A universal gateway device includes a first network interface circuit and a second network interface circuit. The first network interface circuit is utilized to communicate over a first network associated with an Internet of Things (IoT) management system utilizing a first communications protocol. The second network interface circuit is utilized to communicate over a second network associated with an IoT device utilizing a second communications protocol that is different from the first communications protocol. The first network interface circuit generates a virtual device representation of the IoT device on the first network. The virtual device representation is utilized to communicate data from the IoT device over the first network utilizing the first communications protocol.

This application relates to a distributed software-defined network (“DSDN”) for dynamically configuring and managing a wireless communication network. A plurality of DSDN nodes are connected to each other via a plurality of communication paths. Each communication path directly connects two DSDN nodes. Each DSDN node can provide DSDN configurations across diverse and disparate networks by normalizing its data plane network traffic through translation and packet encapsulation. Furthermore, the DSDN node can provide an architecture tolerant of network interruptions and network system fluctuations. For example, in the case of any one of the DSDN node's network interruptions from other DSDN nodes, the DSDN can provide network reconfiguration using network configuration rules stored in a control plane of each DSDN node. Therefore, various embodiments can increase network reliability by the multiple nodes within a software-defined network independently managing its control plane in response to changed network conditions.

In an example, a method includes receiving, by a network management system (NMS), a configuration request comprising first configuration data for a network device, the first configuration data defining a data structure comprising a first property/value pair; generating, by the NMS from the first configuration data, a corresponding first path/value pair for the first property/value pair, wherein a path of the first path/value pair uniquely identifies the first path/value pair in an associative data structure; modifying, by the NMS, the associative data structure based on the first path/value pair; generating, by the NMS, from the associative data structure, a configuration resource comprising second configuration data for the network device, the second configuration data comprising a second property/value pair that corresponds to the first path/value pair; and sending, by the NMS, the second configuration data to the network device to modify a configuration of the network device.

In an example, a method includes receiving, by a network management system (NMS), a configuration request comprising first configuration data for a network device, the first configuration data defining a data structure comprising a first property/value pair; generating, by the NMS from the first configuration data, a corresponding first path/value pair for the first property/value pair, wherein a path of the first path/value pair uniquely identifies the first path/value pair in an associative data structure; modifying, by the NMS, the associative data structure based on the first path/value pair; generating, by the NMS, from the associative data structure, a configuration resource comprising second configuration data for the network device, the second configuration data comprising a second property/value pair that corresponds to the first path/value pair; and sending, by the NMS, the second configuration data to the network device to modify a configuration of the network device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, aspects of the disclosure may provide efficient, effective, and convenient ways of managing network devices. In particular, a client router may connect to an upstream virtual gateway. The virtual gateway may manage a large number of client devices. Each client router may be represented virtually within the gateway as a virtual router. The virtual gateways may be distributed regionally, in order to manage large numbers of client routers and/or to reduce transmission delays. The virtual gateways may be managed by a gateway controller. The gateway controller may be centralized, and perform various configuration functions, such as configurations for hardware, logical networking, or content access policies. In some instances, messages sent between the gateway controller using a first protocol and the client router using a second protocol may be translated by a protocol agent.

A universal gateway device includes a first network interface circuit and a second network interface circuit. The first network interface circuit is utilized to communicate over a first network associated with an Internet of Things (IoT) management system utilizing a first communications protocol. The second network interface circuit is utilized to communicate over a second network associated with an IoT device utilizing a second communications protocol that is different from the first communications protocol. The first network interface circuit generates a virtual device representation of the IoT device on the first network. The virtual device representation is utilized to communicate data from the IoT device over the first network utilizing the first communications protocol.

Systems and methods of automatically creating and operating a Maintenance End Point (MEP) include, at a slave/reactive network device, receiving an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) with a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address equal to an interface address of the slave/reactive network device; automatically creating the MEP based on the received OAM PDU and attributes contained in a header of the OAM PDU, wherein the MEP is with a master/active network device; and operating an OAM session with the master/active network device including exchanging Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) with an interval learned from received CCMs from the master/active network device. The systems and methods can further include automatically deleting the MEP responsive to failing to receive any OAM PDUs from the master/active network device during the operating for a predetermined time.

Systems and methods of automatically creating and operating a Maintenance End Point (MEP) include, at a slave/reactive network device, receiving an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) with a destination Media Access Control (MAC) address equal to an interface address of the slave/reactive network device; automatically creating the MEP based on the received OAM PDU and attributes contained in a header of the OAM PDU, wherein the MEP is with a master/active network device; and operating an OAM session with the master/active network device including exchanging Continuity Check Messages (CCMs) with an interval learned from received CCMs from the master/active network device. The systems and methods can further include automatically deleting the MEP responsive to failing to receive any OAM PDUs from the master/active network device during the operating for a predetermined time.

Systems and methods are provided to migrate a set of network functions between control planes of network slices and include a network slice A that includes a first set of a plurality of network functions in a control plane associated with a legacy vendor; a network slice B that includes a second set of the plurality of network functions in the control plane associated with a new vendor wherein the second set of the plurality of network functions includes a subset of the first set of the plurality of network functions in the control plane of network slice A; and a migration management unit to manage a gradual staged transfer of a subset of the plurality of network functions originally contained in the control plane of the network slice A to the control plane of network slice B wherein the gradual transfer is a migration of the plurality of network functions in a set of multiple stages to create the subset of the plurality of network functions in the control plane of slice B wherein each gradual staged transfer includes the migration of a reduced subset of the plurality of network functions contained in the control plane of the network slice A reconfigured to the control plane of the network slice B.

A communication system, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing method each of which: connects an information terminal connected to a first network to a connection-destination device connected to a second network different from the first network, and transmits a message to the information terminal connected to the connection-destination device, based on information related to a use state of the connection-destination device.