Early warning fault identification and isolation system for a two-way cable network
First Claim
1. A method of determining an operational status of a segment of a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) cable network comprising:
- accessing a ping datastore to acquire ping data associated with a plurality of set top boxes (STBs) connected to the HFC network through a common node, wherein the ping data comprise for each STB of the plurality of STBs a ratio of a number of ping responses to a number of ping queries;
selecting from the ping data associated with the plurality of STBs a primary STB, wherein the primary STB has the highest ratio of ping responses to ping queries and wherein the primary STB is associated with a primary STB IP address; and
selecting from the ping data associated with the plurality of STBs a secondary STB, wherein the secondary STB has the second highest ratio of ping responses to ping queries and wherein the secondary STB is associated with a secondary STB IP address;
pinging the primary STB IP address;
determining whether a response from the ping is received from the primary STB;
when the response from the ping is received from the primary STB, then setting a primary STB operational status of the primary STB to responsive;
when the response from the ping is not received from the primary STB, pinging the secondary STB IP address;
determining whether a response from the ping is received from the secondary STB;
when the response from the ping is received from the secondary STB, then setting a secondary STB operational status of the secondary STB to responsive and setting a node operational status of the common node to responsive;
when the response from the ping is not received from the secondary STB, then setting the secondary STB operational status of the secondary STB to non-responsive and setting the node operational status of the common node to non-responsive; and
determining an operational status of a network component upstream from the common node based on the node operational status of all nodes serviced by the upstream network component.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Set top boxes (STBs) connected to the HFC cable network are “pinged” and their responses recorded. The two most responsive STBs in each node of the HFC cable network are identified. The most responsive STB is added to a primary ping list and the next most responsive STB is added to a secondary ping list. The STBs on the primary list are “pinged” and their responses recorded. If an STB on the primary list fails to respond, the secondary STB associated with the node is pinged. If both the primary and secondary STB associated with a node fail to respond to the “ping,” the node is identified as non-responsive. If all of the nodes associated with a modulator (or a demodulator) are identified as non-responsive, the modulator (or demodulator) is identified as “non-responsive.” Additionally, network devices are pinged and their responses noted. Using the responsiveness of nodes and network devices, faults in segments in an HFC cable network can be identified and located.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of determining an operational status of a segment of a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) cable network comprising:
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accessing a ping datastore to acquire ping data associated with a plurality of set top boxes (STBs) connected to the HFC network through a common node, wherein the ping data comprise for each STB of the plurality of STBs a ratio of a number of ping responses to a number of ping queries; selecting from the ping data associated with the plurality of STBs a primary STB, wherein the primary STB has the highest ratio of ping responses to ping queries and wherein the primary STB is associated with a primary STB IP address; and selecting from the ping data associated with the plurality of STBs a secondary STB, wherein the secondary STB has the second highest ratio of ping responses to ping queries and wherein the secondary STB is associated with a secondary STB IP address; pinging the primary STB IP address; determining whether a response from the ping is received from the primary STB; when the response from the ping is received from the primary STB, then setting a primary STB operational status of the primary STB to responsive; when the response from the ping is not received from the primary STB, pinging the secondary STB IP address; determining whether a response from the ping is received from the secondary STB; when the response from the ping is received from the secondary STB, then setting a secondary STB operational status of the secondary STB to responsive and setting a node operational status of the common node to responsive; when the response from the ping is not received from the secondary STB, then setting the secondary STB operational status of the secondary STB to non-responsive and setting the node operational status of the common node to non-responsive; and determining an operational status of a network component upstream from the common node based on the node operational status of all nodes serviced by the upstream network component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for determining an operational status of a segment of a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) cable network comprising:
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a ping list generator, wherein the ping list generator is configured for; accessing a ping datastore to acquire ping data associated with a plurality of STBs connected to the HFC network through a common node, wherein the ping data comprise for each STB of the plurality of STBs a ratio of a number of ping responses to a number of ping queries; selecting from the ping data associated with the plurality of STBs a primary STB, wherein the primary STB has the highest ratio of ping responses to ping queries and wherein the primary STB is associated with a primary STB IP address; and selecting from the ping data associated with the plurality of STBs a secondary STB, wherein the secondary STB has the second highest ratio of ping responses to ping queries and wherein the secondary STB is associated with a secondary STB IP address; an STB pinger, wherein the STB pinger is configured for; receiving a ping list from the ping list generator comprising IP addresses associated with STBs; pinging the IP address of each STB on the ping list; when a response from the ping is received from an STB associated with a pinged IP address, then setting an STB operational status of the STB as responsive; and when the response from the ping is not received from the STB associated with the pinged IP address, then setting the STB operational status of the STB as non-responsive; a results processor, wherein the results processor is configured for; determining an STB operational status of the primary STB; when the primary STB operational status is responsive, then setting a node operational status of the common node to responsive; when the primary STB operational status is non-responsive, then sending the secondary IP address to the STB pinger for pinging; determining an STB operational status of the secondary STB; and when the secondary STB operational status is non-responsive, then setting the node operational status of the common node to nonresponsive; and a final results processor, wherein the final results processor is configured for determining an operational status of a network component upstream from the common node based on the node operational status of all nodes serviced by the upstream network component. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification