Granted Patent B2

US 9,191,274 · App. 14/512,800 · Granted Nov 17, 2015

Abstract

Claims (35)

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first device from a second device, a message requesting information that indicates whether a multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) network supports push-button configuration, the first device configured to communicate with the second device and a third device via the MoCA network;

in response to the received message, transmitting a response to the second device, the response indicating whether push-button configuration is supported by the MoCA network;

determining, by a first device configured to communicate with a second device and a third device via a multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) network, that a configuration button on the second device has been activated;

determining, by the first device, whether a configuration button has been activated on the first device or the third device within a time interval from a time at which the configuration button on the second device is activated;

in response to determining that the configuration button has been activated on the first device within the time interval, allowing, by the first device, the second device to be authenticated on the MoCA network;

in response to determining that the configuration button has been activated on the third device within the time interval, allowing, by the first device, the second device to be authenticated on the MoCA network; and

in response to determining that the configuration button has not been activated on either the first device or the third device within the time interval, preventing, by the first device, admission of the second device to the MoCA network.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after determining to allow the second device to be authenticated, sending a message to the second device, wherein the message comprises information usable by the second device to determine a privacy password of the MoCA network.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the configuration button has been activated on the third device comprises receiving, at the first device, an indication from the third device that the configuration button has been activated on the third device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the indication from the third device comprises a layer 2 management entity (L2ME) message or a Protocol Information element.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the configuration button on the second device has been activated comprises receiving, at the first device, a discovery request from the second device.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

ignoring the discovery request when the configuration button on the second device and the configuration button on either the first device or the third device are not both activated within the time interval; and

transmitting a response to the discovery request when the configuration button on the second device and the configuration button on either the first device or the third device are both activated within the time interval.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the response comprises information usable by the second device to determine a privacy password of the MoCA network.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: after transmitting the response, receiving an encrypted message from the second device; decrypting the received encrypted message utilizing a key generated from the privacy password; admitting the second device to the MoCA network if: the message is received within a determined amount of time of the activation of the configuration button on either the first device or the third device; and decryption results in recovery of a valid start admission request from the received message.

9. A system comprising:

one or more circuits for use in a first device configured to communicate with a second device and a third device via a wired network, the one or more circuits configured to:

receive, the second device, a message requesting information that indicates whether the wired network supports push-button configuration;

in response to the received message, transmit a response to the second device, the response indicating whether push-button configuration is supported by the wired network;

determine that a configuration button on the second device has been activated;

determine whether a configuration button has been activated on the first device or the third device within a time interval from a time at which the configuration button on the second device is activated;

in response to determining that the configuration button has been activated on the first device within the time interval, allowing, by the first device, the second device to be authenticated on the wired network;

in response to determining that the configuration button has been activated on the third device within the time interval, allowing, by the first device, the second device to be authenticated on the wired network; and

in response to determining that the configuration button has not been activated on either the first device or the third device within the time interval, prevent admission of the second device to the wired network.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the wired network comprises a coaxial cable network.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the wired network comprises a multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) network.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more circuits are configured to, after determining to allow the second device to be authenticated, send a message to the second device, wherein the message comprises information usable by the second device to determine a privacy password of the wired network.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the configuration button has been activated on the third device by receiving an indication from the third device that the configuration button has been activated on the third device.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the indication from the third device comprises a layer 2 management entity (L2ME) message or a Protocol Information Element.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the configuration button on the second device has been activated by receiving a discovery request from the second device.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more circuits are configured to: ignore the discovery request when the configuration button on the second device and the configuration button on either the first device or the third device are not both activated within the time interval; and transmit a response to the discovery request when the configuration button on the second device and the configuration button on either the first device or the third device are both activated within the time interval.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the response comprises information usable by the second device to determine a privacy password of the wired network.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the one or more circuits are configured to: after transmitting the response, receive an encrypted message from the second device; decrypt the received encrypted message utilizing a key generated from the privacy password; and admit the second device to the wired network if: the message is received within a determined amount of time of the activation of the configuration button on either the first device or the third device; and description results in recovery of a valid start admission request from the received message.

Assignments (7)