Device identification number based name service

Abstract

A method for addressing a client device, wherein a unique identification code, such as a serial number or an International Mobile Equipment Identity code of a mobile device, is attached to the device name. The unique identification code can be used as a part of the name or attached to the name by using additional information field in a name record that is stored on the name server. The rest of the name may be service dependent for allowing an easy automatic generation of the names for providing services, such as automatic updates, to client devices.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description help to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method according to the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 discloses a method according to the present invention. When a mobile device is connected to the Internet or other data communication network, firstly, a network address is acquired, step 10. Typically this address is an IPv4 or IPv6 address. These addressing schemes are well known to persons skilled in the art. As the addresses are difficult to remember, they are mapped against domain names, step 11.

Typically the domain name is formed by different levels of hierarchy. An example of such a domain name is “myphone.xnokia.com”, wherein “myphone” is a name chosen by the user of the device and “xnokia” is a sub-domain of the “.com”.

According to an embodiment of the present invention a secondary name is formed by using a unique identification number of the mobile device, step 12. An example of such an identification code is an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) code that is assigned to each mobile device when the device is manufactured. An example of such an IMEI code is 43241797493445. Thus, an example of a secondary name could be “43241797493445.xnokia.com”. Lastly the secondary address would be mapped to the primary address, step 13. Thus, the mobile device could be connected by using two different addresses. The primary address is chosen by the user and is suitable for human interaction. The secondary address is machine generated and thus, it is suitable for automatic use.

One example of such use is an automatic updating procedure. For example, if there is a need for software update for certain mobile device model, the manufacturer can retrieve the IMEI codes from the database. The database includes information about the device, for example the model and serial number, of the mobile device. Thus, the manufacturer knows which IMEI codes belong to the mobile devices having a need for the update. When the IMEI codes are known, the manufacturer can generate secondary domain names for each mobile device needing the update and can send the update directly to the device.

FIG. 2 discloses a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a mobile device 20, manufacturing line 21, IMEI database 22, mapping database 23, DNS 24 and service. The manufacturing line 21 refers to the manufacturing process of the mobile device 20. During the manufacturing process an IMEI code is assigned to the mobile device 20. The IMEI code is then stored to the mobile device 20 and IMEI database 22. These steps are indicated by signals 26 and 27. Then the mobile device 20 first registers a conventional domain name at the Domain Name Server (DNS) service 24, as indicated by the signal 28 and forms a unique domain name including an IMEI code and provides it to mapping database 23, as indicated by the signal 29. This domain name is used as a secondary domain name. The mapping information includes the domain name comprising the IMEI code and corresponding conventional domain name. At this stage, the registration process is over. DNS 24 and mapping database 23 may be implemented as one database service.

An example application for the registration mentioned above is a software update that is executed collectively in a plurality of mobile devices. The processing is controlled by updating service 25. First, a request for IMEI codes is sent to the IMEI database 22 as indicated by signal 210. At this stage, devices needing an update are identified. Then the secondary domain name is resolved by contacting mapping database 23 as indicated by signal 211. At this stage the updating service 25 has resolved a working network address for a mobile device 20 and the actual updating service can begin as indicated by signal 211.

In an embodiment of the invention the network elements mentioned above are equipped with software applications that are arranged to implement the unique identification code mapping according to the present invention. For example, the manufacturing line includes software for sending the unique identification code to the database for later use. The mobile device includes a software application for creating an account at a desired service for acquiring a domain name that comprises the unique identification code as a prefix and a service dependent domain name as a suffix for providing a complete name that can be automatically regenerated later. The mobile device can be configured so that it initiates all necessary name registrations automatically when the device is connected to the Internet first time. Furthermore, the service, such as an automatic updating service, is equipped with a software application that can regenerate the device name by using the unique identification code as a part of the name or as searching criteria in the database.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of the invention may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above; instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: assigning a primary domain name for the client device; andassigning a secondary domain name for the client device, wherein the secondary domain name is mapped to the primary domain name and the secondary domain name comprises the unique identification code of the client device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the client device is a mobile device.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the unique identification code of the mobile device is an International Mobile Equipment Identity code.

4. A method, comprising: assigning a domain name for the client device;mapping a unique identification code to the domain name by including the unique identification code as additional information in a domain name record.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising assigning a plurality of domain name records to a domain name, wherein at least one of the domain name records comprises said additional information.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the client device is a mobile device.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the unique identification code of the mobile device is an International Mobile Equipment Identity code.

8. A system, comprising: a client device;a database for storing a unique identification code;a domain name server for storing domain names; anda mapping database, whereinthe unique identification code is assigned to the client device and a mapping database is configured to map an International Mobile Equipment Identity code to a domain name.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the client device is a mobile device.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the unique identification code of the mobile device is an International Mobile Equipment Identity code.

11. A client device being connected to a communication network using a domain name, the client device comprising a mapping unit configured to map a unique identification code to the domain name.

12. The client device according to claim 11, wherein said mapping is arranged by using the unique identification information as additional information in a domain name record.

13. The client device according to claim 11, wherein said client device has a secondary domain name, which comprises the unique identification code as a part of the secondary name.

14. The client device according to claim 13, wherein the client device is a mobile device.

15. The client device according to claim 14, wherein the unique identification code of the mobile device is an International Mobile Equipment Identity code.

16. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, the computer program being used for addressing a client device, wherein upon execution the computer program implements the step of: assigning a primary domain name for the client device; andassigning a secondary domain name for the client device, wherein the secondary domain name is mapped to the primary domain name and the secondary domain name comprises the unique identification code of the client device.

17. The computer program according to claim 16, wherein the client device is a mobile device.

18. The computer program according to claim 17, wherein the unique identification code of the mobile device is an International Mobile Equipment Identity code.

19. An apparatus, comprising: assigning means for assigning a primary domain name for the client device; andassigning means for assigning a secondary domain name for the client device, wherein the secondary domain name is mapped to the primary domain name and the secondary domain name comprises the unique identification code of the client device.

20. An apparatus, comprising: assigning means for assigning a domain name for the client device;mapping means for mapping a unique identification code to the domain name by including the unique identification code as additional information in a domain name record.