Patent ID: 7552202
Filing Date: 2009-06-23
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method, in a data processing system, for configuring a computing device for use with a specific branch of a distributed enterprise, comprising: receiving, at a configuration server, an initialization message from the computing device, wherein the initialization message received from the computing device is redirected from a first destination identified in header information of the initialization message to another destination determined by a router associated with the specific branch, wherein the computing device is pre-installed with default configuration information at a central location and wherein the first destination is identified in the configuration information by a dummy address; extracting, at the configuration server, an external router address from the initialization message, wherein the external router address is associated with the specific branch, wherein the external router address is appended to the initialization message by the router associated with the specific branch in response to receiving the initialization message from the computing device, and wherein the router receives the initialization message from the computing device, extracts a destination identifier from the initialization message, determines that the destination address is the dummy address, recognizes the dummy address as a configuration address, and redirects the initialization message to the configuration server responsive to the destination address being the dummy address; performing a lookup of the external router address in one of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server, or a database server, identifying a corresponding branch identifier; performing a lookup of the branch identifier in a configuration table identifying branch-specific configuration information for the computing device based on the external router address; and sending the branch-specific configuration information from the configuration server to the computing device to thereby configure the computing device, wherein the computing device self-configures using the configuration information for specialized use in the specific branch.