Patent ID: 9620955
Date: 2017-04-11
CPC Classifications: H02H,H04L

Claim:
1. A method for managing communication messages comprising: a network device receiving via a communications interface a message included in a multi-cast message stream from a first intelligent electronic device (IED), the message including information identifying a publishing IED and data state information; the network device determining, using a processor included in the network device, that the message represents a data state change associated with the publishing IED based on a state of a data state change indicator included in the message, the state of the data state change indicator providing an indication of whether the message represents a data state change relative to a prior message; the network device storing the message in a message buffer associated with the information identifying the publishing IED; the network device placing the stored message in an output message queue; and the network device prioritizing the stored message according to a message queue priority designation and transmitting the stored message to a second IED from the output message queue using the communications interface based on the message queue priority designation, the second IED being separate from the network device and being configured to engage in at least one control action based on the transmitted stored message.