System and process for distributed network of redundant central stations

• US 10,276,014 B1
• Filed: 05/21/2018
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Trundle, Stephen Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Girma, Fekadeselassie
• Application Number:
  US15/984,676
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44536 Selecting among different versions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0255 System arrangements wherein the parent unit emits, i.e. the parent unit incorporates the emitter
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0275 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/50 Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements

Abstract

Techniques are described for distributing, to a distributed network of central stations, alarm events detected in monitoring system data collected by sensors included in monitoring systems located at monitored properties. A system receives monitoring system data collected by sensors included in monitoring systems located at monitored properties, tracks alarm events detected within the monitoring system data, and generates, for central station servers in a distributed network of central stations, load profiles that reflect a volume of alarm events being handled at each of the central station servers at a particular period of time. The system determines capacities to handle additional alarm events for the central station servers, determines relative priorities for the central station remote servers based on the determined capacities, and directs subsequent alarm events to the central station servers based on the relative priorities.

Claims

1. A system for determining a priority for a central station server to handle monitoring data, the system comprising:

a server comprising;

at least one processor; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

determining, for a central station server, a capacity to handle additional monitoring data;

comparing the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to a first threshold;

based on the comparison of the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to the first threshold, determining whether the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the first threshold;

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the first threshold, handling the central station server with a first priority;

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is above the first threshold, comparing the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to a second threshold, the second threshold being higher than the first threshold;

based on the comparison of the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to the second threshold, determining whether the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the second threshold;

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the second threshold, handling the central station server with a second priority, the second priority being higher than the first priority; and

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is above the second threshold, handling the central station server with a third priority, the third priority being higher than the second priority.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is a low threshold that has a value of approximately twenty-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second threshold is a high threshold that has a value of approximately seventy-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling.

4. The system of claim 1:

wherein the first threshold is a low threshold that has a value of approximately twenty-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling; and

wherein the second threshold is a high threshold that has a value of approximately seventy-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein determining, for the central station server, the capacity to handle additional monitoring data comprises:

calculating a resource availability within the central station server; and

determining a predicted volume of alarm events based on a log of historical monitoring data transmitted to the central station server.

6. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

detecting status of the central station server;

determining that the central station server is operating atypically based on the status; and

ceasing transmission of alarm events to the central station server based on the determination that the central station server is operating atypically.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein detecting status of the central station server comprises:

receiving status data from the central station server; and

determining status of the central station server based on the received status data.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein detecting status of the central station server comprises:

receiving monitoring data collected by sensors included in monitoring systems located at monitored properties; and

determining status of the central station server based on the received monitoring data and alarm events that have been sent to the central station server for processing.

9. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

classifying alarm events into categories;

determining severities for the alarm events based on the categories;

assigning priorities to the alarm events based on the determined severities; and

handling the alarm events based the assigned priorities and the capacity to handle additional monitoring data of the central station server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the severities are determined based on at least one of:

an occupancy of a monitored property associated with the alarm event, a time-sensitivity of the alarm event, a preventative status of the alarm event, or a projected amount of physical damage to a monitored property associated with the alarm event.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

classifying alarm events into categories;

determining severities for the alarm events based on the categories;

assigning priorities to the alarm events based on the determined severities; and

handling the alarm events based the assigned priorities and the capacity to handle additional monitoring data of the central station server.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the severities are determined based on at least one of:

an occupancy of a monitored property associated with the alarm event, a time-sensitivity of the alarm event, a preventative status of the alarm event, or a projected amount of physical damage to a monitored property associated with the alarm event.

13. A method for determining a priority for a central station server to handle monitoring data, the method comprising:

determining, for a central station server, a capacity to handle additional monitoring data;

comparing the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to a first threshold;

based on the comparison of the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to the first threshold, determining whether the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the first threshold;

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the first threshold, handling the central station server with a first priority;

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is above the first threshold, comparing the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to a second threshold, the second threshold being higher than the first threshold;

based on the comparison of the capacity to handle additional monitoring data to the second threshold, determining whether the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the second threshold;

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is below the second threshold, handling the central station server with a second priority, the second priority being higher than the first priority; and

based on a determination that the capacity to handle additional monitoring data is above the second threshold, handling the central station server with a third priority, the third priority being higher than the second priority.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first threshold is a low threshold that has a value of approximately twenty-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the second threshold is a high threshold that has a value of approximately seventy-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling.

16. The method of claim 13:

wherein the first threshold is a low threshold that has a value of approximately twenty-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling; and

wherein the second threshold is a high threshold that has a value of approximately seventy-five percent of capacity the central station server is capable of handling.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein determining, for the central station server, the capacity to handle additional monitoring data comprises:

calculating a resource availability within the central station server; and

determining a predicted volume of alarm events based on a log of historical monitoring data transmitted to the central station server.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

detecting status of the central station server;

determining that the central station server is operating atypically based on the status; and

ceasing transmission of alarm events to the central station server based on the determination that the central station server is operating atypically.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein detecting status of the central station server comprises:

receiving status data from the central station server; and

determining status of the central station server based on the received status data.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein detecting status of the central station server comprises:

receiving monitoring data collected by sensors included in monitoring systems located at monitored properties; and

determining status of the central station server based on the received monitoring data and alarm events that have been sent to the central station server for processing.