Description:RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material, which is subject to intellectual property rights such as but are not limited to, copyright, design, trademark, integrated circuit (IC) layout design, and/or trade dress protection, belonging to Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) or its affiliates (hereinafter referred as owner). The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. All rights to such intellectual property are fully reserved by the owner.

FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a field of communication systems, and specifically to a system and a method for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network to avoid severe network congestion caused by sudden and unprecedented surge during a demand of radio resources.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0003] The following description of the related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section is used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure, and not as admissions of the prior art.
[0004] Internet of Things (IoT) solutions utilizing cellular technologies as a communication medium are significantly enhancing capabilities of business owners, solution integrators, and individuals to reach their full potential. Machine Type Communication (MTC) is becoming a dominant communication paradigm for a wide range of emerging IoT applications, including healthcare, smart cities, smart grids, smart transportation, smart metering, and environmental monitoring. In these applications, a vast number of devices are deployed in specific areas to provide ubiquitous services with minimal or no human intervention.
[0005] One prominent application is smart metering, where numerous metering devices are deployed in proximity and rely on bandwidth-constrained cellular networks to communicate with a central server. Given that radio resources are limited, the radio resources have to be utilized efficiently and optimally. However, certain scenarios within smart metering may cause a sudden and unprecedented surge in demand for these limited network resources, creating a radio storm that is challenging to manage. An example of such scenario is a power outage followed by a power resumption event in an entire area. When power is restored, thousands of devices simultaneously receive power and attempt to attach to the network. This leads to a racing condition where devices compete to acquire the limited network resources, including Random Access Channel (RACH) resources, Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources, and Radio Resource Control (RRC) resources necessary for network attachment.
[0006] During this surge, the devices radiate with maximum power due to the lack of immediate response from the network, which further degrades a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at a base station. The base station fails to decode the majority of messages from the devices because of the poor SNR, and this condition persists until the radio storm subsides or the attempts from the devices are suppressed. This phenomenon results in a failure of the use case and causes Service-Level Agreement (SLA) compliance issues between the network service provider and the business owners.
[0007] There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide an improved system and a method to manage connections of a plurality of devices to the network by overcoming the deficiencies of the prior art(s).

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies are listed herein below.
[0009] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network.
[0010] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a system and a method to avoid severe network congestion and storm like situation in a radio network caused by sudden and unprecedented surge during a demand of radio resources, when a plurality of Internet of Things (IoT) devices simultaneously tries to attach to the network.
[0011] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system associated with a device management application server hosted in a cloud data centre which uses cloud computing services to operate in a defined and systematic method.
[0012] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system associated with the device management application server that maintains a database including data received from the IoT devices.
[0013] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system associated with the device management application server that processes the data to segregate and create batches of the IoT devices per cell, and assigns a delay factor through which the IoT devices may attempt to attach to the network.
[0014] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system to delay a connection process of each device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices to the network.

SUMMARY
[0015] This section is provided to introduce certain objects and aspects of the present disclosure in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0016] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network. The system includes one or more processors, and a memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors. The memory includes processor-executable instructions, which on execution, cause the one or more processors to receive at least a cell identifier (ID) and a device ID of each of a plurality of devices, upon camping each of the plurality of devices to a network. The one or more processors segregate the plurality of devices based on the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices. In response to the segregation, the one or more processors create one or more batches includes a predefined number of devices among the plurality of devices. The one or more processors assign a delay factor representing a predetermined time to each of the one or more batches, and transmit the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each device in each of the one or more batches. Further, the one or more processors delay a connection process of each device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices to the network.
[0017] In an embodiment, the memory includes processor-executable instructions, which on execution, may cause the one or more processors to store at least the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices in a database associated with the system.
[0018] In an embodiment, the one or more processors may update the database, once a new device is deployed and camped to the network, and store at least a cell ID and a device ID of the new device in the database.
[0019] In an embodiment, the one or more processors may create the one or more batches by being configured to determine that a number of the plurality of devices exceeds the predefined number of devices for a particular cell.
[0020] In an embodiment, the one or more processors may assign the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each of the one or more batches by being configured to identify a number of the one or more batches.
[0021] In an embodiment, during an event of power failure, the one or more processors may power off all devices associated with a particular cell.
[0022] In an embodiment, wherein during an event of power restoration, the one or more processors may power on all devices associated with the particular cell, and delay the connection process based on the delay factor assigned to each of the one or more batches.
[0023] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network. The method includes receiving, by one or more processors associated with a system, at least a cell ID and a device ID of each of a plurality of devices, upon camping each of the plurality of devices to a network. The method includes segregating, by the one or more processors, the plurality of devices based on the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices. In response to the segregation, the method includes creating, by the one or more processors, one or more batches including a predefined number of devices among the plurality of devices. The method includes assigning, by the one or more processors, a delay factor representing a predetermined time to each of the one or more batches. The method includes transmitting, by the one or more processors, the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each device in each of the one or more batches. The method includes delaying, by the one or more processors, a connection process of each device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices (204) to the network.
[0024] In an embodiment, the method may include storing, by the one or more processors, at least the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices in a database associated with the system.
[0025] In an embodiment, the method may include updating, by the one or more processors, the database, once a new device is deployed and camped to the network, and storing, by the one or more processors, at least a cell ID and a device ID of the new device in the database.
[0026] In an embodiment, creating, by the one or more processors, the one or more batches may include determining, by the one or more processors, that a number of the plurality of devices exceeds the predefined number of devices for a particular cell.
[0027] In an embodiment, assigning, by the one or more processors, the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each of the one or more batches may include identifying, by the one or more processors, a number of the one or more batches.
[0028] In an embodiment, during an event of power failure, the method may include powering off, by the one or more processors, all devices associated with a particular cell.
[0029] In an embodiment, wherein during an event of power restoration, the method may include powering on, by the one or more processors, all devices associated with a particular cell, and delaying, by the one or more processors, the connection process based on the delay factor assigned to each of the one or more batches.
[0030] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a user equipment (UE) including a processor and a memory operatively coupled to the processor. The memory includes processor-executable instructions, which on execution, cause the processor to camp to a network, and enable an application embedded in the UE to obtain at least a cell ID and a device ID of the UE from a modulator-demodulator (modem) associated with the UE. The processor transmits at least the cell ID and the device ID to a system. Upon the transmission of at least the cell ID and the device ID, the processor receives a delay factor representing a predetermined time from the system, and enables the application to initiate a timer corresponding to the predetermined time to manage the connections of the plurality of devices to the network.
[0031] In an embodiment, the processor may store the delay factor representing the predetermined time.
[0032] In an embodiment, the processor may enable the application to turn off a radio of the modem via an Attention (AT) command, based on the delay factor.
[0033] In an embodiment, upon an expiry of the timer, the processor may enable the application to turn on the radio of the modem, using the AT command, such that the modem attaches to the network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0034] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosed methods and systems which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the different drawings. Components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Some drawings may indicate the components using block diagrams and may not represent the internal circuitry of each component. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that disclosure of such drawings includes the disclosure of electrical components, electronic components, or circuitry commonly used to implement such components.
[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates an example schematic representation (100) depicting an existing deployment scenario of a plurality of devices.
[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network architecture (200) for implementing a system for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram (300) of a system for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0038] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary sequential diagram for implementing a method (400) for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart for implementing a method (500) for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0040] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for implementing a method (600) for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0041] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary computer system (700) in which or with which embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0042] The foregoing shall be more apparent from the following more detailed description of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0043] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features. An individual feature may not address all of the problems discussed above or might address only some of the problems discussed above. Some of the problems discussed above might not be fully addressed by any of the features described herein.
[0044] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth.
[0045] Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the embodiments.
[0046] Also, it is noted that individual embodiments may be described as a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed but could have additional steps not included in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination can correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
[0047] The word “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements.
[0048] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “an instance” or “one instance” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
[0049] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
[0050] FIG. 1 illustrates an example schematic representation (100) depicting an existing deployment scenario of a plurality of devices.
[0051] With reference to FIG. 1, a deployment scenario where a plurality of devices, for example, a plurality of Internet of Things (IoT) end points (e.g., electricity smart meters) is deployed is depicted. The plurality of IoT end points are fed with electricity supply from a local distribution unit which is connected to a main distribution unit. If the supply is interrupted between the local distribution unit and the main distribution unit, all the electricity smart meters may lose power and may gain power when the supply is restored. On restoration, all the electricity smart meters may attempt to attach to the network through a serving cellular base station which may cause the network to get overload with the request and ultimately congest the network till a point where hardly any requests will be answered.
[0052] There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide an improved system and a method to manage the connection of the IoT end points to the network.
[0053] The present disclosure provides a system and a method for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network. It may be appreciated that the plurality of devices may be interchangeably referred to as the plurality of IoT devices. The system may be associated with a device management application server. The system may be provided to avoid severe network congestion and storm like situation in a radio network caused by sudden and unprecedented surge during a demand of radio resources when the plurality of IoT devices simultaneously tries to attach to the network.
[0054] The plurality of IoT devices may include an embedded application to obtain a cell Identifier (ID) and a device ID (for example, Network Interface Card (NIC) Serial Number (SN) number, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, etc.,), through exposed Application Programming Interface (APIs), from a modulator-demodulator (modem).
[0055] The device management application server may be hosted in a cloud data centre which may use cloud computing services to operate in a defined and systematic method. The system associated with the device management application server may include a database for maintaining data received from the IoT devices. The system may process the data to segregate and create batches of the IoT devices per cell. Further, the system may assign a delay factor through which the IoT devices may attempt to attach to the network. The system may delay a connection process of each device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices to the network.
[0056] Various embodiments of the present disclosure will be explained in detail with reference to FIGs. 2-7.
[0057] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network architecture (200) for implementing a system (208) for managing connections of a plurality of devices to a network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0058] As illustrated in FIG. 2, by way of example and not by not limitation, the exemplary network architecture (200) may include a plurality of computing devices (204-1, 204-2…204-N), which may be individually referred as the computing device (204) and collectively referred as the computing devices (204). The computing device (204) may be smart devices operating in a smart environment, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The computing devices (204) may be associated with a plurality of users (202-1, 202-2…202-N). The plurality of users (202-1, 202-2…202-N) may be individually referred as the user (202) and collectively referred as the users (202). It may be appreciated that the computing device (204) may be interchangeably referred to as the IoT device or a User Equipment (UE).
[0059] In an embodiment, the IoT devices (204) may include smart devices operating in a smart environment, for example, an Internet of Things (IoT) system. The IoT devices (204) may be, for example, but are not limited to, a set-up box, a smart television (TV), a streaming media player, a media centre personal computer (PC), and so on. In an embodiment, the IoT device (204) may include, but is not limited to, smart phones, smart watches, smart sensors (e.g., mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, etc.), networked appliances, networked peripheral devices, networked lighting system, communication devices, networked vehicle accessories, networked vehicular devices, smart accessories, tablets, smart television (TV), computers, smart security system, smart home system, other devices for monitoring or interacting with or for the users and/or entities, or any combination thereof.
[0060] A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the IoT device (204) may include, but is not limited to, intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected devices, that can integrate seamlessly with each other and/or with a central server or a cloud-computing system or any other device that is network-connected.
[0061] In an embodiment, the UE (204) may include, but is not limited to, a handheld wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a smartphone, a phablet device, and so on), a wearable computer device (e.g., a head-mounted display computer device, a head-mounted camera device, a wristwatch computer device, and so on), a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or any type of portable computer, a media playing device, a portable gaming system, and/or any other type of computer device with wireless communication capabilities, and the like. In an embodiment, that the UE (204) may include, but is not limited to, any electrical, electronic, electromechanical, or an equipment, or a combination of one or more of the above devices such as virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, a laptop, a general-purpose computer, a desktop, a personal digital assistant, a tablet computer, a mainframe computer, or any other computing device, wherein the UE (204) may include one or more in-built or externally coupled accessories including, but not limited to, a visual aid device such as a camera, an audio aid, a microphone, a keyboard, and input devices for receiving input from the user (202) or the entity such as a touch pad, a touch enabled screen, an electronic pen, and the like.
[0062] A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the UE (204) may not be restricted to the mentioned devices and various other devices may be used.
[0063] In an embodiment, the UE or the IoT devices (204) may communicate with a system (208) through a network (206). The network (206) may be, for example, a radio network. The network (206) may include, by way of example but not limitation, at least a portion of one or more networks having one or more nodes, that transmit, receive, forward, generate, buffer, store, route, switch, process, or a combination thereof, etc. one or more messages, packets, signals, waves, voltage or current levels, some combination thereof, or so forth. The network (206) may include, by way of example but not limitation, one or more of: a wireless network, a wired network, an internet, an intranet, a public network, a private network, a packet-switched network, a circuit-switched network, an ad hoc network, an infrastructure network, a public-switched telephone network (PSTN), a cable network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a fiber optic network, some combination thereof.
[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, the UE or the IoT devices (204) may camp to the network (206). The UE or the IoT devices (204) may include an embedded application. The embedded application may be pre-configured with an Uniform Resource Locator/Internet Protocol (URL/IP) of a device management application server (210). The embedded application may obtain at least a cell identifier (ID) and a device ID of the UE or the IoT devices (204) from a modulator-demodulator (modem) associated with the UE or the IoT devices (204) through exposed API. The UE or the IoT devices (204) may transmit at least the cell ID and the device ID to the system (208).
[0065] In an exemplary embodiment, the system (208) may be associated with the device management application server (210). The system (208) and the device management application server (210) may be associated with a database for maintaining data, for example, the cell ID and the device ID, received from the UE or the IoT devices (204). The system (208) may process the data to segregate the IoT devices (204) based on the data received from the UE or the IoT devices (204). The system (208) may create one or more batches of the UE or the IoT devices (204) per cell, in response to the segregation. Further, the system (208) may assign a delay factor representing a predetermined time to each batch, and report the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each IoT device (204) in each batch. The system (208) may delay a connection process of each IoT device (204), based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices (204) to the network (206).
[0066] In an exemplary embodiment, each IoT device (204) may receive the delay factor representing the predetermined time from the system (208). The IoT device (204) may enable the embedded application to initiate a timer corresponding to the predetermined time to manage the connections of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206).
[0067] In an exemplary embodiment, each IoT device (204) may store the delay factor representing the predetermined time for future use. In an exemplary embodiment, each IoT device (204) may enable the embedded application to turn off a radio of the modem via an Attention (AT) command, based on the delay factor. Upon an expiry of the timer, each IoT device (204) may enable the application to turn on the radio of the modem, via the AT command, such that the modem attaches to the network (206).
[0068] Although FIG. 2 shows exemplary components of the network architecture (200), in other embodiments, the network architecture (200) may include fewer components, different components, differently arranged components, or additional functional components than depicted in FIG. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the network architecture (200) may perform functions described as being performed by one or more other components of the network architecture (200).
[0069] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram (300) of a system (208) for managing connections of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0070] In an embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3, the system (208) may be associated with the device management application server (210). The system (208) may include one or more processors (302). The one or more processors (302) may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate data based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the one or more processors (302) may be configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (304) of the system (208). The memory (304) may store one or more computer-readable instructions or routines, which may be fetched and executed to create or share the data units over a network service. The memory (304) may include any non-transitory storage device including, for example, volatile memory such as Random-Access Memory (RAM), or non-volatile memory such as an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), a flash memory, and the like.
[0071] In an embodiment, the system (208) may also include an interface(s) (306). The interface(s) (306) may include a variety of interfaces, for example, interfaces for data input and output devices, referred to as I/O devices, storage devices, and the like. The interface(s) (306) may facilitate communication of the system (208) with various devices coupled to it. The interface(s) (306) may also provide a communication pathway for one or more components of the system (208). Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, processing engine(s) (308) and a database (310).
[0072] In an embodiment, the processing engine(s) (308) may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the processing engine(s) (308). In examples, described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing engine(s) (308) may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the one or more processors (302) may include a processing resource, to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing engine(s) (308). In such examples, the system (208) may comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the system (208) and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing engine(s) (308) may be implemented by an electronic circuitry.
[0073] In an embodiment, the database (310) may include data that may be either stored or generated as a result of functionalities implemented by any of the components of the processors (302) or the processing engine(s) (308) or the system (208). In an embodiment, the database (310) may store data received from the IoT devices (204).
[0074] In an exemplary embodiment, the processing engine(s) (308) may include one or more engines selected from any of a data ingestion engine (312) and other units/engines (314). The other units/engines (314) may include, but are not limited to, a monitoring engine, a determination engine, and the like.
[0075] In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), receive at least the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of IoT devices (204), after camping each of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206). In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), store at least the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of IoT devices (204) in the database (310) associated with the system (208). In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), update the database (310) once a new device is deployed and camped to the network (206). Further, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), store a cell ID and a device ID of the new device in the database (310).
[0076] In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), segregate the plurality of IoT devices (204) based on the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices (204). In response to the segregation, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), determine whether a number of the plurality of IoT devices (204) exceeds a predefined number of devices allotted for a particular cell. If the number of the plurality of IoT devices (204) exceeds the predefined number of devices allotted for the particular cell, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), create one or more batches with a predefined number of IoT devices (204).
[0077] In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), identify a number of the one or more batches, and assign a delay factor representing a predetermined time to each of the one or more batches. In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), transmit the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each IoT device (204) in each of the one or more batches. In an embodiment, the one or more processors (302) may, via the data ingestion engine (312), delay a connection process of each IoT device (204), based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206).
[0078] In an embodiment, during an event of power failure, the one or more processors (302) may power off all the IoT devices (204) associated with the particular cell. In an embodiment, during an event of power restoration, the one or more processors (302) may power on all the IoT devices (204) associated with the particular cell, and delay the connection process based on the delay factor assigned to each batch.
[0079] Although FIG. 3 shows exemplary components of the system (208), in other embodiments, the system (208) may include fewer components, different components, differently arranged components, or additional functional components than depicted in FIG. 3. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the system (208) may perform functions described as being performed by one or more other components of the system (208).
[0080] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary sequential diagram for implementing a method (400) for managing connections of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206), in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0081] With reference to FIG. 4, at 402, after deployment of the IoT devices (204), the IoT devices (204) may camp to the network (206), and monitor a cell to which the IoT devices (204) is camped for a configured period.
[0082] At 404, the IoT devices (204) may include an embedded application associated with a modem. The embedded application may obtain the cell ID and the device ID (for example, Network Interface Card (NIC) Serial Number (SN) number, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, etc.,), through exposed Application Programming Interface (APIs), from the modem. The IoT devices (204) may identify the best cell ID.
[0083] At 406, the IoT devices (204) may connect to the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210). Further, in response to the connection, the IoT devices (204) may report the cell ID and the device ID to the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210).
[0084] At 408, the system (208) and the device management application server (210) may be associated with the database (310). The database (310) may store the cell ID and the device ID of the IoT devices (204). The database (310) may be updated once a new device is deployed, and may report the information to the system (208) and the device management application server (210).
[0085] At 410, the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210) may maintain a number of the IoT devices (204) per cell ID, and the device IDs mapped against the cell IDs. The system (208) may determine if the number of the IoT devices (204) for a specific cell exceeds a predefined number of IoT devices “n”.
[0086] At 412, the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210) may segregate the IoT devices (204) based on the cell ID and the device ID of each IoT device (204), and create one or more batches including “n” devices per batch. If the number of devices for a specific cell exceeds “n,” the system (208) may identify the number of batches “b.” It may be appreciated that “n” is configurable and may be determined based on the cell capacity or bandwidth. Further, the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210) may identify the number of batches “b”, and assign a delay factor “X” to each batch. The delay factor may represent a predetermined time in seconds, i.e., X0=No delay, X1=S sec, X2: 2*S sec. X3: 3*S sec, X4: 4*S sec, and so on.
[0087] At 414, the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210) may connect to each IoT device (204) in each batch and report the delay factor to each IoT device (204). The embedded application on each IoT device (204) may consume the delay factor reported by the system (208), and save the delay factor for future use.
[0088] At 416, in case of a power failure, all the IoT devices (204) in a particular cell may be powered off.
[0089] At 418, when the power resumes, all the IoT devices (204) in the particular cell may be powered on.
[0090] At 420, once the embedded application detects the power, the embedded application may check the delay factor representing the predetermined time assigned to that IoT device (204). Depending on the delay factor assigned, the embedded application may force the modem to turn off its radio using an Attention (AT) command.
[0091] At 422, the embedded application may start the timer corresponding to the assigned delay factor.
[0092] At 424, once the timer expires, the embedded application may turn on its radio using the AT command.
[0093] At 426, once the radio is turned on, the modem may try to attach to the network (206).
[0094] For example, consider:
• Total deployed devices: 825 devices
• Unique Cells reported by 825 devices: 4 (Cell ID 1, 2, 3, 4)
• n=50(number of devices allowed to attach at any instance)
• S=30 sec
• X1=S sec, X2=2*S sec, X3=3*S sec, and so on.
[0095] The database (310) may include the data as shown in Table 1.

Cell ID No of devices Devices No of batches “b” (n devices per batch) Delay factors assigned
1 250 ID 1, 2, 3, 4 – 250 5 Batch 1: X0
Batch 2: X1
Batch 3: X2
Batch 4: X3
Batch 5: X4
2 375 ID 1, 2, 3, 4 – 375 7+1(25) Batch 1: X0
Batch 2: X1
Batch 3: X2
Batch 4: X3
Batch 5: X4
Batch 6: X5
Batch 7: X6
Batch 8: X7
3 50 ID 1, 2, 3, 4 – 50 1 Batch 1: X0
4 150 ID 1, 2, 3, 4 – 150 3 Batch 1: X0
Batch 2: X1
Batch 3: X2

[0096] For cell ID 1, the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210) may randomly segregate the 250 devices into 5 batches as n=50.
[0097] Each delay factor will represent time in seconds. For example,
• Batch 1: 50 devices; Delay factor X0: No delay
• Batch 2: 50 devices; Delay factor X1: 30 sec delay
• Batch 3: 50 devices; Delay factor X2: 2*30 sec delay
• Batch 4: 50 devices; Delay factor X3: 3*30 sec delay
• Batch 5: 50 devices; Delay factor X4: 4*30 sec delay
[0098] Now, the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210) may report the delay factor to all the individual devices. The embedded application of all the individual devices may consume the delay factor and save the delay factor for future use.
[0099] Further, in the event of power failure and restoration, all the 250 devices (204) may get the power at the same time, and the radio for all the 250 devices (204) may be turned on at the same time which may cause all the devices (204) to attempt to attach to the network (206) at the same time.
[00100] Since the embedded application has saved the reported delay factor,
• Batch 1 devices may not execute CFUN=0(Turn on APM), and may immediately attempt to attach to the network (206).
• Batch 2 devices may immediately disable the radio once the NIC receives power by executing CFUN=0(Turn on APM). The radio may be turned on after 30 sec by executing AT+CFUN=1.
• Batch 2 devices may immediately disable the radio once the NIC receives power by executing CFUN=0(Turn on APM). The radio may be turned on after 60 sec by executing AT+CFUN=1.
• Batch 2 devices may immediately disable the radio once the NIC receives power by executing CFUN=0(Turn on APM). The radio may be turned on after 90 sec by executing AT+CFUN=1.
• Batch 2 devices will immediately disable the radio once the NIC receives power by executing CFUN=0(Turn on APM). The radio will be turned on after 120 sec by executing AT+CFUN=1.
[00101] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart for implementing a method (500) for managing connections of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206), in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[00102] With reference to FIG. 5, at 502, the method (500) may include receiving at least the cell ID and the device ID of each IoT device (204) from each IoT device (204), upon camping each IoT device (204) to the network (206).
[00103] At 504, the method (500) may include creating the database (310) including the number of the IoT devices (204) per cell ID, and the device IDs mapped against the cell IDs.
[00104] At 506, the method (500) may include determining if the number of the IoT devices (204) for the specific cell exceeds a predefined number of IoT devices “n”.
[00105] At 508, if the number of the IoT devices (204) for the specific cell does not exceed the predefined number of IoT devices “n”, the method (500) may not perform segregation of the IoT devices (204) and creation of the batches.
[00106] At 510, if the number of the IoT devices (204) for the specific cell exceeds the predefined number of IoT devices “n”, the method (500) may include segregating the IoT devices (204) based on the cell ID and the device ID. In response to the segregation, the method (500) may include creating one or more batches including the predefined number of IoT devices “n” per batch per cell ID.
[00107] At 512, the method (500) may include assigning the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each of the one or more batches in every cell ID.
[00108] At 512, the method (500) may include transmitting and reporting the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each IoT device (204) in each of the one or more batches. Therefore, the method (500) may delay the connection process of each IoT device (204), based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the IoT devices (204) to the network (206).
[00109] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for implementing a method (600) for managing connections of the plurality of IoT devices (204) to the network (206), in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[00110] With reference to FIG. 6, at 602, the IoT device (204) may be deployed and powered on.
[00111] At 604, the IoT device (204) may be camped to the network (206).
[00112] At 606, the embedded application in the IoT device (204) may obtain the cell ID and the device ID of the IoT device (204) from the modem associated with the IoT device (204).
[00113] At 608, the embedded application may connect to the system (208) associated with the device management application server (210). Further, the embedded application may transmit the cell ID and the device ID to the system (208).
[00114] At 610, upon the transmission of the cell ID and the device ID, the embedded application may receive the delay factor representing the predetermined time from the system (208).
[00115] At 612, the embedded application may save the delay factor for future use.
[00116] At 614, in case of the power failure, all the IoT devices (204) in the particular cell may be powered off.
[00117] At 616, when the power resumes, all the IoT devices (204) in the particular cell may be powered on.
[00118] At 618, once the embedded application detects the power, the embedded application may check the delay factor representing the predetermined time assigned to that IoT device (204). Depending on the delay factor assigned, the embedded application may force the modem to turn off its radio using the AT command.
[00119] At 620, the embedded application may start the timer corresponding to the assigned delay factor.
[00120] At 622, once the timer expires, the embedded application may turn on its radio using the AT command. Once the radio is turned on, the modem may try to attach to the network (206), thereby managing the connection of the IoT devices (204) to the network (206).
[00121] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary computer system (700) in which or with which embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
[00122] As shown in FIG. 7, the computer system (700) may include an external storage device (710), a bus (720), a main memory (730), a read-only memory (740), a mass storage device (750), a communication port(s) (760), and a processor (770). A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the computer system (700) may include more than one processor (770) and communication ports (760). The processor (770) may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication port(s) (760) may be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem-based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. The communication ports(s) (760) may be chosen depending on a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system (700) connects.
[00123] In an embodiment, the main memory (730) may be a Random-Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. The read-only memory (740) may be any static storage device(s) e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chip for storing static information e.g., start-up or basic input/output system (BIOS) instructions for the processor (770). The mass storage device (750) may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store information and/or instructions. Exemplary mass storage solutions include, but are not limited to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Firewire interfaces).
[00124] In an embodiment, the bus (720) may communicatively couple the processor(s) (770) with the other memory, storage, and communication blocks. The bus (720) may be, e.g., a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)/PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), USB, or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives, and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects the processor (770) to the computer system (700).
[00125] In another embodiment, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g., a display, keyboard, and cursor control device may also be coupled to the bus (720) to support direct operator interaction with the computer system (700). Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through the communication port(s) (760). Components described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computer system (700) limit the scope of the present disclosure.
[00126] While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be implemented merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[00127] The present disclosure enables managing connections of a plurality of Internet of Things (IoT) devices to a network.
[00128] The present disclosure avoids severe network congestion and storm like situation in a radio network caused by sudden and unprecedented surge during a demand of radio resources, when the plurality of IoT devices simultaneously tries to attach to the network.
[00129] The present disclosure uses cloud computing services to operate in a defined and systematic method.
[00130] The present disclosure maintains a database including data received from the IoT devices.
[00131] The present disclosure processes the data to segregate and create batches of the IoT devices per cell, and assigns a delay factor through which the IoT devices may attempt to attach to the network
[00132] The present disclosure delays a connection process of each IoT device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of IoT devices to the network.

Claims:

1. A system (208) for managing connections of a plurality of devices (204) to a network (206), the system (208) comprising:
one or more processors (302); and
a memory (304) operatively coupled to the one or more processors (302), wherein the memory (304) comprises processor-executable instructions, which on execution, cause the one or more processors (302) to:
receive at least a cell identifier (ID) and a device ID of each of a plurality of devices (204), upon camping of each of the plurality of devices (204) to a network (206);
segregate the plurality of devices (204) based on the cell ID and the device ID;
in response to the segregation, create one or more batches comprising a predefined number of devices (204) among the plurality of devices (204);
assign a delay factor representing a predetermined time to each of the one or more batches;
transmit the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each device in each of the one or more batches; and
delay a connection process of each device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices (204) to the network (206).

2. The system (208) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory (304) comprises processor-executable instructions, which on execution, cause the one or more processors (302) to store at least the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices (204) in a database (310) associated with the system (208).

3. The system (208) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the one or more processors (302) are to update the database (310), once a new device is deployed and camped to the network (206), and store at least a cell ID and a device ID of the new device in the database (310).

4. The system (208) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (302) are to create the one or more batches by being configured to determine that a number of the plurality of devices (204) exceeds the predefined number of devices (204) for a particular cell.

5. The system (208) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more processors (302) are to assign the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each of the one or more batches by being configured to identify a number of the one or more batches.

6. The system (208) as claimed in claim 1, wherein during an event of power failure, the one or more processors (302) are to power off all devices (204) associated with a particular cell.

7. The system (208) as claimed in claim 1, wherein during an event of power restoration, the one or more processors (302) are to power on all devices (204) associated with a particular cell, and delay the connection process based on the delay factor assigned to each of the one or more batches.

8. A method for managing connections of a plurality of devices (204) to a network (206), the method comprising:
receiving, by one or more processors (302) associated with a system, at least a cell identifier (ID) and a device ID of each of a plurality of devices (204), upon camping of each of the plurality of devices (204) to a network (206);
segregating, by the one or more processors (302), the plurality of devices (204) based on the cell ID and the device ID;
in response to the segregation, creating, by the one or more processors (302), one or more batches comprising a predefined number of devices (204) among the plurality of devices (204);
assigning, by the one or more processors (302), a delay factor representing a predetermined time to each of the one or more batches;
transmitting, by the one or more processors (302), the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each device in each of the one or more batches; and
delaying, by the one or more processors (302), a connection process of each device, based on the delay factor, to manage the connections of the plurality of devices (204) to the network (206).

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, comprising storing, by the one or more processors (302), at least the cell ID and the device ID of each of the plurality of devices (204) in a database (310) associated with the system (208).

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising updating, by the one or more processors (302), the database (310), once a new device is deployed and camped to the network (206), and storing, by the one or more processors (302), at least a cell ID and a device ID of the new device in the database (310).

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein creating, by the one or more processors (302), the one or more batches comprises determining, by the one or more processors (302), that a number of the plurality of devices (204) exceeds the predefined number of devices (204) for a particular cell.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein assigning, by the one or more processors (302), the delay factor representing the predetermined time to each of the one or more batches comprises identifying, by the one or more processors (302), a number of the one or more batches.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein during an event of power failure, the method comprising powering off, by the one or more processors (302), all devices (204) associated with a particular cell.

14. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein during an event of power restoration, the method comprising powering on, by the one or more processors (302), all devices (204) associated with a particular cell, and delaying, by the one or more processors, the connection process based on the delay factor assigned to each of the one or more batches.

15. A user equipment (UE) (204), comprising:
a processor; and
a memory operatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises processor-executable instructions, which on execution, cause the processor to:
camp to a network (206);
enable an application embedded in the UE (204) to obtain at least a cell identifier (ID) and a device ID of the UE (204) from a modulator-demodulator (modem) associated with the UE (204);
transmit at least the cell ID and the device ID to a system (208);
upon the transmission of the at least the cell ID and the device ID, receive a delay factor representing a predetermined time from the system (208); and
enable the application to initiate a timer corresponding to the predetermined time to manage the connections of the plurality of devices (204) to the network (206).

16. The UE (204) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is to store the delay factor representing the predetermined time.

17. The UE (204) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is to enable the application to turn off a radio of the modem via an Attention (AT) command, based on the delay factor.

18. The UE (204) as claimed in claim 17, wherein upon an expiry of the timer, the processor is to enable the application to turn on the radio of the modem, via the AT command, such that the modem attaches to the network (206).