Method for Dynamic Sensor Network Processing

• US 20080259919A1
• Filed: 09/25/2006
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Monga, Indermohan
• Granted Patent: US 8,619,768 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes

Abstract

Described are a method and a sensor aware network for dynamic processing of sensor data. Network context data are inserted into data packets from sensors or local sensor networks coupled to the sensor aware network. Sensor aware nodes in the sensor aware network can read the context data and can respond by performing specific network actions. The sensor data and network context data are provided to one or more application nodes. The sensor data and network context data can be stored in a database and later searched according to the network context data. Advantageously, sensor data flows can be treated differently by the sensor aware network, the application and the user, depending on the type of sensor data and the actual data values. Thus critical responses to certain sensor data flows can be implemented more efficiently than otherwise possible using conventional network configurations.

Claims

1. A sensor aware network comprising a sensor aware node configured to receive sensor data and to generate a data packet for transmission over the sensor aware network, the data packet having a payload comprising network context data and the sensor data, the network context data being determined in response to at least one rule provided by an application.

2. The sensor aware network of claim 1 further comprising a sensor aware node configured to receive the generated data packet and to perform a network action in response to the network context data.

3. A sensor aware network comprising:

a sensor adapted to generate sensor data in response to a sensor measurement;

a first sensor aware node configured to receive the sensor data and to generate a data packet having a data payload comprising network context data and the sensor data; and

a second sensor aware node configured to receive the data packet from the first sensor aware node and to perform an action in response to the network context data.

4. The sensor aware network of claim 3 further comprising a network command module to provide a policy to the first sensor network aware node, the policy having at least one rule used to determine the network context data.

5. The sensor aware network of claim 3 wherein the first sensor aware node is an access node.

6. The sensor aware network of claim 3 wherein the first sensor aware node is an aggregation node.

7. The sensor aware network of claim 3 wherein the network context data comprise sensor flow control information.

8. The sensor aware network of claim 5 wherein the action comprises a routing of the sensor data to a network node.

9. A method of dynamic sensor network processing of a data packet, the method comprising:

receiving sensor data at a sensor aware node; and

generating, at the sensor network aware node, a data packet having a data payload comprising network context data and the sensor data, the network context data being determined according to at least one rule.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising providing the at least one rule to the sensor aware node.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the sensor aware node is an access node.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the sensor aware node is an aggregation node.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

receiving the data packet at another sensor aware node; and

performing a network action in response to the network context data.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the network action comprises forwarding the sensor data to a network node determined according to the network context data.

15. The method of claim 9 further comprising receiving the data packet at an application node.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising performing an application action in response to the network context data received at the application node.

17. The method of claim 9 wherein the network context data is absent from the data payload in response to an application of the rule to the received sensor data.

18. The method of claim 9 further comprising performing a network action at another sensor aware node in response to the receipt of the sensor data at the sensor aware node.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein performing a network action at another sensor aware node comprises modifying network context data in a data payload of a data packet received at the another sensor aware node.