Software Settings Based on Geophysical Location
A network-connected device may receive specific software configuration settings based on geophysical location information known about the device. The geophysical location information may come from a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or any other mechanism for determining a location for the device. The software settings may be stored in a volatile memory so that when the device is disconnected from a power source, it does not contain the specific settings required for the device to operate. In another embodiment, localization settings to meet regulatory requirements or other local configuration may be downloaded to the device based on the geophysical location information.
1 . A method comprising:
connecting a first device to a network, said first device having geophysical location information;
reading said geophysical location information about said first device with a host device;
determining a set of software settings for said first device based on said geophysical location; and
transmitting said set of software settings to said host device from said first device.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
storing said set of software settings in volatile memory.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein said geophysical location comprises a jurisdictional boundary.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein said geophysical location comprises a boundary of a network franchise.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein said geophysical location comprises a campus boundary.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein said method is performed in response to a localized emergency.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein said method is performed in response to testing on said network.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein said method is performed in order to update devices on said network.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein said first device is a fixed mounted device.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein said first device comprises at least one wired connection.
11 . The method of claim 10 wherein said wired connection comprises a power connection.
12 . The method of claim 10 wherein said wired connection comprises a network connection.
13 . A method comprising:
connecting a first device to a network, said first device having geophysical location information;
determining a set of software settings for said first device based on said geophysical location by performing a query against a database comprised in a host device; and
transmitting said set of software settings to said host device from said first device.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein said first device comprises a radio transceiver.
15 . The method of claim 14 wherein said geophysical location information is obtained by a method comprising triangulation.
16 . The method of claim 14 wherein said first device comprises a Global Positioning System receiver.
17 . The method of claim 13 wherein said first device further comprises a network address.
18 . The method of claim 13 further comprising:
storing said set of software settings in non-volatile memory.
19 . The method of claim 13 further comprising:
storing said set of software settings in volatile memory.
20 . The method of claim 13 wherein said geophysical location comprises a jurisdictional boundary.