Hub and agent communication through a firewall
AssigneeItron, Inc.
InventorsAaron Stainback, Christopher Higgins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Hub and agent techniques allow safe command execution and data retrieval through firewall(s). In an example, cloud-based server of a company communicates with a plurality of agent applications operating on a remote customer's site. Using hub-and-agent techniques, cloud-based systems are able to direct the agents to perform functions for, and add value to, on-premises servers at remote customer locations. Secure communications techniques are introduced, allowing the hub server in the cloud to securely communicate with, and receive data from, the agents operating behind a firewall at a remote, on-customer-premises server.
Claims20
A method of communicating with agents through a firewall, comprising:
- associating each of a plurality of uniform resource locators (URLs) with a respective type of command, and associating each type of command with a respective type of agent, and associating a first URL with a first type of agent and a second URL with a second type of agent;
- listening for a request to form a secure connection using the first URL with a first agent operating on a remote device on the internet;
- establishing the secure connection with the first agent operating on the remote device in response to the request;
- sending a command to the agent, wherein a type of the command is compatible with a type of command associated with the first URL, wherein the command requests resource consumption data to be obtained by the agent, wherein the command passes through the firewall to the agent behind the firewall, wherein the command comprises a command name and a parameter, wherein the command comprises a format other than a structured query language (SQL) command, and wherein the command is configured to cause execution of a SQL command by the agent;
- and
- receiving a response from the agent, wherein the response comprises the resource consumption data.
A method of communicating with agents through a firewall, comprising:
- associating each of a plurality of uniform resource locators (URLs) with a respective type of command, and associating each type of command with a respective type of agent, and associating a first URL with a first type of agent and a second URL with a second type of agent;
- establishing a secure connection using the first URL with a first agent operating on a remote device, wherein the establishing comprises providing a certificate and using a web address that is on a list of acceptable certificates and addresses maintained by the agent;
- receiving a list of commands from the agent that are a subset of commands that are supported by the agent;
- selecting a command from the list of commands;
- sending the command, selected from the list of commands, to the agent, wherein a type of the command is compatible with a type of command associated with the first URL, wherein the command requests resource consumption data to be obtained by the agent, wherein the command passes through the firewall to the agent behind the firewall, and wherein the command comprises a command name and a parameter;
- and
- receiving a response from the agent, wherein the response comprises the resource consumption data.
A method of communicating with agents through a firewall, comprising:
- associating each of a plurality of uniform resource locators (URLs) with a respective type of command, and associating each type of command with a respective type of agent, and associating a first URL with a first type of agent and a second URL with a second type of agent;
- establishing a secure connection over one of the plurality of URLs with an agent operating on a remote device;
- receiving a list of commands from the agent that are a subset of commands that are supported by the agent;
- selecting a command from the list of commands, wherein the command comprises a format other than a structured query language (SQL) command, and wherein the command is configured to cause execution of a SQL command by the agent;
- sending the command to the agent, wherein a type of the command is compatible with a type of command associated with the first URL, wherein the command requests resource consumption data to be obtained by the agent, wherein the command passes through the firewall to the agent behind the firewall, and wherein the command comprises a command name and a parameter;
- and
- receiving a response from the agent, wherein the response comprises the resource consumption data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.