Backup-instructing broadcast to network devices responsive to detection of failure risk

• US 9,110,848 B1
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Belkin International Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Belkin International Incorporated (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kim, Ryan Yong
• Primary Examiner(s): MCCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER S
• Application Number:
  US14/508,000
• Time in Patent Office: 315 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/004 Error avoidance G06F11/07 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0754 by exceeding limits
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1441 Resetting or repowering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1461 Backup scheduling policy
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3058 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring environmental properties or parameters of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring of power, currents, temperature, humidity, position, vibrations thermal management in cooling arrangements of a computing system G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/50 Secure pairing of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

Embodiments relate to systems and methods for detecting failure-risk events at devices and facilitating local and/or remote data back-up and/or device operations. In some instances, a device characterizes a stimulus sensed at the device or an operation of a component of the device. A determination is made that a failure-risk condition is satisfied based on the characterization. In response to determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, the device initiates a data backing up of data in a non-volatile reserved memory or facilitates transmission of an alert communication from the device to another device.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a non-volatile reserve memory;

a detector configured to characterize a physical stimulus or an operation of a component of the device;

one or more data processors; and

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including;

determining that a failure-risk condition is satisfied, wherein the determination is made based on the characterization of the physical stimulus or operation of the component of the device;

identifying a current setting of the device, wherein the current setting includes one identified based on application of a learning technique; and

in response to determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, backing up data that includes the current setting in the non-volatile reserved memory.

2. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the actions further include using a reserve power source of the device to perform the backing up data in the non-volatile reserved memory.

3. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein data is backed up onto the non-volatile reserved memory only when it is determined that the failure-risk condition is satisfied.

4. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied includes determining that a power spike occurred or that power from a local or remote power supply has been lost.

5. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied includes determining that the component of the device is malfunctioning, non-responsive or non-operational.

6. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the non-volatile reserve memory includes a flash memory.

7. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the determination that the failure-risk condition is satisfied is made based on the characterization of the physical stimulus, wherein the characterization of the physical stimulus includes a sensor reading, and wherein backing up the data includes storing the sensor reading on the non-volatile reserved memory.

8. The device as recited in claim 1, wherein the actions further include:

identifying one or more other current settings of the device, wherein each of the one or more other current settings is one defined based on user input, wherein the data includes the one or more other current settings.

9. The device as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, facilitating transmission of an alert communication to another device, wherein the device and the other device are part of a same local area network, and wherein the alert communication corresponds to an indication that the failure-risk condition is satisfied.

10. The device as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, facilitating transmission of an alert communication to a mobile access device, wherein the device and the mobile access device are associated with a same local area network, and wherein the alert communication corresponds to an indication that the failure-risk condition is satisfied.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:

characterizing a stimulus sensed at a device or an operation of a component of the device;

determining that a failure-risk condition is satisfied, wherein the determination is made based on the characterization of the stimulus or the operation of the component of the device;

identifying a current setting of the device, wherein the current setting includes one identified based on application of a learning technique; and

backing up, at the device, data that includes the current setting in a non-volatile reserve memory in response to the determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, wherein the device includes the non-volatile reserve memory.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising using a reserve power source of the device to perform the backing up data in the non-volatile reserved memory.

13. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein data is backed up onto the non-volatile reserved memory only when it is determined that the failure-risk condition is satisfied.

14. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied includes determining that a power spike occurred or that power from a local or remote power supply has been lost.

15. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied includes determining that the component of the device is malfunctioning, non-responsive or non-operational.

16. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the non-volatile reserve memory includes a flash memory.

17. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the determination that the failure-risk condition is satisfied is made based on the characterization of the physical stimulus, wherein the characterization of the physical stimulus includes a sensor reading, and wherein backing up the data includes storing the sensor reading on the non-volatile reserved memory.

18. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

identifying one or more other current settings of the device, wherein each of the one or more other current settings is one defined based on user input, wherein the data includes the one or more other current settings.

19. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the actions further include:

in response to determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, facilitating transmission of an alert communication to another device, wherein the device and the other device are part of a same local area network, and wherein the alert communication corresponds to an indication that the failure-risk condition is satisfied.

20. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause one or more data processors to perform actions including:

characterizing a stimulus sensed at a device or an operation of a component of the device;

determining that a failure-risk condition is satisfied, wherein the determination is made based on the characterization of the stimulus or the operation of the component of the device; and

identifying a current setting of the device, wherein the current setting includes one identified based on application of a learning technique; and

backing up, at the device, data that includes the current setting in a non-volatile reserve memory in response to the determining that the failure-risk condition is satisfied, wherein the device includes the non-volatile reserve memory.

21. The computer-program product as recited in claim 20, wherein the actions further include facilitating use of a reserve power source of the device to perform the backing up data in the non-volatile reserved memory.

22. The computer-program product device as recited in claim 20, wherein the actions further include:

identifying one or more other current settings of the device, wherein each of the one or more other current settings is one defined based on user input, wherein the data includes the one or more other current settings.