A generic network management architecture targeted to support home automation networks and home Internet connectivity

This paper proposes a generic network management architecture, targeted to support home automation networks (HAN) and home Internet connectivity. The main objective of the proposed architectural model and implied protocol is the acquisition of control and monitoring information of a HAN, as well as the handling of such information remotely by means of an Internet connection. The proposed protocol, being an application service element (ASE), is fully compatible with the notation and functionality of the emerging “convergence” protocol targeted to be a European standard for home automation systems. The core of the proposed architecture is a new management protocol entity residing at the OSI application layer. We have followed an approach similar to the well-known simple network management protocol (SNMP) of the TCP/IP protocol suite. Information is acquired either on request by the management device or on event reporting initiated by a managed device. Furthermore, the acquired information can be diffused to the Internet, through a HAN-to-TCP gateway unit. Finally, a prototype system based on the European Home Systems (EHS) specification is described