Method and system for extensible data gathering
First Claim
1. A method for extensible device data gathering in a network having one or more devices and one or more clients, comprising:
- storing gatherer module set information regarding at least one existing gatherer module, each said existing gatherer module capable of accepting a request to gather data from at least one of said devices and gathering data according to said request;
storing a unique identifier for each of the devices in the network in a repository;
receiving new gatherer module information regarding a new gatherer module;
adding said new gatherer module information to said stored gatherer module set information;
receiving a request to gather device data;
determining at least one selected gatherer module using the gatherer module set information;
requesting said data from the at least one selected gatherer module by calling an interface function of the selected gatherer module with a parameter specifying a class of APIs Application Programming Interface needed to add data to the repository and at least one flag indicating data to be acquired by the selected gatherer module; and
receiving said data from said at least one selected gatherer module, wherein the data is received by the selected gatherer module using at least one of the APIs provided to the selected gatherer in the interface function.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Extensible device data gathering is performed by a server in concert with at least one gatherer. The server accepts requests from clients and dispatches a gatherer to gather device data from devices on a network. When the data is returned, the server stores the data in a repository. The server also handles requests for repository data from clients. A gatherer presents an interface to the server which the server can use to dispatch the gatherer. The system is extensible because new gatherers may be created and may register with the server without any changes to the server. In one embodiment, this extensibility is achieved using the COM (Component Object Model) technology.
23 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for extensible device data gathering in a network having one or more devices and one or more clients, comprising:
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storing gatherer module set information regarding at least one existing gatherer module, each said existing gatherer module capable of accepting a request to gather data from at least one of said devices and gathering data according to said request; storing a unique identifier for each of the devices in the network in a repository; receiving new gatherer module information regarding a new gatherer module; adding said new gatherer module information to said stored gatherer module set information; receiving a request to gather device data; determining at least one selected gatherer module using the gatherer module set information; requesting said data from the at least one selected gatherer module by calling an interface function of the selected gatherer module with a parameter specifying a class of APIs Application Programming Interface needed to add data to the repository and at least one flag indicating data to be acquired by the selected gatherer module; and receiving said data from said at least one selected gatherer module, wherein the data is received by the selected gatherer module using at least one of the APIs provided to the selected gatherer in the interface function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for extensible device data gathering in a network having one or more devices, comprising:
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a repository for storing device data, wherein the repository stores a unique device identifier for each device in the repository; at least one gatherer module, wherein each gatherer module upon a request, performs a specific device gathering function for a device, wherein each gatherer module is implemented using a component-based software model; a server, wherein the server is implemented as an out-of-process component using the component-based software model and comprises a plurality of interfaces, each interface corresponding to a functionality of the server, wherein the server further comprises; gatherer module set storage for gatherer module set information regarding at least one existing gatherer module; new gatherer module acceptance logic for accepting new gatherer module information regarding a new gatherer module; gatherer module set storage adding logic for adding said new gatherer module information to said stored gatherer module set information in said gatherer module set storage; device data request acceptance logic for accepting a request to gather device data; gatherer request logic for requesting said data from at least one selected gatherer module; and gatherer data receipt logic for receiving said data from said at least one selected gatherer module. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer-readable medium for extensible device data gathering in a network having one or more devices, said computer-readable medium having instructions to perform acts comprising:
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executing a server as an out-of-process component using a component-based software model; storing existing gatherer module set information regarding at least one existing gatherer module, each of said gatherer modules capable of accepting a request to gather data from at least one of said devices and gathering data according to said request, wherein each gatherer is implemented using a component-based software model; accepting new gatherer module information regarding a new gatherer module; adding said new gatherer module information to said stored gatherer module set information; accepting a request to gather device data; requesting said data from at least one selected gatherer module; and receiving said data from said at least one selected gatherer module. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system for extensible device data gathering in a network having one or more devices, comprising:
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a repository for storing device data, wherein the repository stores a unique device identifier for each device in the repository; at least one gatherer module, wherein each gatherer module upon a request, performs a specific device gathering function for a device, wherein each gatherer module is implemented using a component-based software model; a server, wherein the server is implemented as an out-of-process component using the component-based software model and comprises a plurality of interfaces, each interface corresponding to a functionality of the server, wherein the server further comprises; gatherer module set storage means for gatherer module set information regarding at least one existing gatherer module, each of said existing gatherer module capable of accepting a request to gather data from at least one of said devices and gathering data according to said request; new gatherer module acceptance means for accepting new gatherer module information regarding a new gatherer module; gatherer module set storage adding means for adding said new gatherer module information to said stored gatherer module set information in said gatherer module set storage means; device data request acceptance means for accepting a request to gather device data; gatherer request means for requesting said data from at least one selected gatherer module; and gatherer data receipt means for receiving said data from said at least one selected gatherer module.
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Specification