Patent ID: 8099178
Filing Date: 2012-01-17
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A building automation system (BAS) comprising: a plurality of end devices each associated with at least one of a space, a system, or a subsystem for at least a portion of a building or a campus, wherein the plurality of end devices include end devices having different communication protocols including native and non-native communication protocols; at least one communication network communicatively coupling at least a portion of the plurality of end devices and supporting the different communication protocols; a protocol-independent server engine communicatively coupled to the at least one communication network, the server engine programmed to include: database means for storing the at least one characteristic of each end device and the relational directory, wherein an added end device is organized in the database based in part upon end device characteristics, if the added end device shares characteristics with an existing end device, the BAS handles the added end device in a similar manner as the existing end device, if the added end device has characteristics that have not been incorporated into the BAS, user-supplied information is provided for management of the added end device; and wherein the programming means for automatically assembling the relational directory is configured to automatically update the relational directory according to the dynamic extensibility capability and the automatic configuration capability, when the addition of end devices to the plurality of end devices is performed; and wherein the user interface means is configured to display the updated relational directory as an updated navigable directory of pages.