Patent ID: 7975030

Claim:
A method of configuring a remote device, said method comprising: transmitting a device configuration request from said remote device to a remote server during a Mode-Config exchange between the remote device and the remote server, wherein the configuration request expands the Mode-Config exchange and is sent between phase 1 and phase 2 of the Mode-Config exchange during negotiation of a secure connection to the remote server comprising an Internet Key Exchange (IKE) to establish a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Tunnel, said configuration request comprising a request for two attributes comprising a location pointer independent of configuration commands and a configuration version identifier, wherein the location pointer points to a latest version of a device configuration file; the configuration version identifier identifies the version of the device configuration file to which the location pointer is pointing; wherein the configuration request is transparent to other remote server devices that do not recognize the configuration request; in response to the device configuration request receiving a response at said remote device, in a Mode-Config reply, said configuration response comprising the location pointer independent of configuration commands wherein the configuration response is received using Mode-Config protocol in the Mode-Config reply; retrieving said device configuration file from said location; applying said device configuration file to said remote device to configure the remote device; and responding to instructions from the remote server during the Mode-Config exchange to transmit additional present state data by sending a status update to the remote server including a version number of a device configuration currently running on a local operating system, resource availability and connected devices.