Patent ID: 8880883

Claim:
A method for controlling devices in a system, comprising: generating a command for an operation to be carried out by a device in the network; forwarding the command to a permit issuing agent that has access to a plurality of business logic modules stored in a memory, wherein each business logic module has a respectively different set of business rules associated with it; within the permit issuing agent, performing the following operations by a programmed processor: based upon at least one attribute of the command, identifying at least one of a plurality of business logic modules that is pertinent to the command; for each business logic module that is identified as being pertinent to the command, determining whether the command complies with the business rules associated with that module; if the command is determined to comply with the business rules of all of the identified business logic modules, issuing a permit for the command, wherein the permit is an object having an authenticable attribute, and contains a description of the commanded operation and an identification of a device designated to perform the commanded operation; and sending the permit for the command to at least one device in the system, for execution of the command.