Patent ID: 8645582

Claim:
A network node for use in a vehicle control network, comprising: a node housing, said node housing comprising an external port; a processor contained within said node housing; a transceiver contained within said node housing, said transceiver coupled to an external network bus interconnecting multiple nodes of the control network; a plurality of input/output ports for controlling or monitoring local electronic vehicle sensors, modules or components; a detachable module adapted for connection to said external port; and a programmable memory encapsulated within said detachable module, said programmable memory storing a unique node identifier for the network node; wherein said programmable memory is accessible to said processor when said detachable module is coupled to said external port; wherein the network node communicates over said external network bus using said unique node identifier to identify bus traffic intended for the network node; wherein said programmable memory comprises a writable memory portion for storing data obtained from one or more of the local electronic vehicle sensors, modules or components coupled to the network node; and wherein said processor is configured to record, in the writable memory portion of said programmable memory, data associated with controlling or monitoring the local electronic vehicle sensors, modules or components.