A system for monitoring one or more nodes of a distributed meter network.
The system includes at least one meter device at each node for metering a
product and for generating a signal representative of a corresponding
metering rate. A computation device in communication with the at least
one meter device is provided at each node for computing meter data based
upon the generated signal. The system further includes an autonomous
intelligent network interface module (AINIM) at each node and in
communication with the computation device. The AINIM includes a first
microcontroller for autonomously and continuously monitoring the
computation device and collecting meter data therefrom. The AINIM further
includes a second microcontroller for receiving the meter data from the
first microcontroller and autonomously distributing at least a portion of
the received meter data via a communication network for receipt by a
remote computer.