Method and system for a set of network appliances which can be connected to provide enhanced collaboration, scalability, and reliability

• US 7,159,022 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2002
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Power Conversion Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: American Power Conversion Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Faulkner, Gary, Primm, Michael, Fowler, John J.
• Primary Examiner(s): WINDER, PATRICE L
• Application Number:
  US10/057,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20020124081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: 709/208, 714/4
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1042 using topology management mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1068 Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The invention is directed to a network-enabled appliance. The appliance may aid the remote monitoring of various measured data. The device may monitor a variable or set of variables and output the data upon request. In addition, the appliance may issue alarms, alerts, warning and other notifications when a variable matches a setpoint or undergoes a specified change, deviation, and/or fluctuation. Further the appliance may be operable to communicate with other appliances. The communication may comprise periodic pinging of peer appliances. In this manner, a peer appliance may detect a failure in other network-enabled appliances when an anticipated ping is not received. Further, the communication may enable the establishment of a directory of capabilities of various appliances. In this manner, a group of appliances may perform more complex behaviors by grouping resources. Further, a group of appliances may act to reestablish the behavior of a failed device.

Claims

1. A method of peer-to-peer review between first and second network-enabled appliances, the first and second network-enabled appliances being connected to an interconnected network, the method comprising:

determining the address of the second network-enabled appliance using the first network-enabled appliance, the address of the second network-enabled appliance being associated with the interconnected network;

sending a ping message to the second network-enabled appliance from the first network-enabled appliance through the interconnected network;

selectively responding to the ping message from the first network-enabled appliance using the second network-enabled appliance;

establishing a periodicity between the sending of subsequent periodic ping messages based on information provided to the first network-enabled appliance by the second network-enabled appliance; and

sending subsequent ping messages from the first network-enabled appliance to the second network-enabled appliance through the interconnected network at time intervals based on the established periodicity,

wherein selectively responding to the ping message includes responding as a function of the number of active peer-to-peer review relationships that the second network-enabled appliance is engaged in.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the ping message uses an HTTP POST method.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the ping message uses an FTP method.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising selectively sending a notification message in the event that an expected periodic ping is not received.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the notification message is sent to a remote location.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the notification message is sent to another network-enabled appliance connected to the interconnected network.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein selectively responding to the ping message includes responding as a function of capabilities of the second network-enabled appliance.

8. A method of peer-to-peer review between first and second network-enabled appliances, the first and second network-enabled appliances being connected to an interconnected network, the method comprising:

determining the address of the second network-enabled appliance using the first network-enabled appliance, the address of the second network-enabled appliance being associated with the interconnected network;

sending a ping message to the second network-enabled appliance from the first network-enabled appliance through the interconnected network;

selectively responding to the ping message from the first network-enabled appliance using the second network-enabled appliance;

establishing a periodicity between the sending of subsequent periodic ping messages based on information provided to the first network-enabled appliance by the second network-enabled appliance; and

sending subsequent ping messages from the first network-enabled appliance to the second network-enabled appliance through the interconnected network at time intervals based on the established periodicity,

wherein establishing a periodicity between the sending of subsequent periodic ping messages includes establishing a periodicity based on the number of active peer-to-peer review relationships that the first network-enabled appliance is engaged in.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the ping message uses an HTTP POST method.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the ping message uses an FTP method.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising selectively sending a notification message in the event that an expected periodic ping is not received.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the notification message is sent to a remote location.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the notification message is sent to another network-enabled appliance connected to the interconnected network.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein selectively responding to the ping message includes responding as a function of capabilities of the second network-enabled appliance.

15. A method of peer-to-peer review between first and second network-enabled appliances, the first and second network-enabled appliances being connected to an interconnected network, the method comprising:

determining the address of the second network-enabled appliance using the first network-enabled appliance, the address of the second network-enabled appliance being associated with the interconnected network;

sending a ping message to the second network-enabled appliance from the first network-enabled appliance through the interconnected network;

selectively responding to the ping message from the first network-enabled appliance using the second network-enabled appliance;

establishing a periodicity between the sending of subsequent periodic ping messages based on information provided to the first network-enabled appliance by the second network-enabled appliance; and

sending subsequent ping messages from the first network-enabled appliance to the second network-enabled appliance through the interconnected network at time intervals based on the established periodicity,

wherein establishing a periodicity between the sending of subsequent periodic ping messages includes establishing a periodicity based on the number of active peer-to-peer review relationships that the second network-enabled appliance is engaged in.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the ping message uses an HTTP POST method.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the ping message uses an FTP method.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising selectively sending a notification message in the event that an expected periodic ping is not received.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the notification message is sent to a remote location.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the notification message is sent to another network-enabled appliance connected to the interconnected network.