IP Library Granted Patent US 10,802,821
Granted Patent B2
US 10,802,821 · App. 16/043,366 · Granted Oct 13, 2020

Firmware management

Inventors: Ahmad Bilal (Bellevue, WA); Thanhy Mather (Bellevue, WA); Tomas Vetrovsky (Bellevue, WA); Pavel Zeman (Atlanta, GA)
Assignee: VMware, Inc.
G06F8/71G06F1/3206G06F9/44505
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,802,821
App. No.
16/043,366
Granted
Oct 13, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed are various examples for enforcing firmware profiles. First, it is determined that a device record associated with a client device fails to specify a firmware profile. A firmware profile is then generated for the client device. Subsequently, a command is generated that causes a firmware of the client device to be configured based at least in part on the firmware profile. The firmware profile is then stored in the device record.

Claims (61)

1. A system, comprising:

a computing device comprising a processor and a memory; and

machine-readable instructions stored in the memory which, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least:

determine that a device record associated with a client device fails to specify a firmware profile, the firmware profile comprising at least one of:

an attribute setting associated with a firmware attribute of the client device, or

a system property setting associated with the client device;

generate the firmware profile for the client device based at least in part on a configuration package file;

store the firmware profile in the device record;

receive a firmware value from the client device; and

determine a compliance of the client device with at least one compliance rule based at least in part on the firmware value.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

generate a command, which when executed by the client device, causes a firmware of the client device to be configured based at least in part on the firmware profile; and

store the command in a command queue for later retrieval by the client device.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

identify a selection of a group of client devices within a user interface provided by a management console; and

identify a firmware attribute that is common to the group of client devices selected within the user interface.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the command is further configured to cause a peak shift of power consumption of the group of client devices to be enabled.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

receive, from the client device, an indication that the firmware profile has been implemented on the client device.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the firmware profile specifies a minimum version of a firmware to be installed on the client device.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

receive, from the client device, the configuration package file.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying executable instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to at least:

determine that a device record associated with a client device fails to specify a firmware profile, the firmware profile comprising at least one of:

an attribute setting associated with a firmware attribute of the client device, or

a system property setting associated with the client device;

generate the firmware profile for the client device based at least in part on a configuration package file;

store the firmware profile in the device record;

receive a firmware value from the client device; and

determine a compliance of the client device with at least one compliance rule based at least in part on the firmware value.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to at least:

generate a command, which when executed by the client device, causes a firmware of the client device to be configured based at least in part on the firmware profile; and

store the command in a command queue of the computing device for later retrieval by the client device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to at least:

identify a selection of a group of client devices within a user interface provided by a management console; and

identify a firmware attribute that is common to the group of client devices selected within the user interface.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the command is further configured to cause a peak shift of power consumption of the group of client devices to be enabled.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to at least:

receive, from the client device, an indication that the firmware profile has been implemented on the client device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the firmware profile specifies a minimum version of the firmware to be installed on the client device.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to at least:

receive, from the client device, the configuration package file.

15. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

determining that a device record associated with a client device fails to specify a firmware profile, the firmware profile comprising at least one of:

an attribute setting associated with a firmware attribute of the client device, or

a system property setting associated with the client device;

generating the firmware profile for the client device based at least in part on a configuration package file;

storing the firmware profile in the device record

receive a firmware value from the client device; and

determine a compliance of the client device with at least one compliance rule based at least in part on the firmware value.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising:

generating a command, which when executed by the client device, causes a firmware of the client device to be configured based at least in part on the firmware profile; and

storing the command in a command queue for later retrieval by the client device.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 , further comprising:

identifying a selection of a group of client devices within a user interface provided by a management console; and

identifying a firmware attribute that is common to the group of client devices selected within the user interface.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17 , wherein the command is further configured to cause a peak shift of power consumption of the group of client devices to be enabled.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving, from the client device, an indication that the firmware profile has been implemented on the client device.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 , further comprising:

receiving, from the client device, the configuration package file.

Assignments (4)
PATENT ASSIGNMENT Recorded Aug 5, 2024
From: VMWARE LLC
To: OMNISSA, LLC
Reel/Frame 068327/0365 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 3, 2024
From: OMNISSA, LLC
To: UBS AG, STAMFORD BRANCH
Reel/Frame 068118/0004 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 15, 2024
From: VMWARE, INC.
To: VMWARE LLC
Reel/Frame 067103/0030 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 2, 2019
From: BILAL, AHMAD; MATHER, THANHY; VETROVSKY, TOMAS; ZEMAN, PAVEL
To: VMWARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 049061/0178 →