Cable modem and personal computer troubleshooting tool

• US 6,393,478 B1
• Filed: 02/22/1999
• Issued: 05/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Comcast MO Group Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MediaOne Group Inc. (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Bahlmann, Bruce F.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUA, LY
• Application Number:
  US09/255,104
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 713/200, 113/201, 714/4, 709/224, 709/225
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A system and method for troubleshooting devices on a network where each device is identifiable by a medium access control address. Personnel interact with the system from a browser using hypertext markup language pages. A search capability allows the personnel to find a particular device based upon its medium access control address, and display device specific data. The device specific data is kept in a database internal to the system. Update functions are provided to change the data in the internal database. Utility functions are also provided to aid in troubleshooting, maintenance, and verification. The functions include clearing the device'"'"'s packet errors, viewing the device'"'"'s bridging table and history logs, registering and de-registering the device with a provisioning server, changing address filter and port filters, invoking a software reset and software download, looking up the device'"'"'s hostname, and searching the provisioning server'"'"'s log files for transactions involving the device.

Claims

1. A system to enable a client on a network to troubleshoot a plurality of medium access control addresses on the network, wherein the network has at least one provisioning server having server data directed to the plurality of medium access control addresses, and wherein the network has at least one periodic report having owner data directed to the plurality of medium access control addresses and a headend database having network configuration data available to the system, the system comprising:

a computer having an interface to the network;

a tool database hosted by the computer and containing health data, the owner data, and the server data for each medium access control address of the plurality of medium access control addresses;

a tool application program executed by the computer, the tool application program being in communication with the tool database, the client, the plurality of medium access control addresses, the at least one provisioning server, and the headend database; and

a server application program executed by the computer, the server application program providing a set of standard protocols to facilitate the tool application program communications, storage of a most recent copy of the owner data from the at least one periodic report, and storage of a most recent copy of the server data from the at least one provisioning server;

wherein upon receipt of at least one search parameter from the client, the tool application program is operative to search the tool database and headend database for a match to the at least one search parameter, identify a selected medium access control address of the plurality of medium access control addresses associated with the match, and provide to the client a general information page containing the server data, the owner data and the health data stored in the tool database under the selected medium access control address;

wherein upon receipt of an update health command from the client, the tool application program is operative to obtain a plurality of current health parameters from the selected medium access control address, and update the tool database with the plurality of current health parameters;

wherein upon receipt of an update owner command from the client, the tool application program is operative to update the tool database with the most recent copy of the owner data having the selected medium access control address; and

wherein upon receipt of an update server command from the client, the tool application program is operative to update the tool database with the most recent copy of the server data having the selected medium access control address.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one search parameter is selected from a group of search parameters comprising a medium access control address, an Internet Protocol address, a hostname, a character string, a city, a personal computer, a cable modem, a headend node, and a fiber node.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the tool application program is operative to obtain an uptime status from the at least one provisioning server and provide the uptime status to the client.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of matches are found for the at least one search parameter, the tool application program is operative to provide the client with a first pick list page containing the plurality of matches, and receive back the match selected by the client from the plurality of matches.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of medium access control addresses associated with the match are identified, the tool application program is operative to provide the client with a second pick list page containing the plurality of medium access control addresses, and receive back the selected medium access control address selected by the client from the plurality of medium access control addresses.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein upon identification of the selected medium access control address, the tool application program is operative to send a quick ping command sequence to the selected medium access control address, check for a quick ping response from the selected medium access control address, and incorporate in the general information page an alive status determined by the quick ping response.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a bridging table command from the client, the tool application program is operative to obtain a bridge forwarding table from the selected medium access control address, and provide the bridge forwarding table to the client.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a clear error command from the client, the tool application program is operative to send a clear error command sequence to the selected medium access control address, obtain a plurality of current health parameters from the selected medium access control address, and update the tool database with the plurality of current health parameters.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a de-register command from the client, the tool application program is operative to send a de-registration request for the selected medium access control address to the at least one provisioning server.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a registration command from the client, the tool application program is operative to send a registration request for the selected medium access control address to the at least one provisioning server.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of an address filter command from the client, the tool application program is operative to obtain a plurality of current address filter parameters from the selected medium access control address, and provide the plurality of current address filter parameters to the client.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein upon receipt of a set address filter command and a plurality of new address filter parameters from the client, the tool application program is operative to send the plurality of new address filter parameters to the selected medium access control address.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein upon receipt of a clear address filter command from the client, the tool application program is operative to send a clear address filter command sequence to the selected medium access control address.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a listen command from the client, the tool application program is operative to search a communication log file in the at least one provisioning server to produce a result based upon transactions involving the selected medium access control address, and provide the result to the client.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the network includes a domain name server, and wherein upon receipt of a name server lookup command from the client, the tool application program is operative to determine a selected Internet Protocol address for the selected medium access control address, obtain a hostname for the selected Internet Protocol address from the domain name server, and provide the hostname to the client.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a ping command from the client, the tool application program is operative to send a ping command sequence to the selected medium access control address, check for a ping response from the selected medium access control address after the ping command sequence is sent, and provide a ping result page to the client based upon the ping response.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a port filter command from the client, the tool application program is operative to obtain a plurality of current port filter parameters from the selected medium access control address, and provide the plurality of current port filter parameters to the client.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein upon receipt of an apply port filter command and a plurality of new port filter parameters from the client, the tool application program is operative to send the plurality of new port filter parameters to the selected medium access control address.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a reset command from the client, the tool application program is operative to send a reset command sequence followed by a quick ping command sequence to the selected medium access control address, check for a quick ping response, and provide a reset result page to the tile client based upon the quick ping response.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of an upgrade command from the client, the tool application program is operative to provide a plurality of current upgrade parameters to the client.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein upon receipt of a start upgrade command and a plurality of new upgrade parameters from the client, the tool application program is operative to send the plurality of new upgrade parameters to the selected medium access control address.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the general information page includes a personal computer medium access control address, and wherein upon receipt of a personal computer command from the client, the tool application program is operative to provide to the client a personal computer general information page containing the server data and the owner data as stored in the tool database under the personal computer medium access control address.

23. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of an e-mail command from the client, the server application program is operative to provide an e-mail page to the client.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein the general information page includes a headend reference node medium access control address, and wherein upon receipt of a headend reference node command from the client, the tool application program is operative to provide to the client a headend reference node information page containing the server data and the health data as stored in the tool database under the headend reference node medium access control address.

25. The system of claim 1 wherein upon receipt of a history command from the client, the tool application program is operative to obtain a log file from the selected medium access control address and provide the log file to the client.

26. The system of claim 1 further comprising a configuration file that provides a plurality of global parameters to the tool application program.

27. The system of claim 1 further comprising a browser having an interface to the network, the browser facilitating communications between the client and the server application program.

28. The system of claim 1 further comprising a script application between the tool application program and the server application program to facilitate communications between the tool application program and the server application program.

29. A method to enable a client on a network to troubleshoot a plurality of medium access control addresses on the network, wherein the network has at least one provisioning server having server data directed to the plurality of medium access control addresses, and wherein the network has available at least one periodic report having owner data directed to the plurality of medium access control addresses and a headend database having network configuration data, the method comprises:

providing a tool database containing health data, the owner data from the at least one periodic report, and the server data from the at least one provisioning server, the tool database being organized by the plurality of medium access control addresses;

searching the tool database and the headend database for a match to at least one parameter in response to receiving the at least one search parameter from the client;

identifying a selected medium access control address of the plurality of medium access control addresses associated with the match in response to obtaining the match;

providing a general information page to the client in response to identifying the selected medium access control address, the general information page containing the server data, the owner data, and the health data for the selected medium access control address;

obtaining a plurality of current health parameters from the selected medium access control address in response to receiving an update health command from the client;

writing the plurality of current health parameters into the tool database in response to obtaining the plurality of current health parameter from the selected medium access control address;

periodically receiving a most recent copy of the owner data from the at least one periodic report;

writing the most recent copy of the owner data for the selected medium access control address into the tool database in response to receiving an update owner command from the client;

periodically receiving a most recent copy of the server data from the at least one provisioning server;

writing the most recent copy of the server data for the selected medium access control address into the tool database in response to receiving an update server command from the client.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the at least one search parameter is selected from a group of search parameters comprising a medium access control address, an Internet Protocol address, a hostname, a character string, a city, a personal computer, a cable modem, a headend node, and a fiber node.

31. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

obtaining an uptime status from the at least one provisioning server; and

providing the uptime status to the client in response to obtaining the uptime status.

32. The method of claim 29 where a plurality of matches for the at least one parameter are found, the method further comprises:

providing to the client a first pick list page containing the plurality of matches in response to finding the plurality of matches; and

receiving the match selected by the client from the plurality of matches after providing the first pick list to the client.

33. The method of claim 29 where a plurality of medium access control addresses are identified, the method further comprises:

providing to the client a second pick list page containing the plurality of medium access control addresses in response to identifying the plurality of medium access control addresses; and

receiving the selected medium access control address selected by the client from the plurality of medium access control addresses after providing the second pick list to the client.

34. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

sending a quick ping command sequence to the selected medium access control address in response to identifying the selected medium access control address;

checking for a quick ping response from the selected medium access control address after sending the ping command sequence; and

incorporating in the general information page an alive status determined by the ping response after completing the check for the quick ping response.

35. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

obtaining a bridge forwarding table from the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a bridge table command from the client; and

providing the bridge forwarding table to the client in response to obtaining the bridge forwarding table.

36. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

sending a clear error command sequence to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a clear error command from the client;

obtaining a plurality of current health parameters from the selected medium access control address after sending the clear error command sequence to the selected medium access control address; and

writing the plurality of current health parameters received from the selected medium access control address into the tool database in response to obtaining the plurality of current health parameters.

37. The method of claim 29 further comprising requesting the at least one provisioning server de-register the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a de-register command from the client.

38. The method of claim 29 further comprising requesting the at least one provisioning server register the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a register command from the client.

39. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

obtaining a plurality of current address filter parameters from the selected medium access control address in response to receiving an address filter command from the client; and

providing the plurality of current address filter parameters to the client in response to obtaining the plurality of current address filter parameters.

40. The method of claim 39 further comprising sending a plurality of new address filter parameters to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving the plurality of new address filter parameters and a set address filter command from the client.

41. The method of claim 39 further comprising sending a clear address filter command sequence to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a clear address filter command from the client.

42. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

searching a communication log file in the at least one provisioning server to produce a result based upon transactions involving the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a listen command from the client; and

providing the result to the client after completing the search of the communication log file.

43. The method of claim 29 wherein the network includes a domain name server, the method further comprising:

determining a selected Internet Protocol address for the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a name server lookup command from the client;

obtaining a hostname for the selected Internet Protocol address from the domain name server in response to determining the selected Internet Protocol address; and

providing the hostname to the client in response to obtaining the hostname from the domain name server.

44. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

sending a ping command sequence to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a ping command from the client;

checking for a ping response from the selected medium access control address after the ping command sequence is sent to the selected medium access control address; and

providing a ping result page to the client based upon the ping response after completing the check for the ping response.

45. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

obtaining a plurality of current port filter parameters from the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a port filter command from the client; and

providing the plurality of current port filter parameters to the client in response to obtaining the plurality of current port filter parameters.

46. The method of claim 45 further comprising sending a plurality of new port filter parameters to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving the plurality of new port filter parameters and an apply port filter command from the client.

47. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

sending a reset command sequence to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a reset command from the client;

sending a quick ping command sequence to the selected medium access control address after sending the device reset command;

checking for a quick ping response after sending the quick ping command sequence; and

providing a reset result page to the client based upon the ping response after completing the check for the ping response.

48. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

providing a plurality of current upgrade parameters to the client in response to receiving an upgrade command from the client.

49. The method of claim 48 further comprising sending a plurality of new upgrade parameters to the selected medium access control address in response to receiving the plurality of new upgrade parameters and a start upgrade command from the client.

50. The method of claim 29 wherein the general information page includes a personal computer medium access control address, the method further comprising providing to the client a personal computer general information page containing the server data and the owner data for the personal computer medium access control address, in response to receiving a personal computer command from the client.

51. The method of claim 29 further comprising providing an e-mail page to the client in response to receiving an e-mail command from the client.

52. The method of claim 29 wherein the general information page includes a headend reference node medium access control address, the method further comprising providing to the client a headend reference node information page containing the server data and the health data for the headend reference node medium access control address, in response to receiving a headend reference node command from the client.

53. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

obtaining a log file from the selected medium access control address in response to receiving a history command from the client; and

providing the log file to the client in response to obtaining the log fi from the selected medium access control address.