A system for remotely tracking a mobile unit is presented. The system
includes a computer connected to a data network, mobile units collecting
data and transmitting the data to the computer, and a configuration
database connected to the data network. The configuration database stores
configuration parameters for the mobile units. The mobile units are
programmed to contact the configuration database upon being powered on,
obtain the configuration parameters, and transmit the collected data to
the computer according to the configuration parameters. Since each
configuration file could apply to multiple mobile units, the system
provides an efficient way to control the data reporting patterns of many
mobile units. The configuration database may be organized in layers of
configuration files for improved flexibility. Files from different layers
can be mixed and matched and then applied to a group of mobile units.