Enhanced communications network testing and control system

• US 4,545,011 A
• Filed: 12/10/1980
• Issued: 10/01/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Infinet Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Infinet Incorporated
• Inventors: Falkenstein, Don I., Lyon, David L., Holsinger, Jerry L., Piracha, Imtiaz, Huettner, Robert E., Ching, Dennis T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zache, Raulfe B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eng, David Y.
• Application Number:
  US06/215,135
• Time in Patent Office: 1,756 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200, 364/900, 340/825.06, 340/825.08
• US Class Current: 714/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

A network control and test system for application to data communications networks. In a first mode of operation, the system learns the network configuration automatically and builds a table describing the network configuration. In a second mode of operation, the system automatically monitors the status of the network and each of its component units, periodically polling the network for changes of status and updating the information in the network configuration table to reflect such changes. In a third mode of operation, selective sites in the network may be tested under control of the system at previously selected and entered times of day, at which times previously chosen tests are performed without the need for operator intervention. In a fourth mode, an operator can manually command the system to perform certain tests and control functions. A central site in the network includes the primary components of the system and each remote site includes a remote test module which operates under the control of and in cooperation with the central site equipment. The central site equipment includes a three-tiered, partially distributed data processing system having a semi-autonomous data processing system at each tier. Each of the tiers has predetermined functions and responsibilities. Extremely flexible and powerful operation is provided by this architecture.

Claims

1. In a network testing and control system for use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each remote site having means for generating a unique site address identifying said site, and wherein said remote sites can dynamically connect to and disconnect from said network, an improvement for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, said improvement comprising, at the central site

means for polling the remote sites connected to said communications links with an address inquiry signal to determine their addresses;

means for storing at the central site a record of the addresses determined by remote site responses to such polling, to provide a site location table containing the addresses of the remote sites;

means for updating said site location table as remote sites connect to and disconnect from said communications links;

means for transmitting, over said communications links in a shared and selectively concurrent arrangement with said digital communications network, a status request signal to each remote site address contained in the site location table, in response to a command, to evoke a status signal from each remote site indicative of the status of at least one selected variable associated with that remote site, said variable comprising a status condition, signal or operating parameter at the remote site; and

means for receiving remote site status signals transmitted from remote sites over said communication links in a shared and selectively concurrent arrangement with said digital communications network.

2. The improved network testing and control system of claim 1 wherein the means for transmitting further includes means for repeating automatically the transmission of status request signals to the remote sites at predefined intervals.

3. The network testing and control system of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said remote sites include means for generating status signals, and further including, at the central site, means for detecting a change of status in a remote site variable and means for displaying an indication of such change of status.

4. The network testing and control system of claim 1 or claim 2 further including, at the central site,

means for storing permissible values for remote site variables,

means for accepting and storing permissible values for selected monitored remote site variables,

means for detecting variable deviation from its permissible values, and

means for signalling to a system operator when a selected monitored remote site variable deviates from its permissible value.

5. The network testing and control system of claim 4 further including at the central site means for generating and storing information pertaining to each remote site variable which deviates from its permissible value.

6. For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each site being uniquely identified by a site address selected from a pool of available site addresses, an improved network testing and control system comprising, at the central site;

means for selectively and concurrently sharing said communication links with a host processor at said central site for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, said sharing and reporting means having

means for testing operating equipment at a remote site including means for transmitting a test signal sequence to the remote site, and for receiving a test signal response from the remote site, via the shared communications link associated with the remote site address;

means for accepting at the central site test-scheduling information including a dynamically changeable designation of a test sequence to be performed at a later time, the address of the remote site on which the test sequence is to be performed, and the time when the test sequence is to begin;

means for storing the test-scheduling information; and

means for providing the test-scheduling information to the test signal sequence transmitting means at the designated date and time, for automatically initiating the scheduled test sequence at the designated remote site.

7. The network testing and control system of claim 6 wherein the means for testing a remote site includes means for receiving a response to a test signal sequence and further including means for recording such response.

8. The network testing and control system of claim 7 wherein the means for recording includes means for providing a visual indication of the response.

9. The network testing and control system of claim 8 wherein the visual indication is in the form of a printed copy.

10. A method of monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, the network having analog communication links connecting said central site to said remote site equipment, said central site having a host data processing system, said method including the monitoring of a plurality of status variables for each remote site and comprising, for each remote site, the steps of

sharing said communication links between said host system and a central-site monitoring system;

generating, in response to selectively concurrently shared two-way signal communication between said central site and said remote site on said communication links, an initial status listing responsive to the status variables for the remote site;

generating a status change signal responsive to a change of at least one status variable from its value in the status listing; and

responsive to the status change signal, determining for the associated variable, the state change or changes.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein a status variable may be in one of two available states and the change signal is generated in response to a status variable changing from one of said states to the other of said states.

12. The method of claim 11 further including the step of verifying that at least one variable has changed state upon the generation of the status change signal.

13. A method of monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, the network having analog communications links connecting the central site to the remote site equipment, and over which a host processor at the central site communicates with the remote sites, and wherein the central site further includes first and second data processing systems, the first data processing system being connected directly to the second data processing system and the second data processing system being further connected to the remote sites over said links, said method comprising, for each remote site to be monitored, the steps of

selectively concurrently sharing communication of status signals between said central-site data processing systems and said remote sites over said analog communications links with the digital communication of said network;

generating, in response to said communication of status signals, a status listing containing the initial status of the status variables to be monitored;

the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system a status change inquiry signal;

responsive to the status change inquiry signal, the second data processing system sending a status change signal to the first data processing system if any of the monitored status variables have changed state since the generation of the status listing, and the second data processing system sending a no status change signal if none of the monitored status variables has changed state since the generation of the status listing;

responsive to receiving a status change signal, the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system another, second status change inquiry signal;

responsive to the second status change inquiry signal, the second data processing system sending a second status change signal to the first data processing system if any of the monitored status variables have changed state since the generation of the status listing and sending a said no status change signal if none of the monitored status variables has changed state since the generation of the status listing;

responsive to receiving a second status change signal, the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system a first status request signal; and

responsive to the first status request signal, the second data processing system sending to the first data processing system a status update signal indicating the status of each of the monitored status variables.

14. The method of claim 13 further including the step of updating the status listing to indicate correctly the status of each of the monitored status variables, according to the status update signal, and wherein the steps commencing with the step of the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system a status change inquiry signal are repeated at predefined intervals and after each repetition of such steps the status listing is updated to indicate correctly the status of each of the monitored status variables, according to the status update signal.

15. For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, said central site having a host processing system communicating with said remote sites over said communications links, an improved network testing and control system comprising, at the central site,

means for selectively concurrently sharing said communications links with said host processing systems for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, said sharing and reporting means having

a data processing system including a plurality of connection port means, each port means being connected to at least one communications link of the network for providing serial communications between the data processing system and each remote site on such link, said data processing system and said host processing system selectively concurrently sharing said communications links;

the data processing system further comprising

means for communicating substantially simultaneously, in parallel, through each port means over said communications links with the remote sites connected thereto and means, with respect to each port, responsive to a preselected signal, for monitoring, over said communications links, the remote sites connected thereto, and for ascertaining from data received over said shared links the status of at least one selected variable associated with each remote site, said variable comprising a status condition, signal or operating parameter.

16. Apparatus for monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, said network providing digital communications between said central site and said remote sites over a plurality of analog communication links, said central site having a host processing system communicating with said remote sites over said communication links, said monitoring apparatus comprising

memory means for storing status information,

means for generating and storing in said memory means, in response to status inquiry signals, information corresponding to the initial status of the status variables for each monitored remote site,

means for generating a status change signal responsive to a change of state of at least one status variable of a monitored remote site,

means at the remote site responsive to the status change signal for determining the variable state change or changes in response to which said status change signal was generated, said means for determining comprising means for comparing the states of status variables to the initial status information stored in the memory means, and

means for selectively concurrently sharing the communication of said status inquiry signals and said status variable signals and said status change signals between said central and said remote sites over said communications links with said digital communication.

17. For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each site being uniquely identified by a site address selected from a pool of available site addresses, said central site having a host computer communicating over said communication links, an improved network testing and control system comprising, at the central site,

means for selectively concurrently sharing said communications links with said host processing systems for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links,

a plurality of connection port means, each port means being connected to at least one communications link of the network for providing serial communications between the central site and each remote site on such link with said sharing;

means at the central site for accepting test-scheduling information including a dynamically changeable designation of a test to be performed at a later time, the port means for which a remote site test is to be performed, and the time of day when the test is to begin;

means for storing the test-scheduling information; and

means for initiating automatically the scheduled test, on the remote sites connected to the designated port means, at the designated time and on said links with said sharing.

18. For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each site having means for generating a unique site address identifying said site, and wherein said remote site can dynamically connect and disconnect from said network, an improved network testing and control system, comprising, at the central site,

means for selectively concurrently sharing said communications links with a host processor at said central site for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links,

means for polling the remote sites connected to said shared lines to determine their addresses,

means for storing a record of the addresses determined by such polling, to provide a site location table containing the addresses of the remote site, and

means for updating said site location table.

19. The improved network testing and control system of claim 18 further comprising means responsive to the site location table for organizing the remote site addresses according to at least its port and line connections for associating with each stored remote site address, its port and line connection for directing communications to said site.

20. The improved network testing and control system of claim 18 wherein said polling means further comprises means for determining which of the responding remote sites is a hot spare.

21. A method for monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, the network having analog communications links connecting said remote sites to said central site and over which a host processor at the central site communicates with the remote sites, said method including monitoring a plurality of status variables for each remote site for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, and comprising the steps of

selectively concurrently sharing communication of such status between the central site and the remote sites over the analog communications links used by said host processor with said digital communications of said network,

generating at and transmitting from the central site, and receiving at at least one remote site, over said analog communications links, time mask data,

monitoring and processing at said central site status variable changes at least at said one remote site and received over said analog communications links, and

inhibiting, at the central site, the processing of status variable changes received over said analog communications links from at least said one remote site during time periods determined by said time mask data.

22. The network testing and control system of claim 21 further comprising the step of

selectively disabling and enabling the transmission of status request signals to selected ones of said remote sites.