Patent ID: 6857023

Claim:
An interface controller for managing operation of a plurality of devices at two or more properties via a wide area network, each of the devices belonging to one or more of a plurality of classes and having a unique communication protocol associated therewith, the interface controller comprising: a network communications layer for communicating with the plurality of devices via the wide area network and a client application associated with the plurality of devices; an information processing layer for communicating with the network communications layer, the information processing layer having a set of objects corresponding to each of the plurality of devices, the information processing layer also being for interacting with a data access layer on behalf of each of the plurality of devices using the corresponding objects, interaction between the information processing layer and the data access layer on behalf of each of the plurality of devices using the corresponding objects, interaction between the information processing layer and the data access layer on behalf of all of the plurality of devices being governed by a single set of rules; and a property monitoring system coupled to the information processing layer, the property monitoring system generating a display that can include a user-selectable combination of device class and property.