Patent ID: 7492764

Claim:
An element management system for enabling a network management server to provide a variable value to a management information base of a managed device independent of whether the managed device is coupled to a private network and served by a network address translation firewall, the system comprising: a network interface system enabling the exchange of IP frames between each of the network management server and a public network interface of the network address translation firewall; and an SNMP message manager: receiving periodic heart beat frames on a heart beat channel, each heart beat frame being initiated by the managed device and translated by the network address translating firewall, the heart beat channel comprising a translated source socket and a destination socket of the heart beat frame; storing identification of the heart beat channel in association with identification of the managed device in a registration table; uniquely associating an assigned UDP port of the element management system with the managed device; providing the unique association of the assigned UDP port and the managed device to the network management server; receiving an SNMP Set from the network management server embodied as an IP frame addressed to the assigned UDP port; and sending the SNMP Set to the managed device using the heartbeat channel; wherein the SNMP message manager further provides for: receiving an SNMP Get from the network management server embodied as an IP frame addressed to the assigned UDP port; assigning a unique sequence number to the SNMP Get and recording the unique sequence number in a message table: i) in association with identification of the managed device associated with the assigned UDP port to which the SNMP Get was addressed; and ii) in association with the source socket of the network management server from which the SNMP Get was sent; and sending the SNMP Get in combination with the unique sequence number to the managed device using the heartbeat channel; receiving an SNMP Response in combination with the sequence number; obtaining the source socket of the network management server corresponding to the sequence number in the message table; and sending the SNMP Response to the source socket of the network management server.