Patent ID: 8443067
Filing Date: 2013-05-14
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In an automation network comprising a plurality of nodes, each node comprising one or more connections to connect each node to one or more devices and one or more other nodes, a method for reconstruction of the network on a decentralized basis when replacing a device, the method comprising: (a) identifying, by each device in the network in a distributed manner, an order of devices in the network defining a relationship between the devices based on predefined hierarchies of connections for each node specifying a direction defining an order for all available connections, comprising, correspondingly for each device in the network: (i) identifying a corresponding device's associated node; (ii) determining the order of devices by ascertaining, for the corresponding device's associated node, a number of available connections and the predefined hierarchy for the available connections, which of the number of connections is connected to the corresponding device and a hierarchy for the connection to the corresponding device, and which of the number of connections are still occupied and connected to other nodes and other devices and the hierarchies for the connections still occupied and connected to other nodes and other devices, such that the direction defining the order for all available connections also defines a corresponding upstream or downstream direction for the other connected nodes and devices thereby establishing each device's upstream and downstream neighboring devices; and (iii) distributively storing the order of devices in the corresponding device, wherein the order of devices stored in each device in the network in accordance with (i)-(iii) comprises the order of all of the devices including direct relationships for the devices connected to the corresponding device's associated node and indirect relationships for the devices connected to other connected nodes; (b) upon replacing a first device with a replacement device by connecting the replacement device to a first node in place of the first device, identifying, by the replacement device, the replacement device's associated node and which of the other devices is a neighbor of the replacement device; and (c) receiving, by the replacement device, locally from the neighbor of the replacement device, the stored order of all of the devices; and (d) reconstructing the network on a decentralized basis using the stored order of all of the devices received from the neighbor.