Cisco Technology, Inc.

Arthur Gerald Howarth

Roland Arthur Saville

Prasad Miriyala

Rajiv Singhal

Ralph Droms

Lawrence Rolfe Kreeger

Vikas Butaney

Chandrodaya Prasad

Christopher Wiborg

John Albert Toebes

Bruce D Moon

Pamela S Lee

Mickey Sartin

Shmuel Shaffer

Pascal Thubert

Patrick Wetterwald

Labhesh Patel

Shantanu Sarkar

Mukul Jain

Sanjeev Kumar

Daniel K Harden

Ramanathan T Jagadeesan

Bich Nguyen

Vincent Jean Ribiere

Rajneesh Kumar

Sravan Vadlakonda

Aseem Asthana

Jayesh Chokshi

Ashish P Chotai

Andrew C Chung

Craig Strachman

Kenneth Chen

Hitesh Sheth

Surendra Prajapat

Michael De Leo

Mathew E Schmitz

Chandroadya Prasad

In one embodiment, an occurrence of a triggering event is detected and it is determined that a virtual disk will be assembled in response to the triggering event. A time is determined at which the virtual disk will be assembled. When it is ascertained that the assembly time occurs, the virtual disk is assembled. It may also be determined whether a connection request is received for the virtual disk during a predetermined time.

Event / calendar based auto-start of virtual disks for desktop virtualization

The present invention provides for the provisioning and redundancy of RFID middleware servers. Middleware servers can be automatically provisioned and RFID device/middleware server associations can be automatically updated. Some implementations of the invention provide for automatic detection of middleware server malfunctions. Some such implementations provide for automated provisioning and automated updating of RFID device/middleware server associations, whether a middleware server is automatically brought online or is manually replaced. Changes and reassignments of the RFID device populations may be accommodated.

Provisioning and redundancy for RFID middleware servers

The present invention provides enhanced flexibility regarding the use of media devices, including media communication peripheral devices, in communication sessions. Communication sessions can be conducted between devices having differing capabilities. According to some implementations, requests for communication sessions may be accepted according to the capabilities and/or preferences indicated for local media communication peripheral devices. Some components of an incoming communication signal may be selected for reproduction by a local media communication peripheral device and others may be ignored.

Agnostic peripheral control for media communication appliances

Methods and devices are provided for determining the status of a networked device. Messages from such devices may include information indicating the health, accuracy and/or reliability of a device and/or of the network that includes the device. Multiple message formats may be supported, e.g., heartbeat only, partial statistics, full statistics, etc. Transmission of such messages may be triggered by the occurrence of various conditions, such as the passage of a predetermined time interval, a predetermined change in one or more criteria, etc. In some implementations, a time-based message throttle establishes a minimum time interval between messages. Messages may be created in a format that is compatible with SNMP. Messages may be transmitted in more than one packet, if necessary. Messages may be sent to one or more devices, e.g., to one or more servers, according to various criteria.

Using syslog and SNMP for scalable monitoring of networked devices

In one implementation, a method includes determining first component data by a first aggregation device at a first time, the first aggregation device being associated with a first one of a plurality of device components of a device, the first component data comprising identification data regarding at least a second one of the plurality of device components of the device. The first component data may be stored. A component request may be received

Inventory devices and methods

Disclosed are methods, computer program products, apparatus, and systems for sending and receiving uniform serial bus ('USB') messages between a host computer and a USB device over a data network, using a USB server in communication with the data network and the host computer, and a USB client in communication with the data network and the USB device. An association is established between the USB server and the USB client. The USB server receives a first USB message from the host computer. The first USB message is translated to a format suitable for sending over the data network, and sent as a first network message from the USB server to the USB client over the data network. The USB server receives a second network message from the USB client over the data network, and translates the second network message to a USB format.

Method and system for sending and receiving USB messages over a data network

In one embodiment, a Media Analysis and Delivery System obtains a set of media delivery rules, wherein the set of media delivery rules includes one or more triggers, each of the triggers identifying a topic of interest. The Media Analysis and Delivery System examines a media stream for at least one of the one or more triggers in accordance with the set of media delivery rules. The Media Analysis and Delivery System provides at least a portion of the media stream in response to at least one of the triggers in accordance with at least one of the set of media delivery rules.

Facilitating real-time triggers in association with media streams

Methods and devices are provided for determining the status of a networked device, e.g., a networked RFID device. In some embodiments of the invention, a customized packet is used to transmit a 'heartbeat' from each of a plurality of networked devices to a server. Some such embodiments use a customized syslog packet for the heartbeats. The heartbeat includes identification information regarding the device, e.g., the unique electronic product code ('EPC') of the device. The identification information may include other identification and/or authentication information, such as a shared secret and time data, which may be hashed with the identification information. The heartbeat may include information indicating the health, accuracy and/or reliability of the device and/or of the network that includes the device.

Methods and apparatus for determining the status of a device

In one implementation, a method includes reading first component data from a first tag associated with a first component of a device. The device may be powered on or off. The first component data indicate components associated with the first component at a first time. The method may involve obtaining second component data from a second tag associated with a support structure. The second component data may indicate components disposed in the support structure at a second time. The method may also involve comparing the first component data with the second component data and determining whether the first component data match the second component data.

Some implementations of the invention involve forming 'logical' or 'virtual' devices by aggregating a plurality of physical devices. The physical devices may be, for example, controllers, RFID readers and/or storage devices. Some logical devices comprise components of physical devices, such as individual antennas from a plurality of RFID readers. The physical devices may be located near one another or may be distributed over a wide geographical area. Logical device definitions can also be concatenated to include devices having two or more levels of logical device definitions. A single logical device grouping may include physical devices at differing levels of a network hierarchy.

Virtual readers for scalable RFID infrastructures

A method and system for remotely configuring and/or provisioning a device that is nonoperational is provided. The device may be, in general, any electronic device that includes at least one setting ('device setting') that can be programmatically or otherwise established or adjusted to configure and/or provision the device for its operation. The method includes detecting, via a radio frequency identification ('RFID') tag, a state of a device that is communicatively coupled to the RFID tag; and providing the device setting via the RFID tag when the state signifies that the device is nonoperational.

Method and system for remotely provisioning and/or configuring a device

Mechanisms are provided to inventory groupings of components, e.g., the physical chassis of a networking device as well as the various cards, modules, and/or blades inserted within the chassis. The inventory may be performed remotely. Some implementations also provide mechanisms to determine remotely the physical location of the asset. Preferred implementations of the invention can provide such functionality regardless of whether a main power supply of the physical device is on or off. Some embodiments of the invention employ radio frequency identification ('RFID') technology.

Remote inventory of devices

Some implementations of the present invention provide methods and devices for detecting the theft of, and disabling, electronic devices such as computers and network devices. The devices may be disabled when a signal is not detected, e.g., for a predetermined period of time. For example, a radio frequency ('RF') signal (e.g., a beacon), an Internet Protocol ('IP') signal or the like may define a space within which the devices may be operated with complete functionality. Outside this space, the devices will be disabled, at least to some degree. The degree of disablement may depend on the length of time since the signal was last detected. Alternatively, the devices may be disabled when a signal is detected: some such implementations define &#x201c;portals,&#x201d; &#x201c;choke points&#x201d; or the like past which a device may not be transported without some degree of disablement.

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Orleans, CA, United States of America

Arthur Gerald Howarth