APPARATUS, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR PROVIDING AUTOMATED BACKUP TO TDM NETWORK CONNECTIONS OVER AN IP NETWORK

• US 20090147690A1
• Filed: 12/07/2007
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nsgdatacom Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Nsgdatacom Incorporated
• Inventors: King, Graham
• Granted Patent: US 8,094,679 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition

Abstract

An automated telecommunications backup system includes a first system operable to monitor a primary time division multiplexing (TDM) link on a TDM network for a failure condition and a second system operable to back up at least a portion of the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link over a backup network. The backup network may be a packet based network, an Internet protocol (IP) based network, a satellite based network, or an IP based system over a satellite network. The first system may continuously monitor the primary TDM link and switch the functionality thereof into circuit with the TDM link upon the detection of the failure condition. The second system may compress the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link to transmit a pre-designated number of time slots thereof.

Claims

1. An automated telecommunications backup system comprising:

a first system operable to monitor a primary time division multiplexing (TDM) link on a TDM network for a failure condition; and

a second system operable to back up at least a portion of the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link over a backup network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the backup network comprises any one of:

a packet based network and an Internet protocol (IP) based network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the backup network comprises a satellite based network.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the satellite based network comprises at least one of:

one or more uplinks;

one or more downlinks;

one or more very small aperture terminals (VSATs); and

one or more geosynchronous earth orbit satellites.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first system continuously monitors the primary TDM link and switches the functionality thereof into circuit with the TDM link upon the detection of the failure condition.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first system stays substantially into circuit with said TDM link and actively terminates both connection endpoints thereof.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein in the event the failure condition is detected by the first system, the second system substantially redirects said telecommunications traffic of the TDM link across the point of link failure.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the second system compresses the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link to transmit a pre-designated number of time slots thereof.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the second system uses any one of predetermined and preconfigured information to determine which portions of the telecommunications traffic to redirect.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the second system provides any one of an in-band control channel and an out-of-band control channel to remotely manage any one of the TDM link and the backup network.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control channel provides two way communications to perform any one of:

providing monitoring and control functions;

determining real time diagnostic and status information; and

determining ancillary information.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the second system is operable to reestablish the primary TDM link upon detecting by the first system that said primary TDM link has been restored.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the reestablishment of the primary TDM link is performed gradually after predetermined thresholds of stability are met.

14. The system of claim 2, wherein the second system further comprises a locally generated TDM clock to account for any one of delay and jitter requirements of the TDM network over the backup IP network.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more components of the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link are selected for any one of:

transmission over the backup network; and

blocking thereof.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing any one of an in-band control channel and an out-of-band control channel to remotely manage any one of the TDM link and the backup network.

16. An automated telecommunications backup method comprising:

monitoring a primary time division multiplexing (TDM) link on a TDM network for a failure condition; and

backing up at least a portion of the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link over a backup network.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the backup network comprises any one of:

a packet based network and an Internet protocol (IP) based network.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the backup network comprises a satellite based network.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising continuously monitoring the primary TDM link and switching the functionality thereof into circuit with the TDM link upon the detection of the failure condition.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the backup up step comprises staying substantially into circuit with said TDM link and actively terminating both connection endpoints thereof.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein in the event such failure condition is detected, said telecommunications traffic of the TDM link is substantially redirected across the point of link failure.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising compressing the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link to transmit a pre-designated number of time slots thereof.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising using any one of predetermined and preconfigured information to determine which portions of the telecommunications traffic to redirect.

25. A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a computing platform, causes said computing platform to perform operations comprising a method of automated telecommunications backup, the method comprising:

monitoring a primary time division multiplexing (TDM) link on a TDM network for a failure condition; and

backing up at least a portion of the telecommunications traffic of the TDM link over a backup network.