Network Element Waking Multiple Sleeping Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for waking up devices on a Local Area Network (LAN) can only wake up a single device at a time, failing to support scenarios where multiple devices need to be activated simultaneously to provision complex services in multimedia environments.
Innovation Solution
A Network Element within the communications network receives a service request comprising multiple features and generates wake-up requests for corresponding sleeping devices, ensuring all necessary devices are activated to provide the requested service.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single wake-on-LAN signal is sent to a sleeping device, then that single device can be woken up, but multiple sleeping devices cannot be woken up simultaneously to provision complex services
Solution Approach 1:
The service request is segmented into multiple service features, where each service feature corresponds to a specific sleeping device. The network element processes each service feature independently to generate targeted wake-up requests, enabling selective activation of only the necessary devices required for the requested service.
Solution Approach 2:
A network element is introduced as an intermediary between the waking device and the sleeping devices. This network element receives the service request, analyzes the service features, and generates appropriate wake-up requests for the corresponding sleeping devices, thereby coordinating multi-device activation without requiring direct communication between all devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple wake-up requests are sent to wake up multiple sleeping devices, then complex services can be provisioned, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network element serves multiple functions: it acts as a request receiver, service feature analyzer, wake-up request generator, and device coordinator. By consolidating these functions in a single network element, the system achieves multi-device service support without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each sleeping device contains a network interface card with wake-on-LAN capability that can independently process wake-up requests. The devices self-activate based on the service features in the request without requiring complex coordination protocols between them, reducing inter-device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for waking up a plurality of sleeping devices. Each sleeping device is coupled to a waking device over a communications network and is adapted to provide a service feature to the waking device upon a request for the service feature from the waking device. The waking device sends a request for service to a network element of the communications network, which is always on. The network element receives the request for service, determines which features are requested by the waking device, and wakes up the sleeping devices that provide these requested features.