System and Method for Dynamic Device Discovery and Address Assignment

A pool or spa system supporting dynamic device discovery, the system comprising:

• a master controller for communication with a pool or spa slave device, the pool or spa slave device operable to perform one or more operations with respect to a pool or spa, the master controller including:
• 1) a communication interface configured for communication with the pool or spa slave device via a network;
• and 2) a processor configured to:
• transmit a discovery request packet to the pool or spa slave device over the network;
• receive a discovery request response packet from the pool or spa slave device including a first unique device identifier, the first unique device identifier including a plurality of data fields within the discovery request response packet, said plurality of data fields comprising a first data field identifying a device type of the pool or spa slave device and a second data field distinguishing the pool or spa slave device from one or more other pool or spa slave devices of the same device type;
• and
• transmit a configuration command packet to the pool or spa slave device over the network, the configuration command packet including a second unique device identifier and an available network address, the configuration command packet for configuring the pool or spa slave device for communication using the available network address based on a determination that the second unique device identifier matches the first unique device identifier thereby enabling addressed communication between the pool or spa slave device and the master controller.