Patent ID: 9077611
Filing Date: 2015-07-07
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for managing the operation of at least one network-connected electronic device not previously registered with a discovery device processor, the method comprising: (a) discovering, with the discovery device processor, the existence of an unregistered electronic device on a network, said discovering comprising performing recognition with the discovery device processor to learn information previously unknown to the discovery device processor related to at least one aspect of the network-connected electronic device without requiring use of a software agent, installed on the electronic device, that is specifically designed to respond to device discovery protocols; (b) selecting and automatically obtaining, installing and launching, for execution by the discovery device processor, a first dynamic application that gives the discovery device processor at least one capability for discovering further aspects of the network-connected electronic device, said automatically obtaining, installing and launching being performed by the discovery device processor on an as-needed basis in response to discovery of the existence of the unregistered electronic device on the network and the learning by the discovery device processor of the previously unknown information related to at least one aspect of the network-connected electronic device, the automatically obtaining including downloading a template on demand in response to the discovery device processor discovering at least one aspect of the network-connected electronic device, said template comprising a data structure that defines at least one aspect of the discovery device processor operation or configuration, the data structure including any one or more of the first dynamic application, a specification of information the first dynamic application is to collect, a storage location for the first dynamic application, a notification and alerting threshold, and a management policy for the discovered device; (c) the discovery device processor using the template to identify the management policy for use by the discovery device processor to manage the discovered device; (d) the discovery device processor using the template to identify a second dynamic application to be instantiated and executed, including using said identified management policy to select the identified second dynamic application; (e) the discovery device processor instantiating and invoking said selected second dynamic application to manage at least one aspect or characteristic of the network in accordance with the identified management policy; (f) executing said second dynamic application on the discovery device processor remotely from the network-connected electronic device; and (g) iterating (b) and (f) to learn and discover additional information related to further aspects of the network-connected electronic device, said iteration of (b) and (f) based at least in part on previously learned information, including replacing a previously configured dynamic application with the instantiated and invoked second dynamic application at least in part in response to learned information; and (h) using said additional information learned and discovered by (g) to manage, over the network, and change state of said network-connected electronic device.