System and method for remotely monitoring modem status

• US 7,600,013 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2001
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semtech Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sierra Wireless Incorporated
• Inventors: Wodzianek, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh; John B.
• Application Number:
  US09/919,069
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023720A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,990 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements

Abstract

An application allows the user to monitor the status of groups of wireless modems employed in the field. The requests are sent out to multiple modems and responses return from the modem units to the computer program. The information from the modem units is then displayed to the user at a personal computer.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a computer operably connected to a network, the computer having software configured to track the status of multiple modem units, the software allowing for the production of status check requests to be sent to the multiple modem units; and

modem units for portable devices, configured to receive external status check requests from the computer, each of the modem units being associated with a host processor of the respective portable device, the modem unit being configured to reply with modem status information in response to the external status check request without being controlled by the host processor in the portable device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer is connected by the Internet to a server.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the server is connected to a cellular network.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the computer system sends requests across the network through the server, across the cellular network to the individual modem units.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the modem units receive the requests and transmit status information back across the cellular network to the computer.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the modem units transmit across a cellular network.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the modem units run the UDP protocol over IP.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the modem units do not have a TCP stack at the modem unit.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the modem status information comprises at least one of:

up and running information;

signal strength information;

network parameters; and

modem unit identification information.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said modem units is further configured to reply to the host processor with modem status information, in response to a local status check request from the host processor.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said modem units includes:

a modem status memory.

9. A computer configured to track the status of multiple modem units, said computer producing status check requests to be sent to multiple modem units for portable devices, the computer being configured to receive modem status information from the multiple modem units, the modem status information being produced by modem units in response to the status check request without being controlled by host processors of the respective portable devices associated with the modem units.

10. The computer of claim 9 wherein the computer is connected by the Internet to a server.

11. The computer of claim 10 wherein the server is connected to a cellular network.

12. The computer of claim 9 wherein the modem units are configured to be connected across a cellular network.

13. The computer of claim 12 wherein the requests are sent from the computer across the cellular network to the modem unit and the status information is sent from the modem unit across the cellular network to the computer.

14. The computer of claim 9 wherein the status information is produced by the modem units using UDP over IP stack.

15. The computer of claim 14 wherein the modem units do not use a TCP stack to produce the status information response.

23. The computer of claim 9 wherein the modem status information comprises at least one of:

up and running information;

signal strength information;

network parameters; and

modem unit identification information.

16. A method comprising:

transmitting modem status requests to modem units for portable devices across cellular network, each of the modem units being associated with a host processor of the corresponding portable device;

at each modem unit, determining whether the status request is for that modem unit and, if so, constructing a modem status response and transmitting a wireless response from modem unit without being controlled by the host processor; and

receiving modem status responses from a number of modem units and producing a display for a group of modem units.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the modem status requests are transmitted to the modem units across the cellular network.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the modem status requests are sent from a computer to the modem units.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the computer is connected by the Internet to a server.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein at the modem unit a UDP over IP stack is implemented to interpret the modem status requests and to produce the modem status responses.

21. The method of the claim 20 wherein the modem units do not have a TCP stack at the modem unit to produce the modem status responses.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein the modem status information comprises at least one of:

up and running information;

signal strength information;

network parameters; and

modem unit identification information.