Patent ID: 7650417

Claim:
A method for setting up a communication between a device and a host application over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, where said device has no externally known IP address, said method comprising: a) sending out a multicast discovery request by said host application to a specific multicast address and a specific port known by said device; b) said device responding to said discovery request with a multicast discovery response sent to said specific multicast address and specific port number, containing an identification message including a unique identification parameter corresponding to said device, a host IP address and an application port number as identified from said discovery request; c) said host application accepting said discovery response based on said host IP address and application port number and sending subsequent multicast messages to said specific multicast address and specific port and including said identification parameter; and d) said device accepting said subsequent multicast messages based on said identification parameter and sending subsequent multicast messages to said specific multicast address and specific port and including said identification parameter and said host IP address and application port number; wherein said subsequent multicast messages include information enabling said device to configure itself.