Modem diagnostic and control system
First Claim
1. For use in a modem system including a central site modem and at least one remote site modem communicating over a transmission line with said central site modem, the modem diagnostic apparatus comprising:
- a central site processor means for providing commands including a plurality of test commands;
means associated with said central site modem for receiving test commands from said central site processor, for checking, autonomously of said central site processor, for alarm conditions at the associated central site modem and informing said central site processor of a said alarm condition, and for transmitting communications between said central site processor and the remote site modem; and
means associated with said remote site modem for receiving test commands transmitted by said central site modem from said central site processor, for checking, autonomously of said central site processor, for alarm conditions at said remote site modem and for transmitting an alarm message back to said central site modem.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for diagnosing and controlling operation of a plurality of modems, some located at a central site and others at various remote sites. A processor located at the central site selectively addresses microprocessor test and control units at each modem over a secondary channel. The microprocessor test and control units respond to commands to configure and perform various modem tests, operate autonomously to monitor various alarm conditions, and format status reports and alarm maydays for transmission back to the central processor. The system is capable of performing a wide variety of testing, monitoring and network control functions for a very large network of modems.
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Citations
74 Claims
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1. For use in a modem system including a central site modem and at least one remote site modem communicating over a transmission line with said central site modem, the modem diagnostic apparatus comprising:
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a central site processor means for providing commands including a plurality of test commands; means associated with said central site modem for receiving test commands from said central site processor, for checking, autonomously of said central site processor, for alarm conditions at the associated central site modem and informing said central site processor of a said alarm condition, and for transmitting communications between said central site processor and the remote site modem; and means associated with said remote site modem for receiving test commands transmitted by said central site modem from said central site processor, for checking, autonomously of said central site processor, for alarm conditions at said remote site modem and for transmitting an alarm message back to said central site modem. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. Apparatus for testing and controlling a modem in response to commands, including test commands, from a control source comprising:
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means at said modem for receiving said commands; means at said modem for transmitting messages to said control source; and means at said modem supplied with said commands by said receiving means for testing said modem in response to said test commands, monitoring the performance of said modem for alarm conditions, and supplying alarm messages to said transmitting means if an alarm condition is detected, said monitoring and supplying being done autonomously of said control source. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A test and control unit for use in conjunction with a data modem comprising:
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means for detecting a plurality of alarm conditions in the operation of said modem and setting corresponding alarm bits; means for receiving a formatted message, including a plurality of words each of which contains an information portion, one of which portions is a command, and for storing the received information portions in a stack; means for checking the contents of the stack to verify correct receipt of a command and for setting control bits to effectuate a command if said contents are correct; means for formatting and storing an acknowledgement message in response to detection of an alarm condition by said detecting means or in response to a correctly received command; and means for transmitting a said acknowledgement message out of said test and control unit.
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21. A test and control unit for use in conjunction with a data modem comprising:
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means for detecting a plurality of alarm conditions in the operation of said modem and setting corresponding alarm bits; means for receiving a formatted message, including a plurality of words, each word including start, stop, and parity bits and an information character one of which characters may comprise a command and for detecting said start and stop bits, checking the parity condition and storing the received character in a character stack; means for checking the contents of the character stack to verify correct receipt of a command and for setting control bits to effectuate a command if said contents are correct; means for formatting and storing an acknowledgement message in response to detection of an alarm condition by said detecting means or in response to a correctly received command; and means for transmitting a said acknowledgement message out of said test and control unit.
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22. In a data modem adapted to be switched between back-up and primary transmission lines and adapted to receive command signals from a central controller, the apparatus comprising:
means responsive to a first command from said central controller to switch from said back-up line to said primary line for timing an interval during which a second command is expected to be received from said central controller and for switching said modem back to said back-up line if said second command is not received during said interval. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. Apparatus for testing and controlling a modem in response to commands from a control source comprising:
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means for receiving said commands; means for transmitting messages to said control source; and a programmed microprocessor supplied with said commands by said receiver means for testing said modem in response to test commands, autonomously monitoring the performance of said modem for alarm conditions, and supplying alarm messages to said transmitting means if an alarm condition is detected.
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26. In a data modem, diagnostic apparatus adapted to communicate with a central controller means for providing a plurality of commands to said diagnostic apparatus, said diagnostic apparatus comprising:
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means for providing a plurality of signals from which a plurality of alarm conditions may be detected; and means including a programmed processor for monitoring said plurality of signals autonomously of said central controller and for detecting from said plurality of signals a plurality of alarm conditions, storing digital indications of the presence or absence of said alarm conditions, and autonomously forming an alarm message for transmission to said central controller upon detection of the presence of a said alarm condition. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. Diagnostic apparatus for a data communication system including a plurality of data modems comprising:
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means for providing to a first of said data modems a plurality of first signals from which malfunctions in said data communication system may be detected; means located at said first data modem and operating at least in part under control of a program stored at said data modem for automatically detecting malfunctions from said first signals; and means for generating a message signal containing information indicative of the occurrence of a malfunction in the data communication system. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. In a data communication system including a plurality of data modems each at a remote site, the diagnostic apparatus at each said remote site comprising:
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means for providing a first plurality of signals from which malfunctions in said data communication system may be detected; means supplied with said first plurality of signals for repeatedly testing said signals and responsive to said tests for detecting said malfunctions; and means responsive to detection of a said malfunction for generating a second plurality of signals, each indicative of the occurrence of a said malfunction. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42)
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43. For use in a data communication system including a plurality of data modems, the diagnostic apparatus comprising:
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means for providing a plurality of first signals from which faults in said data communication system may be detected, said faults including an indication of a failure in a said data modem and an indication of a streaming condition; means contained within a said data modem and supplied with said first signals for automatically detecting from said first signals the occurrence of one or more of said faults and for generating a message including information indicative of the type of fault and the location of the fault in the data communication system; and means for transmitting said message to a central site in said data communication system. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45)
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46. For use in a data communication system including a central site modem and at least one remote site modem communicating over a transmission line with said central site modem, the modem diagnostic apparatus comprising:
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a central site processor means for providing commands including a plurality of test commands; means associated with said central site modem for receiving test commands from said central site processor, for automatically and continuously checking under control of a microprocessor associated with said central site modem for system malfunctions at the associated central site modem, for informing said central site processor of a said malfunction, and for transmitting communications between said central site processor and the remote site modem; and means associated with said remote site modem for receiving test commands transmitted by said central site modem from said central site processor, for automatically and continuously checking under control of a microprocessor associated with said remote site modem for system malfunctions at said remote site modem and for transmitting a message back to said central site modem indicating a malfunction has occurred. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48)
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49. For use in a data communication system including a plurality of remote sites and at least one remote site modem located at each remote site, a method of performing remote site diagnostics comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of first signals from which malfunctions in said data communication system at a remote site may be detected; monitoring said signals at said remote site to automatically detect said malfunctions, said monitoring and detecting being performed at least in part under control of a program stored at said remote site; and generating a message signal containing information indicating that a malfunction has occurred in the data communication system. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. In a data modem, adapted for use as part of a data communication system including a central controller, the method of performing data communication system diagnostics comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of signals from which a plurality of alarm conditions may be detected; monitoring said plurality of signals under stored program control, autonomously of said central controller; detecting alarm conditions from the monitored signals under stored program control, autonomously of said central controller; storing digital indications of the presence or absence of said alarm conditions; and responding to the detection of an alarm condition by forming a message indicative of the occurrence of a said alarm condition for transfer to selected apparatus in said data communication system. - View Dependent Claims (55, 57, 58, 60)
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56. Diagnostic apparatus for use in a data communication system at data modem sites comprising:
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means for producing a plurality of first signals containing information concerning the operation of said data communication system; and a microprocessor running in an idle loop wherein a plurality of said first signals are repeatedly checked, said microprocessor including a plurality of timers and means for resetting said timers if certain malfunctions have not been detected, and means for periodically interrupting said idle loop to check for character reception, to set bits in a register indicating detection of certain malfunctions and to advance said timers if no malfunction is detected. - View Dependent Claims (59)
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61. In a data communication system, including first and second modems, a first communication line, a second communication line, and means for alternately switching the communication path of said first and second modems between said first line and second line, the apparatus comprising:
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means for holding said second line while a switch to said first line is made; means for automatically ascertaining the performance of said first line once said first line has been switched to; and means for automatically switching back to said second line if said performance is not satisfactory. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63)
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64. Apparatus for testing and controlling a modem comprising:
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a control source for providing commands, including test commands to said modem; means at said modem for receiving said commands; means at said modem for transmitting messages to said control source; and means at said modem supplied with said commands by said receiving means for testing said modem in response to said test commands, monitoring the performance of said modem for alarm conditions, and supplying alarm messages to said transmitting means if an alarm condition is detected, said monitoring and supplying being done autonomously of said control source.
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65. A data communication system comprising:
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a plurality of data modems;
a central processor means for generating formatted messages for transmission over selected transmission links;
transmission means connecting said modems to said processor; and
a test and control unit for use in conjunction with each data modem, each said test and control unit comprising;means for detecting a plurality of alarm conditions in the operation of its associated modem and setting corresponding alarm bits; means for receiving a formatted message, including a plurality of words each of which contains an information portion, one of which portions is a command, and for storing the received information portions in a stack; means for checking the contents of the stack to verify correct receipt of a command and for setting control bits to effectuate a command of said contents are correct; means for formatting and storing an acknowledgement message in response to detection of an alarm condition by said detecting means or in response to a correctly received command; and means for transmitting a said acknowledgement message out of said test and control unit.
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66. Data communication diagnostic apparatus comprising:
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a central controller means for providing a plurality of commands over a communication link and for receiving messages over said link; at least one data modem adapted to communicate with said controller over said link; means for providing a plurality of signals from which a plurality of alarm conditions may be detected; and means in said data modem including a programmed processor for monitoring said plurality of signals autonomously of said central controller and for detecting from said plurality of signals a plurality of alarm conditions, storing digital indications of the presence or absence of said alarm conditions, and autonomously forming an alarm message for transmission to said central controller upon detection of the presence of a said alarm condition.
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67. A communication system comprising:
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a data modem adapted to be switched between back-up and primary transmission lines; a central controller means for communicating commands over either of said transmission lines to said modem, said commands including a first command to switch said data modem from a back-up line to a primary line; and means at said data modem responsive to said first command, for timing an interval during which a second command is expected to be received from said central controller, and for switching said modem back to said back-up line if said second command is not received during said interval. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69)
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70. A data communication system including:
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a plurality of data modems each at a remote site, a data terminal communicating with each remote site modem, at least one central-site modem, a central site processor communicating with said central site modem, said central-site modem and remote-site modems being adapted for communication with one another over a transmission medium; and
diagnostic apparatus at each said remote site comprising;means for providing a first plurality of signals from which malfunctions in said data communication system may be detected; means supplied with said first plurality of signals for repeatedly testing said signals and responsive to said tests for detecting said malfunctions; and means responsive to detection of a said malfunction for generating a second plurality of signals, each indicative of the occurrence of a said malfunction. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74)
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Specification