A networking device adapted for use as a gateway for a local
network, and associated method
Technical field of the invention
The present invention relates to the field of a networking
device adapted for use as a gateway for a local network, and
to an associated method.
Background of the invention
Home service gateways or home sensor gateways are network
elements which typically form the gateway between a local
network, e.g. a home network, and the access network.
Today these gateways are capable of being remotely managed
by means of a remote management protocol as for instance TR-
069 .
When a user who tries to physically install a home service
gateway (HSG) at home, and encounters a problem in doing so,
this may be caused by a failure in the setup of a remote
management session between the automatic configuration
server (ACS) and the HSG. Today the installer has to contact
the operator in order to identify the problem, which is a
burden.
Summary of the invention
It is an objective of the present disclosure to disclose a
home network server which guides a installer in the
detection of problems during the installation process.
According to the present disclosure, the above defined
objective is realized by a networking device according to
embodiments of the present invention, the networking device
being adapted for use as a gateway for a local network, the
local network being adapted for being remotely managed by
means of a remote management protocol, wherein the
networking device comprises a controller for detecting
whether the networking device is taking part in a remote
management protocol session, and an indicator controlled by
the controller for indicating whether the networking device
is taking part in a remote management protocol session.
By detecting the participation of the HSG in a remote
management protocol session, and indicating the
participation of no participation status by an indicator,
the user who is installing the HSG is directly informed
about a possible failure as to this respect. He is thereby
guided in detecting which type of problems are occurring
during the installation process. The simple detection of the
participation of the HSG in a remote management protocol
session may take away the need to contact the operator, e.g.
by phone. Contacting the operator can be extremely
burdensome for the customer, which is often guided through
option menus and/or is put in waiting queues.
The indicator can be any means which allows the user to be
directly informed about the status. Preferably the indicator
is a visual indicator. It can for instance be a light
source. It can be a lamp or LED or similar type of light
source .
According to preferred embodiments, the the indicator is
positioned on the outside of said networking device. It can
for instance be provided in or on the outside of the housing
of the HSG, such that it can be seen by a user /installer .
According to preferred embodiment of the present invention,
the indicator does not comprise a display. Many CPE's do
comprise a display which can display a variety of
information, but this is typically not present or required
for home gateway devices.
According to preferred embodiments of the present invention,
the controller is embodied as a remote management protocol
agent running on an OSGI platform. It can be embodied for
instance as a TR-069 management agent running on an OSGI
platform .
According to preferred embodiments, the indicator comprises
at least one lighting device which is capable of emitting
light, and the lighting device comprising at least two
emitting states. The two emitting states can for instance
vary in intensity or color. A first emitting state can for
instance be a non-emitting state, while a second emitting
state can be a brightly emitting state, such that the
difference between two emitting states can easily be
recognised by a user. The lighting device may also be
adapted for having more than two emitting states, for
instance green - red - yellow, or dark - half intensity,
full intensity.
According to preferred embodiments, the networking device
comprises a plurality of lighting devices, each lighting
device comprising at least two emittion states. The emitting
states can for each device be according to the description
in the previous paragraph.
According to preferred embodiments, the controller is
further adapted for identifying different states of the
remote management protocol session, and for controlling the
one or the plurality of lighting devices to correspond to
the different states of the remote management protocol
session by generating different emitting patterns for the
different states. Some of the different states of the remote
management protocol session can be for instance BOOT (or
init), UP (or Connected, DOWN (or Disconnected) . The
different emitting patterns may be defined by using
different emitting states of a single, or of a plurality of
lighting devices. The different emitting patterns may
correspond to a variation of light emission in time of the
one or more lighting devices. For instance a pattern may be
defined by the frequency of flickering of a single lighting
device .
According to preferred embodiments, the indicator can be
used to indicate another state of the networking device, the
other state being not related to the participation in a
remote management protocol session. One or more lighting
devices may also be used to indicate other states of the
networking device, as for instance main power on or off
state, IP connectivity or not, etc. The controller can then
be adapted for detecting these other states, and for
controlling the indicator accordingly in order to indicate
such other states.
According to preferred embodiments, the networking device is
adapted for use with a remote management protocol being TR-
069 as defined by the Broadband Forum.
According to preferred embodiments of the present invention,
the remote management protocol session is one of a TR-069,
SNMP or OMA-DM management session.
According to preferred embodiments, the controller is
further adapted for receiving signalling instructions from a
remote management server, the signalling instructions
defining how the step of indicating whether the networking
device is taking part in a remote management protocol
session is to be indicated by the indicator.
According to preferred embodiments, the controller is
adapted for communicating information describing the
capabilities of the indicator to a remote management server.
A remote management server is hereby also described which is
adapted for receiving information describing the
capabilities of and indicator of a home service gateway and
for signalling instructions to said HSG, the signalling
instructions defining how the step of indicating whether the
networking device is taking part in a remote management
protocol session is to be indicated by the indicator, based
on said capabilities.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a
method is disclosed for providing remote management protocol
session information about a networking device to a user,
comprising at the networking device:
- detecting whether the networking device is taking part in
a remote management protocol session; and
- based on the detection, indicating whether the networking
device is taking part in a remote management protocol
session, by means of an indicator comprised in the
networking device.
According to preferred embodiments, indicating comprises
controlling the emission of light of at least one lighting
device which is capable of emitting light, between at least
two light emitting states.
According to preferred embodiments, indicating comprises
controlling the emission of light of a plurality of lighting
devices, each lighting device comprising at least two
emittion states.
According to preferred embodiments, detecting comprises
identifying different states of the remote management
protocol session, and generating different emitting patterns
by the one or the plurality of lighting devices
corresponding to the different states of the remote
management protocol session.
According to preferred embodiments, the method further
comprises receiving signalling instructions from a remote
management server by the controller, the signalling
instructions defining how the step of indicating whether the
networking device is taking part in a remote management
protocol session is to be indicated by the indicator.
According to preferred embodiments, the method further
comprises communicating information describing the
capabilities of the indicator to a remote management server
by the controller. The capabilities can for instance
comprise how many LED are comprised in said indicator,
and/or how many emitting states a/each LED can emit.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a
computer program is described comprising a code means
adapted for performing the above described method, when
performed on a networking device adapted for use as a local
network gateway. A data storage means comprising such a
computer program has also been disclosed.
Further aspects of the present invention are described by
the dependent claims. The features from the dependent
claims, features of any of the independent claims and any
features of other dependent claims may be combined as
considered appropriate to the person of ordinary skill, and
not only in the particular combinations as defined by the
claims .
Brief description of the drawings
The accompanying drawings are used to illustrate embodiments
of the present invention.
Fig. 1 illustrates embodiments according to the present
invention .
Description of illustrative embodiments
The Broadband Forum is an international industry consortium
of service providers, equipment and component manufacturers
and other interested parties, focussing on developing multi
service broadband packet networking specifications
addressing interoperability, architecture and management.
The work enables home, business and converged broadband
services, encompassing customer, access and backbone
networks. More information about the Broadband Forum is
available from its internet site http :/ /ww .broadbandforum
.org/ .
One of those technical specifications is the Broadband
forum's Technical report TR-069 (e.g. issue 1 , amendment 3 ,
Issue Date: November 2010 Protocol Version: 1.2). The TR-069
Management Protocol and corresponding network architectures
allow communication between a Customer Premises Equipment
(CPE) and an automatic configuration server (ACS) . It
defines a mechanism that encompasses secure autoconfiguration
of a CPE and also incorporates other CPE
management functions into a common framework.
Also other remote management protocols methods do exist, as
for instance SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and
OMA-DM (Opan Mobile Alliance Device Management) .
The description of aspects of the present invention is
performed by means of particular embodiments and with
reference to certain drawings but the invention is not
limited thereto. Depicted figures are only schematic and
should not be considered as limiting.
According to an example, illustrated in Fig. 1 , a Home
Service Gateway (HSG) being the gateway between a home
network and an access network, is connected to an automatic
configuration server over an IP based network.
The automatic configuration server (1) can be for instance
the remote management server defined in the framework of the
TR-069 protocol. When the HSG establishes a TR-069
connection with the automatic configuration server (HDM
(Home Device Manager) /ALM (application lifecycle
management)), the TR-069 agent running in the HSG, for
instance running on an OSGI platform, controls a management
indication light which is positioned on the housing of the
HSG in order to indicate that the management session is
active (2) . It can for instance cause a LED light to start
flickering. The home service gateway can for instance
comprise a dedicated LED, or can use a different emission
pattern for a multi-purpose LED, in which different
variations of emitting states of the LED correspond to
different indicators. The installer can then easily be
informed about the status of the network management session.
While some embodiments described herein include some but not
other features included in other embodiments, combinations
of features of different embodiments are meant to be within
the scope of the invention, and form different embodiments,
as would be understood by the skilled person.
Claims
1 . A networking device adapted for use as a gateway for a
local network, said networking device being adapted for
being remotely managed by means of a remote management
protocol, wherein said networking device comprises a
controller for detecting whether said networking device is
taking part in a remote management protocol session, and an
indicator controlled by said controller for indicating
whether said networking device is taking part in a remote
management protocol session.
2 . Networking device according to claim 1 , wherein said
indicator is positioned on the outside of said networking
device.
3 . Networking device according to any of the previous
claims, wherein said controller is embodied as a remote
management protocol agent running on an OSGI platform.
4 . Networking device according to any of the previous
claims, wherein said indicator comprises at least one
lighting device which is capable of emitting light, and said
lighting device comprising at least two emitting states.
5 . Networking device device according to claim 4 , comprising
a plurality of lighting devices, each lighting device
comprising at least two emittion states, said emitting
states comprising a non-light-emitting state and a light
emitting state.
6 . Networking device according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein said
controller is further adapted for identifying different
states of said remote management protocol session, and for
controlling said one or said plurality of lighting devices
to correspond to said different states of said remote
management protocol session by generating different emitting
patterns for said different states.
7 . Networking device according to any of the previous claims
4 to 6 , wherein said controller is further adapted for
controlling said indicator to indicate another state of said
networking device, said other state being not related to
remote management protocol sessions.
8. Networking device according to any of the previous
claims, wherein said controller is further adapted for
receiving signalling instructions from a remote management
server, said signalling instructions defining how the step
of indicating whether said networking device is taking part
in a remote management protocol session is to be indicated
by said indicator.
9 . Networking device according to any of the previous
claims, wherein said controller is adapted for
communicating information describing the capabilities of
said indicator to a remote management server.
10. Networking device according to any of the previous
claims, wherein said a remote management protocol is one of
TR-06 9 , SNMP and OMA-DM.
11. A method for providing remote management protocol
session information about a networking device to a user,
comprising at said networking device:
a . detecting whether said networking device is taking
part in a remote management protocol session; and
b . based on said detection, indicating whether said
networking device is taking part in a remote management
protocol session, by means of an indicator comprised in said
networking device.
12. Method according to claim 11, wherein indicating
comprises controlling the emission of light of one or of a
plurality of lighting devices, each lighting device
comprising at least two emitting states.
13. Method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein detecting
comprises identifying different states of said remote
management protocol session, and generating different
emitting patterns by said one or said plurality of lighting
devices corresponding to said different states of said
remote management protocol session.
14. Method according to any of the claims 11 to 13, further
comprising communicating information describing the
capabilities of said indicator to a remote management server
by said controller, and receiving signalling instructions
from said remote management server by said controller, said
signalling instructions defining how the step of indicating
whether said networking device is taking part in a remote
management protocol session is to be indicated by said
indicator .
15. A computer program comprising a code adapted for
performing a method according to any of the claims 11 to 14,
when performed on a networking device adapted for use as a
local network gateway.