Patent ID: 7774477

Claim:
In a network of computing devices interoperating via a peer networking protocol, a method of peer networking protocol hosting for a group of logical devices such that the computing devices on the network are able to interoperate with the hosted logical devices via the peer networking protocol, the method comprising: in a computing device with software installed thereon for a peer networking host having an implementation of the peer networking protocol and with a software program installed thereon that implements a controllable logical device having a set of device services, providing an application programming interface associated with the peer networking host software for invoking by the software program that implements the controllable logical device, which the controllable logical device registers with the peer networking host by providing device and service descriptions, to obtain peer network protocol hosting of the controllable logical device and the device services of the hosted controllable logical device from the peer networking host via the application programming interface, the software program that implements the controllable logical device otherwise lacking capacity to interoperate via the peer networking protocol on its own, the software program of the controllable logical device providing descriptive data of the hosted controllable logical device and the device services of the hosted controllable logical device to the peer networking host via the application programming interface; proxying discovery and description requests per the peer networking protocol from controlling devices on the network directed to discovery and description of the hosted controllable logical devices within the peer networking host, wherein said discovery and description requests are addressed to the hosted controllable logical devices and the peer networking host responds to the discovery and description requests with the provided device and service descriptions; proxying service control requests per the peer networking protocol from controlling devices on the network directed to the device services of the hosted controllable logical device within the peer networking host, wherein the peer networking host invokes the respective device service of the hosted controllable logical device responsive to a particular service control request; and communicating events sourced from the hosted controllable logical device by the peer networking host to the network in accordance with the peer networking protocol.