Remotely managing devices over a network: US Pat. No. 7,698,405

U.S. Patent No. 7,698,405, issued on April 13, 2010 to Lantronix, Inc. of Irvine, CA, discloses an add-on module that allows a network to monitor and manage devices that are not normally configured to be connected to a network.

According to the patent, the use of network-controlled devices has increased dramatically in recent years, but there are still problems managing devices that were never intended to be connected to a network or devices which provide inadequate managing capabilities.  The patent defines an acronym “MILARRS” for the management functionality provided by the invention for such devices:

• Monitoring the state of the device
• Inventory the device’s subsystems, components, or assets
• Logging data or events generated by the device
• Alerting an administrator of device state or actions
• Recovering the device if it fails or shuts down
• Reporting device information or diagnostics
• Securing the device and its assets from threats and risk

Lantronix’s website includes a number of videos describing their “DeviceLinx” product line that allows users to connect almost any device to a network, and that possibly practices the invention of the ’405 patent.   According to the USPTO database, the company has twelve U.S. patents on various devices and methods for computer and device networking.