Enhanced CSU/DSU (channel service unit/data service unit) for frame relay over DSL

• US 20050053001A1
• Filed: 09/04/2003
• Published: 03/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Gonsalves, Brian A., Jones, Kenneth Roger
• Granted Patent: US 7,593,414 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2854 Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4633 Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5012 determining service availability, e.g. which services are available at a certain point in time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/062 using different frequency bands for speech and other data

Abstract

An enhanced data communication node is disclosed. The data communication node can be coupled to a local area network and a wide area network for transferring data traffic between the two networks according to a first protocol, for example, a frame relay protocol. The data communication node includes a network reporting element capable of monitoring management information of an intermediate network coupled into a data communication path to the wide area network. The management information includes service level information of the intermediate network and equipment fault information of a bridging device coupled to the data communication node and the intermediate network. The bridging device encapsulates data according to a second protocol, for example, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) protocol. The encapsulating is transparent to the transfer of data between the local area network and the wide area network by the data communication node.

Claims

1. A data communication node comprising:

a first data interface coupled to a first network;

a second data interface coupled to a second network;

wherein data traffic is transferred between the second interface and the second network via a third network, the third network intermediate with respect to the first network and the second network;

wherein the second data interface is further coupled to a first external device; and

a network reporting element configured to monitor equipment fault information of the first external device and to monitor service level information of the third network.

2. The data communication node as recited in claim 1, wherein the first external device and the third network are transparent to a transfer of the data traffic between the first network and the second network.

3. The data communication node as recited in claim 1, wherein the first network is a local area network, the second network is a wide area network and the third network includes a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection.

4. The data communication node as recited in claim 1, wherein the data traffic between the first network and the second network is according to a first protocol, and wherein the first external device is a bridging device that encapsulates the data traffic into a second protocol.

5. The data communication node as recited in claim 4, wherein the first protocol is a frame relay type protocol and the second protocol is a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) protocol.

6. The data communication node as recited in claim 1, wherein the network reporting element is configured to obtain the equipment fault information and the service level information through a switched virtual circuit according to a frame relay type protocol.

7. The data communication node of claim 1, wherein the network reporting element is configured to obtain the equipment fault information and the service level information according to Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

8. The data communication node of claim 1, wherein a channel service unit/data service unit includes the first interface and the second interface.

9. The data communication node of claim 1, wherein the network reporting element is implemented as a software agent.

10. A system comprising:

a data communication node having a first node interface coupled to a local area network and a second node interface, the second node interface configured to transmit data packets according to a first protocol to a wide area network;

a bridge node having a first bridge interface coupled to the second node interface, the bridge node configured to encapsulate the data packets according to a second protocol forming encapsulated data packets, the bridge node having a second bridge interface coupled to a network connection for transmitting the encapsulated data packets; and

a network reporting element configured to monitor equipment failures of the bridge node and service level information of the network connection.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the first protocol is a frame relay type protocol, the second protocol is Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) protocol and the network connection is a DSL connection.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the data communication node includes a channel service unit/data service unit.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the encapsulated data packets are de-encapsulated prior to being sent to the wide area network.

14. A method comprising:

sending data packets using a first protocol to a bridging device from a first port of a channel service unit;

encapsulating the data packets using the bridging device via a second protocol to generate encapsulated data, wherein the encapsulated data is later de-encapsulated for transmission to a wide area network; and

monitoring equipment fault information of the bridging device via the first port of the channel service unit;

wherein the encapsulating of the data packets is transparent to the sending of the data packets from the first port of the channel service unit to the wide area network.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

monitoring service level information of a first network between the channel service unit and the wide area network through the bridging device via the first port.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first network includes a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the equipment fault information and the service level information is monitored according to a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

communicating the equipment fault information and the service level information for display.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving data from a local area network via a second port; and

forming the data packets according to the first protocol.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the first protocol is a Frame Relay protocol and the second protocol is a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) protocol.

21. A method comprising:

sending a first communication according to a first protocol via a first virtual circuit on a first connection to a wide area network;

receiving a second communication via a second virtual circuit from an external device;

wherein the second communication includes management information that comprises equipment fault information of the external device and service level information of a network coupled to the external device.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

encapsulating the first communication in accordance with a second protocol.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first protocol is a Frame Relay protocol and the second protocol is a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) protocol.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the network coupled to the external device is an intermediate network to the wide area network.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

communicating the management information for reporting and display.

26. A data communication node comprising:

a first interface coupled to a transparent bridge, the first interface configured to transmit data packets according to a Frame Relay protocol to a wide area network, the transparent bridge configured to encapsulate the data packets according to a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) protocol and forward the encapsulated data packets on a DSL connection coupled to the transparent bridge; and

a network reporting element configured to monitor, via the first interface, equipment fault information with respect to the transparent bridge and service level information with respect to the DSL connection.

27. The data communication node as recited in claim 26, wherein encapsulation of the data packets according to the DSL protocol is transparent to transmission of the data packets according to the Frame Relay protocol to the wide area network.