Patent ID: 7680903

Claim:
A method for configuring a device in a data network, the data network comprising an address server, one or more devices requiring configuration, and one or more parameter servers, comprising: storing a domain name for a device in the device; storing in an address server on the data network a data record comprising an IP address of a particular parameter server of the one or more parameter servers, wherein the particular parameter server is associated with the domain name; transmitting a request message from the device to the address server, wherein the request message includes the domain name; ascertaining by the address server the data record associated with the domain name in the received message; receiving a response message from the address server by the device, the response message comprising the IP address of the particular parameter server associated with the domain name from the data record; setting up a connection to the particular parameter server by the device, the device using the IP address of the particular parameter server extracted from the response message to set up the connection; receiving parameters by the device from the particular parameter server, wherein the parameters are used to configure the device; and wherein both a fictitious domain name and a real domain name are stored in the device and wherein the device first transmits in the request message the real domain name to the address server and if, in response, the device receives a negative acknowledgement because no data record was associated with the real domain name, the device thereafter sends in the request message the fictitious domain name, thereby increasing the probability that the IP address of a particular parameter server will be sent to the device.