Patent ID: 8914526

Claim:
A system for remote access of home networks in respective user premises comprising: an Internet browser hardware device including a processor running an Internet browser; an extranet located external to said user premises and accessible via said Internet browser; a plurality of connection gateways each comprising a hardware processor, each of at least a subset of which is located in a respective one of the user premises and is part of the respective home network of the respective user premises; and at least one communications server that each comprises a hardware processor located in said extranet and adapted to interconnect on-demand with said connection gateways; wherein: each of the at least the subset of the plurality of connection gateways is accessible by the at least one communications server and is communicatively coupled to one or more networked components of the respective home network in which the respective connection gateway is located, the at least one communications server not being communicatively coupleable to the one or more networked components of the respective home network; and responsive to user-input of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in accordance with which said Internet browser accesses a predetermined address on said extranet to which address the URL corresponds, in which accessing said Internet browser provides authorization data, one of said at least one communications server subsequently: determines which one of said home networks in which one of said connection gateways is located said authorization data indicates authority to at least one of control and monitor; and creates a new communications session between said communications server and said one of said connection gateways located in said determined one of said home networks to at least one of control and monitor operation of at least one service in said home network, by which communications session the extranet: obtains information contained within the home network from the connection gateway of the determined home network; and serves a webpage to the Internet browser via which the information from the connection gateway of the determined home network is provided to said Internet browser.