Method and apparatus for emulating a digital cross-connect switch network
First Claim
1. An emulator apparatus for emulating a digital cross-connect switch network to allow testing of a communication network monitor and control system (MCS) in the presence and absence of a selected network failure, the emulator apparatus comprising:
- a communication module which communicates with the MCS over at least one emulator control link using a communications protocol substantially identical to a communications protocol used in the digital cross-connect switch network to communicate to the MCS;
a memory unit for storing emulated network data representative of the behavior and topology of the emulated digital cross-connect switch network in the presence and absence of the selected network failure; and
a processor coupled to said communication module and said memory unit, said processor sending emulator messages for the MCS to said communication module based on said emulated network data, said emulator messages emulating solicited and unsolicited messages that would be sent from the digital cross-connect switch network being emulated to the MCS in the presence and absence of the selected network failure.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for emulating a digital cross-connect (DXC) network fully tests a telecommunication network monitoring and control system (MCS). The communication and behavior of a digital cross-connect switching network are emulated in the presence and absence of selected network configurations, failures, and/or normalizations. A communication module communicates with the MCS through emulator control links using a communications protocol substantially identical to a communications protocol used in the emulated digital cross-connect network. A configuration database stores configuration data representing the current behavior of the DXC nodes. A topology database stores topology data representative of the topology of the emulated DXC network. An emulator message generator generates messages emulating communications from DXC nodes to the MCS. An emulator link selector further selects an enabled emulator control link depending upon whether respective emulated network control links are enabled. Intelligent emulator responses are generated and sent based on the current configuration and/or topology data which take into account any selected user-input to emulate solicited and unsolicited responses by actual digital cross-connect network nodes to MCS commands and audits. Simulated multi-tasking and dynamic user-interface control options are included. Finally, different types of digital cross-connect switching networks and systems are emulated to test an MCS including: DXC 3/3, DXC 3/1, and/or DXC 1/0 networks.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. An emulator apparatus for emulating a digital cross-connect switch network to allow testing of a communication network monitor and control system (MCS) in the presence and absence of a selected network failure, the emulator apparatus comprising:
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a communication module which communicates with the MCS over at least one emulator control link using a communications protocol substantially identical to a communications protocol used in the digital cross-connect switch network to communicate to the MCS; a memory unit for storing emulated network data representative of the behavior and topology of the emulated digital cross-connect switch network in the presence and absence of the selected network failure; and a processor coupled to said communication module and said memory unit, said processor sending emulator messages for the MCS to said communication module based on said emulated network data, said emulator messages emulating solicited and unsolicited messages that would be sent from the digital cross-connect switch network being emulated to the MCS in the presence and absence of the selected network failure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A computer-implemented method for emulating a digital cross-connect network to test a network monitoring and control system (MCS), comprising the steps of:
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storing emulated network data representative of the behavior and topology of the digital cross-connect network being emulated; establishing connectivity with the MCS over at least one emulator control link; detecting incoming MCS messages; and sending emulator messages over said at least one emulator control link to the MCS in response to said incoming MCS messages based on said emulated network data, said emulator messages emulating messages that would be sent from DXC nodes in the digital cross-connect network being emulated to the MCS in response to said detected incoming MCS messages. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification