Distributed management service for an auto-identification system

Abstract

An auto-identification system is described that includes a plurality of distributed auto-id nodes that are operable to track physical objects as they move through an operation of an enterprise, such as, for example, a supply chain network or a sales network. The auto-id nodes are distributed across sites of the network, and are in communication with enterprise application systems and/or data acquisition systems such as RFID readers or sensor devices. By focusing on their respective sites, the auto-id nodes minimize the amount of data tracked by their respective enterprise applications. Further, a distributed management service may be in communication with all of the auto-id nodes, so as to distribute rules governing the operation of the enterprise to at least one of the auto-id nodes. The distributed management service may be used for, for example, generating and updating new rules, distributing the rules into the local auto-id nodes, and operating the rules for handling the data collected from different auto-id nodes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.