Method for enhancing the performance of a network

• US 6,182,130 B1
• Filed: 05/18/1998
• Issued: 01/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Echelon Corporation (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Echelon Corporation (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Von De Bur, James M., Kagan, Richard S., Riley, Glen M., Dolin, Robert A. Jr., Einkauf, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell, Robert B.
• Application Number:
  US09/080,112
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 364/DIG.1 MS File, 364/DIG.2 MS File, 370/60, 709/200, 709/220, 709/221, 709/225, 709/234, 709/235
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/17381 Two dimensional, e.g. mesh, torus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/547 Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An improved apparatus and method for communicating information in a networked system wherein network variables are employed to accomplish such communication. Network variables allow for standardized communication of data between nodes in a network. A first node may be programmed, for example, to sense certain information and to report the information as a network variable X. A second node may be programmed to receive the variable X and to control devices based on the current value of the variable. The present invention provides for defining connections between the first and second node to facilitate such communication and for determining addressing information to allow for addressing of messages, including updates to the value of the variable X, between the nodes.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a network'"'"'s logical connection topology;

enhancing the performance of the network based upon the network'"'"'s logical connection topology.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network'"'"'s logical connection topology includes a first logical connection comprising one or more reader nodes and one or more writer nodes of a variable, the one or more reader nodes configured to receive a value of the variable from the one or more writer nodes, the method further comprising the steps of:

determining a total number of nodes that are part of the first logical connection; and

preventing transmission of acknowledgments in response to communication of the value if the total number of nodes is greater than a threshold value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining a total number of nodes that are part of the first logical connection further comprises the step of accessing a group size indication stored in a first writer node of the one or more writer nodes.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of preventing transmission of acknowledgments in response to communication of the value further comprises the step of setting a service class attribute associated with the variable to an unacknowledged service class.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the threshold value comprises a repeat count associated with the unacknowledged service class.

6. A method comprising:

detecting a value of a variable;

determining whether or not to acknowledge communication involving a value of the variable in a network based upon the frequency at which the value is transmitted.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

preventing transmission of an acknowledgment in response to a communication involving the value if the value is updated at greater than or equal to a predetermined frequency; and

providing an acknowledgment in response to the communication if the value is updated at less than the predetermined frequency.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of preventing transmission of an acknowledgment further comprises the step of setting a service class attribute associated with the variable to an unacknowledged service class.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of providing an acknowledgment further comprises the step of setting the service class attribute associated with the variable to an acknowledged service class.

10. An improved method of communicating information in a network for sensing information and controlling one or more devices based upon the information, the network comprising a logical connection topology including a first logical connection for communication of a value of a variable, the first logical connection having a writer node, and a reader node coupled by a communication medium, the writer node configured to transmit the value to the reader node upon the happening of a predetermined event, wherein the improvement comprises the step of reducing network traffic attributable to transactions involving the variable based upon one or more characteristics of the first logical connection.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more characteristics of the first logical connection include a frequency at which the value is updated.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of suppressing acknowledgments in response to communication of the value if the value is updated on a relatively frequent basis.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more characteristics of the first logical connection include a total number of nodes that are involved in communications of the value.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of preventing transmission of acknowledgments in response to communication of the value if the total number of nodes is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of determining whether or not to provide acknowledgments in response to communication of the value.

16. A method of determining whether to acknowledge updates of variables in a network comprising the steps of

if a variable'"'"'s value is updated on a relatively frequent basis, then suppressing acknowledgments;

and

otherwise, providing acknowledgments.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of suppressing acknowledgments further comprises the step of setting a service class attribute associated with the variable to an unacknowledged service class.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of providing acknowledgments further comprises the step of setting a service class attribute associated with the variable to an acknowledged service class.