Method and apparatus for provisioning network devices using instructions in extensible markup language

A network device, comprising:

• means for generating a request to provide configuration information;
• means for receiving a device-specific instance of the configuration information, wherein the configuration information is in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (XML DTD);
• wherein the configuration information is instantiated as the device-specific instance based on a template, which describes a device configuration and associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to particular devices, and on a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device;
• means for syntax checking the configuration information to determine whether configuration commands therein conform to a command language that is understood by the network device;
• and
• means for applying the configuration information to the network device.

A system for automatically provisioning network devices, comprising:

• a network device;
• and
• a configuration server that is communicatively connected to the network device over a packet-switched network, wherein the configuration server comprises first one or more processors and first one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the first one or more processors, cause the first one or more processors to perform:
• receiving a request from the network device to provide configuration information;
• retrieving a template describing a device configuration, wherein the template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to particular devices;
• retrieving a value of the parameter that is specific to the network device based at least on the symbolic reference and the request;
• and
• creating and storing a device-specific instance of the configuration information based at least on the template and the value of the parameter, wherein the configuration information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD).

A configuration server, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• first one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform displaying a graphical user interface that comprises a tree pane, a template tab, and a parameter tab, wherein:
• the tree pane displays a sub-tree of device objects that represent one or more network devices;
• the template tab displays one or more templates that describe one or more device configurations that are associated with the one or more network devices, wherein each template associates one symbolic reference to one parameter that may receive values specific to the one or more network devices;
• and
• the parameter tab displays device-specific instances of configuration information for the one or more network devices represented in the sub-tree of device objects;
• and
• second one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:
• receiving first input from a user, wherein the first input selects a particular network device of the one or more network devices that is represented in the sub-tree of device objects;
• and
• in response to the first input:
• retrieving the contents of a particular template that describes a particular device configuration associated with the particular network device;
• displaying the contents of the particular template in the template tab;
• retrieving a device-specific instance of the configuration information that is based at least on the template and on a value of the parameter that is specific to the particular network device, wherein the configuration information is stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format and conforms to an XML Document Type Definition (DTD);
• and
• displaying the device-specific instance of the configuration information in the parameter tab.