Patent Issued for Systems, Methods, And Computer Readable Media For Managing A Hosts File (USPTO 10,445,313)

2019 OCT 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventor Landivar, Luis F. (San Antonio, TX), filed on January 25, 2017, was published online on October 28, 2019.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 10,445,313 is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “A hosts file is an electronic file that correlates hostnames to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. It is used by software applications that access computer networks, e.g., browsers such as INTERNET EXPLORER.RTM., SAFARI.RTM. or FIREFOX.RTM., as well as any number of other network-enabled applications prevalent today, to determine an IP address for a node on a network. The hosts file is often used in addition to the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS provides a network-accessible directory of IP addresses for the Internet, while the hosts file provides a local directory that is stored, for example, on a Personal Computer (PC) local hard drive.

“Because the hosts file is locally controlled, and its contents can be tailored to the specific wishes of a computer user, network-enabled software applications often give hosts file mappings priority over mappings from other locations, such as DNS. For example, if a user configures his hosts file to point to a specified IP address for a particular hostname, most commercial browser applications will go to that specified IP address, even if it differs from an address that would otherwise be retrieved through DNS. While hosts file information takes precedence, the hosts file is infrequently used today, because DNS provides Internet users with nearly all of the IP addresses they need.

“Many modern operating systems include a hosts file with operating system software. The file may have certain operating-system-specific layout and behavior properties, however many systems follow a Unix-like convention for configuration files, with a plain text format. For example, the file may list an IP address, followed by a list of names for that node. Any comments may be introduced with a hash mark (‘#’). However, operating systems do not presently include automated approaches to managing the hosts file. If a computer user wants to modify a computer’s hosts file, he will typically navigate to the file location in his operating system’s file structure, open the file, type any desired modifications using a keyboard input device, then save and close the file.

“The above approach can be cumbersome in situations where hosts file modifications are frequently made. There is a need in the industry for a hosts file manager that allows for hosts file modifications using more automated, less error prone technologies.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent: “Systems, methods, and computer readable media are provided for managing a hosts file. In one embodiment, a method is provided comprising displaying a user interface with a list of selectable server groups. The list may comprise, for example, identifications server groups. Each server group corresponds to an IP address, and the hosts file manager has access to such IP address data. A user selection of a first server group may be made and received via said user interface. A computer’s hosts file may then be modified to correlate a hostname with an IP address of the selected server group. Finally, the modified hosts file may be stored, as modified, on a computer readable medium.

“In another embodiment, a method may be employed for facilitating test access to server groups that supply services for a common hostname. Such method may comprise maintaining hosts file manager data comprising at least one IP address for at least one server group. A hosts file manager program may be deployed to at least one computer, said at least one computer having network access to the at least one server group. Once deployed, the hosts file manager may receive a selection, for example a user selection, of a server group from said at least one server group. The hosts file manager can then modify a hosts file for said at least one computer by correlating, in said hosts file, an IP address for the selected server group with said common hostname. Finally, the hosts file as modified can be stored on a computer readable medium.

“In another exemplary embodiment, a method for managing a hosts file is provided that may comprise, for example, providing a list of selectable server groups, each server group serving a common hostname, and each server group corresponding to a unique IP address. A button can be provided that activates an automatic modification of a hosts file by inserting an entry correlating said common hostname with a unique IP address associated with a selected one of said server groups. Again, the hosts file as modified can be stored on a computer readable medium.

“Other aspects and features of the exemplary disclosed embodiments are described below.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A computer-implemented method comprising: generating, by a computer, an instruction to receive a hosts file from a host file manager datastore, wherein the hosts file comprises machine-readable data correlating one or more IP addresses with one or more hostnames; upon transmitting the instruction to the host file manager datastore, receiving, by the computer, the hosts file; determining, by the computer, whether the hosts file has been modified by comparing the hosts file to a previous version of the hosts file, wherein the modification is determined when at least one of one or more new IP addresses and one or more new hostnames correlating to the new IP address is detected by the computer; and upon determining that the host file is modified, transmitting, by the computer, the modified hosts file to one or more client computers of a computing network, the computing network comprising the computer and the one or more client computers.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction is generated, by the computer, each time a program manager application is launched.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is determined, by the computer, when a subtraction of at least one of the one or more IP addresses is detected.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is determined, by the computer, when a subtraction of at least one or more hostnames correlating to the new IP address is detected.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is determined, by the computer, when a change to at least one of one or more IP addresses is detected.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modification is determined, by the computer, when a change of at least one or more hostnames correlating to the new IP address is detected.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing, by the computer, the modified hosts file into the host file manager datastore.

“8. The method of claim 1, wherein the hosts file manager datastore is further configured to store a machine-readable list of one or more server groups, wherein a server group in the list of server groups is associated with at least one IP address from the one or more IP addresses in the hosts file or the modified hosts file.

“9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: generating, by the computer, a user interface displaying the list of server groups, and configured to receive one or more inputted instructions selecting the server group to be associated with the new IP address, wherein the at least one IP address in the modified hosts file includes the new IP address.

“10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more server groups are displayed based on human readable and recognizable identifiers.

“11. A computer system comprising: a server comprising one or more processors, the server configured to: generate an instruction to receive a hosts file from a host file manager datastore, wherein the hosts file comprises machine-readable data correlating one or more IP addresses with one or more hostnames; upon transmitting the instruction to the host file manager datastore, receive the hosts file; determine whether the hosts file has been modified by comparing the hosts file to a previous version of the hosts file, wherein the modification is determined when at least one of one or more new IP addresses and one or more new hostnames correlating to the new IP address is detected by the server; and upon determining that the host file is modified, transmit the modified hosts file to one or more client computers of a computing network, the computing network comprising the computer and the one or more client computers.

“12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to generate the instruction each time a program manager application is launched.

“13. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to determine the modification when a subtraction of at least one of the one or more IP addresses is detected.

“14. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to determine the modification when a subtraction of at least one or more hostnames correlating to the new IP address is detected.

“15. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to determine the modification when a change to at least one of one or more IP addresses is detected.

“16. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to determine the modification when a change of at least one or more hostnames correlating to the new IP address is detected.

“17. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: store the modified hosts file into the host file manager datastore.

“18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the hosts file manager datastore is further configured to store a machine-readable list of one or more server groups, wherein a server group in the list of server groups is associated with at least one IP address from the one or more IP addresses in the hosts file or the modified hosts file.

“19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the server is further configured to: generate a user interface displaying the list of server groups, and configured to receive one or more inputted instructions selecting the server group to be associated with the new IP address, wherein the at least one IP address in the modified hosts file includes the new IP address.

“20. The computer system of claim 19, wherein the one or more server groups are displayed based on human readable and recognizable identifiers.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Landivar, Luis F. Systems, Methods, And Computer Readable Media For Managing A Hosts File. U.S. Patent Number 10,445,313, filed January 25, 2017, and published online on October 28, 2019. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,445,313.PN.&OS=PN/10,445,313RS=PN/10,445,313

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