04L41/12; hardware or software tools for network management using graphical user interfaces H04L41/22; address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/20 Network management software packages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/26 using dedicated tools for LAN [Local Area Network] management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity

Abstract

A tool for managing a computer network includes a gateway service module that identifies a gateway for a network and a network information service module. The network information service module identifies devices in the network, determines at least one property for each of the identified devices, and creates a network information data structure for storing device properties. A communication agent service module transmits at least one determined device property to other agent service modules associated with the network, receives at least one device property from another agent service module associated with the network, and provides the received at least one property device to the network information service module. A method of monitoring a computer network is also provided. The method includes identifying devices in a network, determining at least one property for each of the identified devices, receiving at least one determined device property from another device the network, and creating a network information data structure for storing the determined device properties.

Claims

1. A network management tool, stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising:

a network management services module configured to be provisioned into a personal computer serviced by a common gateway shared by a plurality of end user devices in a home networking environment, wherein the network management services module includes a network information services module configured to detect devices in the home network environment, a device detection module configured to identify detected devices, and a monitoring module, which includes a plurality of monitoring agents configured to direct agent services that are running on the end user devices to perform a task, wherein one or more of the agent services suggest improvements to a current performance of the home network environment, wherein the monitoring module can request that a connection to a device in the plurality of end user devices be removed when the device goes offline or is no longer accessible on the network, and wherein the network management tool maintains device properties for each of the plurality of the end user devices.

2. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein a selected one of the monitoring agents is configured to share a printer with the end user devices and to notify other agents in the end user devices of a shared printer arrangement.

3. The network management tool of claim 2, wherein the network management tool further comprises a printer device module configured to display a user interface for assisting a user of the personal computer to share the printer with the end user devices.

4. The network management tool of claim 2, wherein printer drivers for the printer are relocated to a shared network location, and wherein remote instances of the network management tool receive a share printer operation for execution, and wherein the share printer operation involves copying printer drivers to a local computer and installing a compatible printer driver.

5. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein a selected one of the monitoring agents is configured to download a new software program and to distribute the new software program to other agents in the end user devices.

6. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein clients of monitoring services within the monitoring module can register operating system event handlers with an event service.

7. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein clients of monitoring services within the monitoring module can register for networking events associated with a change of a networking status of the personal computer hosting the monitoring services.

8. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein clients of monitoring services within the monitoring module can register file system events associated with changes to a file system of the personal computer.

9. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein clients of monitoring services within the monitoring module can register registry events associated with changes to a registry of the personal computer.

10. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein at least one of the agents is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) monitoring agent configured to monitor DHCP messages on a local network.

11. The network management tool of claim 10, wherein the DHCP monitoring agent is configured to request an Internet protocol (IP) address from a DHCP server.

12. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein the network management services module includes a DHCP client and a DHCP server listener that can cooperate in order to detect a computer running another instance of the network management tool.

13. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein certain functionalities of the network management tool are disabled when the personal computer is on a foreign network such that other network devices are considered untrustworthy.

14. The network management tool of claim 13, wherein when the personal computer is on the foreign network, file and printer sharing is disabled, and access to the personal computer is restricted.

15. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein the network management tool is configured to automatically switch the personal computer to a wireless network serviced by an access point with a highest signal strength.

16. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein the network management tool is configured to prompt a user of the personal computer to switch back to a local network based on an occurrence of an event.

17. The network management tool of claim 1, wherein the network management tool is configured to identify that, when the personal computer is connected to the common gateway specified in a membership policy, it is considered to be on a home network.

18. A method, comprising:

provisioning a network management services module at a personal computer serviced by a common gateway shared by a plurality of end user devices in a home networking environment, wherein the network management services module includes a network information services module, a device detection module, and a monitoring module, which includes a plurality of monitoring agents;

detecting devices in the home network environment using the network information services module;

identifying each detected device using the device detection module;

directing agent services running on the end user devices to perform a task, wherein one or more of the agent services suggest improvements to a current performance of the home network environment and wherein the network management tool maintains device properties for each of the plurality of the end user devices; and

sending a request, from the monitoring module, for a connection to a device in the plurality of end user devices to be removed when the device goes offline or is no longer accessible on the network.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a selected one of the monitoring agents is configured to share a printer with the end user devices and to notify other agents in the end user devices of a shared printer arrangement, and wherein the network management tool further comprises a printer device module configured to display a user interface for assisting a user of the personal computer to share the printer with the end user devices.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein a selected one of the monitoring agents is configured to download a new software program and to distribute the new software program to other agents in the end user devices, and wherein at least one of the agents is a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) monitoring agent configured to monitor DHCP messages on a local network, the DHCP monitoring agent being configured to request an Internet protocol (IP) address from a DHCP server, and wherein the network management services module includes a DHCP client and a DHCP server listener that can cooperate in order to detect a computer running another instance of the network management tool.