Proxy node

A proxy node in a HIM configuration file defines a tree that the server managing this forest does not have a local copy of. It however knows how to forward requests to the server that managaes the tree and has a local copy of it. An example could be a home automation scenario, where a server deployed in a car knows the Local Area Network access point address bearer type, so that when in proximity of the LAN, and after the vehicle has connected to it, requests received by the HIM server in he vehicle can then be routed to the server deployed on the LAN.

Nodes of the type proxy must have the following mandatory metadata:

  • Name
  • Type
  • Domain
  • Version
  • Description

For more information, see the Common Rule Set: Mandatory Metadata.

Besides the mandatory metadata mentioned above, the following optional metadata may be used

  • Public
  • Comment

For more information, please see the Common Rule Set: Optional Metadata.

This node type must have a node of type branch as parent, and must not have any children.

Name

The name of this node must be the same as that of the root node of the tree it is representing, and it must be unique in the forest described in this file. This makes it possible to change the root node name of a “standard” tree, which then enables that multiple instances of the same standard tree can be present in the same forest. A scenario where this may happen is when a truck has more than one trailer that each is represented by the same standard tree. The trailers can then be distinguished by having different root node names.

Domain

The domain metadata is what defines the domain and information type that the tree represents. A domain name dot delimited segment names:

  • The first segment (the left-most) represents a “top domain”.
    • Examples of top domains can be Automotive, RoadInfrastructure, Aviation.
  • Following segments, except the last, are sub domains.
    • Examples of sub domains can be Car, Truck, Trailer, ChargingStation.
    • The number of sub domains is not fixed, but it is recomended to stay below five.
    • Each additional sub domain should be a subset of the previos domain.
  • The last segment (the right-most) represents the information type.

Version

The version shall be identical to the version of the tree where it shall be mandatory. Versioning shall be based on the Semantic versioning principles.

Public

The public metadata shall, if available, be a URL to a public copy of the tree. It may be used to provision a server with a copy of the tree, but also by a client to obtain a copy instead of e. g. requesting the proxy server to provision a copy from the server managing it.

An example of the specification of a proxy node is given below.

VehicleData:
  type: proxy
  domain: HomeAutomation.Zigbee.ResourceData
  version: X.Y.Z
  public: https://himrepo.oem.com?instance=HomeAutomation.Zigbee.ResourceData.X.Y.Z
  description:  ….