System and method for maintaining a distributed object system

A receiver for communicating data signals using a network, comprising:

• a transceiver coupled to the network and operable to receive data communications;
• a memory coupled to the transceiver for storing data objects and data object message version sequence numbers (OVSN) transmitted from a network controller in a data communication to the receiver;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory and transceiver and operable to include the last received OVSN in a message to the network controller.

A method of maintaining a distributed object system using a network, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a data object update message with a data object update version sequence number (OVSN) from a network controller;
• storing data objects based on the data object update message and said OVSN;
• and
• transmitting the last received OVSN in a subsequent message to a network controller.

A method of maintaining a distributed object system using a network, comprising the steps of:

• receiving a message from a receiver, said message comprising an object version sequence number (OVSN), said OVSN representing a first state of a data object relating to said receiver;
• comparing said OVSN with a local OVSN, said local OVSN representing a second state of said data object;
• processing said message in a first manner if said OVSN is equal to said local OVSN;
• and
• processing said message in a second manner if said OVSN is not equal to said local OVSN.

A network controller for maintaining a distributed object system using a network, said network controller comprising:

• a database for storing a data object and a corresponding data object version sequence number (OVSN);
• a transceiver for sending a data object update message and a corresponding OVSN, said OVSN representing a state of said data object and for receiving a message from a remote receiver, said message comprising an OVSN representing a state of a data object associated with said receiver;
• and
• a processor for comparing said received OVSN with said OVSN stored within said database, and further for processing said message received from said remote receiver in a first manner if said received OVSN matches said OVSN stored within said database and for processing said message received from said remote receiver in a second manner if said received OVSN does not match said OVSN stored within said database.