Cable modem analysis system and method therefor for an HFC cable network

• US 7,599,300 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Inc. (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Berger, William H., Bowen, Todd P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Levitan; Dmitry
• Application Number:
  US11/215,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20070047449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,497 Days
• Field of Search: 370241-244, 370/250, 379 101- 104
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play

Abstract

A modem checker diagnostic toolkit comprises a modem checker client and a modem analysis server. The modem checker client comprises a modem query interface to communicate with the modem analysis server to acquire information indicative of the operational status of a modem and to display the information graphically. A user requests data relating to a particular modem by entering the MAC address of the modem into a query field. The modem checker client interacts with the modem analysis server to acquire information relating to the subscriber associated with the modem MAC address, the services authorized for the modem, and data indicative of the status and performance of the modem. In addition, the modem analysis server interacts with the modem operating system to retrieve modem performance data from modem logs. The modem checker client further provides a link that directs the modem analysis server for remotely resetting the modem regardless of its current status.

Claims

1. A cable modem (CM) analysis server for a hybrid-fiber-coax (HFC) cable network comprising:

a simple network management protocol (SNMP) query library, wherein the query library comprises instructions for acquiring and reporting CM state data elements responsive to an SNMP query and indicative of a state of a CM from the CM;

a subscriber query library, wherein the subscriber query library comprises instructions for acquiring and reporting subscriber information from a billing datastore in response to a subscriber query, wherein the subscriber information comprises a subscriber account number;

a central control system (CCS) query library, wherein the CCS library comprises instructions for determining and reporting in response to a CSS query whether a CM MAC address is known to the network;

a query checker processor, wherein the query checker processor comprises instructions that configure the query checker processor to perform operations comprising;

generating an interactive graphical display that accepts a client query from a CM checker client, wherein the interactive graphical display comprises a MAC address field and wherein the client query identifies queried CM state data elements to be obtained for the CM;

receiving a MAC address associated with a CM that is entered into the MAC address field;

sending the subscriber query and the CCS query;

determining from a response to the subscriber query and the CCS query whether the entered MAC address is valid;

when the entered MAC address is valid, then generating and sending a DNS query for status data in a CCS datastore, wherein the status data are indicative of whether the CM associated with the entered MAC address is enabled and online; and

when the entered MAC address is entered and online, then generating and sending the SNMP query for CM state data elements of the CM associated with the entered MAC address and responsive to the SNMP query, wherein the SNMP query is generated by reference to the queried CM state data elements and the SNMP query library; and

sending the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, and the status data to a results analyzer;

the results analyzer, wherein the results analyzer comprises instructions that configure the results analyzer to perform the operations comprising;

receiving the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, and the status data;

determining whether a CM state data element is within a predetermined range;

assigning a first graphical attribute to each CM state data element that is outside a predetermined range; and

sending the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, and the first graphical attribute to a display server; and

the display server, wherein the display server comprises instructions that configure the display server to perform operations comprising;

receiving the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the status data and the first graphical attribute;

creating a CM analytical record from the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the status data and the first graphical attribute; and

sending the CM analytical record to the CM checker client for display.

2. The CM analysis server of claim 1, wherein the modem checker client comprises a Web browser and wherein the CM analytical record comprises a Web page.

3. The CM analysis server of claim 1, wherein CM state data elements are selected from the group consisting of subscriber data, CM operational data, network component data, and CM diagnostic data.

4. The CM analysis server of claim 3, wherein the subscriber data comprise a subscriber name, a subscriber address, an account number associated with the subscriber name, the MAC address of the CM, and the subscriber account status.

5. The CM analysis server of claim 3, wherein the CM operational data comprise a CM current status, a private network address assigned to the CM, a modem type, available IP addresses, active IP addresses, a public IP address, a type, a NIC MAC, a status in LDAP, a provisioned BIN FILE, and a hosting ISP.

6. The CM analysis server of claim 5, wherein the CM comprises a wireless router and wherein the CM operational data further comprise network address translation (NAT) client data, NAT status, Ethernet connection status, router firmware identifier, wireless system identifier, transmission channel, wired equivalency privacy status, and access limits.

7. The CM analysis server of claim 3, wherein the network component data comprise a network router identifier, a network port identifier, the firmware of the router, a port summary, a port percentage online, a port SNR.

8. The CM analysis server of claim 3, wherein the CM diagnostic data comprise an uptime measure, a transmit signal level, a receive signal level, and a modem SNR.

9. The CM analysis server of claim 1, wherein the results analyzer further comprises instructions that configure the results analyzer to perform operations comprising:

assigning a second graphical attribute to the CM state data element if the CM state data element is within the predetermined range; and

providing the CM state data element and the assigned second graphical attribute to the display server,

wherein the display server further comprises instructions that configure the display server to perform operations comprising using the CM state data element and the assigned second graphical attribute to create the analytical record.

10. The CM analysis server of claim 9, wherein the first and second graphical attributes are display colors.

11. The CM analysis server of claim 1, wherein the results analyzer further comprises instructions that configure the results analyzer to perform operations comprising:

selecting CM state elements determined to be outside a predetermined range;

determining if the selected CM state elements are indicative of a common fault;

and if the selected CM state elements are indicative of a common fault, identifying the common fault in the analytical record.

12. The CM analysis server of claim 1 further comprising a client network interface configured for communicating with the CM checker client via a client network.

13. The CM analysis server of claim 12, wherein the client network is selected from the group consisting of a wired network, a wireless network, a local area network, and the Internet.

14. The CM analysis server of claim 1 further comprising a cable network interface configured for command communicating with the CM via a cable network path.

15. The CM analysis server of claim 14, wherein the path in the cable network path is a DOCSIS-compliant channel.

16. A method for evaluating the operational status of cable modems (CMs) connected to a hybrid-fiber-coax (HFC) cable network comprising:

generating at a query checker processor an interactive graphical display that accepts a client query from a CM checker client, wherein the interactive graphical display comprises a MAC address field and wherein the client query identifies queried CM state data elements to be obtained for the CM;

receiving a MAC address associated with the CM that is entered into the MAC address field;

generating the subscriber query using a subscriber query library, wherein the subscriber query library comprises instructions for inclusion in the subscriber query for acquiring and reporting subscriber information from a billing datastore;

generating the CCS query using a CCS query library, wherein the CCS query library comprises instructions for inclusion in the CCS query for determining and reporting whether a CM MAC address is known to the network and instructions for inclusion in a DNS query for determining and reporting in response to the DNS query whether the CM is enabled and online;

sending the subscriber query and the CCS query;

determining from a response to the CCS query whether the entered MAC address is valid;

when the entered MAC address is valid, then generating and sending the DNS query for status data in a CCS datastore;

determining from the status data whether the CM associated with the entered MAC address is enabled and online; and

when the entered MAC address is enabled and online, then generating and sending a simple network management protocol (SNMP) query for CM state data elements of the CM associated with the entered MAC address and responsive to the SNMP query, wherein the SNMP query is generated by reference to the queried CM state data elements and an SNMP query library, and wherein the SNMP query library comprises instructions for inclusion in the SNMP query for acquiring and reporting CM state data elements indicative of a state of a CM from the CM; and

sending the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the CM state data elements responsive to the CLI query, and the status data to a results analyzer;

receiving the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the CM state data elements responsive to the CLI query, and the status data at the results analyzer;

determining at the results analyzer whether a CM state data element is within a predetermined range;

assigning a first graphical attribute to each CM state data elements that is outside the predetermined range;

sending the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the CM state data elements responsive to the CLI query, the status data, and the first graphical attribute to a display server;

receiving the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the CM state data elements responsive to the CLI query, the status data and the first graphical attribute at the display server;

creating a CM analytical record from the subscriber information, the CM state data elements responsive to the SNMP query, the CM state data elements responsive to the CLI query, the status data and the first graphical attribute; and

sending the CM analytical record to the CM checker client for display.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the modem checker client comprises a Web browser and wherein the CM analytical record comprises a Web page.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the CM state data elements are selected from the group consisting of subscriber data, CM operational data, network component data, and CM diagnostic data.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the subscriber data comprise a subscriber name, a subscriber address, an account number associated with the subscriber name, a MAC address of the CM, and a subscriber account status.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the CM operational data comprise a CM current status, a private network address assigned to the CM, a modem type, available IP addresses, active IP addresses, a public IP address, a type, a NIC MAC, a status in LDAP, a provisioned BIN file, and a hosting ISP.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the CM comprise a wireless router and wherein the CM operational data further comprise network address translation (NAT) client data, NAT status, Ethernet connection status, router firmware identifier, wireless system identifier, transmission channel, wired equivalency privacy status, and access limits.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the network component data comprise a network router identifier, a network port identifier, the firmware of the router, a port summary, a port percentage online, a port SNR;

and

wherein the CM diagnostic data comprise an uptime measure, a transmit signal level, a receive signal level, a modem SNR.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the CM diagnostic data comprise an uptime measure, a transmit signal level, a receive signal level, and a modem SNR.

24. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

assigning a second graphical attribute to the CM state data element if the CM state data element is within the predetermined range;

providing the CM state data element and assigned second graphical attribute to the display server; and

creating the analytical record using the CM state data element and the assigned second graphical attribute.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second graphical attributes are display colors.

26. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

selecting CM state elements determined to be outside a predetermined range;

determining if the selected CM state elements are indicative of a common fault; and

identifying the common fault in the CM analytical record if the selected CM state elements are indicative of a common fault.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein executing the query instructions to obtain the queried CM state data elements comprises communicating with the CM via a cable network path.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the cable network path is a DOCSIS-compliant channel.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein receiving a query from a modem checker client comprises receiving the query from the CM checker client via a client network.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the client network is selected from the group consisting of a wired network, a wireless network, a local area network, and the Internet.