US Patent 7594007 Distributed service management for distributed networks

Methods and apparatuses enable distribution of service management in a distributed network. A leader node discovers networked devices of the distributed network, and services associated with the devices. The services are grouped into one or more groups of distributed services, which can be controlled via single point of control in a virtual device. A virtual device is generated to receive and distribute controls for the groups of services. The virtual device may also provide network management.