Patent Application
20190097882
This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 17306262.1, entitled “METHOD OF ASSOCIATING CONFIGURATION SETTINGS WITH DEVICES IN A NETWORK AND CORRESPONDING APPARATUS”, filed on Sep. 26, 2017, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of associating configuration settings with devices connected in a network.
Any background information described herein is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to the present embodiments that are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light.
In network environments such as home, household, residence or small business, devices such as Set Top Boxes (STB), High-Definition Televisions (HDTV) and mobile communication devices (portable PCs, mobile phones, tablets) connect to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) located in a Wide Area Network (WAN) through a Local Area Network (LAN) controlled by one or more Access Points (APs) or GateWays (GWs). An access point or gateway offers wireless and wired communication for connecting the Local Area Network (LAN) devices, e.g., Ethernet and WiFi (a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance, a technology for wireless LAN based on IEEE 802.11 standards). Some devices have a relative long lifetime such as the above mentioned Set Top Boxes and High-Definition Televisions, while other devices such as the previous mentioned mobile communication devices are changed on a recurring basis. When a device is added to or removed from the local network, a user, typically having network administrative rights, will have to intervene and modify gateway settings and preferences for the added/removed device manually. When devices are added/removed relatively frequently to/from the local network, this task becomes too time-consuming. Then, configuration may be skipped, resulting in undesired and inefficient operation of the home network devices and possibly persistence or introduction of security flaws. There is thus a need for optimization of this reconfiguration task.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of associating configuration settings with network devices. The method is implemented by an access point providing network access (i.e., to a WAN, to other network devices via the LAN) to the network devices. The method includes monitoring, per (LAN) network device connected to the access point, data communication transiting through the access point (e.g., from the network device to the WAN and vice versa, or from the network device to another network device in the LAN) and detecting an addition of a “new” or “second” network device (“new” or “second” meaning yet unknown to the access point, i.e., of which the access point has no record in memory). The method further includes, when the addition of the second network device is coincidental with a change point detected in the monitored data communication for an “old” or “first” network device (“old” and “first” meaning known to the access point, i.e. of which the access point has a record in memory) and the second network device has data communication that is correlative to data communication of the first network device from before the detected change, associating configuration settings associated with the first network device, to the second network device.
According to a further aspect of the method of associating configuration settings with network devices, the monitoring of the data communication per network device comprises monitoring data communication per network device with a Wide Area Network connected to the access point.
According to a further aspect of the method of associating configuration settings with network devices, the monitoring of the data communication comprises monitoring Domain Name System queries per network device.
According to a further aspect of the method of associating configuration settings with network devices, the monitoring of the data communication per network device comprises monitoring of port numbers opened per network device.
According to a further aspect of the method of associating configuration settings with network devices, the monitoring of the data communication per network device comprises monitoring of bandwidth use per network device. The term ‘bandwidth’ being related to bit rate of incoming/outgoing data communication, for example peak or average upload or download bit rate.
The present principles also relate to an access point device including a processor, a memory, a first network interface and a second network interface. The processor, the memory, the first and the second network interfaces are configured to monitor, per network device connected to the access point device, data communication transiting through the access point, and detect an addition of a second (unknown, new) network device (i.e., detect a connection of a network device to the access point that is yet unknown to the access point). When the addition of the second network device is coincidental with a change point detected in the monitored data communication of the first network device and the second network device has data communication that is correlative to data communication of the first network device from before the detected change point, the processor, a memory, the first network interface and the second network interface are further configured to associate, with the second network device, configuration settings associated with the first network device, and to associate, with the first network device, default configuration settings.
According to a further aspect of the access point device, the processor, the memory, the first and the second network interfaces are further configured to store the configuration settings.
According to a further aspect of the access point device, the access point device is a gateway.
According to a further aspect of the access point device, the second network device is a Set Top Box.
According to a further aspect of the access point device, the second network device is a mobile communication device.
According to a further aspect of the access point device, the mobile communication device is a smartphone.
More advantages of the present disclosure will appear through the description of particular, non-restricting embodiments. To describe the way the advantages of the present disclosure can be obtained, particular descriptions of the present principles are rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. The drawings depict exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting its scope. The embodiments described can be combined to form particular advantageous embodiments. In the following figures, items with same reference numbers as items already described in a previous figure will not be described again to avoid unnecessary obscuring the disclosure. The embodiments will be described with reference to the following drawings in which:
It should be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the disclosure and are not necessarily the only possible configuration for illustrating the disclosure.
The present description illustrates the principles of the present disclosure. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are included within its spirit and scope.
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for educational purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.
Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
Other data communication than Internet activity can be measured per network device such as (peak, average) data communication incoming/outgoing (download/upload) bandwidth (bit rate) usage, data communication volume, distribution of data communication over time, connectivity over time (e.g., time distribution of connections to the WiFi network). But also data communication such as traffic classification based on inspection of packet contents: source address, port, destination address, inferring application type used by looking for application-specific data within TCP or UDP payloads, Quality of Service (QoS) of data communication, Domain Name System (DNS) queries to some categories of websites, port numbers used by applications running on the monitored network devices (e.g., port 21 indicates use of a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) application), class of Internet traffic e.g. latency critical Internet traffic class indicates gaming activity, Voice over IP (VoIP), video conferencing, IP television (IPTV), while non-latency critical Internet traffic indicates for example Internet browsing or file download.
Once the monitoring data (the time series data) is obtained, a change point detection algorithm is applied. Its purpose is to detect whether a change has occurred in the time series data, when, and the kind of change. For instance, from a change occurring in a time series it can be determined that before the change point, the monitored network device was mainly used during office hours, while after the change point, the monitored network device was mainly used during evening hours.
Once a change point has been detected for a monitored network device, an action is applied such as resetting the gateway's configuration settings to default for the monitored network device for which the change point was detected, or associate the gateway's configuration settings for the that network device with another network device, or transfer the gateway's configuration settings for that network device to the another network device. At least two cases can be identified:
(1) a change point is detected for a network device and no “new” device was added to the local network (i.e., a yet “unknown” network device (i.e., unknown to the gateway) connects to the gateway) in a time frame surrounding the occurrence of the change point (in other words, that is coincidental with the occurrence of the (detected) change point). It can be concluded that the network device changed hands and was not replaced.
(2) a change point is detected for a network device and a “new” network device was added to the local network in a time frame surrounding (including) the occurrence of the change point (i.e., the moment (time) of addition of the new network device is said to be coincident (coincidental) with a moment (time) of a detected change point), and the new network device has data communication which is the same as or similar to (are correlative) data communication of the network device for which the change point was detected (reference 203 in
According to a particular embodiment, to determine correlation or similarity, a correlation function or similarity function can be applied between two time series, here time series (histogram data) of data communication of the “new” network device and time series of data communication of the network device for which the change point was detected. If the outcome of the function is higher than a given threshold, there is correlation or similarity. Correlation/similarity can also be determined using a distance function; if the outcome of the distance function applied to the above time series of data communication is lower than a given threshold, the time series are considered to be similar or correlated. If correlation/similarity is detected, it can then be concluded that the network device for which the change point was detected changed hands and was replaced by the “new” network device.
For case (1), the gateway's configuration settings for the network device for which the change point is detected are reset to a default configuration (reinitialized) for improved network security and data protection.
For case (2), the gateway's configuration settings for the network device for which the change point is detected (i.e., “old” network device) are associated with or are transferred to the “new” device (reference 204 in FIG. 2). Further for case (2) and according to a particular embodiment, in addition to the associating/transfer of the configuration settings with/to the “new” network device, the gateway's configuration settings associated with the device for which the change point is detected are reset to a default configuration for improved network security and data protection.
According to an embodiment the discussed configuration settings reside in the gateway, for example in a table or in a database stored in a memory, the table/database entries associating configuration settings with a device. According to different embodiment, the configuration settings may reside in a memory/in a database in the network device, according to the type of configuration settings and the implementation used. According to yet another embodiment, the configuration settings may reside both in the gateway and in the network device.
According to a particular embodiment, the configuration settings include parental control settings.
According to a particular embodiment, the default configuration includes low permissive parental control settings.
According to a particular embodiment, the configuration settings include firewall configuration settings, i.e., more or less permissive.
According to a particular embodiment, resetting the gateway's configuration settings for a network device includes reinitializing to a default configuration of the firewall settings for the device, e.g., to a default, restrictive setting.
According to a particular embodiment wherein configuration settings are memorized (stored) in the gateway per local network device MAC address (e.g., in memory 1043 of gateway 104), for case (1) the configuration settings for the MAC address of the device for which the change point is detected are reset to default configuration settings with restricted access; while for case (2), in the configuration settings stored in the gateway, the MAC address associated with the device for which the change point is detected is replaced by the MAC address of the new device, while a new default configuration setting is created for the MAC address of the device for which the change point is detected.
According to a particular embodiment, before applying configuration setting changes, the registered local network administrator is informed of the imminent configuration setting change. The registered local network administrator can then refuse or accept the configuration setting change. The registered local network administrator can be informed for example by transmission of an e-mail or short message service.
According to the present principles, the gateway's configuration settings for local network devices are thus automatically adapted according to device usage and requires no complex user intervention. Security is improved (security flaws are reduced) when these gateway's configuration settings include security settings such as firewall configuration.
According to a particular embodiment, the present principles are part of a firewall in a gateway/access point.
It is to be appreciated that some elements in the drawings may not be used or be necessary in all embodiments. Some operations may be executed in parallel. Embodiments other than those illustrated and/or described are possible. For example, a device implementing the present principles may include a mix of hard- and software.
It is to be appreciated that aspects of the principles of the present disclosure can be embodied as a system, method or computer readable medium. Accordingly, aspects of the principles of the present disclosure can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code and so forth), or an embodiment combining hardware and software aspects that can all generally be defined to herein as a “circuit”, “module” or “system”. Furthermore, aspects of the principles of the present disclosure can take the form of a computer readable storage medium. Any combination of one or more computer readable storage medium(s) can be utilized.
Thus, for example, it is to be appreciated that the diagrams presented herein represent conceptual views of illustrative system components and/or circuitry embodying the principles of the present disclosure. Similarly, it is to be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable storage media and so executed by a computer or processor, whether such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
A computer readable storage medium can take the form of a computer readable program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) and having computer readable program code embodied thereon that is executable by a computer. A computer readable storage medium as used herein is considered a non-transitory storage medium given the inherent capability to store the information therein as well as the inherent capability to provide retrieval of the information there from. A computer readable storage medium can be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Some or all aspects of the storage medium may be remotely located (e.g., in the ‘cloud’). It is to be appreciated that the following, while providing more specific examples of computer readable storage mediums to which the present principles can be applied, is merely an illustrative and not exhaustive listing, as is readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art: a hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17306262.1 | Sep 2017 | EP | regional |
