Techniques for dynamic configuration generation

Abstract

A configuration helper system (CHS) is described that simplifies the task of generating configuration information for a customer premises equipment (CPE) in a customer's on-premise network to enable the CPE to communicate with the customer's cloud network over a particular communication channel. The CHS is configured to generate configuration information that is customized for the particular CPE and communication channel. Given information about the CPE and the communication channel, the CHS automatically identifies a particular set of configuration parameters to be included in the customized configuration information and determines values for the set of parameters, where some of the values may be provided by the customer. A particular CPE-specific format is determined for the configuration information. Customized configuration information for the CPE is then generated in the determined format, where the generated configuration information includes the set of parameters and their values, and potentially other CPE-specific information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a configuration helper system a request to generate configuration information for a customer premise equipment to enable establishment of a communication channel between an on-premise network of the customer premise equipment and a network hosted by infrastructure provided by a cloud services provider;   identifying, from the request, identification information for the customer premise equipment and a type of the communication channel;   determining a set of parameters to include in the configuration information of the customer premise equipment based on the identification information for the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel identified in the request and based on the request;   searching, based on the combination of the identification information of the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel identified in the request, parameters to be included in the configuration information for the combination of the identification information of the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel;   determining customer preference values for the parameters based on previously configured parameters stored on the configuration helper system; and   generating, automatically by the configuration helper system, a configuration file including the configuration information for the customer premise equipment based at least in part on the determined customer preference values.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the request is received by the configuration helper system from a console system. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the identification information of the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel are in an encrypted filed created by the console system. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determining the set of parameters to include in the configuration information of the customer premise equipment comprises identifying, based on the type of the communication channel, activation data values and set up data values for the communication channel. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determining the set of parameters to include in the configuration information of the customer premise equipment comprises retrieving, based on the identification information of the customer premise equipment, from a persistent data store, the configuration information for the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the set of parameters comprise a combination of a vendor parameter, a platform parameter, a version parameter and a channel type parameter for the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , determining, from the set of parameters, a subset of parameters comprising data values provided by a user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the subset of parameters are configured by the user at a vendor level, a platform level, or a version level. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the subset of parameters comprising data values provided by the user include an IP address and encryption keys. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the previously configured parameters are stored at a vendor level, a platform level, or a version level. 
     
     
         11 . A system comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:   receive, by a configuration helper system a request to generate configuration information for a customer premise equipment to enable establishment of a communication channel between an on-premise network of the customer premise equipment and a network hosted by infrastructure provided by a cloud services provider;   identify, from the request, identification information for the customer premise equipment and a type of the communication channel;   determine a set of parameters to include in the configuration information of the customer premise equipment based on the identification information for the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel identified in the request and based on the request;   search, based on the combination of the identification information of the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel identified in the request, parameters to be included in the configuration information for the combination of the identification information of the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel;   determine customer preference values for the parameters based on previously configured parameters stored on the configuration helper system; and   generate, automatically by the configuration helper system, a configuration file including the configuration information for the customer premise equipment based at least in part on the determined customer preference values.   
     
     
         12 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the request is received by the configuration helper system from a console system. 
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 12 , wherein the identification information of the customer premise equipment and the type of the communication channel are in an encrypted filed created by the console system. 
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the determining the set of parameters to include in the configuration information of the customer premise equipment comprises identifying, based on the type of the communication channel, activation data values and set up data values for the communication channel. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the determining the set of parameters to include in the configuration information of the customer premise equipment comprises retrieving, based on the identification information of the customer premise equipment, from a persistent data store, the configuration information for the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 11 , wherein the set of parameters comprise a combination of a vendor parameter, a platform parameter, a version parameter and a channel type parameter for the customer premise equipment. 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 11 , determining, from the set of parameters, a subset of parameters comprising data values provided by a user. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the subset of parameters are configured by the user at a vendor level, a platform level, or a version level. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 17 , wherein the subset of parameters comprising data values provided by the user include an IP address and encryption keys. 
     
     
         20 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a configuration helper system (CHS), a request to generate configuration information for a customer premise equipment (CPE) to enable establishment of a communication channel between an on-premise network of the CPE and a network hosted by infrastructure provided by a cloud services provider,   wherein the on-premise network comprises a plurality of CPEs comprising the CPE,   wherein the communication channel is configured for at least one of a plurality of different communication protocols,   wherein a plurality of communication channels are established between the on-premise network and the network hosted by the infrastructure provided by the cloud services provider,   wherein the plurality of different communication protocols established between the on-premise network of the CPE and the infrastructure provided by the cloud services provider comprises at least one of virtual private network (VPN) or peering;   responsive to the request, searching, by the configuration helper system, a data store for a set of parameters to be included in the configuration information to be generated for the CPE, wherein the set of parameters to be included in the configuration information is based at least in part on one or more characteristics of the communication channel being established, and wherein the set of parameters to be included in the configuration information is based at least in part on one or more characteristics of the infrastructure provided by the cloud services provider;   identifying, by the configuration helper system, from the data store and based upon information included in the request identifying the CPE, the set of parameters to be included in the configuration information to be generated for the CPE;   determining, by the configuration helper system, a set of values for the set of parameters; and   generating, automatically by the configuration helper system, a configuration file including the configuration information for the CPE in a format specific to the CPE.