Patent Issued for Systems, methods, and computer readable media for managing a hosts file (USPTO 11120010): United Services Automobile Association

2021 SEP 01 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors Landivar, Luis (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on September 9, 2019, was published online on September 14, 2021.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11120010, is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

Reporters 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®, SAFARI® or FIREFOX®, 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.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ 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:

“1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a computer, a request to access a server group, the request comprising a hostname of the server group; retrieving, by the computer, records of a hosts file from a hosts file manager datastore based on the requested hostname, wherein the hosts file comprises machine-readable data correlating one or more IP addresses with one or more hostnames, wherein the hosts file is modified when at least one of one or more new hostnames and one or more new IP addresses correlating to the new hostnames is detected by the computer; identifying, by the computer, an IP address of the server group correlated with the requested hostname based on the retrieving; and transmitting, by the computer, the IP address correlated with the requested hostname to a client computer associated with the request.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: upon the hosts file being modified, transmitting, by the server, an instruction to one or more client computers to update each client hosts file stored on the one or more client computers according to the modified hosts file.

“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, by the computer, a list of selectable server groups on a user interface; receiving, by the computer, a selected server group and an input hostname for the selected server group; and modifying, by the computer, the hosts file by correlating the input hostname with an IP address of the selected server group.

“4. The method of claim 3, wherein each server group within the list of selectable server groups is categorized into an internal server group or an external server group.

“5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: adding, by the computer, a recognizable identifier of a new server group to a list of server groups, the recognizable identifier corresponding to an IP address of the new server group; and updating, by the computer, the hosts file by inserting the IP address of the new server group into the hosts file.

“6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: designating, by the computer, a default hostname for a selected server group.

“7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, by the computer, a user interactive component configured to activate the modified hosts file.

“8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, by the computer, a user interactive component configured to restore the modified hosts file to a state preceding the modification.

“9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, by the computer, a user interactive component configured to copy contents of the modified hosts file to a clipboard.

“10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, by the computer, a user interactive component configured to restore the modified hosts file to a preconfigured default state.

“11. A computer system comprising: a server comprising one or more processors, the server configured to: receive a request to access a server group, the request comprising a hostname of the server group; retrieve records of a hosts file from a hosts file manager datastore based on the requested hostname, wherein the hosts file comprises machine-readable data correlating one or more IP addresses with one or more hostnames, wherein the hosts file is modified when at least one of one or more new hostnames and one or more new IP addresses correlating to the new hostnames is detected by the server; identify an IP address of the server group correlated with the requested hostname based on the retrieving; and transmit the IP address correlated with the requested hostname to a client computer associated with the request.

“12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: upon the hosts file being modified, transmit an instruction to one or more client computers to update each client hosts file stored on the one or more client computers according to the modified hosts file.

“13. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: display a list of selectable server groups on a user interface; receive a selected server group and an input hostname for the selected server group; and modify the hosts file by correlating the input hostname with an IP address of the selected server group.

“14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein each server group within the list of selectable server groups is categorized into an internal server group or an external server group.

“15. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: add a recognizable identifier of a new server group to a list of server groups, the recognizable identifier corresponding to an IP address of the new server group; and update the hosts file by inserting the IP address of the new server group into the hosts file.

“16. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: designate a default hostname for a selected server group.

“17. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: display a user interactive component configured to activate the modified hosts file.

“18. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: display a user interactive component configured to restore the modified hosts file to a state preceding the modification.

“19. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: display a user interactive component configured to copy contents of the modified hosts file to a clipboard.

“20. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the server is further configured to: display a user interactive component configured to restore the modified hosts file to a preconfigured default state.”

For more information, see this patent: Landivar, Luis. Systems, methods, and computer readable media for managing a hosts file. U.S. Patent Number 11120010, filed September 9, 2019, and published online on September 14, 2021. 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=11120010.PN.&OS=PN/11120010RS=PN/11120010

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