Method for identifying a network service in a network having an Internet of Things network user

Abstract

A method is provided for identifying a network service (210-230) in a network (300) via a multicast domain name system mDNS based on a domain name system service discovery DNS-SD, the network having at least one Internet of Things network user, in particular an Internet of Things sensor / actuator (100). A request (1) for a network service type (11) in accordance with the domain name system service discovery DNS-SD is sent by the Internet of Things network user (100, 210, 220, 230) to the network (300) having at least one host that provides the network service. At least one reply (2, 3) in accordance with the domain name system service discovery DNS-SD is received from one of the hosts in response to the request (1). The reply (2, 3) has a text box with a network service identifier (12). A connection request (4) is sent by the Internet of Things network user (100) to the host (210-230) that is associated with the network service identifier (12) and that provides the desired network service.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for identifying a network service in a network having Internet of Things network users. Background Art

[0002] In the field of the Internet of Things (IoT), network users (e.g. sensors and / or actuators) are typically connected to the network via cables or wirelessly in order to allow communication with services in the network. The communication between network users (e.g. sensors and / or actuators) and services in the network can be based on the IP protocol, for example. The search for services in the network can be carried out, for example, by DNS-based service discovery according to the standard IETF RFC6763 via the domain name system. IoT network users (e.g. sensors / actuators) are typically configured so that they can communicate with fixed network services. When the address of a network service changes, all IoT sensors / actuators connected thereto must be reconfigured, which results in significant overhead each time the address of the network service changes.

[0003] In the German patent applications on which the priority claim is based, the German Patent and Trademark Office searched the following documents: US2015 / 0341446 A1, US2016 / 0127305 A1 and US2015 / 0142968 A1. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to specify a method for identifying services in a network having Internet of Things sensors / actuators, which method allows for improved and efficient identification.

[0005] The object is achieved by a method for identifying a service in a network having Internet of Things sensors / actuators according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0006] Therefore, a method is proposed for identifying network services in a network via a multicast domain name system mDNS based on domain name system service discovery DNS-SD, the network comprising: at least one host, which provides network services with a network service identifier, and at least one IoT sensor / actuator. A network user, such as an IoT sensor / actuator, sends a request for a network service or a network service type in accordance with the domain name system service discovery DNS-SD to a network having at least one host, which provides the network service. The host itself can be an IoT device. A reply from one of the hosts to the requested at least one domain name system service discovery DNS-SD is received by the sensor / actuator. The reply of the host has a text box with a network service identifier of the network service at the application level, which corresponds to the requested network service type. The IoT sensor / actuator sends a connection request to a host that provides the desired network service and whose network service identifier matches the application of the sensor / actuator. This makes it possible to achieve a simple and efficient possibility of decentralized search for network services in accordance with standards. By indicating the network service identifier in the text box, a filtering possibility based on the relevant service can be achieved.

[0007] According to one aspect of the invention, the network service tag is an identifier, an identifier of an IoT network user and / or an associated network service at the application level. Optionally, the identifier can be freely or substantially freely selected by the user when setting up the system. The user thus determines the name of the network service tag and / or the associated IoT network user at the application level. By this, an improved addressing of the corresponding network service tag and / or the corresponding IoT network user can be performed.

[0008] According to one aspect of the invention, the reply in accordance with the Domain Name System Service Discovery DNS-SD has a service tag in the application level in addition to the address information of the host consisting of the host URL and the port number in a TXT box that is only optional according to the standard. With the help of this, the IoT sensor / actuator can spontaneously and dynamically identify the service belonging to it and distinguish it from other similar services in the local network. In other words, instead of a variable purely structured address (IP address or host name), the identification can be performed on a static tag at the application level without having to use or manage a mapping table.

[0009] By this, IoT network users, such as IoT sensors / actuators, can independently identify the following host, which provides the network services required by the IoT sensors / actuators and is connected to it via the IP protocol, so that the IoT sensor can transmit its data to the network service via the network. This leads to a significantly reduced configuration cost and the IoT sensor / actuator independently performs the search, identification and connection with the network service. This can be achieved by appropriately enriching the host's reply with information specific to the IoT application. In the text box TXT in the reply of the DNS-SD via mDNS, it is stated which ioT application the network service belongs to. With the help of this information, the other station can dynamically understand how the network service being sought can be proposed in order to enable communication, and the network service is associated with the IoT application.

[0010] According to one aspect of the invention, the distributed identification of the central network service of the distributed IoT application can be carried out in the local network. In this case, the identification of the network service is carried out via an input in the text box TXT of the reply in accordance with mDNS-SD. The input in the text box can have an identifier at the application level.

[0011] According to another aspect of the invention, the multicast domain name system mDNS is optionally a wide area mDNS.Therefore, network services can also be identified in distributed local networks.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, IoT sensors / actuators and / or hosts are optionally addressed based on IPv6 link-local addresses, which leads to a further reduction in the cost of configuring IoT sensors / actuators.

[0013] According to one aspect of the invention, an IoT sensor / actuator itself can be a service provider in an IoT application, for example an IoT temperature sensor can provide a thermometer service. Thus, the IoT sensor / actuator is also a host. In addition, there are many different other conceivable services on the host in the network, such as a web-based status display (dashboard) that shows data from the IoT sensor / actuator. The method is suitable for identifying any local IoT service and thus allows all combinations of IoT sensors / actuators and hosts, which can also optionally identify each other.

[0014] According to one aspect of the invention, the distributed IoT network user can identify the entry by means of the application tag of the component in the text box TXT of the announced mDNS-SD. Further actions can then be performed, such as software update or firmware update.

[0015] Other embodiments of the present invention are the subject matter of exemplary embodiments of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Advantages and embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a method flow for searching for a service in a network according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and

[0018] Figure 2 Schematic diagram showing DNS-SD information when looking for a service in a network. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present invention relates to an Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure, in which a plurality of IoT network users (e.g. IoT sensors, actuators, wireless transmitters / receivers, etc.) can communicate with another component, such as a host providing a network service, via a network (e.g. the Internet or a local network). The communication of the sensors, actuators and / or wireless transmitters / receivers with the network and with the hosts in the network is based on the IP protocol. Optionally, the IoT network users (IoT sensors / actuators and / or wireless transmitters / receivers) can be used as hosts. For example, the search for the associated network service by the IoT network users is carried out by means of DNS-SD via mDNS (Domain Name System Service Discovery via Multicast Domain Name System, see standard: IETF RFC 6762). The IoT network users require network services in order to be able to communicate and to transmit data or measured values ​​to the network services. The network services are in turn used to receive and optionally control the IoT network users or to transmit instructions to them.

[0020] According to one aspect of the present invention, the corresponding IoT network user or the network service to which it belongs may be associated with a specific name or its own identifier. The identifier may be, for example, the input terminal of a TI211 temperature collector. Optionally, the identifier, label or name of the corresponding IoT network user may be specified by the user.

[0021] Figure 1A schematic diagram of the method flow for finding a service according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown. According to the first embodiment, service discovery is performed based on mDNS, that is, network services are found. An IoT network user 100 (e.g., a sensor / actuator) sends a request 1 (mdns request) for a network service of a specific type 11 to a connected network 300. A plurality of hosts 210, 220, 230 are connected to the network 300, and the hosts provide network services. If one of the hosts 210, 220, 230 provides the requested network service of type 11, the hosts 210, 220 respond with mDNS-SD announcements 2, 3 (mDNS-SD announcements). Request 1 and responses 2, 3 are performed in the service discovery phase SDP. Each response 2, 3 (mDNS announcement) has address information consisting of a network name 13 (consisting of a host name 13a and a domain 13b) and a port 14, as well as a service tag at the application level 12, the latter being contained in the text box TXT of the responses 2, 3. The network service to be found can be identified based on the application tag 12. If the IoT network user (e.g. sensor / actuator 100) has identified the correct network service based on the application identification 12, then in the service usage phase SUP a connection request 4 is made from the IoT sender / actuator 100 to the corresponding host 210, which provides the required network service. In this case, the IoT sensor 100 uses the address information from the mDNS-SD announcement consisting of the network name 13 and the port number 14.

[0022] In this way, the IoT sensor / actuator 100 can achieve independent and dynamic connection with the desired network service. Advantageously, for example, it is no longer necessary to configure the IP address.

[0023] According to one aspect of the invention, the user can indicate the IoT network user 100 and / or the network service to which it belongs in the system with its own identifier. The specific identifier can be present in the text box TXT, so that the user can directly identify the IoT network user and / or the network service to which it belongs in its identifier structure (the naming of the IoT network user and / or the network service to which it belongs). This is advantageous because the user does not need a mapping table (application identifier to IP address; infrastructure address or structure address). In addition, a mapping table for bus addresses is therefore required in a system that is not based on IP.

[0024] For example, the identifier for an IoT temperature sensor and / or the associated network service may be T1xxx. The identifier for a valve may be Vxxx, for example. Alternatively, the user may implement the corresponding identifier for the IoT network user / network service based on the device diagram or device structure itself, which is to be implemented by means of control by the IoT network user.

[0025] According to one aspect of the present invention, IPv6 link-local addresses are used when assigning IP addresses. Thus, hosts 210-230 and network users 100 can assign or associate IP addresses themselves. This is also advantageous because no central management is required for this.

[0026] Figure 2 The mDNS-SD request with the aid of an available mDNS client program is shown symbolically. In line (1) a request is made as to which host provides a service of type 11, to which the diagram shows a list (lines 2 and 3) with information about the host, to which the host responds with an announcement, in particular the server name (13a) and the domain (13b). In line 5 the mDNS client program is requested to indicate the further information known from the announcement to the found host. This includes the network name 13, the port number 14 and the service identifier at the application level 12 (i.e. the own identifier for the respective IoT network user). The latter is transmitted in the text box TXT of the mDNS-SD announcement.

[0027] According to one aspect of the present invention, an IoT network user may be configured as a wireless transmitter / receiver or a wireless client.

[0028] The wireless transmitter / receiver can communicate with the network based on IP based on WiFi protocol, LTE protocol, 5G protocol or Bluetooth protocol.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a network service in a network via a multicast domain name system (mDNS) based on a domain name system service discovery (DNS-SD), the network having: at least one host providing network services respectively having network service labels; and at least one IoT network user in the form of at least one IoT sensor / actuator and / or wireless transmitter / receiver, the method comprising the following steps: Sending a request for a network service type in accordance with Domain Name System Service Discovery DNS-SD from an Internet of Things network user to a network having at least one host, the host providing the network service; receiving at least one Domain Name System Service Discovery (DNS-SD) compliant reply from one of the hosts in response to the request, wherein the reply has a text box with a web service label of the web service, the text box corresponding to the type of web service requested, and A connection request is sent from the IoT network user to a host that is associated with the network service tag in the reply and that provides the desired network service, The identifier of at least one of the network services is freely selected by the user when setting up the system, The network service tag in the text box corresponds to the identifier of the corresponding network service at the application level. The addressing of the Internet of Things network user and / or the host is performed based on the IPv6 link-local address, so that the Internet of Things user and / or the host can allocate or associate the IP address itself.

2. The method for identifying a network service in a network according to claim 1, wherein The address information of the sought host with the network name and port number of said host is not known in advance to the requesting network user.

3. The method for identifying a network service in a network according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The multicast domain name system mDNS is a wide area mDNS.

4. The method for identifying a network service in a network according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The host can be one of the Internet of Things network users.

5. The method for identifying a network service in a network according to claim 3, wherein the host can be one of the Internet of Things network users.

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