Patent ID: 8396963

Claim:
A method of managing information in a utility monitoring system, the utility monitoring system including a host computer and an array of monitoring devices operatively coupled together on a peer-to-peer network, the array of monitoring devices including at least a first monitoring device with a first memory and a second monitoring device with a second memory, the first and second monitoring devices each being configured to receive data, convert measurements of a characteristic of a utility into corresponding data, and transmit data, the first monitoring device being part of a cluster of the monitoring devices, each of the monitoring devices in the cluster storing therein configuration and commissioning information of the first monitoring device, the method comprising: storing data received by the first monitoring device in the first memory; storing data received by the second monitoring device in the second memory; responsive to the first memory being below a first threshold storage capacity, transferring at least some of the data received by the second monitoring device to the first monitoring device; storing the transferred data in the first memory; receiving an indication that the first monitoring device has been replaced with a first replacement monitoring device having a first replacement memory, the first replacement monitoring device being configured to receive data, convert measurements of the characteristic of the utility into data, and transmit data; transferring the configuration and commissioning information stored in at least one of the monitoring devices in the cluster to the first replacement monitoring device; and storing the configuration and commissioning information in the first replacement memory.