US 6678827

Patent Overview — US6678827B1

Title: Managing multiple network security devices from a manager device

Patent number / application: US6678827B1; Application US09/307,332

Assignee: WatchGuard Technologies Inc (original and current assignee as listed)

Inventors: Peter M. Rothermel; David Wayne Bonn; Nick T. Marvais

Key dates: Priority date 1999-05-06; filing date 1999-05-06; publication/grant date 2004-01-13; anticipated expiration 2019-05-06 (listed legal status: Expired – Lifetime).

Purpose: The invention "relates generally to communicating information between computers, and more particularly to using a manager device to remotely manage multiple network security devices" (NSDs). NSDs such as firewalls and security appliances monitor network information passing between external devices and a group of trusted/internal devices, implementing a security policy by preventing passage of unauthorized network information. The patent notes that "it can be difficult to configure NSDs so that they correctly implement the desired security policies," citing the large number of network services and protocols (e.g., FTP, HTTP, DNS, SMTP, telnet, and others) and factors such as direction of information flow and sender/recipient identity. An initial incomplete security policy is formed by the types of actions to be taken for monitored network information, and device-specific information — such as the network address of the NSD and network addresses of other devices — must typically be specified to create a specific security policy.

Plain-language scope (from the supplied excerpt): A manager device is used to remotely manage multiple network security devices, addressing the difficulty of configuring NSDs to correctly implement desired security policies, including specifying device-specific information needed for a particular NSD.

Classifications listed: H04L41/00, H04L41/28, H04L41/22, H04L63/00, H04L63/20, H04L9/00, H04L9/40, and configuration-management subclasses.

Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US6678827](/patent/US6678827)/en

What the excerpt does not establish: It does not show the full specification, claims, or figures; the "Definitions" section is truncated mid-sentence ("WAIS (Wide"). It provides no textual support for claim limitations, no description of specific manager-device architecture or data structures, and no cited prior-art references beyond the "Prior art keywords" list. It also does not establish validity, enforceability, claim interpretation, or the legal effect of any listed reassignment or security-agreement entries. Per instructions, no litigation or ownership-transfer analysis is offered.