Systems, devices, agents and methods for monitoring and automatic reboot and restoration of computers, local area networks, wireless access points, modems and other hardware

• US 20090013210A1
• Filed: 06/18/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sand Holdings, LLC
• Original Assignee: Sand Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: James, David Lamar, McIntosh, P. Stuckey, Tan, Li-Quan
• Granted Patent: US 8,365,018 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0661 by reconfiguring faulty entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

An embodiment of the invention is a client on a local area network that periodically and automatically evaluates its physical connectivity with the local area network, exercises local-network services such as DHCP, and verifies Internet connectivity and function by pinging one or more numerically specified IP addresses and by pinging one or more IP addresses specified by an FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) known to the assigned DNS servers. An embodiment of the invention may include a plurality of client elements monitoring one or more networks. Functionality according to embodiments of the invention can send notices, automatically initiate action, and otherwise assist in, among other things, remote monitoring and administration of networks, and particularly wireless networks.

Claims

1. An autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client including:

a network-connectivity confirmation element comprising a test-message generating element and a response-message receiving element, the network-connectivity confirmation element capable of sensing if operation of monitored equipment is suspect in at least one of the following respects;

connectivity, performance or reliability; and

an uninterruptible power supply capable of supplying AC backup power to the monitored equipment and DC power to an autonomous, automatic reset/restore device,

whereby the autonomous, automatic reset/restore device is able to restore operation of the monitored equipment by interrupting power to effect a power-on reset (POR) of the monitored equipment or by direct hardware/software communication, if the network-connectivity confirmation element senses that operation of the monitored equipment is suspect.

4. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 wherein the network-connectivity confirmation element is capable of addressing according to at least an IP address specified by its Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

7. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 including means for automatically releasing and renewing a DHCP address of said automatic reset/restore network client.

10. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 including means for automatically disconnecting and reconnecting from a wired or wireless network to which it is coupled.

13. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 further wherein the monitored equipment includes first monitored equipment and second monitored equipment, and including:

a first switched power outlet coupled to one of the first monitored equipment and second monitored equipment;

a second switched power outlet coupled to the other of the first monitored equipment and the second monitored equipment; and

whereby the network connectivity confirmation element includes an automatic service discovery element capable of (1) mapping whether the first switched power outlet is coupled to the first monitored equipment or second monitored equipment, and (2) which of the first monitored equipment and the second monitored equipment is performing at least one of the following functions;

router, gateway, and DHCP; and

wherein the autonomous, automatic reset/restore device is able to restore operation of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment by interrupting power to effect a power-on reset (POR) of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment, or by direct hardware/software communication to the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment, if the network-connectivity confirmation element senses that operation of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment is suspect.

16. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 further including temporary reboot-disablement means.

19. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 further including temporary self-reboot-disablement means to disable reboot during a firmware upgrade.

22. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 further including a separate watchdog processor capable of rebooting the autonomous, automatic reset/restore network client itself should its own proper operation become suspect.

25. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 1 further including means for automatic, scheduled reboot of at least one monitored device.

48. An automatic-reset/restore network client according to claim 1 that is capable of at least one condition relating to at least one of the following:

temperature, ambient noise, ambient light, pumps, valves, hydraulic pressures, pneumatic pressures, critical UPS data, battery charge state, battery condition, UPS temperature, power flow, line voltage, load power factor, load current, critical analog parameters, transient voltage spikes, and line voltage dropout duration.

2. An autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client including:

a network-connectivity confirmation element comprising a test-message generating element and a response-message receiving element, the network-connectivity confirmation element capable of sensing if operation of monitored equipment is suspect in at least one of the following respects;

connectivity, performance or reliability; and

an uninterruptible power supply capable of supplying DC backup power to the monitored equipment and DC power to an autonomous, automatic reset/restore device,

whereby the autonomous, automatic reset/restore device is able to restore operation of the monitored equipment by interrupting power to effect a power-on reset (POR) of the monitored equipment or by direct hardware/software communication to the monitored equipment, if the network-connectivity confirmation element senses that operation of the monitored equipment is suspect.

5. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 wherein the network-connectivity confirmation element is capable of addressing according to at least an IP address specified by its Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

8. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 including means for automatically releasing and renewing a DHCP address of said automatic reset/restore network client.

11. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 including means for automatically disconnecting and reconnecting from a wired or wireless network to which it is coupled.

14. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 further wherein the monitored equipment includes first monitored equipment and second monitored equipment, and including:

a first switched power outlet coupled to one of the first monitored equipment and second monitored equipment;

a second switched power outlet coupled to the other of the first monitored equipment and the second monitored equipment; and

whereby the network connectivity confirmation element includes an automatic service discovery element capable of (1) mapping whether the first switched power outlet is coupled to the first monitored equipment or second monitored equipment, and (2) which of the first monitored equipment and the second monitored equipment is performing at least one of the following functions;

router, gateway, and DHCP; and

wherein the autonomous, automatic reset/restore device is able to restore operation of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment by interrupting power to effect a power-on reset (POR) of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment, or by direct hardware/software communication to the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment, if the network-connectivity confirmation element senses that operation of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment is suspect.

17. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 further including temporary reboot-disablement means.

20. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 further including temporary self-reboot-disablement means to disable reboot during a firmware upgrade.

23. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 further including a separate watchdog processor capable of rebooting the autonomous, automatic reset/restore network client itself should its own proper operation become suspect.

26. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 2 further including means for automatic, scheduled reboot of at least one monitored device.

49. An automatic-reset/restore network client according to claim 2 that is capable of at least one condition relating to at least one of the following:

temperature, ambient noise, ambient light, pumps, valves, hydraulic pressures, pneumatic pressures, critical UPS data, battery charge state, battery condition, UPS temperature, power flow, line voltage, load power factor, load current, critical analog parameters, transient voltage spikes, and line voltage dropout duration.

3. An autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client including:

a network-connectivity confirmation element comprising a test-message generating element and a response-message receiving element, the network-connectivity confirmation element capable of sensing if operation of monitored equipment is suspect in at least one of the following respects;

connectivity, performance or reliability, whereby the autonomous, automatic reset/restore device is able to restore operation of the monitored equipment by interrupting power to effect a power-on reset (POR) of the monitored equipment or by direct hardware/software communication to the monitored equipment, if the network-connectivity confirmation element senses that operation of the monitored equipment is suspect.

6. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 wherein the network-connectivity confirmation element is capable of addressing according to at least an IP address specified by its Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

9. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 including means for automatically releasing and renewing a DHCP address of said automatic reset/restore network client.

12. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 including means for automatically disconnecting and reconnecting from a wired or wireless network to which it is coupled.

15. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 further wherein the monitored equipment includes first monitored equipment and second monitored equipment, and including:

a first switched power outlet coupled to one of the first monitored equipment and second monitored equipment;

a second switched power outlet coupled to the other of the first monitored equipment and the second monitored equipment; and

whereby the network connectivity confirmation element includes an automatic service discovery element capable of (1) mapping whether the first switched power outlet is coupled to the first monitored equipment or second monitored equipment, and (2) which of the first monitored equipment and the second monitored equipment is performing at least one of the following functions;

router, gateway, and DHCP; and

wherein the autonomous, automatic reset/restore device is able to restore operation of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment by interrupting power to effect a power-on reset (POR) of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment, or by direct hardware/software communication to the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment, if the network-connectivity confirmation element senses that operation of the first monitored equipment or the second monitored equipment is suspect.

18. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 further including temporary reboot-disablement means.

21. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 further including temporary self-reboot-disablement means to disable reboot during a firmware upgrade.

24. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 further including a separate watchdog processor capable of rebooting the autonomous, automatic reset/restore network client itself should its own proper operation become suspect.

27. The autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client of claim 3 further including means for automatic, scheduled reboot of at least one monitored device.

40. An autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client according to claim 3 wherein the network-connectivity confirmation element includes software running on a platform whose primary function is other than monitoring.

50. An automatic-reset/restore network client according to claim 3 that is capable of at least one condition relating to at least one of the following:

temperature, ambient noise, ambient light, pumps, valves, hydraulic pressures, pneumatic pressures, critical UPS data, battery charge state, battery condition, UPS temperature, power flow, line voltage, load power factor, load current, critical analog parameters, transient voltage spikes, and line voltage dropout duration.

28. A monitoring system, comprising:

at least one autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client including a network-connectivity confirmation element comprising a test-message generating element and a response-message receiving element, the network-connectivity confirmation element capable of sensing if operation of monitored equipment is suspect at least one of the following respects;

connectivity, performance or reliability; and

a remote status indicator located remotely to the at least one autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client and capable of indicating status of the at least one autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client, or inferring the status of said autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client from its lack of communications.

29. A monitoring system, comprising:

at least one autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client including a network-connectivity confirmation element comprising a test-message generating element and a response-message receiving element, the network-connectivity confirmation element capable of sensing if operation of monitored equipment is suspect at least one of the following respects;

connectivity, performance or reliability; and

a network monitor and control server (NMCS) linked via a network to the at least one automatic-reset/restore client, the network monitor and control server including at least a status server for monitoring status of the at least one autonomous, automatic-reset/restore network client.

30. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein the network monitor and control server includes an interactive relational database.

31. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a command server.

32. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a log server.

33. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a universal web server for performing at least one of the following:

user setup, e-commerce, network administration, status monitoring, account monitoring, configuration, setup of automatic-reset/restore network clients and setup of remote status indicators.

34. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a third party service monitor for testing operation of at least one third party service provider.

35. The monitoring system of claim 30 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a remote indicator server, said remote indicator server linked to at least one remote status indicator, the at least one remote status indicator showing the status of at least one automatic reset/restore network client, each at least one automatic reset/restore network client corresponding to a table entry in the interactive relational database.

36. The monitoring system of claim 30 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a remote indicator server, said remote indicator server linked to at least one remote status indicator, the at least one remote status indicator showing the status of at least one automatic reset/restore network client, each at least one automatic reset/restore network client corresponding to a table entry in the interactive relational database, said at least one remote status indicator also capable of serving as an automatic-reset/restore network client.

37. The monitoring system of claim 30 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a remote indicator server, said remote indicator server linked to at least one remote status indicator, the at least one remote status indicator showing the status of at least one automatic reset/restore network client, each at least one automatic reset/restore network client corresponding to a table entry in the interactive relational database, said at least one automatic-reset/restore client also capable of serving as a remote status indicator.

38. The monitoring system of claim 30 wherein the network monitor and control server includes a messaging client capable of initiating a message in response to a change in at least one of the following in the interactive relational database:

status, log-server data, or excessive time since last status report.

39. The monitoring system of claim 30 wherein the network monitor and control server is capable of automatically remotely rebooting the at least one automatic-reset/restore client in the event of a status criteria change or a reported log data change in the interactive relational database, or according to a predetermined schedule.

41. The monitoring system of claim 29 further comprising a fixed network probe/restore unit configured for monitoring at least one of the following:

field strength and network integrity.

42. The monitoring system of claim 29 further comprising a mobile network probe/restore unit that includes a GPS position monitor and that is configured for monitoring at least one of the following in a wireless network:

field strength and network integrity.

43. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein at least one automatic-reset/restore client is hardware- and software-independent from, but integrated into, a common enclosure with a router or access point.

44. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein at least one automatic-reset/restore client is hardware- and software-independent from, but integrated into, a common enclosure with at least one of the following:

wired router, wireless router, wired access point, wireless access point, DSL modem, cable modem fiberoptic or other modem.

45. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein at least one automatic-reset/restore client is hardware- and software-independent from, but integrated onto at least one piece of silicon with, one of the following:

wired router, wireless router, wired access point, wireless access point, DSL modem, cable modem or fiberoptic or other modem.

46. The monitoring system of claim 29 wherein at least one automatic-reset/restore client is included in a wireless network radio that comprises a plurality of wireless transceivers, at least one of which wireless transceivers is capable of operating, when otherwise unoccupied, as the automatic-reset/restore client to communicate with at least one other transceiver to monitor radio operation.

47. The monitoring system of claim 30 wherein the network monitor and control server software is capable of analyzing the simultaneous or near simultaneous failures or anomalous status reports from multiple independent automatic-reset/restore clients on a given network, and diagnosing or condensing network fault analysis data, simplifying network maintenance and troubleshooting.