Abstract:
This invention provides a device that can be plugged into an intranet and offers searchable index functionality of that intranet without requiring information about system configuration or administration.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a self-contained device for searching or indexing an intranet and a method for installing the same. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Although searching and indexing an intranet for intranet management is conventionally known, the ability to install and configure devices that perform such searching and indexing requires a high level of skill and effort. Most often, such devices must be installed and configured by only the most sophisticated of operators. Additionally, these devices when installed and configured are extremely expensive because the devices and the incorporated software are often custom. Therefore, the software is developed for the particular intranet on which it will be used. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention provides a device that can be plugged into an intranet and offer searchable index functionality of that intranet without requiring information about the intranet system configuration or administration. 
     The exemplary embodiments of the invention provide searchable index functionality with improved simplicity. The devices and methods according to the exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a search service that requires no complicated setup or search-specific skills. Assuming a company has a web-presence and someone who maintains its web server sets up the device, installation should take no more than fifteen minutes, following a simple set of instructions. 
     Additionally, the device according to the exemplary embodiments of the invention is relatively low in cost due to bundling of software and hardware and volume discounts. The exemplary embodiments of the invention simplify setup for full-text search of an intranet to purchasing and connecting a device to an intranet. 
     The exemplary embodiments of the invention lower the barriers to setting up an intranet search by bundling the software and hardware into a “black box” device that can be connected to the intranet by an operator. 
     Additionally, the exemplary embodiments provide for auto-configuration of the device into the intranet to be searched and indexed. 
     These, and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of the system and methods according to this invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The benefits of the present invention will be readily appreciated and understood from consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of this invention, when taken with the accompanying drawings, in which same numbered elements are identical and: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a self-contained device for searching and indexing an intranet in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a method for installing the searching and indexing device in an intranet according to the first exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a self-contained device for searching and indexing an intranet in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a method for installing the searching and indexing device in an intranet according to the second exemplary embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a first variation of the self-contained device for searching and indexing an intranet in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the invention; and 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a second variation of the self-contained device for searching and indexing an intranet in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the self-contained device  100  communicates with an intranet  700  to perform searchable indexing. The intranet  700  is administered by an one or more intranet servers  710 . The self-contained device  100  includes a server  110 , including memory  120 , an operator interface  130 , and an input/output interface  140  operationally coupled together using a data/control bus  150 . The operator interface  130  is used for communication between the device  100  and a device operator who is installing or maintaining the device  100 . The operator interface  130  preferably includes an exposed operator terminal  132  and a monitor  134  for outputting information to and receiving input from the operator. The operator interface  130  allows specification of the device name, device IP address, a list of servers that is to be crawled, indexing parameters, e.g., indexing frequency, search parameters, e.g., default boolean or vector space parameters, etc. Alternatively, the operator interface  130  may be realized using either a custom protocol or an established Internet protocol, e.g., Jini, SLP, CORBA, DCOM, etc. 
     The input/output interface  140  is used for communication between the device  100  and the intranet  700 . The input/output interface  140  also allows connection with the device  100  from outside the intranet, e.g., via telnet. 
     The memory  120  stores algorithms that enable the device  100  to crawl and index the intranet  700 . All algorithms included in memory  120  are installed prior to installing the device  100  communicating with the intranet  700  through the input/output interface  140 . Memory  120  may include a significant amount of available memory. For example, memory  120  may include a sufficient amount of disk storage to be able to hold an index of a desired size. 
     A method for installing the self-contained indexing device  100  designed according to a first exemplary embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG.  2 . The method begins in step S 200  and proceeds to step S 210 . In step S 210 , the searching and indexing device is connected to the intranet through an input/output interface. The method proceeds to step S 220 . In step S 220 , a device server within the searching and indexing device copies a pre-made cgi-script or writes a custom cgi-script in a cgi-bin directory of a server of the intranet through the input/output interface. Control then proceeds to step S 230 . 
     For example, in step S 220 , the device may connect to the intranet by running a client “script” that sits on an intranet server and connects to the device for search results. Assuming the device has a set IP address a cgi-script can be made to run on a server in the intranet, sending searching and indexing queries to the device and formatting the results for transmission back to a client somewhere on the intranet. Alternatively, the device  100  may connect to the intranet by running a Jini/SLP/UPnP service on the device  100  that responds to broadcasted service requests from a client. In this scenario the script does not need to use a pre-defined location for the device. Rather, the script can discover the location of the device  100  on the intranet by means of an established discovery protocol. Examples of this are Jini, SLP and UpnP. 
     In step S 230 , specific parameters, e.g., name, IP address, of the servers within the intranet to be crawled and indexing and search parameters are set by an operator installing the searching and indexing device. Control then proceeds to step S 240 , in which the method ends. 
     A significant requirement of the searching and indexing device is that Internet protocol (IP) addressability be easily established within the intranet to which the device is being installed. IP addressability for the self-contained indexing devices designed in accordance with the exemplary embodiments may be performed in a variety of ways. 
     For example, IP addressability may be set up by the operator setting the IP address via the operator interface during installation of the device into the intranet. However, such an option is appropriate when more technically-sophisticated operators are installing the indexing device and allows for more detailed configuration of the device. 
     Alternatively, IP addressability may be set up by hard-coding the IP address into searching and indexing device prior to installation. In such a situation, the work of configuring the self-contained indexing devices is performed during manufacture of the device. Therefore, the work associated with setting up the IP address is shifted away from an operator performing installation. 
     Also, IP addressability may be set up using dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), or AutoIP. Using DHCP or AutoIP allows a device to pick it&#39;s own IP address within the intranet  700 . 
     According to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the self-contained indexing device  300  includes all the components of the device  100  of the first exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, labeled with similar reference numbers, and also includes a web server  360  running on device server  310 . In the second exemplary embodiment, the device  300  is assigned a permanent IP address, which allows the device  300  to run a simple web server  360  that includes a form for entering a query, and the necessary logic to process that query. The memory  320  stores algorithms that enable the web server  360  to search the intranet. In this configuration, the intranet server  710  includes a link to the device&#39;s web server  360 . As a result, the second exemplary embodiment requires minimal configuration for installation. 
     A method for installing the self-contained indexing device designed according to the second exemplary embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG.  4 . The method begins in step S 400  and proceeds to step S 410 . In step S 410 , the searching and indexing device is connected to the intranet through an input/output interface. The method proceeds to step S 420 . In step S 420 , the web server on the device server is installed to handle searching and indexing requests rather than having an intranet server handle such requests as in the first embodiment. Control then proceeds to step S 430 . 
     In step S 430 , specific parameters, e.g., name, IP address, of the servers within the intranet to be crawled and indexing and search parameters are set by an operator installing the searching and indexing device. Control then proceeds to step S 440 , in which the method ends. 
     According to the second exemplary embodiment, the intranet server can be made to point to the device&#39;s internal web server. If a list of intranet servers to be crawled is not specified during installation in step S 430 , the device crawls a local block of addresses, trying to connect to a default intranet server port on each of the servers. 
     In one variation of the exemplary embodiments, the self-contained searching and indexing device may also act as a simple mail indexer as shown in FIG.  5 . As illustrated, the self-contained indexing device  500  includes all the components of the device  100  of the first exemplary embodiment, labeled with similar reference numbers. However, the server  510  also includes a simple mail indexer  570  that is capable of receiving mail via the input/output interface  540 . Mail aimed at a specific inbox on the device  500  is indexed. For example, ajinioperators-index account is created on the device  500 , e.g., with hostname indexbox.parc.xerox.com. An administrator of the jinioperators@parc.xerox.com could then add the recipient jinioperators-index@indexbox.parc.xerox.com. Any mail aimed at jinioperators@parc would also be forwarded to jinioperators-index@indexbox for archiving and or indexing. 
     In a second variation of the exemplary embodiments, the self-contained searching and indexing device may also act as an intranet archive as illustrated in FIG.  6 . Therefore, the self-contained indexing device  600  includes all the components of the device  100  of the first exemplary embodiment, labeled with similar reference numbers and also includes a large permanent memory device  680 . Such a device  700  not only indexes the various pieces of information on the intranet but also maintains an archive of all found documents in the memory  680 . The contents of memory  680  serve as both backup and archive and may have other applications as well. Memory device  680  may be any now known or later developed mechanism for storing data. 
     While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments outlines above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     For example, although the method of installing the searching and indexing device illustrated in FIG. 2 indicated that searching and indexing parameters are set by an operator installing the device, it is foreseeable that such parameters may alternatively be set during manufacture of the device. This would beneficially eliminate a requirement have an elevated level of skill to install the device. 
     Additionally, although the figures and specification describe the operator interface  130  as being resident within the self-contained indexing device  100 , it is foreseeable that the self-contained indexing device  100  may be remotely operated and configured through, for example, a network. Therefore, it should be appreciated that the operator interface  130  may be omitted in such situations when operation and configuration of the self-contained indexing device  100  may be performed through the input/output interface  140 .