Access point registration in a network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11546207-B2
Application number	US-201816650326-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 20, 2018
Priority date	Sep 25, 2017
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

Implementations generally relate methods, systems, and computer readable media for providing automatic access point registration. In some implementations, a method includes receiving an indication of automatic device on-boarding activation. The method further includes receiving a selection of one or includes identification more reference devices. The method further includes determining one or more detectable devices of the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded that are detectable by at least one of the one or more reference devices. The method further includes obtaining one or more automatic configuration parameters from one or more of the reference devices. The method further includes configuring one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded with the one or more automatic configuration parameters.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, at a device configuration system, a request from one or more candidate devices to be onboarded on a network associated with the device configuration system;
triggering, at the device configuration system and based on the received request, an indication of automatic device onboarding activation, wherein the indication includes identification information of the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded that include one or more of an access point, hub, switch, or firewall, or a combination device thereof;
receiving, at the device configuration system, a selection of one or more reference devices that include one or more of a configured access point, hub, switch, or firewall, or a combination device thereof;
sending, by the device configuration system, a command to the one or more of the reference devices to detect the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded, wherein the one or more reference devices includes at least one configured access point located within a threshold distance to the one or more candidate devices;
receiving, at the device configuration system, one or more responses from the selected one or more of the reference devices, wherein each response is indicative of detection of the one or more of the candidate devices;
determining, by the device configuration system, one or more detectable devices of the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded using one or more automatic configuration parameters, wherein the one or more detectable devices are candidate devices that are detectable by at least one of the reference devices;
obtaining, at the device configuration system, the one or more automatic configuration parameters from the at least one reference device; and
configuring, by the device configuration system, one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded using the one or more automatic configuration parameters obtained from the at least one reference device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one reference device includes one or more of a layer 2 (L2) network device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one reference device includes at least one configured access point located in network proximity to one or more of the candidate devices.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded include at least one access point.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more automatic configuration parameters include assigned networks.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, at the device configuration system, one or more manual configuration parameters; and
wherein the configuring, via the device configuration system, the one or more detectable devices to be onboarded further uses the one or more of the manual configuration parameters.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuring comprises updating a value of one or more local settings in one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, an encrypted temporary token to the one or more candidate devices;
redirecting the one or more candidate devices to connect to the one or more of the reference devices using a link-local protocol; and
receiving a registration request from the one or more candidate devices, wherein the registration request includes a validation token, wherein the validation token is generated based on a validation of the encrypted temporary token.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a reliability index value of the one or more detectable devices, wherein the reliability index value represents reliability of the one or more detectable devices being onboarded and is based on a comparison of one or more current radio frequency (RF) characteristics of the one or more detectable devices and one or more baseline RF characteristics of the one or more detectable devices; and
when the reliability index value exceeds a threshold value, performing an action to reduce a potential threat to a network.

10. A system comprising:
one or more processors coupled to a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving a request from one or more candidate devices to be onboarded on a network;
triggering, based on the received request, an indication of automatic device onboarding activation, wherein the indication includes identification information of the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded that include one or more of an access point, hub, switch, or firewall, or a combination device thereof;
receiving a selection of one or more reference devices that include one or more of a configured access point, hub, switch, and firewall, or a combination device thereof;
sending a command to the one or more of the reference devices to detect the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded, wherein the one or more reference devices includes at least one configured access point located within a threshold distance to the one or more candidate devices;
receiving one or more responses from the selected one or more of the reference devices, wherein each response is indicative of detection of the one or more of the candidate devices;
determining one or more detectable devices of the one or more candidate devices to be onboarded using one or more automatic configuration parameters, wherein the one or more detectable devices are candidate devices that are detectable by at least one of the reference devices, and wherein determining the one or more detectable devices includes determining a level of network proximity between the one or more candidate devices and at least one reference device based on one or more of source Internet protocol (IP) address match between the one or more candidate devices and the at least one reference device, an address resolution protocol (ARP) technique, or a reverse address resolution protocol (RARP) technique;
obtaining one or more automatic configuration parameters from the at least one reference device within the determined level of network proximity to the one or more detectable devices; and
configuring one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded using the one or more automatic configuration parameters obtained from the at least one reference device.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more reference devices include one or more of a layer 2 (L2) network device.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more reference devices include at least one configured access point located in network proximity to one or more of the candidate devices.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded include at least one access point.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more automatic configuration parameters include assigned networks.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving one or more manual configuration parameters; and
wherein the configuring the one or more detectable devices to be onboarded further uses the one or more of the manual configuration parameters.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the configuring comprises updating a value of one or more local settings in one or more of the detectable devices to be onboarded.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the one or more responses received from the one or more of the reference devices inclu

Assignees

• Sophos Ltd

Inventors

• Biedermann Balthasar
• Bolte Dirk
• Huang Ye

Classifications

• H04W12/63

  Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent · CPC title

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title

• H04L41/0886

  Fully automatic configuration · CPC title

• H04W12/06

  Authentication · CPC title

• H04L41/0809

  Plug-and-play configuration · CPC title