Automated Network Mode Configuration via Master Agent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Changing wireless network security settings is cumbersome and error-prone, as it requires manual reconfiguration of each connected device, leading to potential disconnections and complications.
Innovation Solution
A mechanism where a master agent communicates with other agents to detect capabilities, create a data structure for new security settings, and distribute it to all agents, allowing seamless transition to a new network mode while storing previous settings for rollback, ensuring all devices reconnect securely or revert if necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wireless access device is reconfigured into a secure mode, then the network security is improved, but all currently connected wireless devices are disconnected
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having all wireless devices report their capabilities and receive configuration data before the security mode change is actually applied. The master agent collects device information, determines compatible security settings, and prepares configuration data in advance, so that when the mode change occurs, devices can immediately reconnect without manual intervention.
2Reliability
If manual reconfiguration of each device is performed, then security settings can be properly applied, but the process becomes cumbersome and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by enabling wireless devices to automatically obtain and apply their own security configuration settings. Each device receives its personalized configuration data from the master agent and autonomously applies the settings, eliminating the need for manual user intervention and reducing errors associated with manual reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The master agent serves multiple functions: it collects device capabilities, determines appropriate security settings, generates configuration data, and distributes it to all devices. This centralized multi-functional approach simplifies the overall system by consolidating what would otherwise require multiple separate manual operations into a single automated process.
3Reliability
If security settings are changed from default, then network protection is improved, but user intervention and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where wireless devices report their capabilities back to the master agent, which then uses this information to determine appropriate security settings. The master agent also monitors whether devices successfully reconnect after configuration changes and can initiate rollback procedures if needed, creating a closed-loop system that reduces time loss through automated adjustments.
4Ease of operation
If automated configuration is implemented, then user effort is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The master agent acts as an intermediary between the wireless access device and the connected wireless devices. It mediates the configuration process by collecting device information, determining appropriate settings, and distributing configurations, thereby automating user effort while concentrating system complexity in a single manageable component rather than distributing it across all devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to a mechanism for seamlessly changing a network mode of a network device that is connected to multiple nodes. In aspects, agents reside on the nodes. A master agent communicates with the other agents and receives the capabilities of the nodes on which they execute. The master agent creates a data structure that includes the settings needed to connect using the new network mode. The master agent distributes this data structure to the other agents and each agent stores settings associated with the current network mode in case a rollback is needed. The master agent then instructs the other agents to begin communicating using the new network mode and the network device is reconfigured. If the master agent does not receive success acknowledgments from all of the other agents, the master agent initiates a rollback procedure.