Tracking Network Resources

• US 20110032896A1
• Filed: 05/12/2008
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Johansson, Mattias, Cubic, Ivica, Mosmondor, Miran, Skorin-Kapov, Lea
• Granted Patent: US 8,848,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17306 Intercommunication techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/12 Arrangements for remote connection or disconnection of substations or of equipment thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for tracking resources in a communication network. A central resource tracking function receives a request to track a resource from a location application node. The central resource tracking function broadcasts a subscription message to a plurality of Wireless Sensor Network Gateway nodes. The subscription message includes an identifier associated with the tracked resource. The central resource tracking function then receives a subscription response message from a first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node informing the central resource tracking function that the resource associated with the identifier is located in the Wireless Sensor Network served by the first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, and receiving from a second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node a subscription rejection message.

Claims

1. A method of tracking resources in a communication network, the method comprising:

at a central resource tracking function, receiving a request from a location application node to track a resource;

broadcasting a subscription message to a plurality of Wireless Sensor Network Gateway nodes, the subscription message including an identifier associated with the tracked resource;

receiving from a first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node a subscription response message informing the central resource tracking function that the resource associated with the identifier is located in the Wireless Sensor Network served by the first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node; and

receiving from a second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node a subscription rejection message.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

at the second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, storing a record of the subscription message.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

at the second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, determining that the resource has moved to the Wireless Sensor Network served by the second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node;

determining whether a record of a subscription request exists for the resource associated with the identifier; and

in the event that a record of a subscription request exists for the resource associated with the identifier, informing the central resource tracking function that the resource associated with the identifier has moved to the Wireless Sensor Network served by the second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

at the first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, determining that the resource has moved out of the Wireless Sensor Network served by the first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, and terminating the subscription with the central resource tracking function.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

at the central resource tracking function, mapping and storing the identifier associated with the tracked resource to an identity of the tracked resource received from the location application node.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

changing the identifier associated with the tracked resource to a new identifier associated with the tracked resource; and

mapping and storing the new identifier associated with the tracked resource to the identity of the tracked resource.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

at the central resource tracking function, receiving a request from a location application node to cancel resource tracking; and

broadcasting a subscription cancellation message to the plurality of Wireless Sensor Network Gateway nodes, the subscription cancellation message including the identifier associated with the tracked resource.

8. A central resource tracking node for use in a communication network, the node comprising:

a first receiver configured to receive a request from a location application node to track a resource;

a processor configured to generate a subscription message, the subscription message including an identifier associated with the tracked resource;

a transmitter configured to transmit the subscription message to a plurality of Wireless Sensor Network Gateway nodes; and

a second receiver configured to receive from a first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node a subscription response message informing the central resource tracking node that the resource associated with the identifier is located in the Wireless Sensor Network served by the first Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, and to receive from a second Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node a subscription rejection message.

9. The central resource tracking node according to claim 8, further comprising:

a memory configured to store a mapping between the identifier associated with the tracked resource and the identity of the tracked resource received from the location application node.

10. A Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node comprising:

a receiver configured to receive from a central resource tracking node a subscription request message, the message including an identifier associated with a tracked resource;

a processor configured to determine whether the tracked resource is located in a Wireless Sensor Network served by the Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node; and

a transmitter configured, in the event that the resource associated with the identifier is located in the Wireless Sensor Network, to send to the central resource tracking node a subscription response message, and in the event that the resource associated with the identifier is not located in the Wireless Sensor Network, to send to the central resource tracking node a subscription rejection message.

11. The Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node according to claim 10, further comprising:

a memory configured to store a record of the subscription request message.

12. The Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node according to claim 11, further comprising:

an input configured to determine that a new resource has moved to the Wireless Sensor Network served by the Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether a record of a subscription request exists for the new resource and the transmitter is configured to, in the event that such a determination is made, transmit to the central resource tracking node a message informing the central resource tracking node that the resource has moved to the Wireless Sensor Network served by the Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node.

13. The Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node according to claim 10, comprising:

an input configured to determine that the resource has moved out of the Wireless Sensor Network served by the Wireless Sensor Network Gateway node, wherein the transmitter is configured to, in the event of such a determination, transmit to the central resource tracking node a message terminating the subscription with the central resource tracking node.