Wireless SNMP agent gateway

• US 9,325,814 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2012
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sierra Wireless America Incorporated (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Numerex Corporation (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Inventors: Stargardt, Wayne, Baker, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Vostal, O. C.
• Application Number:
  US13/485,030
• Publication Number:
  US 20120311142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,426 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 370/216
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0226 Mapping or translating multiple network management protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices

Abstract

A system for managing communications between a group of remote machine-to-machine devices and a management platform is described where the remote devices may have disparate communication protocols. An agent gateway sits in the communication path between the remote devices and the management platform and communicates wireless with the remote devices using the native communication protocols of each device. The agent gateway includes a translator function connected to a management information base, wherein the management information base contains information relating to each machine-to-machine device and its native protocol. The agent gateway translates the messages into a standard protocol, such as SNMP, used by the network management platform allowing the network management platform to monitor and manage the remote devices using the standard network protocol.

Claims

1. A Simple Network Management Protocol gateway comprising:

a machine-to-machine device interface connecting the gateway to machine-to-machine devices using protocols native to each machine-to-machine device over wireless networks;

an internet interface connecting the gateway to an SNMP management platform; and

a translator function connected to a management information base, wherein the management information base contains information relating to each machine-to-machine device and its native protocol;

wherein the gateway is operable to allow the SNMP network management platform to monitor and manage remote disparate machine-to-machine devices over multiple, disparate, wireless networks and wherein the gateway is operable to provide flow control and acknowledgement of receipt services required by the SNMP network management platform; and

wherein the protocols native to each machine-to-machine device are more efficient than a SNMP protocol.

2. The gateway of claim 1 wherein the wireless networks are cellular networks.

3. The gateway of claim 1 wherein the gateway communicates with the SNMP management platform over a broadband data network.

4. The gateway of claim 1 wherein the gateway is operable to provide device identification or address translations between the SNMP network management platform and the machine-to-machine devices.

5. The gateway of claim 1 wherein the gateway is operable to manage intermittent connections with the machine-to-machine devices over the wireless network to provide “

store and forward”

functionality.

6. The gateway of claim 1 wherein the wireless networks are one or more of:

Wi-Fi networks, WiMax networks, radio frequency, and satellite.

7. A method for communicating between a machine-to-machine device and an SNMP management platform, the method comprising:

receiving a message over a cellular network at a gateway from the machine-to-machine device in its native M2M protocol;

accessing a management information base in the gateway to retrieve definitions for machine-to-machine device;

translating the message from the native M2M protocol to the SNMP format;

sending the SNMP formatted message to the SNMP management platform over a second network; and

providing flow control and acknowledgement of receipt services required by the SNMP network management platform;

wherein the native M2M protocol is more efficient than the SNMP format.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein second network is a broadband data network.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing device identification or address translations between the SNMP network management platform and the machine-to-machine devices.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising managing intermittent connections with the machine-to-machine devices over the wireless network to provide “

store and forward”

functionality.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the wireless networks are one or more of:

Wi-Fi networks, WiMax networks, radio frequency, and satellite.

12. A system comprising:

a plurality of remote devices, the remote devices having disparate communication protocols;

an agent gateway in communication with the plurality of remote devices over one or more wireless networks using the disparate communication protocols associated with each of the plurality of remote devices, the agent gateway including a translator function connected to a management information base, wherein the management information base contains information relating to each machine-to-machine device and its native protocol; and

a network management platform in communication with the agent gateway and operable to send and receive communications in a standard network protocol;

wherein the agent gateway is operable to allow the network management platform to monitor and manage the remote devices by translating between the disparate communications protocols of the remote devices and the standard network protocol of the network management protocol wherein the disparate communications protocols are more efficient than the standard network protocol, and wherein the agent gateway is operable to provide flow control and acknowledgement of receipt services required by the SNMP network management platform.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the standard network protocol is SNMP.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the one or more wireless networks include a cellular network.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the one or more wireless networks are one or more of:

cellular networks, Wi-Fi networks, WiMax networks, radio frequency, and satellite.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the network management platform communicates with the agent gateway over a broadband data network.