Patent ID: 7711952
Filing Date: 2010-05-04
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of establishing a secure environment for an end-user platform and a system manager usable to manage said end-user platform, comprising: storing a manager certificate on said system manager, said manager certificate unique to said system manager; generating a client certificate on said system manager for said end-user platform, said client certificate unique to said end-user platform and digitally signed via a private key unique to said manager certificate; transferring said client certificate from said system manager to said end-user platform; establishing a secure connection between said system manager and said end-user platform using said manager certificate and said client certificate; storing a vendor generation certificate on said system manager; storing a vendor certificate, said vendor certificate unique to a software vendor and digitally signed via a private key unique to said vendor generation certificate; generating a license certificate on said system manager, said license certificate unique to an authorization of use of a software of the software vendor on a specifically-identified appliance, said license certificate digitally signed via a private key unique to said vendor certificate, said software stored on said system manager; wherein said specifically-identified appliance is at least one of said system manager and said end-user platform; performing an integrity check of the software via a product certificate digitally signed by a private key unique to the vendor certificate; verifying that the software is licensed for use on said at least one of said system manager and said end-user platform, the verification comprising comparing said license certificate to at least one of said manager certificate and said client certificate; and wherein the system manager is resident on one or more computers having at least a processor and memory, the steps of the method being performed by the one or more computers.