Patent Publication Number: US-9843547-B2

Title: Email based persistent and secure communication system for interacting with devices

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to interacting with devices, and particularly to a system and method of interacting with devices through email. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. 
     A user can control a device through an interface of the device onsite. When the user is offsite, the offsite user can also remotely control the device by logging-in to the interface of the device and performing certain services. However, the remotely control of the device may not be convenient for the user, and to allow remote control for the user, a remote connection to the device must be established, which bring security concerns. Further, the remote control of the device is real time, and the reliability of the remote connection is critical. When the remote connection is lost, the remote control is interrupted. Thus, the remote control of the device lacks the flexibility of performing certain function at a later time. 
     Therefore, an unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system. The system includes at least one first service device, each first service device has one or more processors, a service email application, and at least one first service. The service email application, when executed at the one or more processors of the at least one first service device, is configured to: 
     retrieve a command email, wherein the command email comprises at least one first command and has an email identifier associated with the at least one first service; 
     extract the at least one first command from the command email; and 
     send the extracted first command to the at least one first service such that the at least one first service performs a corresponding first function based on the extracted first command. 
     In one embodiment, the service email application retrieves the command email from at least one email server via a network. 
     In one embodiment, the service email application, when executed, is further configured to: 
     verify the command email based on the email identifier of the command email; 
     decrypt the command email; 
     receive a result from the at least one service performing the first function; 
     generate an result email comprising the result, wherein the result email is subject to be sent to a target device; 
     encrypt the result email; and 
     send the encrypted result email to the at least one email server such that the target device is capable of retrieving the encrypted result email from the at least one email server. 
     In one embodiment, the result includes at least one second command, and the target device is a second service device having a second service, such that the second service performs a corresponding second function based on the second command. 
     In one embodiment, the service email application includes: 
     an address verification module, configured to verify the command email based on the email identifier of the command email; 
     an encryption/decryption module, configured to encrypt the result email and decrypt the command email; 
     a command processing module, configured to extract the at least one first command from the command email and send the extracted first command to the at least one first service such that the at least one first service performs the corresponding first function based on the extracted first command; and 
     a service email processing module, configured to retrieve the command email, receive the result, generate the result email, and send the encrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the system further includes at least one user device. Each user device has one or more processors and a user email application. The user email application, when executed at the one or more processors of the user device, is configured to: 
     provide a user interface configured to receive the at least one command; 
     prepare the command email; 
     encrypt the command email; 
     send the command email; 
     retrieve the encrypted result email; 
     decrypt the encrypted result email to form a decrypted result email; and 
     retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the user email application includes: 
     a user interface module, configured to provide the user interface; 
     an encryption/decryption module, configured to encrypt the command email and decrypt the encrypted result email; and 
     a user email processing module, configured to prepare the command email, send the command email, retrieve the encrypted result email, and retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the at least one first service includes management of IPMI, or management of combined SNMP and shell functions. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method of performing email based interaction in a system. The method includes: 
     retrieving, at a service email application executed at one or more processors of a first service device, a command email, wherein the command email comprises at least one first command and has an email identifier associated with at least one first service of the service device; 
     extracting, at the service email application, the at least one first command from the command email; and 
     sending, by the service email application, the extracted first command to the at least one first service such that the at least one first service performs a corresponding first function based on the extracted first command. 
     In one embodiment, the method further includes: 
     verifying, at the service email application, the command email based on the email identifier of the command email; 
     decrypting the command email; 
     receiving a result from the at least one service performing the first function; 
     generating an result email comprising the result, wherein the result email is subject to be sent to a target device; 
     encrypting the result email; and 
     sending the encrypted result email to at least one email server such that the target device is capable of retrieving the encrypted result email from the at least one email server. 
     In one embodiment, the result includes at least one second command, and the target device is a second service device having a second service, such that the second service performs a corresponding second function based on the second command. 
     In one embodiment, the service email application includes: 
     an address verification module, configured to verify the command email based on the email identifier of the command email; 
     an encryption/decryption module, configured to encrypt the result email and decrypt the command email; 
     a command processing module, configured to extract the at least one first command from the command email and send the extracted first command to the at least one first service such that the at least one first service performs the corresponding first function based on the extracted first command; and 
     a service email processing module, configured to retrieve the command email, receive the result, generate the result email and send the encrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the system further includes at least one user device. Each user device has one or more processors and a user email application. The user email application, when executed at the one or more processors of the user device, is configured to: 
     provide a user interface configured to receive the at least one command; 
     prepare the command email; 
     encrypt the command email; 
     send the command email; 
     retrieve the encrypted result email 
     decrypt the encrypted result email to form a decrypted result email; and 
     retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the user email application includes: 
     a user interface module, configured to provide the user interface; 
     an encryption/decryption module, configured to encrypt the command email and decrypt the encrypted result email; and 
     a user email processing module, configured to prepare the command email, send the command email, retrieve the encrypted result email, and retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     In a further aspect, the present disclosure relates to a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable code. The code, when executed at one or more processors of a first service device, is configured to: 
     retrieve a command email, wherein the command email comprises at least one first command and has an email identifier associated with at least one first service of the first service device; 
     extract the at least one command from the command email; and 
     send the extracted first command to the at least one first service such that the at least one first service performs a corresponding first function based on the extracted first command. 
     In one embodiment, the code, when executed at the one or more processors of the first service device, is further configured to: 
     verify the command email based on the email identifier of the command email; 
     decrypt the command email; 
     receive a result from the at least one service performing the first function; 
     generate an result email comprising the first result, wherein the result email is subject to be sent to a target device; 
     encrypt the result email; and 
     send the encrypted result email to at least one email server such that the target device is capable of retrieving the encrypted result email from the at least one email server. 
     In one embodiment, the result includes at least one second command, and the target device is a second service device having a second service, such that the second service performs a corresponding second function based on the second command. 
     In one embodiment, the code includes: 
     an address verification module, configured to verify the command email based on the email identifier of the command email; 
     an encryption/decryption module, configured to encrypt the result email and decrypt the command email; 
     a command processing module, configured to extract the at least one first command from the command email and send the extracted first command to the at least one first service such that the at least one first service performs the corresponding first function based on the extracted command; and 
     a service email processing module, configured to retrieve the command email, receive the result, generate the result email and send the encrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the first service device is remotely connected to at least one user device through a network. Each user device has one or more processors and a user email application. The user email application, when executed at the one or more processors of the user device, is configured to: 
     provide a user interface configured to receive the at least one command; 
     prepare the command email; 
     encrypt the command email; 
     send the command email; 
     retrieve the encrypted result email; 
     decrypt the encrypted result email to form a decrypted result email; and 
     retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     In one embodiment, the user email application includes: 
     a user interface module, configure to provide the user interface; 
     an encryption/decryption module, configured to encrypt the command email and decrypt the encrypted result email; and 
     a user email processing module, configured to prepare the command email, send the command email, retrieve the encrypted result email, and retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1A  schematically depicts a system for interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1B  schematically depicts a system for interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  schematically depicts a structure of a user device according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  schematically depicts a structure of a service device according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4A  schematically depicts a method of interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4B  schematically depicts a method of interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  schematically depicts a method of interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the disclosure are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers, if any, indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Moreover, titles or subtitles may be used in the specification for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, some terms used in this specification are more specifically defined below. 
     The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the disclosure. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that same thing can be said in more than one way. Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significance to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. In the case of conflict, the present document, including definitions will control. 
     As used herein, “around”, “about” or “approximately” shall generally mean within 20 percent, preferably within 10 percent, and more preferably within 5 percent of a given value or range. Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the term “around”, “about” or “approximately” can be inferred if not expressly stated. 
     As used herein, “plurality” means two or more. 
     As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. 
     As used herein, the term “module” may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); an electronic circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip. The term module may include memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor. 
     The term “code”, as used herein, may include software, firmware, and/or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, and/or objects. The term shared, as used above, means that some or all code from multiple modules may be executed using a single (shared) processor. In addition, some or all code from multiple modules may be stored by a single (shared) memory. The term group, as used above, means that some or all code from a single module may be executed using a group of processors. In addition, some or all code from a single module may be stored using a group of memories. 
     As used herein, the term “headless system” or “headless machine” generally refers to the computer system or machine that has been configured to operate without a monitor (the missing “head”), keyboard, and mouse. 
     The term “interface”, as used herein, generally refers to a communication tool or means at a point of interaction between components for performing data communication between the components. Generally, an interface may be applicable at the level of both hardware and software, and may be uni-directional or bi-directional interface. Examples of physical hardware interface may include electrical connectors, buses, ports, cables, terminals, and other I/O devices or components. The components in communication with the interface may be, for example, multiple components or peripheral devices of a computer system. 
     The terms “chip” or “computer chip”, as used herein, generally refer to a hardware electronic component, and may refer to or include a small electronic circuit unit, also known as an integrated circuit (IC), or a combination of electronic circuits or ICs. 
     The present disclosure relates to computer systems. As depicted in the drawings, computer components may include physical hardware components, which are shown as solid line blocks, and virtual software components, which are shown as dashed line blocks. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that, unless otherwise indicated, these computer components may be implemented in, but not limited to, the forms of software, firmware or hardware components, or a combination thereof. 
     The apparatuses and methods described herein may be implemented by one or more computer programs executed by one or more processors. The computer programs include processor-executable instructions that are stored on a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium. The computer programs may also include stored data. Non-limiting examples of the non-transitory tangible computer readable medium are nonvolatile memory, magnetic storage, and optical storage. 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure is related to a system of email based persistent and secure communication channel for interacting with devices. 
       FIG. 1A  schematically depicts a system for interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the system  100  includes an email server  110 , a user device  130  and a service device  150 . The user device  130  and the service device  150  are in communication with the email server  110 , for example, through a network  170 . The network  170  may be a wired or wireless network, and may be of various forms such as a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) including, but not limited, to an intranet, an extranet, an internetwork, an Internet, a darknet, or any other network that allows for information communication, especially for email data transmission. 
     In certain embodiments, the system  100  may include two or more email servers  110 , two or more user devices  130 , and/or two or more service devices  150 .  FIG. 1B  schematically depicts a system for interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, where the system  100  may include a plurality of email servers  110 - 1  to  110 -L, a plurality of user devices  130 - 1  to  130 -M, and a plurality of service devices  150 - 1  to  150 -N, where L, M and N are positive integers. In other words, L email servers  110 , M user devices  130  and N service devices  150  are provided in the system  100  as shown in  FIG. 1B . It should be noted that the positive integers L, M and N may be independently determined. For example, L, M and N may be equal to one another, or may be three different positive integers. In other words, in the system  100 , the number L of email servers  110 , the number M of user devices  130 , and the number N of service devices  150  may be determined independently from one another. It is also possible to add any number of email servers  110 , user devices  130 , and/or service devices  150  to the system  100 . Each of the user devices  150  and each of the service devices  150  may communicate with each other through the email servers  110  by sending and receiving emails. In certain embodiments, one of the service devices  150  may also send emails to another service device  150 . 
     The email server  110  may be one server (or, as shown in  FIG. 1B , a plurality of servers) for providing email services to both the user device  130  and the service device  150 . For example, the user device  130  and the service device  150  may be located under the same domain and use the same email server  110  for incoming and outgoing emails. In certain embodiments, the system  100  may include one email server  110  as shown in  FIG. 1A , and the user device  130  and the service device  150  may be in communication with the email server  110 . In certain embodiments, the system  100  may include a plurality of email servers  110  as shown in  FIG. 1B , and the user device  130  and the service device  150  may be in communication with different email servers  110 . In this case, the different email servers  110  may communicate with each other directly, or through other email servers, for example, via the network  170 . In certain embodiments, the email server  110  may include incoming and/or outgoing email services. For example, the email server  110  may include both a Post Office Protocol  3 /Internet Message Access Protocol (POP3/IMAP) module for incoming email service, and a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) module for outgoing email service. In certain embodiments, when the system  100  includes multiple email servers  110 , one email server  110  may include only a POP3/IMAP module for incoming email service, and the other email server  110  may include only a SMTP module for outgoing email service. 
     The user device  130  may be a computing device, such as a general purpose computer or a headless computer. In certain embodiments, the user device  130  may be a personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, or any other devices that may be used for email services. In certain embodiments, the user device  130  may be a system on chip (SoC). As shown in  FIG. 1A , the user device  130  has a processor  131 , a memory  133 , a storage device  135 , and any other necessary hardware components enabling the user device  130  to operate. In certain embodiments, the system  100  may include a plurality of user devices  130 , as shown in  FIG. 1B . 
     The processor  131  is configured to control operation of the user device  130 . The processor  131  may execute an operation system or other applications of the storage  135 . In certain embodiments, the storage  135  may run on more than one processor, such as two processors, four processors, eight processors, or any suitable number of processors. 
     The memory  133  may be a volatile memory, such as the random-access memory (RAM), for storing the data and information during the operation of the user device  130 . 
     The storage  135  is a non-volatile data storage media for storing an operating system (OS) (not shown), a user email application  137 , and other applications of the user device  130 . The storage  135  may store the OS, the user email application  137 , and any other necessary software or firmware components executable at the processor  131 . In certain embodiments, the OS, the user email application  137 , and any other necessary software or firmware components may be implemented as computer executable codes. 
     The user email application  137  may be an email client application for one or more users to process with emails, such as receiving and/or sending emails. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the user email application  137  is stored in the storage  135 . Examples of the user email application  137  may include but not limited to Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla&#39;s Thunderbird, Apple Inc.&#39;s Mail, etc. In certain embodiments, the user email application  137  may be a part of the operating system (OS) of the user device  130  or a part of the firmware of the user device  130 . In certain embodiments, the user email application  137  may be a web application, such as a web browser connected to a web-based email website. Examples of the web-based email website may include but not limited to Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. In certain embodiments, the user email application  137  may be a customized email application specialized for the system  100 . In certain embodiments, the user device  130  may include two or more different user email applications  137 , where each of the two or more user email applications  137  may be used to process with emails. 
     As described above, the user email application  137  may be reached by one or more users, such as user  1  to user O as shown in  FIG. 1A , where O is a positive integer. Each of the users may have a specific email identifier. In certain embodiments, the specific email identifier may be a specific email address of the user  180 . For example, each of the users  180 - 1 ,  180 - 2 , . . .  180 -O may have a specific email address of user1@megarac.com, user2@megarac.com, . . . userO@megarac.com. 
       FIG. 2  schematically depicts a structure of a user device  130  according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, in which details of the user email application  137  is illustrated. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the user email application  137  includes a user interface module  1371 , an encryption/decryption module  1373 , and a user email processing module  1375 . 
     The user interface module  1371  provides a user interface available to a user such that the user may compose an email, and perform operations such as sending or retrieving one or more emails, through the user interface module  1371 . For example, the email may be the command email. In other words, the user may input at least one command through the user interface, such that the user email processing module  1375  of the user email application  137  may prepare the command email based on the at least one command received through the user interface. In certain embodiments, the user interface module  1371  may include a graphical user interface. When the user email application  137  is executed, the user interface module  1371  displays the graphical user interface on a display device (not shown) of the user device  130  such that the user may perform operation to the emails through the graphical user interface. In certain embodiments, the user interface module  1371  may include other types of user interface, such as a text-based interface, a voice operated interface, etc. 
     The encryption/decryption module  1373  is configured to encrypt a composed email before sending it out, or decrypt a retrieved email from the one or more email servers  110 , such that the decrypted content of the email may be viewable by the user through the user interface module  1371 . In certain embodiments, the composed email may be the command email, and the retrieved email may be an encrypted result email. For example, the encryption/decryption module  1373  may include one or more algorithms for encryption/decryption. When the user email processing module  1375  has composed a command email, the user email processing module  1375  may send the composed command email to the encryption/decryption module  1373  for encryption. The encryption/decryption module  1373  encrypts the composed command email, and then sends the encrypted command email to the user email processing module  1375  for further processing. In certain embodiment, when the user email processing module  1375  retrieves an encrypted result email, the user email processing module  1375  may send the retrieved encrypted result email to the encryption/decryption module  1373  for decryption. The encryption/decryption module  1373  decrypts the encrypted result email to form a decrypted result email, and then sends the decrypted result email to the user email processing module  1375  for further processing. In certain embodiments, the encryption of the command email and the decryption of the result email use the same algorithm, thus are reverse processes. In certain embodiments, the result email is not required. 
     The user email processing module  1375  is configured to prepare one or more emails based on the user input received by the user interface, send the prepared one or more emails to the one or more email servers  110 , retrieve one or more emails from the one or more email servers  110 , and/or retrieve contents of the one or more emails for the user interface to show the contents to the user. For example, when the user inputs the command email content through the user interface, and inputs a command to send the command email (such as clicking a “send” button on the graphical user interface), the user interface module  1371  sends the content to the user email processing module  1375  such that the content is processed by the user email processing module  1375  to add corresponding information that is recognizable by the email server  110  to prepare or form the command email. Once the command email is prepared, the user email processing module  1375  sends the command email to the email server  110 . When encryption is required, the user email processing module  1375  may send the command email to the encryption/decryption module  1373  for encryption before sending the command email to the email server  110 . After receiving the encrypted command email from the encryption/decryption module  1373 , the user email processing module  1375  then sends the encrypted command email to the email server  110 . In certain embodiments, the user email processing module  1375  may retrieve emails from the email server  110  following one or more predetermined rules. For example, the user email processing module  1375  may retrieve emails when the user email application  137  launches, or at certain time intervals when the user email application  137  is running, or when the user inputs a command to retrieve the emails from the email server (such as clicking on a “receive” or “update” button on the graphical interface). When decryption is required, the user email processing module  1375  may send the retrieved emails to the encryption/decryption module  1373  for decryption before further processing the decrypted emails. For example, when the user email processing module  1375  retrieves the encrypted result email from the email server  110 , the user email processing module  1375  sends the encrypted result email to the encryption/decryption module  1373  for decryption, receives the decrypted result email from the encryption/decryption module  1373 , and processes the decrypted result email to retrieve the result from the decrypted result email such that the result is viewable for the user through the user interface. In certain embodiments, when the result email retrieved from the email server  110  is not encrypted, the user email processing module  1375  may process the result email directly to retrieve the result such that the result is viewable for the user through the user interface. 
     The service device  150  may be a computing device, such as a server computer, general purpose computer or a headless computer. In certain embodiments, the service device  150  may be a computer cluster, a cloud storage server, a web server, or any other devices that may be configured to have email services. In certain embodiments, the service device  150  may be an SoC. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the service device  150  has a processor  151 , a memory  153 , a storage  155 , and any other necessary hardware components enabling the service device  150  to operate. In certain embodiments, the system  100  may include a plurality of service devices  150 , as shown in  FIG. 1B . 
     The processor  151  is configured to control operation of the service device  150 . The processor  151  may execute an operation system or other applications of the storage  155 . In certain embodiments, the storage  155  may run on more than one processor, such as two processors, four processors, eight processors, or any suitable number of processors. 
     The memory  153  may be a volatile memory, such as the RAM, for storing the data and information during the operation of the service device  150 . 
     The storage  155  is a non-volatile data storage media for storing an OS (not shown), a service email application  157 , and other applications of the service device  150 . The storage  155  may store the OS, the service email application  157 , and any other necessary software or firmware components executable at the processor  151 . In certain embodiments, the OS, the service email application  157 , and any other necessary software or firmware components may be implemented as computer executable codes. 
     The service email application  157  may be an email client application for one or more services to process with emails, such as receiving and/or sending emails. As shown in  FIG. 1A , the service email application  157  is stored in the storage  155 . Examples of the service email application  157  may include but not limited to Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla&#39;s Thunderbird, Apple Inc.&#39;s Mail, etc. that may be customized for the services. In certain embodiments, the service email application  157  may be a part of the OS of the service device  150  or a part of the firmware of the service device  150 . In certain embodiments, the service email application  157  may be a web application, such as a web browser connected to a web-based email website that is customized for the services. Examples of the web-based email website may include but not limited to Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. In certain embodiments, the service email application  157  may be a completely customized email application specialized for the system  100 . In certain embodiments, the service device  150  may include two or more different service email applications  157 , where each of the two or more service email applications  157  may be used to process with emails. 
     As described above, the service email application  157  may be reached by one or more services, such as service  1  to service P as shown in  FIG. 1A , where P is a positive integer. Each of the services may have a specific email identifier. In certain embodiments, the specific email identifier may be a specific email address of the service  190 . For example, each of the services  190 - 1 ,  190 - 2 , . . .  190 -P may have a specific email address of service1@megarac.com, service2@megarac.com, . . . serviceP@megarac.com. It should be noted that the positive integer P is unrelated to the positive integer O. In other words, the total number P of the services  190  at the service device  150  is independent and unrelated to the total number O of the users  180  at the user device  130 . 
       FIG. 3  schematically depicts a structure of a service device  150  according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, in which details of the service email application  157  is illustrated. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the service email application  157  includes an address verification module  1571 , an encryption/decryption module  1573 , a command processing module  1575 , and a service email processing module  1577 . 
     The address verification module  1571  provides a security check for the emails retrieved by the service device  150 . For example, the email may be the command email. When the service device  150  retrieves the command email from the email server  110 , the address verification module  1571  may verify the features of the command email, such as the email identifier. If the email identifier is verified as valid, the address verification module  1571  sends the positive verification result to the service email processing module  1577 , and the service email processing module  1577  may then send the command email to the encryption/decryption module  1573  for decryption. If the email identifier is determined as invalid, the address verification module  1571  sends the negative verification result to the service email processing module  1577 , and the service email processing module  1577  may then discard the command email. In certain embodiments, the service device  150  may have a database, a file or a list that the address verification module  1571  may use to compare with the email identifier of the retrieved command email. 
     The encryption/decryption module  1573  is configured to encrypt a composed email before sending it out, or decrypt a retrieved email from the one or more email servers  110 , such that the decrypted email may be processed by the command processing module  1575 . In certain embodiments, the composed email may be the result email, and the retrieved email may be the command email. In certain embodiments, the encryption/decryption module  1373  of the user email application  137  and the encryption/decryption module  1533  of the service email application  157  may use the same set of encryption algorithm such that an email encrypted by the encryption/decryption module  1373  may be decrypted by the encryption/decryption module  1573 , and an email encrypted by the encryption/decryption module  1573  may be decrypted by the encryption/decryption module  1373 . When the command email has been verified by the address verification module  1571 , the service email processing module  1577  sends the verified command email to the encryption/decryption module  1573  for decryption. The encryption/decryption module  1573  then decrypts the command email, and sends the decrypted command email to the service email processing module or to the command processing module. In certain embodiments, if the verified email is not encrypted, the service email processing module  1577  may send the un-encrypted command email directly to the command processing module  1575 . 
     The command processing module  1575  is configured to extract at least one command from the decrypted or un-encrypted command email, and send the at least one command to at least one corresponding service  190 , such that the at least one service  190  performs a corresponding function based on the extracted at least one command. For example, when the service email application  157  is executed, the service email processing module  1577  or optionally the encryption/decryption module  1573  sends the command email to the command processing module  1575 , the command processing module  1575  extracts the at least one command from the command email, and then sends the extracted at least one command to the at least one of the services  190 . Once the at least one service  190  receives the at least one command, the at least one service  190  performs a corresponding function based on the extracted command. The at least one command may be one command or a set of commands associated with the corresponding service  190 . The at least one command, for example, may be stored in the title of the email or preferably in the body of the email. By storing the one or the set of commands in the body of the email and encrypting the email, among other things, the system may have high security to protect the commands from being intercepted, and may have high capacity such that a large number of commands may be sent through one email. 
     Each of the services  190  is configured to perform associated functions. In certain embodiments, one service  190  may performs management of intelligent platform management interface (IPMI), the other service  190  may perform management of combined simple network management protocol (SNMP) and shell functions. When the at least one command is a set of commands, the service  190  may perform the set of commands in parallel or in serial corresponding to, for example the parameters related to the set of commands. The parameters may be inputted by the user during preparation of the command email, and maintained with the command through the whole process. 
     After the service  190  performs the function corresponding to the at least one command, the service  190  may generates a result, and send the result to the service email processing module  1577 . The result may include the information of whether the function is performed successfully. In certain embodiments, the result may include another one or a set of commands associated to another service of another service device 
     The service email processing module  1577  is configured to retrieve one or more emails from the one or more email servers  110 , receive the result from the service  190 , generate one or more emails based on the result, send the one or more generated emails to the encryption/decryption module for encryption, and send the encrypted one or more emails to the one or more email servers  110 . In certain embodiments, the generated email may the result email, and the retrieved email may be the encrypted command email. For example, when the service email application  157  is executed, the service email processing module  1577  may retrieve emails from the email server  110  following one or more predetermined rules. For example, the service email processing module  1375  may retrieve emails when the service email application  157  launches, or at certain time intervals when the service email application  157  is running Once the email is retrieved, the service email processing module  1577  may send the email or optionally the email identifier of the retrieved email to the address verification module  1571  for verification, and after verification, the address verification module  1571  sends the verified email or optionally the verification result to the service email processing module  1577 . Upon receiving the verified email or the positive verification result, the service email processing module  1577  may send the verified email to the encryption/decryption module  1573  for decryption. When the service  190  sends a result to the service email processing module  1577 , the service email processing module  1577  may add corresponding information that is recognizable by the email server  110  to generate the result email. Once the result email is generated, the service email processing module  1577  sends the result email to the email server  110 . When encryption is required, the service email processing module  1577  may send the result email to the encryption/decryption module  1573  for encryption before sending out to the email server  110 . After receiving the encrypted result email from the encryption/decryption module  1573 , the service email processing module  1577  then sends the encrypted result email to the email server  110 . In certain embodiments, when the result is whether the function is accomplished successfully or not, the service email processing module  1577  may send the result email to the sender/user of the command email, such that the result of the service is viewable by the user through the user interface of the user interface module  1371 . When the result is another one or a set of commands, the service email processing module  1577  may send the result email containing those commands to another service device having another service email application, such that the service of the another service device may perform certain functions according to the command/commands stored in the result email. The email server  110  used for retrieving a command email and for sending a result email may or may not be the same email server. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure is related to a method of email based persistent and secure communication channel for interacting with devices. 
       FIG. 4A  schematically depicts a method of interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In certain embodiments, the method  400 A as described in  FIG. 4A  may be implemented by the system  100  as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4A , when the user intends to perform a function to the service device  150 , at operation  401 , the user inputs, through the user interface provided by the user interface module  1371 , an email identifier corresponding to the service on the service device  150  to perform the function, and a content including at least one command, and the user interface module  1371  receives the email identifier and the content. In certain embodiments, the email identifier may be an email address designated for the service on the service device  150  to perform the function. 
     At operation  403 , when the user interface module  1371  receives a command input by the user to send the email, the user interface module  1371  sends the input (the email identifier and the content) by the user to the user email processing module  1375 . For example, when the user finishes inputting the at least one first command as the content of the email, and clicks a “send” button of the user interface provided by the user interface module  1371 , the user interface module  1371  sends the input by the user to the user email processing module  1375 . 
     Upon receiving the input from the user interface module  1371 , at operation  405 , the user email processing module  1375  prepares a command email according to the input by the user. 
     Optionally, in certain embodiments, the command email or the command in the command email is encrypted. When the command email requires encryption, at operation  407 , the user email processing module  1375  sends the command email to the encryption/decryption module  1373 . At operation  409 , the encryption/decryption module  1373  performs encryption to the command email to form the encrypted command email. When the encryption is complete, at operation  411 , the encryption/decryption module  1373  sends the encrypted command email to the user email processing module  1375 . 
     Once the command email is prepared and ready to be sent to the service device, at operation  413 , the user email processing module  1375  sends the command email to the email server  110 . 
     In certain embodiments, when the command email does not require encryption, the user email processing module  1375  may skip the operations  407 - 411  and directly perform the operation  413  to send the command email to the email server  110 . 
     At the email server  110 , the command email may be stored in the email server  110  until the service email application  157  retrieves the command email. Thus, the at least one first command in the command email may be preserved at the email server  110  regardless of the operational status of the user device  130  and/or the service device  150 . For example, when an error occurs in the service device  150  such that the service device  150  is disconnected from the network  170 , the command email may be preserved at the email server  110  without being under the risk of losing the at least one first command therein. Accordingly, the method provides a persistent communication way for the first command to be delivered from the user device  130  to the service device  150 , thus avoiding loss of commands in a real time process. 
     At operation  415 , the service email processing module  1577  of the service email application  157  of the service device  150  retrieves the encrypted command email from the email server  110 . In certain embodiments, both the user email processing module  1375  and the service email processing module  1577  may use the same email server  110 . 
     In certain embodiments, the user email processing module  1375  may use one email server, the service email processing module  1577  may use another email server, and the two email servers may be in communication directly or through one or more other email servers in the network  170 . 
     At operation  417 , the service email processing module  1577  sends the retrieved command email to the address verification module  1571  for verification. 
     At operation  419 , the address verification module  1571  performs verification on the retrieved command email. In certain embodiment, the address verification module  1571  may verify the retrieved command email based on the email identifier. For example, the address verification module  1571  may verify if the email identifier is valid for further processing. In certain embodiments, the verification may include, but not limited to, comparing the email identifier of the retrieved command email with an email identifier list, a file having the list, or a database having the email identifier list. The valid email identifier may include email addresses of certain users. In other embodiments, the valid email identifier may include email addresses having the same domain name. 
     When the address verification module  1571  determines that the retrieved command email is a valid command email, at operation  421 , the address verification module  1571  sends the verified command email to the service email processing module  1577  for further processing. When the address verification module  1571  determines that the retrieved command email is not a valid command email, the address verification module  1571  may perform corresponding caution operation to the invalid email, such as discarding the invalid email. 
     Optionally, when the command email is encrypted, at operation  423 , the service email processing module  1577  sends the command email to the encryption/decryption module  1573  for decryption. At operation  425 , the encryption/decryption module  1573  performs decryption to the command email to form the decrypted command email. When the decryption is complete, at operation  427 , the encryption/decryption module  1573  sends the decrypted command email to the service email processing module  1577 . 
     Upon receiving the decrypted command email, at operation  429 , the service email processing module  1577  sends the decrypted command email to the command processing module  1575 . 
     In certain embodiments, if the verified command email is not encrypted, the service email processing module  1577  may skip the operations  423 - 427  and sends the verified email to the command processing module  1575  directly. In certain embodiments, the service email processing module  1577  may perform operation  423  to send the verified command email to the encryption/decryption module  1573  regardless of whether the command email is encrypted or not. In this case, if the encryption/decryption module  1573  receives an un-encrypted command email, the encryption/decryption module  1573  does nothing at operation  425  to the command email, and performs operation  427  to send the un-encrypted command email to the service email processing module  1577  or optionally to the command processing module  1575 . 
     When the command processing module  1575  receives the decrypted command email, at operation  431 , the command processing module  1575  extracts the at least one command from the command email. The at least one command may be associated with at least one service  190 . 
     At operation  433 , the command processing module  1575  sends the extracted at least one command to the service  190 . 
     At operation  435 , the corresponding service then performs a function based on the extracted at least one command. 
     In certain embodiments, the service  190  performing the function generates a result based on the performance of the function. In certain embodiments, the result may include information of whether the function is performed successfully or not. In certain embodiments, the result may include one or more commands associated with another service of another service device. 
       FIG. 4B  schematically depicts a method of interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, where the result is, for example, whether the function is performed successfully or not. In certain embodiments, the method  400 B as described in  FIG. 4B  may be implemented by the system  100  as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4B , when the service  190  performs a function and generates a result, at operation  441 , the service  190  sends the result to the service email processing module  1577 . 
     Upon receiving the result from the service  190 , at operation  443 , the service email processing module  1577  generates a result email including the received result. When the result is the information whether the function is performed successfully or not, the generated result email may have the email identifier of the user that sent the command email. When the result is one or more commands, the generated result email may have the email identifier of another service located at another service device associated with the one or more commands. 
     Optionally, when the result email requires encryption, at operation  445 , the device processing module  1577  sends the generated result email to the encryption/decryption module  1573 . At operation  447 , the encryption/decryption module  1573  performs encryption to the result email to form the encrypted result email. When encryption is completed, at operation  449 , the encryption/decryption module  1573  sends the encrypted result email to the service email processing module  1577 . 
     Once the result email is prepared and ready to be sent to the user device, at operation  451 , the service email processing module  1577  sends the result email to the email server  110 . 
     In certain embodiments, when the result email does not require encryption, the service email processing module  1577  may skip the operations  445 - 449  and directly perform the operation  451  to send the result email to the email server  110 . 
     At the email server  110 , the result email may be stored in the email server  110  until the user email application  137  retrieves the result email. Thus, the result in the result email may be preserved at the email server  110  regardless of the operational status of the user device  130  and/or the service device  150 . For example, when an error occurs in the user device  130  such that the user device  130  is disconnected from the network  170 , the result email may be preserved at the email server  110  without being under the risk of losing the result therein. Accordingly, the method provides a persistent communication way for the result to be delivered from the service device  150  to the user device  130 , thus avoiding loss of results in a real time process. 
     At operation  453 , the user email processing module  1375  retrieves the encrypted result email or the un-encrypted result email from the email server  110 . 
     Optionally, when the result email is encrypted, at operation  455 , the user email processing module  1375  sends the encrypted result email to the encryption/decryption module  1373  for decryption. At operation  457 , the encryption/decryption module  1373  decrypts the result email to form the decrypted result email. When the decryption is completed, at operation  459 , the decrypted result email is sent to the user email processing module  1375  or optionally to the user interface module  1371 . 
     At operation  461 , the user email processing module  1375  retrieve the result from the decrypted result email. 
     At operation  463 , the user email processing module  1375  sends the retrieved result to the user interface module  1371 , such that the result is viewable by the user through the user interface of the user interface module  1371 . Optionally, the user email processing module may skip the operation  461 , and send the result email to the user interface module  1371 , such that the result email is viewable by the user through the user interface, 
     In certain embodiments, when the result email retrieved by the user email processing module  1375  is not encrypted, the user email processing module  1375  may retrieve the result from the un-encrypted result email and send the result to the user interface module  1371 , or send the un-encrypted result email directly to the user interface module  1371 , such that the result email is viewable by the user through the user interface. 
     In certain embodiments, if the result email includes at least one second command associated with a second service, the result email may also be sent to a second service device that has the second service. The second service device may have the similar service email application, and configured to perform a corresponding second function based on the at least one second command extracted from the result email. The operations of the above function in the second service device may be similar to the operations  415  to  433  as described above and shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5  schematically depicts a method of interacting with devices based on email according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, where the result is, for example, at least one second command. 
     In certain embodiments, the method  500  as described in  FIG. 5  may be implemented by the system  100  as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , with at least a first service device  150 - 1  and a second service device  150 - 2 . The first service device  150 - 1  has a first email processing application  157 - 1  and a first service  190 - 1 . The second service device  150 - 2  has a second email processing application  157 - 2  and a second service  190 - 2 . The first email processing application  157 - 1  has a first address verification module  1571 - 1 , a first encryption/decryption module  1573 - 1 , a first command processing module  1575 - 1 , and a first service email processing module  1577 - 1 . The second email processing application  157 - 2  has a second address verification module  1571 - 2 , a second encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2 , a second command processing module  1575 - 2 , and a second service email processing module  1577 - 2 . 
     At operation  451  as shown in  FIG. 4B , the first service email processing module  1573 - 1  sends the result email having at least one second command to the email server  110 . 
     At operation  515 , the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  of the second service email application  157 - 2  of the second service device  150 - 2  retrieves the result email from the email server  110 . In certain embodiments, both the first service email processing module  1573 - 1  and the second service email processing module  1573 - 2  may use the same email server  110 . In certain embodiments, the first service email processing module  1573 - 1  may use one email server, the second service email processing module  1573 - 2  may use another email server, and the two email servers may be in communication directly or indirectly through one or more other email servers in the network  170 . 
     At operation  517 , the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  sends the retrieved result email to the second address verification module  1571 - 2  for verification. 
     At operation  519 , the second address verification module  1571 - 2  performs verification on the retrieved result email. In certain embodiment, the second address verification module  1571 - 2  may verify the retrieved result email based on the email identifier. For example, the second address verification module  1571 - 2  may verify if the email identifier is valid for further processing. In certain embodiments, the verification may include, but not limited to, comparing the email identifier of the retrieved result command email with an email identifier list, a file having the list, or a database having the email identifier list. The valid email identifier may include email addresses of certain users. In other embodiments, the valid email identifier may include email addresses having the same domain name. 
     When the second address verification module  1571 - 2  determines that the retrieved result command email is a valid command email, at operation  521 , the second address verification module  1571 - 2  sends the verified result email to the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  for further processing. When the second address verification module  1571 - 2  determines that the retrieved result email is not a valid result email, the second address verification module  1571 - 2  may perform corresponding caution operation to the invalid email, such as discarding the invalid email. 
     Optionally, when the retrieved result email is encrypted, at operation  523 , the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  sends the result email to the second encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2  for decryption. At operation  525 , the second encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2  then decrypts the result email to form a decrypted result email. At operation  527 , the second encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2  sends the decrypted result email to the second service email processing module  1577 - 2 . 
     Upon receiving the decrypted result email, at operation  529 , the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  sends the decrypted result email to the second command processing module  1575 - 2 . 
     In certain embodiments, if the verified result email is not encrypted, the service email processing module  1577 - 2  may skip the operations  523 - 527  and sends the verified email to the second command processing module  1575 - 2  directly. In certain embodiments, the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  may perform operation  523  to send the verified result email to the encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2  regardless of whether the result email is encrypted or not. In this case, if the second encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2  receives an un-encrypted result email, the second encryption/decryption module  1573 - 2  does nothing at operation  525  to the result email, and performs operation  527  to send the un-encrypted result email to the second service email processing module  1577 - 2  or optionally to the second command processing module  1575 - 2 . 
     When the second command processing module  1575 - 2  receives the decrypted result email, at operation  531 , the second command processing module  1575 - 2  extracts the at least one second command from the result email. The at least one second command may be associated with at least one second service  190 - 2 . 
     At operation  533 , the second command processing module  1575 - 2  sends the extracted at least one second command to the second service  190 - 2 . 
     At operation  535 , the corresponding second service  190 - 2  then performs a second function based on the extracted at least one second command. 
     In certain embodiments, the second service  190 - 2  performing the second function generates a second result based on the performance of the second function. In certain embodiments, the second result may include information of whether the second function is performed successfully or not. In certain embodiments, the second result may include one or more third commands associated with a third service of a third service device. 
     In a further aspect, the present disclosure is related to a non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable code. The code, when executed at one or more processor of a service device  150  or/and a user device  130 , may perform the method as described above. In certain embodiments, the non-transitory computer readable medium may include, but not limited to, the storage device  155  as described above, or any other storage media of the service device  150 . 
     The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. 
     The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.