Patent ID: 8762497

Claim:
A method performed by a controller that monitors and/or controls an apparatus, the method comprising: sending a command to a server requesting a document, the document containing operational parameters to be updated and times at which updates are to occur; receiving the document from the server; obtaining one or more operational parameters for the apparatus to be updated using the document, the one or more operational parameters being from the document; polling the server by sending a message to the server, the message containing information that distinguishes the apparatus from other identical apparatuses, the message comprising a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) message and the one or more operational parameters for the apparatus; receiving, in a reply from the server and in response to the message, data that is specific to the apparatus, the data comprising one or more updated values for the one or more operational parameters, the one or more updated values having been determined by the server using the one or more operational parameters sent to the server; and using the data to affect at least one of: a configuration of the apparatus, or an operation of the apparatus; wherein the controller is on an internal network and the server is on an external network, and wherein the controller has a local address that is not recognizable from the external network.