Communication access chassis with general purpose computing platform

• US 6,678,284 B1
• Filed: 04/25/2001
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: UTStarcom Incorporated (UTStarcom Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Landry, Todd, Verthein, William, Schoo, Daniel L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Steven H. D
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, MAN U
• Application Number:
  US09/844,174
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 370/465, 370/466, 370/467, 370/401, 370/402, 370/423, 370/463, 370/360, 370/415, 370/468, 370/536, 379/93, 379/94, 379/96, 379/202, 379/231, 379/234, 709/217, 709/219
• US Class Current: 370/465
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4612 LAN interconnection over narrowband networks, e.g. N-ISDN, PSTN, X.25
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/066 Telephone sets adapted for data transmision
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/028 Subscriber network interface devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/03 Power distribution arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2201/802 in data transmission systems

Abstract

A communication access chassis having a general purpose computing platform provides communication access between remote users and computer network via the public telephone network. The general purpose computing platform is connected to an internal chassis bus complex transmitting incoming calls between a telephone line interface and a signal conversion system and between the signal conversion system and a local area network interface. The computing platform has a conventional microprocessor and local or peripheral memory storage devices and implements a commercially available open network operating system such as Windows NT™. By virtue of the ability of the general purpose computing platform to run network server programs locally, i.e., in the communication chassis, server functionality that has been provided only by remote computers on a local area network in the prior art is incorporated into the communications chassis itself, providing for improved network management, increased network security and reduced access and processing time, all in a manner transparent to the remote user.

Claims

1. A remote access server system for providing remote access to a computer network comprising:

a network access server embodied in a communication access chassis processing calls from a plurality of remote users simultaneously along an incoming communications line and connecting said remote users to said computer network, said communication access chassis comprising, in combination,

a first interface to said computer network;

a second interface to said incoming communications line;

an internal chassis bus connected to said second interface; and

a general purpose computing platform installed in said communications chassis running a commercially available general purpose computer operating system, said general purpose computing platform further comprising an interface providing direct communication access between said general purpose computing platform and said internal chassis bus, thereby enabling said general purpose computing platform to receive and terminate said incoming calls from said second interface; and

a machine readable memory coupled to said general purpose computing platform storing information accessible to said remote users,

whereby said remote users may access said information via said machine readable memory and thereby avoid having to be connected to said network to access said information and thereby increasing the security of said network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said machine readable memory comprises a hard disk in said general purpose computing platform.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said machine readable memory comprises a data storage device located on a peripheral bus connected to said general purpose computing platform.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said information comprises an intranet web page.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said general purpose computing platform dynamically assigns Internet Protocol addresses to said remote users using a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said general purpose computing platform registers and queries dynamic name to Internet Protocol address mappings using a Windows Internetwork Name Service.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said communication chassis combines plural dial-up lines using Multilink Channel Aggregation.

8. A method of providing access to information of interest to a remote user while retaining network security, comprising the steps of:

connecting said remote user over a communications line to a network access server, said network access server processing incoming calls from other remote users and providing a network interface allowing selected other remote users to communicate with servers on a computer network coupled to said network interface;

providing a general purpose computing platform in said network access server and a commercially available general purpose computing platform operating system in said general purpose computing platform;

running said commercially available general purpose computing platform operating system in said network access server;

providing information of interest to said remote user on a machine readable memory coupled to said general purpose computing platform; and

terminating said connection from said remote user in said general purpose computing platform and providing access to said information of interest to said remote user without connecting said remote user to a server on said network, thereby increasing the security of said network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said network access server includes a plurality of modems and wherein said communications line comprises a digital multiplexed telephone line, and wherein said network access server includes an internal chassis bus complex connected to said plurality of modems.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said machine readable memory comprises a data storage device located on a peripheral bus connected to said general purpose computing platform.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said machine readable memory comprises a hard disk in said general purpose computing platform.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein said information comprises an intranet web page.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising dynamically assigning an Internet Protocol address to said remote user using a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising registering and querying a dynamic name to Internet Protocol address mapping using a Windows Internetwork Name Service.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising combining plural dial-up lines using Multilink Channel Aggregation.