Provisioning remote access points
Provisioning remote access points for use in a telecommunication network. A remote access point contains identity information established during manufacturing; this identity information may be in the nature of a digital certificate. The identity information is stored in the remote access point, and may be stored in a Trusted Platform Module if present. When the remote access node is powered up in unprovisioned state, outside the manufacturing environment, it attempts to establish an internet connection via a first wired interface, and queries a user for information representing the TCP/IP address of its controller via a second wired interface. Once an internet connection is present, and a TCP/IP address has been provided, the remote access point attempts to connect to the controller at that address. Once a connection is established, controller and access point exchange and verify each other's identities.
1. A system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
receive, at an access point from a network device, a request for a web page;
generate, at the access point in response to receiving the request for the web page, a query requesting controller information;
transmit, from the access point to the network device, a query web page that is different from the requested web page and that includes the query requesting the controller information;
transmit, from the access point to a network controller, a controller connection request using received input to the query web page corresponding to the controller information, wherein the controller connection request is transmitted using a wired network connection;
establish a controller connection between the network controller and the access point using a received response to the controller connection request; and
install, at the access point, configuration information received from the network controller over the controller connection.
2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
an identifier of the network device stored as a digital certificate.
3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:
a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein a key for the digital certificate is stored in the TPM.
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising instructions to establish a secure tunnel between the system and the network controller, wherein the configuration information is received over the secure tunnel.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller connection request includes an identifier of the network device.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the controller connection request is configured to, when received at the network controller, cause the network controller to query a whitelist for the identifier of the network device.
7. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
receive, at an access point from a network device, a request for a web page;
generate, at the access point in response to receiving the request for the web page, a query requesting controller information;
transmit, from the access point to the network device, a query web page that is different from the requested web page and that includes the query requesting the controller information;
transmit, from the access point to a network controller, a controller connection request using received input to the query web page corresponding to the controller information, wherein the controller connection request is transmitted using a wired network connection, wherein the controller connection request includes an identifier of the network device, wherein the controller connection request is configured to cause the network controller to query a whitelist for the identifier of the network device, and wherein the identifier of the network device is stored as a digital certificate;
establish a controller connection between the network controller and the access point using a received response to the controller connection request; and
install, at the access point, configuration information received from the network controller over the controller connection.
8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein a key for the digital certificate is stored in a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) of the network device.
9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein establishing the controller connection includes establishing a secure tunnel between the network device and the network controller, and wherein the configuration information is received over the secure tunnel.
10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive a query for installed software version information;
transmit the installed software version information;
receive updated software; and
install the updated software.
11. A method, comprising:
receiving, at an access point from a network device, a request for a web page;
generating, at the access point in response to receiving the request for the web page, a query requesting controller information;
transmitting, from the access point to the network device, a query web page that is different from the requested web page, wherein the query web page includes the query requesting the controller information;
transmitting, from the access point to a network controller, a controller connection request using received input to the query web page corresponding to the controller information, wherein the controller connection request includes an identifier of the network device;
establishing a controller connection between the network controller and the access point using a received response to the controller connection request; and
installing, at the access point, configuration information received from the network controller over the controller connection.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the identifier of the network device is stored as a digital certificate and a key for the digital certificate is stored in a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) of the network device.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein establishing the controller connection includes establishing a secure tunnel between the network device and network controller, and wherein the configuration information is received over the secure tunnel.
14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
receiving a query for installed software version information;
transmitting the installed software version information;
receiving updated software; and
installing the updated software.