Patent Abstract:
A client device and a server device communicate using an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)-Device Management (DM) protocol. The client device is configured to grant the desired access rights to a newly bootstrapped DM server, upon successful completion of a bootstrap procedure, by using nodes in the Bootstrap Config Management Object (MO) to specify the access rights for different portions of the Management Tree.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present application relates generally to wireless communications systems and, more specifically, to procedures for assigning initial access rights to DM servers upon successful completion of the DM bootstrapping procedure. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Each device that supports Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)-Device Management (DM) contains a Management Tree. The DM client resident on the device must expose the Management Tree to previously bootstrapped DM servers. The Management Tree organizes all available Management Objects in the device as a hierarchical tree structure where all nodes can be uniquely addressed with a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). The OMA-DM specifications provide the following guidelines for the ACL (Access Control List) value of the root of the Management Tree.
       The default value for the root ACL SHOULD be Add=*&amp;Get=*. To ensure that any authenticated server always can extend the Management Tree, the root ACL value for the Add command SHOULD NOT be changed.       
 
         [0004]    A consequence of the above listed requirement is that when a device is bootstrapped to a new DM server, by default, the new DM server is able to see all the direct nodes of the root of the Management Tree. In addition, the new DM server can create its own sub-tree under the root. By reading the ACL value of the root node, the new DM server is able to obtain the Server IDs of other bootstrapped DM servers, presenting a potential security risk in the case where multiple management authorities are involved. These problems had been masked by the fact that, prior to DM 1.3, most devices were managed by only one DM server. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A client device for use in a wireless communications network is provided. The client device includes a memory configured to store a plurality of instructions. The client device also includes processing circuitry capable of being configured to assign the default access rights to a DM server, upon successful completion of a bootstrap. 
         [0006]    A server device for use in a wireless communications network is provided. The server device includes a memory configured to store a plurality of instructions. The server device also includes processing circuitry capable of configuring default access rights to a device management (DM) server on a device upon successful completion of a bootstrap procedure. 
         [0007]    A method for use in a wireless communications network is provided. The method includes storing a plurality of instructions. The method also includes assigning default access rights to a DM server, upon successful completion of a bootstrap procedure. 
         [0008]    Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates an OMA-DM transaction model according to this disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a Management Tree according to this disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a network topology view of the Device Management System according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates the OMA-DM architecture according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates a structure of a Bootstrap Config Management Object (MO) according to the present disclosure; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates additional nodes for the Bootstrap Config MO according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]      FIGS. 1 through 6 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communications system. 
         [0017]    OMA-DM is a secure two-way management protocol that runs between a DM server  105  and a DM client  110  and it is used for remote management of devices. Historically the devices have been wireless devices; however OMA-DM has also started to address the remote management needs of wired devices. The OMA-DM protocol runs within the context of a DM session, using a request/response transaction model. Once a DM session is established, the DM server alternately sends commands to the Client and receives responses from the Client. The Client also informs the Sever about events that have occurred on the device, via Generic Alerts. The Management includes: Setting initial configuration information in devices; Subsequent installation and updates of persistent information in devices; Retrieval of management information from devices; Processing events and alarms generated by devices. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates an OMA-DM transaction model according to this disclosure. The embodiment of the OMA-DM transaction model  100  shown in  FIG. 1  is for illustration only. Other embodiments could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0019]    A DM session consists of two phases: the setup phase followed by the management phase. The setup phase entails authentication and device information exchange. 
         [0020]    OMA-DM supports the notion of Packages. A Package is a collection of related messages that are transferred between an originator and a recipient. Generally a Package consists of a single message. However, in cases where the information to be transferred between the originator and the recipient exceeds the size limitation of a DM message, the information can be sent over multiple messages within the same Package. Each message in a Package has to be responded to individually. 
         [0021]    DM sessions are always initiated by the DM client. However, a Server can trigger the Client to initiate a session by sending an unsolicited message, known as the DM Notification, to the Client. The DM Notification “wakes up” the device and causes it to initiate a session with the requesting DM server. This message can be delivered over a variety of transports including SMS, HTTP and SIP. 
         [0022]    In the setup phase, the DM server  105  sends an alert in package- 0   115  to the client  110 . The DM client  110  responds with package- 1   120 , which includes a client initialization with client credentials and device information. In response, the DM server  105  sends package- 2   125 : server initialization with server credentials, initial management operations or user interaction commands from the server. During the management phase, the DM server  105  issues commands which are processed by the DM client  110 . The DM client  110  sends package- 3   130 : direct response to server management operations. The DM client  110  provides the status of the commands issued as well as any response that may be needed. The DM server  105  responds with package- 4   135 : more user interaction and management operations if the session is continued. 
         [0023]    Normally a DM session ends when the DM server  105  sends an empty message (i.e. a message that does not contain any management operations or authentication challenges) to the DM client  110 . However, either the DM client  110  or the DM server  105  can abort the session at any time. 
         [0024]    With the exception of Package- 0   115 , all messages exchanged between the DM client  110  and the DM server  105  are Synchronization Markup Language (SyncML) messages. Conversely, Package- 0   115  is a specially formatted binary message that is sent from the DM server  105  to the DM client  110 . This message contains the DM server ID and it causes the DM client  110  to initiate a management session with the DM server  105 . 
         [0025]    The OMA-DM protocol supports DM Bootstrapping. Bootstrapping is the process by which a device moves from an un-provisioned, empty state, to a state where it is able to initiate a management session with authorized DM servers. DM clients  110  that have already been bootstrapped can be further bootstrapped to enable the device to initiate a management session to new DM servers  105 . 
         [0026]    OMA-DM defines various ways to perform the bootstrap process that include: 
         [0027]    1) Customized bootstrap in which Devices are loaded with OMA DM account and connectivity information at manufacture, which is also referred to as factory bootstrap; 
         [0028]    2) Bootstrap from smartcard in which the smartcard is inserted in the device and the DM client  110  is bootstrapped from the smartcard; 
         [0029]    3) Over The Air bootstrap (aka Server initiated bootstrap) in which the DM server  105  sends out Bootstrap Message via some push mechanism, e.g. WAP Push or OBEX. The DM server  105  needs to receive the device address/phone number beforehand; 
         [0030]    4) Client initiated bootstrap, over a secure HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTPS). 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  illustrates a Management Tree according to this disclosure. The embodiment of the Management Tree  200  shown in  FIG. 2  is for illustration only. Other embodiments could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0032]    To access the xyzInc node in the Management Tree  200 , a server can present the address: ./DMAcc/xyzInc, or DMAcc/xyzInc. A Uniform Resource Indicator (URI) used in OMA DM can be case sensitive and node names are chosen such that resulting URI strings differ in more than just the case of individual letters. Implementations, even if treating and interpreting URIs as case insensitive, preserve the case of symbols in the names of dynamically created nodes. 
         [0033]    Nodes are the entities that can be manipulated by management actions carried over the OMA DM protocol. A node can be as small as an integer or large and complex like a background picture or screen saver. The OMA DM protocol is agnostic about the contents, or values, of the nodes and treats the Leaf node values as opaque data. 
         [0034]    An Interior node can have an unlimited number of child nodes linked to it. The complete collection of all nodes in a management database forms the tree  200  structure. Each node in the tree  200  has a unique URI and each node has properties associated with it. Table 1 illustrates example node properties and Table 2 illustrates support for the node properties. All properties, except the ACL, are valid only for the node to which they are associated. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 NODE PROPERTIES 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Property 
                 Explanation 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 ACL 
                 Access Control List. 
               
               
                   
                 Format 
                 Specifies how node values should be interpreted. 
               
               
                   
                 Name 
                 The name of the node in the tree. 
               
               
                   
                 Size 
                 Size of the node value in bytes. 
               
               
                   
                 Title 
                 Human readable name. 
               
               
                   
                 TStamp 
                 Time stamp, date, and time of last change. 
               
               
                   
                 Type 
                 The MIME type of a Leaf node&#39;s value or a URN 
               
               
                   
                   
                 representing the Management Object identifier for 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Interior nodes that root a Management Object sub- 
               
               
                   
                   
                 tree. 
               
               
                   
                 VerNo 
                 Version number, automatically incremented at each 
               
               
                   
                   
                 modification. 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 SUPPORTED NODE PROPERTIES 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Property 
                 Device Support 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 ACL 
                 MUST 
               
               
                   
                 Format 
                 MUST 
               
               
                   
                 Name 
                 MUST 
               
               
                   
                 Size 
                 MAY for Leaf nodes; 
               
               
                   
                   
                 MUST NOT for Interior nodes 
               
               
                   
                 Title 
                 MAY 
               
               
                   
                 TStamp 
                 MAY 
               
               
                   
                 Type 
                 MUST 
               
               
                   
                 VerNo 
                 MAY 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0035]    The ACL property has some unique characteristics when compared to the other properties. The access rights granted by an ACL are granted to Server Identifiers and not to the URI, IP address, or certificate of the DM server  105 . The Server Identifier is an OMA DM specific name for a server. A Management Session is associated with a DM server Identifier through OMA DM authentication. All management commands received in one session are assumed to originate from the same DM server  105 . 
         [0036]    nodes in the Management Tree  200  can be either permanent or dynamic. Permanent nodes are typically built in at device manufacture. Permanent nodes can also be temporarily added to a device by, for instance, connecting new accessory hardware. However, the DM server  105  cannot create or delete permanent nodes at run-time. An attempt by a DM server  105  to delete a permanent node will return status Command not allowed. The same status code will also be returned for all attempts to modify the Name property of a permanent node. Dynamic nodes can be created and deleted at run-time by DM servers  105 . The Add command is used to create new nodes. The Delete command is used to delete Dynamic nodes and all their properties. If a deleted node has children, i.e., is an Interior node, the children are also deleted. A permanent node can be the child of either a dynamic or a permanent node. In such cases, the permanent child node is created at the same time its parent node is created. The complete layout of the permanent nodes in the Management Tree  200  is reflected in the device description. 
         [0037]    The complete structure of all nodes and the root (the device itself) forms the tree  200 . nodes with the Format property set to node are defined as Interior nodes. nodes that are not Interior nodes are defined as Leaf nodes. Interior nodes can have 0 or more children; Leaf nodes cannot have children. DM servers  105  can explore the structure of the tree  200  by using the GET command. If the accessed node is an Interior node, a list of all child node names for which the requesting DM server  105  has the Get access is returned. If the Interior node has no children, an empty list of child node names is returned, e.g., &lt;Data/&gt;. If the node is a Leaf node it must have a value, which could be null, and this value is returned. 
         [0038]    The Management Tree  200  can be extended at run-time. This is done with the Add or Replace command and both new Interior nodes and new Leaf nodes can be created. The parent of any new node is an Interior node. The device itself can also extend the Management Tree  200 . This could happen as a result of user input or by attaching some kind of accessory to the device. 
         [0039]      FIG. 3  illustrates a network topology view of the Device Management System according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the network  300  shown in  FIG. 3  is for illustration only. Other embodiments could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0040]    The network  300  includes a wireless device  305  coupled to the DM server  310  through one or more of: a cellular network  315  and the Internet  320 . In addition, a wired device  325  is coupled to the DM server  310  through the Internet  320 . Target devices, such as wireless device  305  and wired device  325 , include a memory configured to store instructions to execute processes for running the OMA-DM protocols and processing circuitry configured to execute the instructions and operate as a DM client. For example, the memory can store information regarding the tree, additional nodes and Table 3 described herein below. The DM server  310  includes a memory configured to store instructions to execute processes for running the OMA-DM protocols and processing circuitry configured to execute the instructions. The network  300  also includes an operations support system (OSS)  330 , which is configured to perform the functions of a management authority. In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , solid lines represent physical connectivity and dotted lines represent logical connectivity. The DM protocol runs between the DM server  310  and the wireless device  305  in the Cellular Network  315  &amp; between the DM server  310  and the wired device  325  connected to the Internet  320 . The OSS  330  directs the device management operations on the target devices (e.g., wireless device  305  and wired device  325 ) via the DM server  310 . Only the interaction between the DM server  310  and the DM client, which resides on the target devices (e.g., wireless device  305  and wired device  325 ), is within the scope of the OMA-DM specification. 
         [0041]    The DM protocol defines three standard Management Objects (MOs) that all implementations support as described in OMA Device Management Standardized Objects—6 Mar. 2012, Open Mobile Alliance, OMA-TS-DM StdObj-V1 — 3-20120306-C., (“StdObj Specification”) the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. These are DMAcc (DM Account), DevInfo (Device Information) and DevDetail (Device Details). 
         [0042]    The DMAcc MO is used to manage information pertaining to the bootstrapped DM servers. For each server that has been successfully bootstrapped for the device, the DMAcc MO maintains the following information (among other things): 
         [0043]    DM server ID; 
         [0044]    Connectivity information; 
         [0045]    Server address; and 
         [0046]    Server and client credentials. 
         [0047]    The DevInfo MO provides basic information about the device. This includes: 
         [0048]    Device ID; 
         [0049]    Device manufacturer ID; 
         [0050]    Model identifier; and 
         [0051]    Language setting. 
         [0052]    The DevDetail MO provides additional information about the device. This includes: 
         [0053]    Device type; 
         [0054]    Original Equipment Manufacturer; 
         [0055]    Hardware version; 
         [0056]    Firmware version; 
         [0057]    Software version; 
         [0058]    Indication whether the device supports optional features (e.g. large-object handling capability); 
         [0059]    Maximum depth of the Management Tree; 
         [0060]    Maximum total length of any URI; 
         [0061]    Maximum total length of any URI segment  FIG. 4  illustrates the OMA-DM architecture according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the OMA-DM architecture  400  shown in  FIG. 4  is for illustration only. Other embodiments could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.  FIG. 4  describes the main entities in the OMA-DM System and identifies the major interfaces between them. 
         [0062]    The OMA-DM architecture  400  manages aspects of the target device, such as wireless device  305  or wired device  325 , and the server  310 . The OMA-DM architecture  400  includes a DM enabler  405 , which interfaces with other management objects  410 , smart cards  415 , OTA provisioning servers  420 , Client Provisioning (CP) enabler  425  and the Device Management Authority  430 . Aspects of the DM enabler  405  include the DM client  435 , DM server  440 , DM standard objects  445  and a Device Management Application Characteristic (DM AC)  450 . A solid line indicates that the DM enabler  405  uses functions of another component. For example, the DM client  435  uses DM-1 client-server notification from DM server  440 ; the DM client  435  and DM server  440  exchange the exchange protocol messages; the DM client  435  gets bootstrapped to the DM server  440  via various means, such as by the smart card  415 , the OTA provisioning server  420  or the CP enabler  425 . The dashed lines indicate interfaces outside the scope of the DM enabler  405 . 
         [0063]      FIG. 5  illustrates a structure of a Bootstrap Config Management Object (MO) according to the present disclosure. The Bootstrap Config MO  500  shown in  FIG. 5  is for illustration only. Other embodiments could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0064]    Embodiments of the present disclosure alter the default access rights for newly bootstrapped DM servers. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the default access rights for newly bootstrapped DM servers are brought under management control by adding new nodes to the Bootstrap Config MO  500 . The Bootstrap Config MO  500  includes a MO root node  505 , a BootSrvDiscovery node  510 , a BootSrvInfo node  515  and an Ext node  520 . The BootSrvInfo node  515  further includes a placeholder node  525 , Uniform Resource Locator (URL)  530  and Ext node  535 . 
         [0065]      FIG. 6  illustrates additional nodes for the Bootstrap Config MO according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the additional nodes  600  shown in  FIG. 6  is for illustration only. Other embodiments could be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0066]    In certain embodiments, the Bootstrap Config MO  500  is enhanced by adding the following nodes under the BootSrvInfo/&lt;x&gt; node  515 : AccessRights node  605 , a placeholder node  610 , a SubtreeURI node  615  and an AccessCode node  620 . In certain embodiments, the AccessRights node  605  is added under the MO root node  505 . 
         [0067]    The . . . /AccessRights  605  is an interior node that is the root node for all access rights information. If the AccessRights node  605  is not present, the initial ACL access rights are assumed to be as per the device policy. That is, the AccessRights node  605  is configured to indicate device specific rights as opposed to universal default rights. The device specific rights apply to all future DM servers to which the device is bootstrapped. 
         [0068]    The . . . /AccessRights/&lt;x&gt;  610  is the root node for access rights information for one subtree within the Management Tree  200 . 
         [0069]    The . . . /AccessRights/&lt;x&gt;/SubtreeURI stores a URI value. The value of this leaf node is the URI of the root of a subtree within the Management Tree  200 . 
         [0070]    The . . . /AccessRights/&lt;x&gt;/AccessCode  620  stores a value associated with DM access rights. That is, the value of this leaf node (AccessCode node  620 ) indicates the DM access rights for the subtree which is rooted at the node whose URI is the value of the sibling SubtreeURI node. The valid value of this node is any value from Table 3, or any value obtained from the bit-wise ORing of the values in Table 3: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Access Type 
                 Value 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Get 
                  1 (i.e. 0x1) 
               
               
                   
                 Replace 
                  2 (i.e. 0x2) 
               
               
                   
                 Exec 
                  4 (i.e. 0x4) 
               
               
                   
                 Copy 
                  8 (i.e. 0x8) 
               
               
                   
                 Add 
                 16 (i.e. 0x10) 
               
               
                   
                 Delete 
                 32 (i.e. 0x20) 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0071]    For example, if the ACL rights are only Get, the value of the AccessCode node  620  is “1”. If the ACL rights are Get, Add and Delete, the value of the AccessCode node  620  is “49” (that is 1+16+32). 
         [0072]    Addition of these nodes  600  to the Bootstrap Config MO  500  allows management authorities to manage the default access rights assigned to a DM server when the device is bootstrapped to the DM server. The management authorities can restrict the access rights of the DM server at either a subtree or an individual node level. Unlike the conventional case (i.e. prior to the additional nodes  600  illustrated by embodiments of the present disclosure), management authorities do not have to give blanket access for retrieval and new node addition at the Management Tree root level. Additionally, the management authorities can proscribe specialized access rights for different subtrees based on variations in the additional nodes. 
         [0073]    Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplary embodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6