Firewall Tunneling for Remote Servicing via VoIP
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Solution Overview
Problem
Firewalls hinder remote servicing of computational components like PBXs and media servers, as dial-up connectivity is expensive, slow, and insecure, and existing solutions fail to effectively bypass firewall restrictions.
Innovation Solution
A method that tunnels servicing communications through firewalls by disguising them as permitted sessions, using a data collection agent to forward machine executable commands and responses, leveraging existing networking infrastructure and protocols like VoIP or instant messaging to minimize delay and ensure security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If firewalls are implemented to protect network security, then network security is improved, but remote servicing of computational components is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a firewall as an intermediary component that sits between the untrusted network and trusted computational components. The firewall scrutinizes and buffers data traffic, allowing legitimate remote servicing requests to pass through while blocking malicious traffic. This mediator approach enables both network security protection and remote servicing capability to coexist.
2Ease of operation
If dial-up connectivity is used to circumvent firewall blocking, then remote servicing is enabled, but servicing cost increases and speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of remote servicing from the dial-up connection method and implements it directly through the firewall's packet-filtering capabilities. Instead of using dial-up as a workaround, the firewall is configured to allow specific servicing traffic patterns through, eliminating the need for dial-up connections entirely and maintaining high-speed network connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical dial-up connection system with an electronic packet-filtering system. The firewall uses software-based packet inspection and filtering to enable remote servicing, substituting the physical dial-up mechanism with a more efficient electronic solution that maintains network speed while providing the necessary connectivity.
3Ease of operation
If dial-up connectivity is used for remote servicing, then firewall blocking is circumvented, but network security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The firewall serves as a security intermediary that maintains protection while enabling remote servicing. Instead of using dial-up which bypasses security, the firewall is configured to recognize and allow legitimate servicing traffic patterns, maintaining the security barrier while providing necessary access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of firewall filtering rules to allow specific remote servicing traffic. By adjusting the firewall's packet-filtering parameters to recognize servicing protocol patterns, the system enables remote access while maintaining security through intelligent traffic differentiation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for remotely servicing a computational component is provided that includes:(a) a firewall 112; (b) a computational component 104 requiring servicing, the firewall 112 analyzing communications to the computational component 104; (c) a data collection agent 116 operable to (i) establish a session with a servicing computational component 100, packets of the session being analyzed by the firewall 112 and the session being of a type permitted by the firewall 112, (ii) receive a packet associated with the session, the packet comprising a machine executable servicing command for the computational component 104, and (iii) forward the servicing command to the computational component 104.