Patent ID: 7945944

Claim:
A method for authenticating a host on a network to enable an update an Internet Protocol configuration of a storage controller coupled to the network, said method comprising the steps of: said storage controller receiving a discovery command from said host, said discovery command authenticating said host to said storage controller with a discovery command protocol that is not publically known and including an Internet Protocol address of said host and a service requested by said host; said storage controller sending a response to said host, said response conforming to said discovery command protocol and comprising a world wide name, a storage controller Internet Protocol configuration, and a security key of said storage controller, said host decrypting said security key from the storage controller using a decryption algorithm that is not publicly known; said storage controller receiving an updated Internet Protocol and said security key from said host; and said storage controller updating said storage controller Internet Protocol configuration with said updated Internet Protocol in response to receiving said discovery command protocol and said security key from said host.