Patent ID: 8635316

Claim:
A system for facilitating management of a home network including consumer devices, comprising: a service node including one or more communication links to a plurality of devices deployed in a home environment, wherein at least some devices of the plurality of devices are produced by different manufacturers, and wherein each of the plurality of devices executes a respective agent process that provides configuration information regarding the device to the service node, wherein the configuration information is stored in a device registry, wherein the respective agent process acts as a proxy to the service node and is loaded directly into the corresponding device through a custom memory device coupled to the corresponding device, and wherein the custom memory device stores service resource information for existing devices in the home environment, and downloads information to the corresponding device based on the stored information; a computing device coupled to the service node and executing a client-side process providing device support for each of the plurality of devices through the service node; a data center coupled to the service node storing device parameter information in the device registry, and to generate a network topology representing operational characteristics of the devices and interconnection information among the devices, wherein the network topology is displayed through a graphical user interface of the service node; and an interface to one or more service providers, each service provider comprising a manufacturer or an agent of a manufacturer and providing configuration and maintenance information to a user of a respective device of the at least one of the devices, the interface providing the network topology to each service provider to facilitate servicing of a device based on the network context of the device.