Patent ID: 6981046

Claim:
A network having network nodes ( 1 to 5 ) and a software system distributed among all the network nodes ( 1 to 5 ), said software system having at each network node ( 1 to 5 ) a software component referred to as a distribution utility ( 12 to 14 ) for the access to the data of a distributed data base ( 31 ), and for the communication with other distribution utilities ( 12 to 14 ) of different network nodes, and having at least one software component referred to as a data manager ( 15 to 19 ), which serves as a link from the data base ( 31 ) to other components and which includes a callback component ( 20 to 24 ) for the access to at least one element ( 28 ) of a data object ( 29 ), and having a key consisting of two parts, of which a first part is a distribution utility key ( 33 ) for the identification of a data object ( 29 ) by the distribution utility ( 12 to 14 ), and of which a second part is a data manager key ( 34 ) for the identification of at least one required element ( 28 ) of a data object ( 29 ), wherein with the aid of the callback component ( 20 to 24 ) the distribution utility ( 12 to 14 ) employs the data manager ( 15 to 19 ) for the interpretation of the data intended for the distribution utility ( 12 to 14 ), the data manager ( 15 to 19 ) serves for the generation and evaluation of the data manager key ( 34 ), and the syntax and content of the data manager key ( 34 ) can be selected freely, and wherein the distribution utility ( 12 to 14 ) serves for the re-integration of a network node ( 1 to 5 ) that has failed and for the integration of a new network node ( 1 to 5 ) to be added to the network, and the distribution utility ( 12 to 14 ) serves for the use of services made available to said utility by the data manager ( 15 to 19 ).