Patents by Inventor Neal McDonnell

Neal McDonnell has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Two-stage network device configuration process
    Patent number: 8090806
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for modifying the configuration of a network device, such as a router, using a two-stage configuration model is provided. A first request for a change in configuration of a network device is received. Configuration data that describes the change in configuration of the network device is stored in a buffer. A second request to modify the current operational state of the network device to reflect the configuration data stored in the buffer is received. An exclusive lock on the network device is obtained. The current operational state of the network device is modified to reflect the configuration data stored in the buffer. Multiple users may modify the network device without interfering with one another because conflicts are avoided through use of an exclusive lock. Requests of different management operations may be contained within XML documents that are transmitted from the client to the network device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark A. Freskos, Michelle D. Hawke, Dhanendra Jain, Kapil Jain, Charles M. Letchworth, Neal McDonnell, Yassin Movassaghi, Sukumar Puvvala, Xiaobing Xie, David D. Ward
  • Managing network device configuration using versioning and partitioning
    Patent number: 7779404
    Abstract: Configuration versioning and partitioning are provided as methods for managing large configuration for a network element such as a router or switch. In one aspect, a method performed in a network element, the network element comprising a plurality of software components that control operations and features of the network element, wherein operations and features of the network element are defined in part by a configuration, comprises creating and storing one or more configuration partition namespaces each comprising a version identifier and one or more configuration tuples; associating one or more of the configuration partition namespaces in a configuration partition; associating one of the software components and the one or more configuration partition namespaces; and creating and storing information identifying one of the software components, its associated configuration partition namespaces, and the version identifier of each of the configuration partition namespaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2010
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Yassin Movassaghi, Sukumar Puvvala, C. Michael Letchworth, Kapil Jain, Neal McDonnell, David Ward
  • Configuration commit database approach and session locking approach in a two-stage network device configuration process
    Patent number: 7640317
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for modifying the configuration of a network device, such as a router, using a two-stage configuration model is provided. A first request from a user for a change in configuration of a network device is received. Configuration data associated with the first request is stored. A second request to modify the configuration of the network device to reflect the configuration data is received. An exclusive lock on the network device is assigned to the user preventing other users from modifying the configuration of the network device. The current operational state of the network device is modified to reflect the configuration data, which is then stored in a device configuration database. Users can view configuration history data to view prior configurations of the network device. Multiple users may modify the network device without interfering with one another because conflicts are avoided through use of an exclusive lock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kapil Jain, Charles M. Letchworth, Neal McDonnell, Yassin Movassaghi, Sukumar Puvvala, David D. Ward
  • Configuration commit database approach and session locking approach in a two-stage network device configuration process
    Publication number: 20060031427
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for modifying the configuration of a network device, such as a router, using a two-stage configuration model is provided. A first request from a user for a change in configuration of a network device is received. Configuration data associated with the first request is stored. A second request to modify the configuration of the network device to reflect the configuration data is received. An exclusive lock on the network device is assigned to the user preventing other users from modifying the configuration of the network device. The current operational state of the network device is modified to reflect the configuration data, which is then stored in a device configuration database. Users can view configuration history data to view prior configurations of the network device. Multiple users may modify the network device without interfering with one another because conflicts are avoided through use of an exclusive lock.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Publication date: February 9, 2006
    Inventors: Kapil Jain, Charles Letchworth, Neal McDonnell, Yassin Movassaghi, Sukumar Puvvala, David Ward
  • Managing network device configuration using versioning and partitioning
    Publication number: 20060007944
    Abstract: Configuration versioning and partitioning are provided as methods for managing large configuration for a network element such as a router or switch. In one aspect, a method performed in a network element, the network element comprising a plurality of software components that control operations and features of the network element, wherein operations and features of the network element are defined in part by a configuration, comprises creating and storing one or more configuration partition namespaces each comprising a version identifier and one or more configuration tuples; associating one or more of the configuration partition namespaces in a configuration partition; associating one of the software components and the one or more configuration partition namespaces; and creating and storing information identifying one of the software components, its associated configuration partition namespaces, and the version identifier of each of the configuration partition namespaces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2005
    Publication date: January 12, 2006
    Inventors: Yassin Movassaghi, Sukumar Puvvala, C. Letchworth, Kapil Jain, Neal McDonnell, David Ward