Method and apparatus for enabling a management system to interface with managed devices

1. A method for interfacing with a managed device, comprising:

receiving, at a management system, a message including an identifier indicative of a location at which interface information associated with the managed device is stored, wherein the interface information comprises information adapted for use by a management system to interface with the managed device;

obtaining the interface information, wherein the interface information comprises an interface routine and a description of the interface routine, wherein the interface routine is specified using an interpreted language, wherein the interface routine description is specified using a descriptive language; and

initiating a request to perform a function on the managed device using the interface routine and the interface routine description.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the message is received from one of the managed device and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifier comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the interface information comprises:

retrieving the interface routine and the interface routine description from the managed device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the interface information comprises:

retrieving the interface routine and the interface routine description from a network-hosted web server.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interface routine and the interface routine description for the managed device are obtained using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the interpreted language comprises one of Java, Visual Basic, Microsoft.NET, and Microsoft J++.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the descriptive language comprises one of Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML).

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request comprises at least one of:

a request to configure the managed device, a request for status from the managed device, and a request to provision a service on the managed device.

10. An apparatus for interfacing with a managed device, comprising:

a processor configured for:

receiving a message including an identifier indicative of a location at which interface information associated with the managed device is stored, wherein the interface information comprises information adapted for use by a management system to interface with the managed device;

obtaining the interface information, wherein the interface information comprises an interface routine and a description of the interface routine, wherein the interface routine is specified using an interpreted language, wherein the interface routine description is specified using a descriptive language; and

initiating a request to perform a function on the managed device using the interface routine and the interface routine description.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the message is received from one of the managed device and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the identifier comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein obtaining the interface information comprises:

retrieving the interface routine and the interface routine description from the managed device.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein obtaining the interface information comprises:

retrieving the interface routine and the interface routine description from a network-hosted web server.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the interface routine and the interface routine description for the managed device are obtained using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

16. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the interpreted language comprises one of Java, Visual Basic, and Microsoft J++.

17. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the descriptive language comprises one of Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML).

18. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the request comprises at least one of a request to configure the managed device, a request for status from the managed device, and a request to provision a service on the managed device.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a software program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method for interfacing with a managed device, the method comprising:

receiving a message including an identifier indicative of a location at which interface information associated with the managed device is stored, wherein the interface information comprises information adapted for use by a management system to interface with the managed device;

obtaining the interface information, wherein the interface information comprises an interface routine and a description of the interface routine, wherein the interface routine is specified using an interpreted language, wherein the interface routine description is specified using a descriptive language; and

initiating a request to perform a function on the managed device using the interface routine and the interface routine description.

20. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a managed device, a request from a management system to retrieve interface information adapted for use by the management system to interface with the managed device; and

propagating the requested interface information toward the management system;

wherein the interface information comprises an interface routine and a description of the interface routine, wherein the interface routine is specified using an interpreted language, wherein the interface routine description is specified using a descriptive language.