NETWORK CONFIGURATION
A method of configuring a network, the network comprising a plurality of devices capable of operating according to a wireless communications protocol, each device having a device type, each device communicating directly with one or more local devices of a local group, the local devices being those devices of the network with which the device is in direct communications range, the method comprising: storing a device configuration for each device; at a device: detecting that a first local device having a first device type has left the local group, and detecting that a further device having the first device type has entered the local group; determining that the further device is a replacement for the first local device; and applying the stored configuration for the first local device to the further device.
1 . A method of configuring a network, the network comprising a plurality of devices capable of operating according to a wireless communications protocol, each device having a device type, each device communicating directly with one or more local devices of a local group, the local devices being those devices of the network with which the device is in direct communications range, the method comprising:
storing a device configuration for each device;
at a device:
detecting that a first local device having a first device type has left the local group, and
detecting that a further device having the first device type has entered the local group;
determining that the further device is a replacement for the first local device; and
applying the stored configuration for the first local device to the further device.
2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the further device is associated with an appliance supplementary to its wireless communications function, and wherein applying the stored configuration to the further device configures functionality of the appliance.
3 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein applying the stored configuration to the further device configures the further device to communicate over the network according to the wireless communications protocol.
4 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising, at each device:
storing identities of the local devices of the local group of that device in a store;
from each local device, receiving an identifier message comprising an identity of the local device and an instruction not to retransmit the identifier message; and
updating the store with the identities of the local devices of the local group.
5 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the identifier message comprising the identity of the local device specifies the device type of the local device.
6 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each local device transmits an identifier message in response to receiving a trigger message from the device.
7 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each local device transmits an identifier message in response to receiving a trigger message from a central network entity.
8 . The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the trigger message and the identifier message are both transmitted in a low or no security mode such that a device which is not yet associated with the network can successfully receive the trigger message and transmit the identifier message.
9 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each device periodically reports the identities of the local devices in the local group of that device to a central network entity.
10 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each device reports the identities of the local devices in the local group of that device to a central network entity only if the identities of the local devices in the local group have changed since the device last reported the identities of the local devices in the local group to the central network entity.
11 . The method as claimed in claim 9 , comprising, at the central network entity, determining that the further device is a replacement for the first local device if more than one device reports to the central network entity that:
the identities of the local devices no longer include the first local device's identity;
the identities of the local devices include the further device's identity; and
the first local device and the further device have the same device type.
12 . The method as claimed in claim 9 , comprising, at the central network entity, determining that the further device is a replacement for the first local device if each of the devices which were local devices of the first local device reports to the central network entity that:
the identities of the local devices no longer include the first local device's identity;
the identities of the local devices include the further device's identity; and
the first local device and the further device have the same device type.
13 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , comprising storing the device configurations of each device at a central network entity.
14 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , comprising storing the device configurations of each device in a distributed manner across the devices of the network.
15 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the network is a mesh network.
16 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the devices operate according to the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.
17 . A network comprising:
a plurality of devices capable of operating according to a wireless communications protocol, each device having a device type, each device communicating directly with one or more local devices of a local group, the local devices being those devices of the network with which the device is in direct communications range;
wherein each device is configured to:
detect that a first local device having a first device type has left the local group, and
detect that a further device having the first device type has entered the local group;
wherein the network is configured to:
store a device configuration for each device,
determine that the further device is a replacement for the first local device, and
apply the stored configuration for the first local device to the further device.
18 . The network as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the further device is associated with an appliance supplementary to its wireless communications function, and wherein the further device is configured to apply the stored configuration to the appliance.
19 . The network as claimed in claim 17 , wherein each device comprises a store for storing the identities of the local devices of the local group of that device, and wherein each device is configured to update the identities stored in the store on receiving identifier messages from the local devices, each identifier message including an identity of the local device that sent the identifier message.
20 . A method of determining the topology of a network, the network comprising a central network entity and a plurality of devices capable of operating according to a wireless communications protocol, each device communicating directly with one or more local devices of a local group, the local devices being those devices of the network with which the device is in direct communications range, the method comprising:
at each device, from each local device, receiving an identifier message comprising an identity of the local device and an instruction not to retransmit the identifier message;
at each device, reporting the identities of the local devices in the local group of that device to the central network entity; and
at the central network entity, determining the topology of the network by collating the identities of the local devices in the local groups of each device.