Gateway management using virtual gateways and wildcards

• US 9,888,072 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2015
• Issued: 02/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Systech Corporation
• Original Assignee: Systech Corporation
• Inventors: Watts, Jr., La Vaughn Ferguson, Rucker, Jeff, Wiese, Anderson, Wellington-Oguri, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kim T
• Application Number:
  US14/656,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20150264138A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/00 Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them

Abstract

Systems, methods, and media for managing gateways. In an embodiment, a virtual gateway is generated which comprises a representation of each of one or more active scripts and/or device information (e.g., device drivers, and/or definitions and/or configurations for devices, device types, and/or device groups) stored on at least one remote physical gateway. At least one user interface is provided for editing each of the one or more active scripts and/or device information represented in the virtual gateway. Synchronization is automatically maintained, across at least one network, between the one or more active scripts and/or device information represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active scripts and/or device information stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one hardware processor; and

a memory storing one or more software modules that, when executed by the at least one hardware processor,

generate a virtual gateway which comprises a representation of each of one or more active scripts stored on at least one remote physical gateway, wherein the one or more active scripts are configured to monitor or control one or more external devices communicatively connected to the at least one remote physical gateway, wherein at least one of the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway comprises one or more generic identifiers for at least one of the one or more external devices, and wherein each of the one or more generic identifiers comprises one or more wildcards;

provide at least one user interface for editing each of the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway; and

automatically maintain synchronization, across at least one network, between the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active scripts stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual gateway further comprises a representation of each of one or more active drivers stored on the at least one remote physical gateway, and wherein the one or more software modules further:

provide at least one user interface for editing each of the one or more active drivers represented in the virtual gateway; and

automatically maintain synchronization, across the at least one network, between the one or more active drivers represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active drivers stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more software modules are comprised in the memory in a server and further:

detect a failure of the at least one remote physical gateway; and

,

in response to the failure of the at least one remote physical gateway, locally execute the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway at the server instead of at the at least one remote physical gateway.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one remote physical gateway comprises a plurality of remote physical gateways associated with the virtual gateway, and wherein the one or more software modules further automatically maintain synchronization, across the at least one network, between the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active scripts stored on each of the plurality of remote physical gateways.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one user interface comprises one or more inputs for selecting the plurality of remote physical gateways to be associated with the virtual gateway.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein selecting the plurality of remote physical gateways comprises selecting a type of remote physical gateway, and wherein the one or more software modules automatically adds all remote physical gateways of the selected type to the plurality of remote physical gateways associated with the virtual gateway.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein selecting the plurality of remote physical gateways comprises selecting a grouping of remote physical gateways, and wherein the one or more software modules automatically adds all remote physical gateways in the grouping to the plurality of remote physical gateways associated with the virtual gateway.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual gateway further comprises a representation of each of one or more inactive scripts which are not synchronized with any scripts stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising the at least one remote physical gateway, wherein the at least one remote physical gateway comprises at least one module configured to dereference the at least one active script by, for each of the one or more generic identifiers in the at least one active script:

identify at least one of the one or more external devices having a device identifier that matches the generic identifier; and

replace the generic identifier with the device identifier of the identified at least one device.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising the at least one remote physical gateway, wherein the at least one remote physical gateway comprises:

a compiler configured to compile the one or more active scripts into one or more virtual-machine codes; and

a virtual machine configured to execute the one or more virtual-machine codes.

11. The system of claim 1,

wherein the virtual gateway further comprises a representation of each of one or more inactive scripts,

wherein the at least one user interface comprises one or more inputs by which a user may specify whether or not the one or more inactive scripts are to be synchronized, and

wherein the one or more software modules, when the user specifies that the one or more inactive scripts are to be synchronized, automatically maintains synchronization, across the at least one network, between the one or more inactive scripts represented in the virtual gateway and one or more inactive scripts stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one user interface comprises one or more inputs for switching each of the one or more active scripts into an inactive script and switching each inactive script into an active script.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory stores a library of scripts, wherein the at least one user interface comprises one or more inputs for selecting a script to add to the virtual gateway from the library of scripts, and wherein the one or more software modules add a representation of the selected script to the virtual gateway.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein editing the one or more active scripts comprises changing one or more of a trigger, condition, and referenced device within the one or more active scripts.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one user interface for editing each of the one or more active scripts comprises one or more inputs for switching an active script into an inactive script and switching an inactive script into an active script.

16. A method for managing a gateway, the method comprising using at least one hardware processor to:

generate a virtual gateway which comprises a representation of each of one or more active scripts stored on at least one remote physical gateway, wherein the one or more active scripts are configured to monitor or control one or more external devices communicatively connected to the at least one remote physical gateway, wherein at least one of the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway comprises one or more generic identifiers for at least one of the one or more external devices, and wherein each of the one or more generic identifiers comprises one or more wildcards;

provide at least one user interface for editing each of the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway; and

automatically maintain synchronization, across at least one network, between the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active scripts stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the virtual gateway further comprises a representation of each of one or more active drivers stored on the at least one remote physical gateway, and wherein the method further comprise using the at least one hardware processor to:

provide at least one user interface for editing each of the one or more active drivers represented in the virtual gateway; and

automatically maintain synchronization, across the at least one network, between the one or more active drivers represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active drivers stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising using the at least one hardware processor at a server to:

detect a failure of the at least one remote physical gateway; and

,

in response to the failure of the at least one remote physical gateway, locally execute the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway at the server instead of at the at least one remote physical gateway.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one remote physical gateway comprises a plurality of remote physical gateways associated with the virtual gateway, and wherein the method comprises using the at least one hardware processor to automatically maintain synchronization, across the at least one network, between the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active scripts stored on each of the plurality of remote physical gateways.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the virtual gateway further comprises a representation of each of one or more inactive scripts which are not synchronized with any scripts stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

generate a virtual gateway which comprises a representation of each of one or more active scripts stored on at least one remote physical gateway, wherein the one or more active scripts are configured to monitor or control one or more external devices communicatively connected to the at least one remote physical gateway, wherein at least one of the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway comprises one or more generic identifiers for at least one of the one or more external devices, and wherein each of the one or more generic identifiers comprises one or more wildcards;

provide at least one user interface for editing each of the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway; and

automatically maintain synchronization, across at least one network, between the one or more active scripts represented in the virtual gateway and the one or more active scripts stored on the at least one remote physical gateway.