Method and apparatus for configuring a computer
A method and apparatus for configuring a computer. One embodiment of the invention combines all of the prior art control panels related to networking into a consolidated Network Setup Control Panel. In addition, the invention provides for computer configuration by scripting. The configuration may be for a type of system setting or for network configurations and protocols. Through scripting, a computer may be configured locally or remotely on a network. One embodiment of the invention provides for a centralized database or Configuration Library consisting of collected data relating to available configuration settings. This database is not limited to configuration information and can be used as a general database containing information the user desires to store. To modify a configuration by scripting, the invention provides for a Scripting Interface consisting of a Scripting Server and Scripting Plug-In. The Scripting Server receives the script forwarded from a user or network administrator, parses the script and determines the appropriate Scripting Plug-In to forward the desired action to. The Scripting Plug-In receives the commands and executes the appropriate actions to modify the configuration as directed.
1. A method for configuring a computer comprising:
obtaining a database having at least one configuration settings for a computer;
obtaining a script having commands for configuring said computer; parsing said script to determine an appropriate Scripting Plug-In for said script, wherein said Scripting Plug-In maintains knowledge of specific fields and methods of objects stored in said database; and
forwarding said script to said Scripting Plug-In, wherein said Scripting Plug-In executes said commands thereby configuring said computer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of said at least one configuration settings is associated with at least one of a plurality of network protocols.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
maintaining knowledge of data associated with said plurality of network protocols with a Scripting Server.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein said parsing said script is performed by said Scripting Server.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
generating a dictionary comprising said commands.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said dictionary of said commands comprises a plurality of classes corresponding to a plurality of network protocols.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said Scripting Plug-In notifies an operating system if changes are to be made to system settings as a result of said configuration settings.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
mapping configuration settings having incompatible data formats into a new compatible data format for storage in said database.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said configuration settings are network configuration settings.
10. A system comprising:
a database comprising configuration settings for a computer;
a scripting interface comprising a Scripting Server and at least one Scripting Plug-In, wherein said Scripting Server receives a script having commands for configuring said computer, said Scripting Server parses said script to determine one of said at least one Scripting Plug-In for said script; and
said one of said at least one Scripting Plug-In configured to access said computer and modify said configuration settings.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein each of said configuration settings represents network settings associated with at least one of a plurality of network protocols.
12. The system of claim 11 further comprising:
said scripting server configured to maintain individual data, data structures, and systems associated with said plurality of network protocols.
13. The system of claim 10 , wherein said each of said at least one Scripting Plug-In maintains knowledge of specific fields and methods of objects stored in said database.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein said commands are available in a dictionary.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein said dictionary comprises a plurality of classes corresponding to a plurality of network protocols.
16. The system of claim 10 , wherein said Scripting Plug-In notifies an operating system when changes are to be made to system settings as a result of said configuration settings.
17. An apparatus for configuring a computer comprising:
means for obtaining a database having at least one configuration settings for a computer;
means for obtaining a script having commands for configuring said computer;
means for parsing said script to determine an appropriate Scripting PlugIn for said script, wherein said Scripting Plug-In maintains knowledge of specific fields and methods of objects stored in said database; and
means for forwarding said script to said Scripting Plug-In, wherein said Scripting Plug-In executes said commands thereby configuring said computer.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:
means for associating each of said configuration settings with at least one of a plurality of network protocols.
19. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein each of said at least one configuration settings is associated with at least one of a plurality of network protocols.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:
means for maintaining knowledge of data associated with said plurality of network protocols with a Scripting Server.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein said parsing said script is performed by a Scripting Server.
22. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising:
means for generating a dictionary comprising said commands.
23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein said dictionary of said commands comprises a plurality of classes corresponding to a plurality of network protocols.
24. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein said Scripting Plug-In notifies an operating system if changes are to be made to system settings as a result of said configuration settings.
25. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:
means for mapping configuration settings having incompatible data formats into a new compatible data format for storage in said database.
26. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein said configuration settings are network configuration settings.
27. A computer program product comprising:
a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for configuring a computer, said computer program product comprising computer readable code configured to cause a computer to:
obtain a database having at least one configuration settings for a computer;
obtain a script having commands for configuring said computer;
parse said script to determine an appropriate Scripting Plug-In for said script, wherein said Scripting Plug-In maintains knowledge of specific fields and methods of objects stored in said database; and
forward said script to said Scripting Plug-In, wherein said Scripting PlugIn executes said commands thereby configuring said computer.
28. The computer program product of claim 27 , wherein each of said at least one configuration settings is associated with at least one of a plurality of network protocols.
29. The computer program product of claim 28 further comprising computer readable code configured to cause a computer to: maintain knowledge of data associated with said plurality of network protocols with a Scripting Server.
30. The computer program product of claim 29 , wherein said parsing said script is performed by said Scripting Server.
31. The computer program product of claim 27 further comprising computer readable code configured to cause a computer to: generate a dictionary comprising said commands.
32. The computer program product of claim 31 , wherein said dictionary of said commands comprises a plurality of classes corresponding to a plurality of network protocols.
33. The computer program product of claim 27 , wherein said Scripting Plug-In notifies an operating system if changes are to be made to system settings as a result of said configuration settings.
34. The computer program product of claim 27 further comprising computer readable code configured to cause a computer to:
map configuration settings having incompatible data formats into a new compatible data format for storage in said database.
35. The computer program product of claim 27 , wherein said configuration settings are network configuration settings.