US6477667B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and system for remote device monitoring
Assignee: Critical Devices Inc
•
Filing: 1999-10-07
•
Granted: 2002-11-05
•
Expires: 2019-10-07
Abstract
Abstract A user contracts for service with an operations center ( 12 ) in order to provide monitoring services for a plurality of devices ( 30 ). After contracting for service, the operations center provides an agent ( 81 ) for download by a user to one or more of the user's devices ( 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 ) for which the user has contracted for service. The agent is installed on the devices associated with the user's sites and a listener ( 362 ) at the operations center listens for alerts generated as a result of the agent monitoring health-indicative operating parameters on the device. After an alert is received by the operations center, a contact ( 32 ) is notified of the alert so that the problem causing the generation of the alert may be corrected.
Inventors
- 👤 Andrew E. Levi
- 👤 Bradley W. Bauer
- 👤 Robert C. Woldberg
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 19:27
CPC Classifications
G; G08; G08B; G08B13/00; G08B13/02; G08B13/14; G08B13/1409; G08B13/1418; B; B60; B60R; B60R25/00; B60R25/01; B60R25/04; B60R25/10; B60R25/102; B60R25/30; B60R25/33; G06; G06F; G06F21/00; G06F21/50; G06F21/55; G06F21/552; H; H04; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/02; H04L41/0213; H04L41/04; H04L41/046; H04L41/06; H04L41/0681; B60W; B60W2556/00; B60W2556/45; B60W2556/50; G06F2221/00; G06F2221/21; G06F2221/2111
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
95 words
A monitoring system comprising: an agent unidirectionally coupled to a communications network and residing at a remote site, the agent operable to monitor a set of operating parameters and to generate an alert in response to an operating parameter exceeding a predetermined threshold and transmit the alert across the communications network; wherein the agent is further operable to generate a registration trap when deployed at a device associated with the site; a listener coupled to the communications network and operable to receive the alert; and a responder operable to act in response to the alert.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
95 words
A monitoring system comprising: an agent unidirectionally coupled to a communications network and residing at a remote site, the agent operable to monitor a set of operating parameters and to generate an alert in response to an operating parameter exceeding a predetermined threshold and transmit the alert across the communications network; wherein the agent is further operable to generate a registration trap when deployed at a device associated with the site; a listener coupled to the communications network and operable to receive the alert; and a responder operable to act in response to the alert.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
64 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 further comprising an operations center coupled to the communications network and operable to receive the alert from the listener and to notify the responder in response to the alert; wherein the registration trap includes a hardware address associated with the device; and wherein the agent is further operable to transmit the registration trap to the operations center.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
61 words
The monitoring system according to claim 2 , wherein the operations center further comprises: a database operable to store a plurality of license information, a plurality of site information, a plurality of device information, a plurality of user information, a plurality of alert information and a plurality of inventory information; and a web site operable to provide sign-up and login abilities.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the operating parameters comprise: an available hard disk storage space indicator; and a hard disk media error indicator.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the operating parameters comprise: an available memory indicator; and an available system resources indicator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the operating parameters comprise: a processor utilization level indicator; and a system error indicator.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the unidirectional coupling of the agent provides only data transmission capabilities outbound from the agent to the communications network.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the site includes a site identifier and a site administrator associated therewith.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
The monitoring system according to claim 8 , wherein the site includes a device, the device having a device identifier associated therewith.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The monitoring system according to claim 8 , wherein the site includes a plurality of devices, each device having a device identifier associated therewith.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The monitoring system according to claim 10 , wherein each device further has a respective device administrator associated therewith.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
The monitoring system according to claim 11 , wherein the responder and the device administrator are both human personnel.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
15 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the communications network is the Internet.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The monitoring system according to claim 2 further comprising a predetermined communications channel used by the operations center to notify the responder.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
30 words
The monitoring system according to claim 14 , wherein the predetermined communications channel is selected from the group consisting of electronic mail, a pager, a facsimile and a phone call.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the agent is a platform-specific software program.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the agent is an operating system extension.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
42 words
The monitoring system according to claim 1 further including a site family having a plurality of sites therein and operable to be administered by a site administrator, the site administrator being operable to administer each of the sites in the site family.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
62 words
The monitoring system according to claim 18 , wherein the sites in the site family include a parent site and at least one child site, each of the parent site and the child sites being selected from the sites in the site family, and wherein the site administrator responsible for administering the site family is the site administrator of the parent site.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
80 words
A method for remote monitoring comprising the steps of: deploying a monitoring agent at a site; generating, by the monitoring agent, a registration trap at the device; monitoring the site for a change in a set of predetermined status indicators associated with the site; generating an alert in response to a change in any of the status indicators; unidirectionally communicating the alert over a communications link to an operations center; and notifying a technical respondent in response to the alert.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
80 words
A method for remote monitoring comprising the steps of: deploying a monitoring agent at a site; generating, by the monitoring agent, a registration trap at the device; monitoring the site for a change in a set of predetermined status indicators associated with the site; generating an alert in response to a change in any of the status indicators; unidirectionally communicating the alert over a communications link to an operations center; and notifying a technical respondent in response to the alert.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
127 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 20 further comprising the steps of: contracting with the operations center to monitor at least one site of an organization; deploying the monitoring agent at the at least one site, each site including at least one device; monitoring the at least one device at each site for any changes in the set of predetermined status indicators, wherein the status indicators comprise an available hard disk storage space indicator, a hard disk media error indicator, an available memory indicator, an available system resources indicator, a processor utilization level indicator, and a system error indicator; generating the alert such that the alert is related to the changed status indicator; and notifying a technical respondent associated with the site causing the alert.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
81 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 20 , wherein the registration trap includes a hardware address associated with the device and deploying the monitoring agent comprises: transmitting the monitoring agent from an operations center to the site, wherein the monitoring agent provides only unidirectional communications capabilities and the unidirectional communications capabilities allow only outbound transmission of information from the site; installing the monitoring agent on a device at the site; and transmitting the registration trap to the operations center.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 20 further comprising: receiving the alert by a listener at the operations center; validating a device identifier and license identifier associated with the alert at the operations center; querying a database based on the alert; adding the alert to an event table; and dispatching the alert to a notifier.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 20 , wherein the unidirectionally communicating the alert step only allows transmission from the site to the operations center.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 21 , wherein the contracting step comprises: providing, by a user associated with the organization, to the operations center of site information, the site information identifying a technical administrator, a site administrator, and at least one device administrator; requesting, by the user, at least one license from the operations center; allocating the at least one license to the organization.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
127 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 25 , wherein the requesting the at least one license step comprises: requesting at least one server license; and wherein the allocating the at least one license step comprises: creating a site identifier for each site associated with the organization; creating a user identifier for each site associated with the organization; associating the user identifier with the site administrator; sending a device registration notification to the site administrator associated with each device for which a respective one of the at least one device licenses has been requested; sending the device information of the device to the operations center; and generating a device identifier associated with the device, the device identifier being generated as a function of the device information.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 26 , wherein the requesting the at least one license step further comprises requesting at least one server license.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 20 further comprising: providing a web site at the operations center; logging into the web site, by a device administrator, using a user identifier associated with the device administrator; verifying the user identifier at the operations center; and providing a plurality of options to the device administrator.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 28 , wherein providing the plurality of options step comprises: viewing a device alert log; performing device administration; viewing a device inventory; performing user administration; utilizing a technical support service; and utilizing a technical knowledgebase.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 20 further comprising: providing a web site at the operations center; logging into the web site, by a site administrator, using a user identifier associated with the site administrator; verifying the user identifier at the operations center; and providing a plurality of options to the site administrator.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method for remote monitoring according to claim 28 , wherein providing the plurality of options step comprises: viewing a site alert log which includes a plurality of alerts associated with the site and a plurality of alerts associated with the device associated with the site; performing site administration; performing device administration; viewing a device inventory; performing user administration; utilizing a technical support service; and utilizing a technical knowledgebase.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4545011A
Cited
US4800384A
Cited
US4956863A
Cited
US5740357A
Cited
WO1993001550A1
Cited
US5598528A
Cited
US5751936A
Cited
US5928328A
Cited
US5343529A
Cited
US6125390A
Cited
US5731785A
Cited
WO1996003728A1
Cited
US5802280A
Cited
EP0740037A1
Cited
US5812819A
Cited
US5751964A
Cited
US5790548A
Cited
US5768501A
Cited
EP0822498A1
Cited
US5796633A
Cited
WO1998004967A1
Cited
WO1998021658A1
Cited
US5748084A
Cited
WO1998043151A1
Cited
US6219648B1
Cited
EP0869640A1
Cited
US6145098A
Cited
WO1999008420A1
Cited
EP0899648A2
Cited
US5936526A
Cited
EP0951155A1
Cited
US6237114B1
Cited
US5963131A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-11-04 | 2006-05-06 | 2006-11-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-11-04 | 2010-05-06 | 2010-11-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-11-04 | 2014-05-06 | 2014-11-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |