Gateway Firewall Pinhole Creation for Remote CPE Data Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network service providers face challenges in remotely accessing and collecting operational, performance, and configuration data from customer-premises equipment (CPE) devices on local area networks due to firewalls that prevent direct communication, and existing protocols often require uniform stacks and technologies across different device types, which can be cumbersome and not scalable.
Innovation Solution
Establishing communication over a wide area network with a gateway that enumerates CPE devices and creates firewall pinholes to allow data collection, using a collector module to configure pinholes and communicate with devices through appropriate interfaces, eliminating the need for consistent protocols across different device types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a gateway acts as a firewall between WAN and LAN to protect CPE devices, then security is improved, but remote accessibility for data collection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a collector module as an intermediary component that bridges the WAN and LAN sides. The collector module communicates with the gateway through the firewall and internally accesses CPE devices on the LAN, effectively mediating between the secure isolated environment and the external management system. This allows data collection while maintaining firewall security constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct functional components: the gateway maintaining firewall functions, the collector module handling data collection logic, and CPE devices being monitored. This segmentation allows the firewall to remain intact while enabling controlled data access through the collector module's pinhole communications.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing protocols require uniform protocol stacks across all CPE devices, then standardization is improved, but device complexity and implementation overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The collector module is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple data collection methods and protocols. It can adapt to different CPE device types (modems, routers, set-top boxes) and use appropriate communication interfaces (SNMP, RESTful APIs, Telnet, SSH) without requiring each device to implement a uniform protocol stack. The gateway serves as a universal access point that works with diverse CPE devices.
3Productivity
If firewall pinholes are created for each CPE device to enable data collection, then data collection capability is improved, but gateway configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The collector module automatically manages firewall pinhole creation and configuration. When the collector module needs to access a CPE device, it self-services by creating the necessary pinhole through the gateway, configuring the appropriate communication parameters, and cleaning up when done. This eliminates manual gateway configuration and reduces complexity for network administrators.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing communication channels and pinholes before actual data collection occurs. The collector module proactively creates pinholes and configures access parameters in advance, ensuring that data collection can proceed without delays or complex real-time configuration decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer-readable media for collecting data from CPE devices located on a remote LAN are provided. Communication is established over a WAN with a gateway attached to the LAN. The gateway is then used to enumerate the CPE devices on the LAN. A firewall pinhole is created in the gateway for each CPE device on the LAN, and communication is established through the pinholes to the CPE devices to collect the desired data.