Method to publish remote management services over link local network for zero-touch discovery, provisioning, and management
View Patent ↗A system, method, and computer-readable medium are disclosed for using Zero Configuration Networking (ZeroConf) to automate the discovery of the Internet Protocol (IP) network address of a remote access controller (RAC). A RAC service associated with a networking device is registered programmatically or as a result of receiving user input to a command line interface. Available services that include the registered RAC service are browsed, followed by resolving the registered RAC service to an IP address, which is then discovered. The discovered IP address is then displayed within a user interface (UI) window.
1. A computer-implementable method for using Zero Configuration Networking (ZeroConf) to automate the discovery of the Internet Protocol (IP) network address of a remote access controller (RAC), comprising:
coupling a network device to a local network, the local network comprising a link-local network, the link-local network comprising a private network using a private Internet Protocol (IP) address space, the network device comprising a RAC service, the RAC service enabling access to the network device from a local host by directly entering a service name within a local space rather than specifying an IP address of the network device;
registering the RAC service associated with the network device, the registering comprising associating a registration type with a respective registered RAC service;
browsing available services comprising the registered RAC service;
resolving the registered RAC service to an IP network address; and
discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC service, the discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC address being automated by performing a Zero Configuration Networking operation, the Zero Configuration Networking operation automatically creating a usable computer network based upon an Internet Protocol Suite when the RAC is coupled to the local network, the Zero Configuration Networking operation comprising link-local addressing, Multicast Name Resolution (mDNS) and DNS service Discovery (DNS-SD) functional capabilities.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device is one of the set of:
a server;
a server chassis;
a host system; and
a network peripheral.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein:
the server chassis is associated with at least one server; and
the RAC IP address of the chassis server and the RAC IP address of the at least one server are discovered.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the browsing is performed within a user interface (UI) window; and
the available services and the discovered IP address are displayed within the UI window.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the registering is performed in response to user input to a command line interface.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the registering is performed programmatically.
7. A system comprising:
a processor;
a data bus coupled to the processor; and
a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code for using Zero Configuration Networking (ZeroConf) to automate the discovery of the Internet Protocol (IP) network address of a remote access controller (RAC), the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code interacting with a plurality of computer operations and comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for:
coupling a network device to a local network, the local network comprising a link-local network, the link-local network comprising a private network using a private Internet Protocol (IP) address space, the network device comprising a RAC service, the RAC service enabling access to the network device from a local host by directly entering a service name within a local space rather than specifying an IP address of the network device;
registering the RAC service associated with the network device, the registering comprising associating a registration type with a respective registered RAC service;
browsing available services comprising the registered RAC service;
resolving the registered RAC service to an IP network address; and
discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC service, the discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC address being automated by performing a Zero Configuration Networking operation, the Zero Configuration Networking operation automatically creating a usable computer network based upon an Internet Protocol Suite when the RAC is coupled to the local network, the Zero Configuration Networking operation comprising link-local addressing, Multicast Name Resolution (mDNS) and DNS service Discovery (DNS-SD) functional capabilities.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the network device is one of the set of:
a server;
a server chassis;
a host system; and
a network peripheral.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein:
the server chassis is associated with at least one server; and
the RAC IP address of the chassis server and the RAC IP address of the at least one server are discovered.
10. The system of claim 7 , wherein:
the browsing is performed within a user interface (UI) window; and
the available services and the discovered IP address are displayed within the UI window.
11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the registering is performed in response to user input to a command line interface.
12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the registering is performed programmatically.
13. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code for using Zero Configuration Networking (ZeroConf) to automate the discovery of the Internet Protocol (IP) network address of a remote access controller (RAC), the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for:
coupling a network device to a local network, the local network comprising a link-local network, the link-local network comprising a private network using a private Internet Protocol (IP) address space, the network device comprising a RAC service, the RAC service enabling access to the network device from a local host by directly entering a service name within a local space rather than specifying an IP address of the network device;
registering the RAC service associated with the network device, the registering comprising associating a registration type with a respective registered RAC service;
browsing available services comprising the registered RAC service;
resolving the registered RAC service to an IP network address; and
discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC service, the discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC address being automated by performing a Zero Configuration Networking operation, the Zero Configuration Networking operation automatically creating a usable computer network based upon an Internet Protocol Suite when the RAC is coupled to the local network, the Zero Configuration Networking operation comprising link-local addressing, Multicast Name Resolution (mDNS) and DNS service Discovery (DNS-SD) functional capabilities.
14. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the network device is one of the set of:
a server;
a server chassis;
a host system; and
a network peripheral.
15. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein:
the server chassis is associated with at least one server; and
the RAC IP address of the chassis server and the RAC IP address of the at least one server are discovered.
16. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein:
the browsing is performed within a user interface (UI) window; and
the available services and the discovered IP address are displayed within the UI window.
17. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the registering is performed in response to user input to a command line interface.
18. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the registering is performed programmatically.
19. A computer-implementable method for using Zero Configuration Networking (ZeroConf) to automate the discovery of the Internet Protocol (IP) network address of a remote access controller (RAC), comprising:
coupling a network device to a local network, the local network comprising a link-local network, the link-local network comprising a private network using a private Internet Protocol (IP) address space, the network device comprising a RAC service, the RAC service enabling access to the network device from a local host by directly entering a service name;
registering the RAC service associated with the network device, the registering comprising associating a registration type with a respective registered RAC service;
browsing available services comprising the registered RAC service;
resolving the registered RAC service to an IP network address; and
discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC service, the discovering the IP network address of the registered RAC address being automated by performing a Zero Configuration Networking operation, the Zero Configuration Networking operation automatically creating a usable computer network based upon an Internet Protocol Suite when the RAC is coupled to the local network, the Zero Configuration Networking operation comprising link-local addressing, Multicast Name Resolution (mDNS) and DNS service Discovery (DNS-SD) functional capabilities; and wherein
the network device comprises a server chassis associated with at least one server;
the RAC IP address of the server chassis and the RAC IP address of the at least one server are discovered;
the browsing is performed within a user interface (UI) window; and,
service types, the available services and the discovered IP address are displayed within the UI window, an available service and a discovered IP address being associated with a service type within the UI window.