Method and system for operating a field programmable line card using a country coded template

• US 20030073458A1
• Filed: 10/15/2002
• Published: 04/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Arris International, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Walston, Robert A., Andrews, Jeffrey S., Padula, Richard A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,024,185 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/399.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/0002 analog front ends; means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line duplex arrangements H04L5/143
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A method and system for using a database that associates a specific set of line interface specifications to a specific design requirement. The design requirement may correspond to a particular country'"'"'s telephony operating requirements, or one of multiple sets of operating requirements within a country. This allows loading of generic line interface data at manufacturing. Specific criteria can be provided to the line interface at installation and/or startup.

The database contains the specifications for all potential operating requirements, and a template code, sent to a line interface device from a central controller, is used to determine the corresponding set of line interface specifications from the database, which is indexed on template code.

Claims

1. A system for programming a line interface configured with a plurality of sets of line interface specification values in a communications network providing telephony services comprising:

a database including, and indexed on, a plurality of template codes, and a plurality of sets of line interface specification values, each of the plurality of template codes being associated with one of the plurality of sets of line interface specification values;

a messaging means for requesting a template code from a central controller and for sending the requested template code to a requesting device;

a means for determining the template code based on the address of the device requesting the template code; and

a means for determining a desired set of line interface specification values from the database based on the template code sent from the central controller.

2. A method for programming a line interface means configured with a plurality of sets of line interface specification values in a communications network providing telephony services, wherein each one of a plurality of disparate country codes has been associated with one of a plurality of distinct sets of line interface specification values comprising:

receiving a request message from one of a plurality network devices, each of which is associated with a unique address;

determining a country code that corresponds to the unique address;

determining one of a plurality of template codes that corresponds to the country code, each template code corresponding to one of the distinct sets of line interface reference values;

returning the template code that was determined to correspond to the country code, and hence the unique address of the requesting device;

determining a desired set of line interface specification values to provision the requesting device with based on the returned template code; and

provisioning the line interface device with the desired set of line interface specification values that corresponds to the returned template code.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the request message was received using a first message signal sent to a central authority and the returned template code was returned using a second message signal from the central authority.