WO2010087748A1

WO2010087748A1 - Method and arrangement for multi device provisioning and configuration

Info

Publication number: WO2010087748A1
Application number: PCT/SE2009/050099
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Fasbender; Ayodele Damola; Johan Hjelm
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2009-01-30
Filing date: 2009-01-30
Publication date: 2010-08-05

Abstract

In a method of provisioning and configuration of services for a plurality of user devices associated with a user subscribing to the services at a service provider, where the user devices are arranged in a personal network of the user and associated with a plurality of gateway devices in the network, providing S10 a list of the user devices at an intermediate server device, receiving a requests S20 for provisioning, at the intermediate server device, on at least one user device. Subsequently, the server device initiates S30 provisioning on at least one user device. Finally, the list is updated S40 at the server device, and the server device optionally notifies S50 the service provider of the update.

Description

METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR MULTI DEVICE PROVISIONING AND CONFIGURATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention concerns telecommunication networks in general, and specifically methods and arrangements for improved provisioning and configuration of services across single or multiple user devices in such networks.

BACKGROUND More and more electronic devices appear in people's various network domains with in-built network interfaces, usually forming locally confined network islands. Examples are home networks based on Ethernet, WiFi, copper or power line connectivity, personal area networks (PANs) around the mobile phone based on Bluetooth and WiFi, and in-car networks, which today are typically based on proprietary vendor solutions, but increasingly adopting IP-based standards such as WiFi and Ethernet as well.

Within these network islands, users can share media, data, applications, and resources across different devices and often communicate with the Internet, either directly or via a gateway such as a residential gateway. While standards such as DLNA/ UPnP (Digital Living Network Alliance / Universal Plug and Play) specify protocols, profiles and interworking requirements to enable media sharing within LANs, IMS, web services and cloud computing technologies enable the interconnection of local area networks across wide- area access and core networks.

One of the dominating cost factors for operators and at the same time one of the most difficult tasks for end users is a proper network and device setup, including installation and configuration of user devices and services. Equipment vendors and operators alike are hence putting a lot of work into automating O&M services for consumer networks and devices, and into improving ease of installation and configuration of new services and devices for the end user. Important standardization efforts in this context include Broadband Forum's TR-069 family and the UPnP Device Mangement.

Today, software and service provisioning typically relies on the assumption of a single user device that is to be enabled for service consumption. Examples include the purchase and subsequent installation of a Java game on a mobile phone, the service subscription, application download and subsequent installation of a new PC service, and the subscription to a widget-based portal service on an IPTV STB. This typically implies that users have to launch provisioning and configuration procedures on every device that they intend to consume the service on. Users are however typically not planning in this way and rather install services on demand, an unnecessary hurdle for service adoption.

In cases where several devices are involved in an end-to-end service, for example remote access to the home NAS from a phone or a peer-to-peer game on mobile phones, the service can not be started unless the installation has been completed on all target devices.

If multiple subscriptions are involved in a service experience (say two families who want to engage in a video conferencing service), similar restrictions hold. The parties have to negotiate which service (often even which version of the software) to use and on which devices they intend to use the service (thereby matching device capabilities through out-of-band mechanisms), and finally install the necessary software and perform the service configurations on each of the involved devices.

Consequently, there is a need for solutions for provisioning in multi-user and multi-device scenarios. SUMMARY

An objective (?) of the present invention is to provide improved provisioning and configuration of devices and services across single or multiple network domains.

The present invention comprises a method of provisioning and configuration of services for a plurality of user devices associated with a user subscribing to the services at a service provider, where the plurality of user devices are arranged in a personal network of the user. The user devices may be associated with a plurality of gateway devices in the network. Accordingly, the method includes the steps of providing SlO a list of the plurality of user devices at an intermediate server device. In response to a service provider requesting S20 provisioning of one or more services, at the intermediate server device, on at least one of the user devices, the server device initiates S30 provisioning on the requested user devices. Subsequently, the devices are configured for the service, based on the provisioning request. Finally, the list is updated S40 at the server device, and the server device optionally notifies S50 the requesting service provider of the update.

Advantages of the present invention include:

Ease of installation and use for the consumer:

Stimulate service uptake by making services available across a range of consumer devices

The server device as gatekeeper verifying device capabilities before installation

Automatic software upgrades under full user and operator control:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by referring to the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic flowchart of an embodiment of a method;

Fig. 2 is an illustration of an embodiment of a system and method according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a system according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an arrangement according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a another illustration of an embodiment of a system and method according to the present invention;

Fig. 7 is flow diagram illustrating a further embodiment of a method according to the present invention; Fig. 8 is a schematic illustration of a further embodiment of an arrangement according to the present invention;

Fig.9 is a schematic illustration of an arrangement according to the present invention.

ABBREVIATIONS

ACS Advanced Configuration Server (TR-069)

AG Application Gateway

API Application Programming Interface

CIGA Car IMS Gateway

CPNS Converged Personal Network Services

CWMP CPE WAN Management Protocol (TR-069)

DM Device Management

DLNA Digital Living Network Alliance

HIGA Home IMS Gateway

IG IMS Gateway

ISC IMS Service Control

MDD Multi-Device Delivery

ME Mobile Equipment

NBI Northbound Interface

OMA Open Mobile Alliance

PAN Personal Area Network

PN Personal Network

PNAS Personal Network Application Server

PNE Personal Network Element

PNM Personal Network Management

PIGA Phone IMS Gateway

RHN RedHat Network

SCOMO Software Component Management Object

SIM Subscriber Identity Module

SP Service Provider

TE Terminal Equipment

UE User Equipment

UPnP Universal Plug and Play DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To improve the understanding of the implications and benefits of the present invention, a brief overview of the status and trends in the area will be presented below.

Throughout the disclosure the terms provisioning and configuring will be used. Their meaning in the context of the current disclosure is well known in the technical field, but might require some further explanation to ease the understanding of the invention. In particular provisioning, in the context of telecommunication, is the process of preparing and equipping a network so that it can provide services to its users. Consequently, provisioning configures any required systems, provides users with access to data and technology resources. As its most central responsibility, the provisioning process monitors access rights and privileges to ensure the security of an enterprises resources and user privacy. Configuration typically procedures such as changing or updating already provisioned service or device parameters.

For the purpose of the present disclosure, a Personal Network (PN) is defined as a secure overlay network connecting personal devices of a user, such as a mobile and fixed phones, networked media devices, and in-car communication units. Further, it is assumed that the PN is infrastructure based, i.e. operated by a network operator or independent service provider and that its core operation rely on IMS mechanisms or similar. The use of IMS is however not essential for the invention, other similar mechanisms or systems are equally viable as susceptible to the benefits of the present invention.

Several standards cover device management and configuration, including OMA Device Management (DM), DSL Forum TR-069 [1] and UPnP Device

Management [2]. These standards target a wide range of scenarios dealing with provisioning and each of them builds on a different set of assumptions regarding the management entity and managed devices.

• OMA DM focuses on the management of mobile devices. • Broadband Forum TR-069 defines a management server (ACS-

Advanced Configuration Server) and a protocol (CWMP-CPE WAN Management Protocol) to configure a TR-069 enabled gateway or devices residing behind such. DSL Forum defines management object models for a wide range of home devices with focus a specification for the service provider to manage home devices.

• UPnP DM is a local area network centric device configuration and software management framework based on UPnP that is under development. Its focus is the management of UPnP devices within the home network with a UPnP Control Point as the initiator of management actions.

• OMA SCOMO (Software Component Management Object) aims to enable remote operations, such as install, update, or remove for software components in mobile devices. The objective of SCOMO is a standardized solution for managing software components and its requirements. Whereas the idea of firmware updates is to manage the firmware of a device, the Software Component Management Object is meant to manage any other type of software asset than firmware. Examples of software components are applications, executables, libraries, UI-elements, certificates, licenses etc. The SCOMO specifications are still work in progress.

For example, by using an UPnP DM Control Point (CP) it would be possible to install an application delivering a new interactive service on an UPnP/ DLNA- enabled TV. The executable file of the application would reside on the service provider's server, an Application Gateway on the home gateway acting as the

UPnP DM CP provides the TV with a URL of the file and instructs it to install the application. The AG could then report back to the server about the successful installation of the application. From then on, the service provider is able to deliver the new service to the TV.

There are ongoing discussions on hybrid solutions, for example in Broadband Forum and HGI technical work is underway on introducing proxy functionality in the home gateway which could enable the ACS to manage and configure UPnP DM enabled devices.

The present invention discloses a solution for provisioning and configuration of services or software across single or multiple user devices (user- or service provider-initiated). The embodiments of the invention are based on an aggregation server in the operator service layer backend, which exposes information about status and capabilities of devices within a user's Personal

Network in the operator provisioning subsystem and optionally towards 3^rd party service providers.

OMA Converged Personal Network Services

In OMA a project was set up during spring 2008 [3] to investigate the need for a standardized Converged Personal Network Services (CPNS) enabler, by late 2008 a respective working group was started to perform the technical standardization work. CPNS aims to develop a network-side aggregation server for user, device and service information, enabling devices that only have PAN capabilities to communicate with other networks, e.g. cellular and fixed networks, through gateway devices, e.g. UE or ME for cellular networks. A CPNS management server on the network side takes care of authorization, session management, security, provisioning, content delivery, and charging.

Use cases include media consumption using multiple devices, device capability management, handling of multiple UEs and MEs under one user subscription by sharing SIM over PAN, and the separation of service control and delivery. In the OMA work group, device management and provisioning based on capabilities are explicitly mentioned among the CPNS requirements, such as:

• Delivering appropriate content to an application device considering its capabilities

• Configuration of application devices for the content server

In addition, a game download use case is given as example. However, no concrete solutions for device management and provisioning have been discussed as of today.

3GPP Personal Network Management

3GPP has conducted studies around Personal Network Management (PNM) that are documented in [4]. The main idea is similar to what has been described in the introduction section above:

Today subscribers typically possess more than one device for running (mobile) communication services. The devices differ in their capabilities and these capabilities qualify the devices more or less for specific end-to-end applications or particular media like audio, video and pictures. Personal

Network Management allows users to manage their devices and PNs. The considered management functions comprise of the setup and configuration of PNs, the personalization for the termination of services within the PN as well as the enabling of secure connections between the Personal Network Elements (PNEs), including the management of PANs (Personal Area

Networks) with local device connections and radio access interfaces.

• Personal UE Networks: This addresses the management of multiple

UEs belonging to a single user. It contains the UE Redirecting Service that provides a service to redirect terminating services to selected

UEs and Private Network services that provide a service to maintain privacy and enable restricted access to a PN. • PNE Networks: This extends the scope of considered managed objects from UEs to physically separated UE components and attached MEs. It does not only extend the UE Redirecting Service and Private Network services by PAN-specific aspects but addresses the PAN Management with interactions of TEs and MEs required for applicable 'All IP Networking' features.

Main focus of the PNE work is to specify access control mechanisms and redirection services for services to UEs belonging to a PN, by defining a controlee for the PN and mechanisms to select which devices in the PN can access what services. Some known solutions to the above described issues are discussed in the following.

The published document US 2003/0217358 Al describes the basic methods to install firmware on devices over a network. The present disclosure builds on these mechanisms, but the actual installation procedures are not at the core of the present invention. US 2008/0077425 Al concerns procedures relating to automatic identification of devices, configuration and provisioning thereof, and optional subsequent access. The present disclosure builds on such procedures and on the standards described previously, but extends these principles to Personal Networks and the interface to third party service providers. A significant weakness of above patent is the lack of provisioning/ configuring a group of devices as proposed in the present invention.

On the Internet, PC targeted provisioning systems exist today. One of such provisioning system is Red Hat Network from RedHat. RHN makes updates, patches, and bug fixes of packages included within Red Hat Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux available to subscribers. Also RHN offers several other features including provisioning and monitoring of systems. These and similar solutions are tied to a single provider and usually target a single system (e.g. RedHat Linux enabled PCs) hence such solutions are inflexible from a business point of view. Basically, the present invention enables service providers (incl. operators) to provision or configure multiple devices (per user and for multiple users) based on subscribing to device configuration information aggregated by an operator in a Personal Network Application Server (PNAS). The service provider (SP) can retrieve which devices it can and should configure and when, and the PNAS triggers the provisioning when requested by the SP. Confirmation is done implicitly by the device configuration in the PNAS being updated.

Below a plurality of examples will be described, in which embodiments of the present invention provides a vital feature for the success of the service.

IPTV A user subscribes to an Open IPTV package from his operator. The operator delivers the required home devices and software (gateway upgrade, STB etc.) and performs the remote installation using TR-069. The user has also registered his IMS phone and in-car communication and entertainment system with the same operator. When he starts his phone or in-car system, the required IPTV installation procedures are automatically initiated and the required software upgrades are performed upon user confirmation. Afterwards, the user can access selected IPTV services from his STB, mobile phone and in-car system.

Gaming

The family subscribes and registers to an online game service offered by their service provider using a web portal. All family phones as well as connected home services are registered under the same quadruple play subscription package. When the son boots up his game console in the living room, the latest version of the game software is automatically provisioned on the console. Additionally, the family members are offered a game software installation on any mobile phone capable of running the service, as well as on their PCs and laptops. On confirmation, compliant software is automatically installed and the game can subsequently be played across all of the provisioned devices.

Multimedia communications The son moves abroad, but wants to stay in touch with his parents regularly through a new multimedia suite combining video conferencing, chat, whiteboard and e-mail. He registers for the service with his service provider using a web interface, and enters the addresses of his parents and some of his closer friends as peers for the service. As both his friends and the parents have been previously confirmed as peers that allow their devices to be visible to the son, the operator offers him a list of devices capable of interacting with the service, including his own mobile phone and PC, the laptops of his friends, the feature phone of his father and the high-end TV with web cam of his parents. The son requests the devices to be added as peers for the service. Also, an automatic configuration of the son's devices is performed once they have connectivity. As the son's friends or parents boot up one of the devices in the list, they are offered the option to install the required software. Upon confirmation, the software is provisioned and configured and can be used right away.

In the following, a plurality of embodiments according to the present invention will be described.

With reference to FIGl, a basic embodiment of a method according to the present invention will be described. Consider a system comprising a user with a plurality of associated user equipment or user devices arranged in an overlay network e.g. a personal network. The devices may comprise mobile phones, PDAs, laptop, PC etc. The personal network (PN) also may have a plurality of different gateway devices or interfaces to other networks, such as Internet, WLAN etc. The user subscribes to one or more services from one or more service providers. In addition, there is at least one intermediary server device (PNAS in FIG 1) that interconnects the PN and the various service providers. Accordingly, a list of all user devices associated with a specific user is provided SlO at the intermediate server device. The term providing may comprise actually collecting and creating a list, or receiving an already prepared list from some other entity in or outside the system. In response to said intermediate server device receiving S20 a request for provisioning or configuration of one or more services one or more of the listed user devices, the service device initiates S30 provisioning on the requested devices in the PN of the user. In response to the initiation of provisioning and/ or configuration of/ for services, the user devices are configured. Subsequently, the list in the intermediate server device is updated S40 to correspond to the new configuration, and the service provider is optionally notified S50 of the update.

With reference to FI G2, the embodiments of the present disclosure build on a Personal Network Application Server (PNAS) . Each of a user's devices in the personal network (PN) is connected via an IMS Gateway (IG) to a PN service provider (for example a quadruple play operator). A Home IMS Gateway (HIGA) residing e.g. in the residential gateway takes care of home devices, a Phone IMS Gateway (PIGA) manages ad-hoc devices in the PAN surrounding the phone, and a Car IMS Gateway (CIGA) in an on-board unit or the user's PIGA manages devices in the user's car. Although the embodiment illustrates a case for IMS and its associated gateway devices, the same is applicable to some other system with different sets of personal network gateways.

Any of the IGs hosts a user and device database that manages all user identities allowed to access devices and services within this domain and that aggregates presence and capability information about user devices within the connected network through basic discovery mechanisms as provided by, for example, UPnP/DLNA or explicit device registration mechanisms provided by SIP. The IG will typically provide a configuration interface to its users (e.g. via a web interface), allowing them to manage visibility of the device outside of this network and to stay in control. Any device that is configured to be visible in the PN is now registered at the PNAS, which constitutes a central database at the service provider/ operator used for exposing the device and its capabilities within the PN and towards 3^rd party service providers. Again, a configuration interface may be offered to the user to manage visibility of the user's devices outside of the operator for all or each of the service providers.

If a user device that is configured to be visible is switched on or off, a device status update is generated by the attached IG and forwarded towards the

PNAS and from there (optionally) to any of the authorized service providers that have subscribed to receiving the device updates.

The PNAS offers an API towards the operator service layer backend and to external content and services providers that allows - among other functions

- service providers to authenticate towards the operator, request information about device status and capabilities of those devices configured to be visible towards the service provider, deliver services towards the PN and exchange usage statistics or charging information based on service consumption. This API also allows the operator and (optionally) 3^rd party service providers to initiate provisioning and configuration procedures.

The PNAS interacts with the IGs in the user's Personal Network to retrieve user, device and service information, aggregates this information, potentially combines it with information aggregated from other sources (e.g., internal or external device databases) and exposes it to the service provider domain if so configured. The PNAS may also interact with the resource servers in the SP domain to gather information that is relayed towards the user's PN, for example information about new services that are available for subscription.

Once a user initiates a request that leads to a provisioning step, the affected serving server may request the provisioning and configuration steps to be performed on any group of relevant devices within the user's PN. As will describe later, this procedure can be extended to allow for provisioning and configuration of devices in PNs of other users as well, and can also cover push scenarios where the provisioning step is initiated by the operator or 3^rd party service providers.

With reference to FIG2 a basic flow for user initiated multi device provisioning will be described.

1. The devices in the user's Personal Network register their identities and capabilities via the IGs (HIGA, PIGA, CIGA) with the PNAS.

2. The user subscribes to a 3^rd party service from service provider SP2 requiring application installation and/ or configuration. The user specifies that the application is made available on all devices that offer the capabilities required for the service (e.g. codecs, screen size). 3. SP2 authenticates with the operator and issues a provisioning request towards PNAS including a specification of required device capabilities, bandwidth demands etc. If SP2 is confirmed as authorized, PNAS returns a list of devices with status and capability information. The service provider requests application installation and/ or configuration on all suitable user devices, including the relevant installation and/ or configuration files.

4. The request is delivered via the operator's provisioning server (s) (e.g. Auto -Configuration Server (ACS) or OMA Device Management (DM) Server) to the user device (e.g. over the air via OMA DM, TR-069 to the home gateway and UPnP to the device, or TR-069 end-to-end).

5. The notification of successful completion of the initiated procedures can be done implicitly, by the device updating its capabilities using the presence mechanisms described before, and the SP being subscribed to device state changes. Alternatively, a notification may be sent e2e.

This simple base case will now be described in more detail below and extended to cover other scenarios. With reference to FIG3, a schematic system will be described. A user may own multiple devices managed by multiple IMS gateways (IG), forming a Personal Network (PN) . In the following the term DA, N, IG-X shall be used to denote user device N, currently registered to User A and IMS gateway IG-X.

For simplicity reasons, assume that IGs are capable of discovering devices in their domain, such as devices that are connected to the same LAN or a Bluetooth PAN. IGs typically collect device information (such as presence, audio, video and input capabilities, vendor, screen size etc.) and report them to the PNAS and from there to attached service providers that have subscribed to this data. This is a standard PNAS operation and can be achieved by for example using SIP presence mechanisms. Note that IGs can also be end devices, in such cases device and IG are collocated.

Additionally, assume that the service provider(s) have been authenticated and authorized towards the operator to perform the operations described in the following. This is done using standard mechanisms. Note that it is possible for the SP to be an operator (other than, or the same as, the operator of the IMS system which the PN is connected to) .

The PNAS arrangement may be deployed as an enabler in the operator backend that uses standard interfaces towards the IMS gateways (Ut), provisioning server (northbound interface, NBI) and IMS Core (ISC), as shown in FIG4. The PNAS arrangement may also provide an API towards the service provider(s), e.g. based on SIP or Web Services.

In the following, three sample flows will be described to explain how the proposed solution can be implemented. Other flows can be directly or implicitly derived. With reference to FIG3, FIG4 and FIG5 an embodiment of a user initiated multi-device provisioning method according to the present invention will be described.

1. User A subscribes to a service from service provider SP2.

2. SP2 authenticates with the operator and issues a provisioning request towards PNAS including a specification of required device capabilities, bandwidth demands etc.

3. If SP2 is confirmed as authorized, PNAS returns a list of devices with status and capability information.

4. User A specifies on which devices the service shall be made available or configured.

5. For each device DA, N, IG-X in the list of devices selected by the user, SP2 requests provisioning of DA, N, IG-X from PNAS, including or subsequently exchanging relevant installation and/ or configuration files. a. As an alternative, this request can be directed directly to the ACS (Provisioning Server).

6. PNAS requests the configuration to be sent to DA, N, IG-X from the ACS (Provisioning Server). a. Optionally this step might be connected to PNAS receiving a status update from DA, N, IG-X indicating the device is actually online.

7. ACS sends the configuration to DA, N, IG-X. This may be done by using any standard protocol such as OMA DM, TR-069 etc..

8. DA, N, IG-X installs the configuration. a. Note this step might be initiated based on different confirmation procedures. Examples are auto-configuration when the device becomes available, or confirmation via a UI presented to the user.

9. DA, N, IG-X updates its device presence in IG-X.

10. IG-X updates the device presence for DA, N, IG -X in the PNAS. 11. The PNAS reports the changed device capabilities or just the success of the operation to SP2.

The present invention is also applicable to a same architecture as in FIG3, but for a push scenario as illustrated by FIG6. The illustration shows a multi-device and multi-user provisioning push scenario, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Preconditions are the same as for the previous flow (Fig5), one of the differences lies in the fact that the provisioning is initiated by the service provider and not the user.

The following flow, with reference to FIG7 describes a scenario where a device vendor initiates a provisioning procedure on all user devices managed by the operator that match a certain set of criteria (for example firmware version or software capabilities).

1. SPl authenticates with the operator and issues a provisioning request towards PNAS including a specification of required device capabilities, software version, vendor information, etc.

2. The user starts up device DA, N, IG-X that he has previously configured to be available for provisioning requests from SPl. The device notifies its presence towards IG-X.

3. IG-X updates the device presence for DA, N, IG-X in the PNAS.

4. PNAS discovers that DA, N, IG-X matches the criteria defined by SPl and reports the device presence to SPl. a. The matching can alternatively be performed at SPl.

5. SPl requests PNAS to provision DA, N, IG-X, including or subsequently exchanging relevant installation and/or configuration files. a. As an alternative, this request can be directed directly to the ACS (Provisioning Server).

7. ACS sends the configuration to DA, N, IG-X. HOW this is done is out of the scope of this invention, but any standard protocol such as OMA

DM, TR-069 etc. can be used (see section 2.1.1).

8. DA, N, IG-X installs the configuration. a. Note this step might be initiated based on different confirmation procedures that are outside the scope of this ID. Examples are auto-configuration when the device becomes available, or confirmation via a UI presented to the user.

9. DA, N, IG-X updates its device presence in IG-X.

10. IG-X updates the device presence for DA, N, IG-X in the PNAS.

11. The PNAS optionally reports the changed device presence to SPl (implicit confirmation of successful provisioning procedure).

The solution can be extended in a straight-forward manner to cover scenarios where applications need to be provisioned across the personal networks of multiple users, as required for example in the use case described previously. FI G8 depicts an example scenario with two users, A and B.

1. Devices of User A and User B register their capabilities

2. User A subscribes to a service from service provider SPl and invites user B to participate as a peer.

3. SPl authenticates with the operator and issues a provisioning request towards PNAS including a specification of required device capabilities, bandwidth demands etc. and the set of users involved in the service. 4. PNAS returns a list of devices from user A and user B matching the required capabilities.

5. User A configures on which devices (own and peer ones) the service shall be made available or configured. 6. For each device DA, N, IG-X and DB, M, IG-Y in the list of devices selected by the user, SPl requests provisioning from PNAS, including or subsequently exchanging relevant installation and/ or configuration files. a. As an alternative, this request can be directed directly to the

ACS (Provisioning Server).

7. PNAS requests the configuration to be sent to the respective device from the ACS (Provisioning Server). a. Optionally this step might be connected to PNAS receiving a status update indicating the device is actually online.

8. ACS sends the configuration to each device DA, N, IG-X and DB, M, IG-Y. How this is done is out of the scope of this invention, but any standard protocol such as OMA DM, TR-069 etc. can be used.

9. DA, N, IG-X and DB, M, IG-Y install the configuration. a. Note this step might be initiated based on different confirmation procedures that are outside the scope of this ID. Examples are auto-configuration when the device becomes available, or confirmation via a UI presented to the user.

10. DA, N, IG-X and DB, M, IG-Y updates their device presence in IG-X and IG-Y, respectively.

11. IG-X and IG-Y updates the device presence in the PNAS.

12. The PNAS optionally reports the changed device presence to SPl (implicit confirmation of successful provisioning procedure) .

On a final note, for remote device management most operators today rely on the ACS (Auto-Configuration Server) as specified by Broadband Forum TR069. The ACS performs management of home devices connected to a TR069 enabled gateway device via the CWMP (Configuration WAN Management Protocol). TR069 specifies remote configuration and control of end user devices, but not the installation of firmware or software. Optimally, the PNAS interfaces to the ACS via the northbound interface ([10], see FIG4), conforming to industry standards of remote management and configuration. To be able to perform software/ firmware management the PNAS should additionally interplay with the home gateway, which will in the future support UPnP DM for software management of fixed devices. To be able to perform software management of mobile devices, the PNAS would either interface to a SCOMO server or an OMA Device Management server.

There could be several alternatives enabling the operator to use the PNAS to perform software management. The first alternative is to perform a translation between CWMP messages and UPnP DM commands in the gateway. Another alternative is an end-to-end Device Management from the PNAS based on an UPnP Remote Access connection to the end device. The

PNAS hosts an UPnP DM control point and it does remote software management of the home device over the RA tunnel.

With reference to FIG9, an arrangement enabling the implementation of the above described method will be described. The arrangement is preferably implemented in an intermediate server device e.g. PNAS, but is also viable for implementation in some other network node or intermediary node depending on the architecture and functionality sought after. Consequently, the arrangement is adapted to comprise all the PNAS interfaces as shown in the example in FIG4, or if applicable corresponding interfaces in some other node. Basically, the arrangement comprises a storage unit or memory 10 for providing a list of user devices for each user associated with the arrangement. The list can maintained in the arrangement itself, or accessible to the arrangement at some separate storage facility depending on the system architecture. In addition the arrangement comprises a unit for receiving 20, requests for provisioning of said one or more services, on at least one of said user devices. The arrangement further comprises a provisioning initiation unit 30 adapted to initiate provisioning of a service at a device, based on the received provisioning request. In addition, the arrangement comprises an update unit 40 adapted to update the user device list based on provisioning and or configuration of one or more user devices in the personal network. Finally, the updating unit is optionally adapted to notify a service provider of any update of the list. The flexible provisioning solution proposed in this disclosure offers a number of advantages to consumers, operators and service providers, some of which are listed in the following:

• Ease of installation and use for the consumer:

With a single provisioning request (which might be even automated e.g. when the user signs up for a service), the required installation procedures can be automatically initiated and performed on any devices fulfilling the service requirements. This is not limited to the user domain, but can be extended to domains of peer users. This allows users to assist other users in installation, or for example the deployment of more advanced help services offered by service providers. Feedback derived from interaction of the service provider with PNAS can inform the user about missing capabilities or other issues.

• Stimulate service uptake by making services available across a range of consumer devices: By allowing users to more easily provision and configure applications and services for use on a multitude of devices, they are more likely to access the services across a wide range of situations. This in turn stimulates service uptake and use.

• PNAS as gatekeeper verifying device capabilities before installation:

The API offered by PNAS supports verification that an installation or configuration can be successfully performed on the target device(s). This increases the success rate of provisioning procedures, reduces frustration with consumers and the overhead for helpdesk and other support functions. • Automatic software upgrades under full user and operator control:

The user can be kept in full control abut what devices and information thereof is made available to PNAS and external SPs. For those users interested in operator and service providers (e.g. device vendors) to take care of keeping the devices up-to-date and free from problems, the IG/ PNAS architecture offers a solution with minimal user interaction.

• Service providers can engage in a customer relationship brokered by the operator, who performs selective topology hiding based on user preferences. Operators can ensure that only trusted services providers can perform installation and configuration procedures. Additional mechanisms can be deployed (signing, verification, encryption, user feedback loop etc.) to prevent malicious software to be propagated in the system.

• Service providers can reuse the existing provisioning infrastructure by the operator, and that they get notified once new devices are switched on in the user domain (provided the user configures them as visible). This enables the service providers to offer new services to end users based on the users' device set.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made to the present invention without departure from the scope thereof, which is defined by the appended claims. REFERENCES

[1] DSL Forum TR069 specification

[2] UPnP Device Management

[3] 3GPP TS 22.259: Service requirements for Personal Network

Management (PNM), V9.0.0 (2008-06)

[4] 3GPP TS 23.259: Personal Network Management (PNM) Procedures and

Information Flows (Stage 2) V8.1.0 (2008-06)

[5] Broadband Forum WT 131 and 132, Version 9.00, November 2008.

Claims

1. A method of provisioning and configuration of services for a plurality of user devices associated with a user subscribing to the services at at least one service provider, said plurality of user devices being arranged in a network of said user and associated with a plurality of gateway devices in said network, characterized by the steps of providing SlO a list of said plurality of user devices at an intermediate server device, receiving S20, at the intermediate server device, a request for provisioning of at least one service on at least one of said user devices, said intermediate server device initiating S30 provisioning of said at least one service on said at least one user device, updating S40 said list at said intermediate server device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized by said server device notifying S50 said service provider of the update.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized by said user initiating said provisioning request.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized by said service provider initiating said provisioning request.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized by said service provider requesting S20 provisioning of said at least one device in response to an indication from said intermediate server device that said device is activated.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized by said service provider requesting S20 provisioning of said at least one device based on a predetermined selection criteria.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized by said predetermined selection criteria comprising device specific features, and requesting S20 provisioning of all of said plurality of user devices corresponding to said device specific features.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized by said user providing an invitation indicating at least one additional user for said service, and said provisioning request S20 further comprising requesting provisioning of at least one user device associated with said invited additional user.

9. An arrangement in a communication system comprising a plurality of user devices being arranged in a network of a user and associated with a plurality of gateway devices in said network, and said user subscribing to services at one or more service providers characterized by: means for providing 10 a list of said plurality of user devices at an intermediate server device, means for receiving 20, at the intermediate server device, , requests for provisioning of said one or more services, on at least one of said user devices, means for initiating 30 provisioning of said one or more services on at least one of said user device, means for updating 40 said list in the intermediate server device.

10. The arrangement according to claim 9, characterized by means for notify said service provider of said update.

11. A network application server, characterized by the arrangement according to claim 9.