LOAD BALANCING FOR PACKET SWITCHED ALARM MONITORING
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of configuring a panel of an alarm system that signals sensed conditions to a monitoring server over a packet switched data network, said method comprising:
- a. contacting an allocation server over said data network, at a pre-programmed network address;
b. obtaining from said allocation server, the data network address of a monitoring server assigned to said panel;
c. storing said data network address of said monitoring server assigned to said panel at said panel, for future provision of alarm messages.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Alarm panels are assigned to monitoring servers at a monitoring station by an allocation server. Each panel obtains the data network address of its assigned monitoring server by contacting the allocation server, upon installation/configuration. The provided data network address is stored at the panel for later use. This allows the allocation server to fairly and flexibly distribute monitoring responsibility for the many panels across multiple monitoring servers.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method of configuring a panel of an alarm system that signals sensed conditions to a monitoring server over a packet switched data network, said method comprising:
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a. contacting an allocation server over said data network, at a pre-programmed network address; b. obtaining from said allocation server, the data network address of a monitoring server assigned to said panel; c. storing said data network address of said monitoring server assigned to said panel at said panel, for future provision of alarm messages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of allocating one of a plurality of available monitoring servers each having a data network address to a panel of an alarm system, comprising:
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receiving a datagram requesting assignment of one of said monitoring servers over a data network; determining an available one of said plurality of monitoring servers to be used to receive alarm messages from said panel; dispatching a data network address of said one of said plurality of monitoring servers to said panel. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An alarm monitoring station comprising:
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a plurality of monitoring servers for receiving alarm notifications from panels at monitored premises; an allocation server comprising a processor, a network interface and memory storing processor executable instructions adapting said allocation server to receive a datagram from an alarm panel being initialized, requesting assignment of one of said monitoring servers over said data network; determine an available one of said plurality of monitoring servers to be used to receive alarm messages from said alarm panel being initialized; dispatch a data network address of said one of said plurality of monitoring servers to said alarm panel being initialized.
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Specification