Home networking resource management

A method of configuring a computer coupled to a residential gateway, the method comprising:

• executing resource sharing software on the computer;
• receiving a message from the residential gateway requesting identification of available resources of the computer;
• sending a response message to the residential gateway, the response message identifying a set of available resources of the computer;
• receiving access settings corresponding to each of the set of available resources;
• and
• configuring the computer to provide access to each of the set of available resources in accordance with the access settings.

A residential gateway comprising:

• a first interface to a first configurable device;
• a second interface to a second configurable device;
• a network interface to an external network;
• a processor responsive to the first interface, the second interface and to the network interface, the processor includes user interface logic to:
• communicate a list of accessible configurable devices, the list of accessible configurable devices including the first configurable device and the second configurable device;
• and
• select a device from the list of configurable devices, wherein the selected device is the first configurable device;
• and
• wherein the processor further includes communication logic to:
• send a request message for available resources over the first interface to the first configurable device;
• receive a response message from the first configurable device, the response message identifying a set of available resources of the first configurable device;
• and
• send a message identifying sharing properties assigned to each of the set of available resources, the sharing properties sent to the first configurable device.