Generic and secure AMI end device configuration

• US 9,068,858 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2012
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elster Solutions LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Elster Solutions LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Kelley, Raymond H., Scoggins, Sean M., Mason, Robert T. Jr., Colonna, Donato, Rogers, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W
• Application Number:
  US13/446,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20130275736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 713/189, 713/1, 713/100, 713/190, 725/152, 717/168, 717/172, 717/173, 340/870.01, 340/870.02
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A metering device may be configured to communicate with other devices on a plurality of metering communication networks, such as an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network. For example, a metering end device may be programmed or reconfigured via an AMI network. A metering end device may receive, via the AMI network, a program recipe comprising one or more configuration parameters. The program recipe may be specific to the end device and formatted according to a generic program table of the end device. The end device may decrypt and validate the program recipe. The end device may implement the decrypted program recipe to configure the end device with the one or more configuration parameters.

Claims

1. A method of configuring an end device via an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network, the method comprising:

receiving, via the AMI network, a program recipe comprising one or more configuration parameters, the program recipe being specific to the end device and formatted according to a generic program table of the end device;

decrypting and validating the program recipe;

after the decryption and validation of the program recipe, implementing the program recipe, by the end device, to configure the end device with the one or more configuration parameters; and

logging a result of the program recipe implementation such that the result can be retrieved by a collector within the AMI network,

wherein the end device is associated with a first vendor and the AMI network and the collector are associated with a second vendor that is different than the first vendor, and wherein the program recipe can be decrypted by the end device but it is not able to be decrypted by the AMI network of the second vendor.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving, via the AMI network, a system configuration profile comprising a meta-data section and the program recipe comprising a program recipe body, wherein data in the meta-data section is accessed by the AMI network and the program recipe body is accessed by the end device and received via the AMI network without being accessed by the AMI network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the program recipe comprises an unencrypted program recipe header comprising one or more site specific parameters or one or more programming time parameters, and wherein at least one of the site specific parameters or programming time parameters is adjusted by the AMI network.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more programming time parameters comprise an activation time, an expiration time, a sequence number, or a tracking number.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more site specific parameters comprise one or more transformer constants.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the system configuration profile is implemented in an XML format.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

writing, by a network interface card of the end device, one or more encrypted components of the program recipe into the generic program table of the end device, wherein the network interface card is associated with the second vendor; and

decrypting and validating the one or more encrypted components of the program recipe.

8. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

writing one or more encrypted components of the program recipe into the generic program table of the end device;

decrypting and validating the one or more encrypted components of the program recipe;

verifying a sequence number in a body header of the program recipe to prevent a replay attack;

determining whether a hardware version in the body header of the program recipe is at least equal to a hardware version minimum; and

determining whether a firmware version in the body header of the program recipe is at least equal to a firmware version minimum.

9. An end device, the end device comprising:

a transceiver configured to receive, via an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network, a program recipe comprising one or more configuration parameters, the program recipe being specific to the end device and formatted according to a generic program table of the end device;

a memory configured to store the generic program table comprising one or more encrypted components of the program recipe; and

a processor configured to;

decrypt the program recipe;

validate the program recipe;

implement the program recipe for configuring the end device with the one or more configuration parameters after the program recipe is decrypted and validated; and

log a result of the program recipe implementation such that the result can be retrieved by a collector within the AMI network,

wherein the end device is associated with a first vendor and the AMI network and the collector are associated with a second vendor that is different than the first vendor, and wherein the program recipe can be decrypted by the end device but it is not able to be decrypted by the AMI network of the second vendor.

10. The end device of claim 9, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the program recipe via an AMI head-end device in the AMI network, wherein the AMI head-end device is associated with the second vendor.

11. The end device of claim 10, further comprising:

a network interface card associated with the second vendor and configured to;

write the one or more encrypted components of the program recipe into the generic program table of the end device; and

decrypt and validate the one or more encrypted components of the program recipe.

12. The end device of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:

write the one or more encrypted components of the program recipe into the generic program table;

decrypt and validate the one or more encrypted components of the program recipe;

verify a sequence number in a body header of the program recipe to prevent a replay attack;

determine whether a hardware version in the body header of the program recipe is at least equal to a hardware version minimum; and

determine whether a firmware version in the body header of the program recipe is at least equal to a firmware version minimum.

13. The end device of claim 9, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, via the AMI network, a system configuration profile comprising a meta-data section and the program recipe comprising a program recipe body, wherein data in the meta-data section is accessed by the AMI network and the program recipe body is accessed by the end device and received via the AMI network without being accessed by the AMI network.

14. The end device of claim 13, the wherein the program recipe comprises an unencrypted program recipe header comprising one or more site specific parameters or one or more programming time parameters, and wherein at least one of the site specific parameters or programming time parameters is adjusted by the AMI network.

15. The end device of claim 14, wherein the one or more programming time parameters comprise an activation time, an expiration time, a sequence number, or a tracking number.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more site specific parameters comprise one or more transformer constants.

17. The end device of claim 13, wherein the system configuration profile is implemented in an XML format.

18. A method of remotely configuring an end device, the method comprising:

receiving, by an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) head-end system via an AMI network, a system configuration profile, the system configuration profile comprising meta-data and a program recipe, wherein the program recipe comprises one or more configuration parameters for programming the end device;

authenticating, by the AMI head-end system, the system configuration profile;

decrypting, by the AMI head-end system, the meta-data without accessing the program recipe;

based on the meta-data, determining, by the AMI head-end system, whether the end device is compatible with the system configuration profile;

retrieving a result indicative of an implementation of the program recipe; and

updating a configuration profile state associated with the end device in accordance with the result,

wherein the end device is associated with a first vendor and the AMI head-end system is associated with a second vendor that is different than the first vendor, and wherein the program recipe can be decrypted by the end device but it is not able to be decrypted by the AMI head-end system of the second vendor.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the program recipe comprises an unencrypted program recipe header comprising one or more site specific parameters or one or more programming time parameters, the method further comprising:

changing, by the AMI head-end system, at least one of the site specific parameters or programming time parameters.