Mechanism to upgrade system capability without affecting service
First Claim
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1. A method of upgrading system capability of a communications network, the method comprising:
- initiating a transfer of at least one first set of system capability instructions from a first memory to a target processor;
determining whether the at least one first set of system capability instructions is valid prior to completing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions;
wherein determining whether the at least one first set of system capability instructions is valid comprises determining whether a header line of a first frame transferred from the first memory to the target processor is valid and the first frame transferred from the first memory to the target processor is a frame that was loaded last onto the first memory;
if the at least one first set of system capability instructions is determined to be valid, completing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions to the target processor; and
if the at least one first set of system capability instructions is not valid;
ceasing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions from the first memory to the target processor; and
transferring at least one second set of system capability instructions from a second memory to the target processor.
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Abstract
A method of upgrading the system capability of a communications network is provided. The method involves initiating a transfer of at least one set of upgraded system capability software machine-coded instructions to a host card, instructing the host card to begin an upgrade process, determining whether at least one set of system capability software machine-coded instructions on the host card is valid, and completing the transfer of at least one valid set of system capability software machine-coded instructions to the host card, wherein the system capability is upgraded without affecting operation of the network.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of upgrading system capability of a communications network, the method comprising:
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initiating a transfer of at least one first set of system capability instructions from a first memory to a target processor; determining whether the at least one first set of system capability instructions is valid prior to completing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions; wherein determining whether the at least one first set of system capability instructions is valid comprises determining whether a header line of a first frame transferred from the first memory to the target processor is valid and the first frame transferred from the first memory to the target processor is a frame that was loaded last onto the first memory; if the at least one first set of system capability instructions is determined to be valid, completing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions to the target processor; and if the at least one first set of system capability instructions is not valid; ceasing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions from the first memory to the target processor; and transferring at least one second set of system capability instructions from a second memory to the target processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system capability upgrade module, the module comprising:
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at least one primary program memory storage medium adapted to receive one or more first sets of system capability instructions; at least one secondary program memory storage medium adapted to receive one or more second sets of system capability instructions; a target processor, the target processor adapted to receive the system capability instructions from either the at least one primary or the at least one secondary program memory storage medium; and a program memory switch;
wherein the program memory switch is configured to;initiate a transfer of the one or more first sets of system capability instructions from the at least one primary program memory storage medium to the target processor; determine if the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are valid prior to completing the transfer of the at least one or more first sets of system capability instructions to the target processor; wherein the program memory switch determines whether the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are valid by determining whether a header line of a first frame transferred from the at least one primary program memory storage medium to the target processor is valid, and the first frame transferred from the at least one primary program memory storage medium to the target processor is a frame that was loaded last onto the at least one primary program memory storage medium; complete the transfer of the one or more first sets of system capability instructions if the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are valid; and if the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are not valid, the program memory switch is configured to; cease the transfer of the one or more first sets of system capability instructions from the at least one primary program memory storage medium; and transfer the one or more second sets of system capability instructions from the at least one secondary program memory storage medium to the target processor. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A communications system, comprising:
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a host card, wherein the host card includes one or more system capability upgrade modules; a network card coupled to the one or more system capability upgrade modules over one or more transport mediums; and a remote card coupled to the one or more system capability upgrade modules over one or more transport mediums; wherein the one or more system capability upgrade modules are instructed by either the network card or the remote card to upgrade system capability; wherein each of the one or more system capability upgrade modules comprises; a program memory switch; at least one primary program memory storage medium adapted to receive one or more first sets of system capability instructions; at least one secondary program memory storage medium adapted to receive one or more second sets of system capability instructions; and a target processor, the target processor adapted to receive the system capability instructions from either the at least one primary or the at least one secondary program memory storage medium; wherein the program memory switch is configured to; initiate a transfer of the one or more first sets of system capability instructions from the at least one primary program memory storage medium to the target processor; determine if the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are valid prior to completing the transfer of the at least one or more first sets of system capability instructions to the target processor; wherein the program memory switch determines whether the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are valid by determining whether a header line of a first frame transferred from the at least one primary program memory storage medium to the target processor is valid, and the first frame transferred from the at least one primary program memory storage medium to the target processor is a frame that was loaded last onto the at least one primary program memory storage medium; complete the transfer of the one or more first sets of system capability instructions if the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are valid; and if the one or more first sets of system capability instructions are not valid, the program memory switch is configured to; cease the transfer of the one or more first sets of system capability instructions from the at least one primary program memory storage medium; and
transfer the one or more second sets of system capability instructions from the at least one secondary program memory storage medium to the target processor. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for upgrading the system capability of a communications network, the apparatus comprising:
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means for initiating a transfer of at least one first set of system capability instructions from a first memory to a target processor; means for determining whether a header line of a first frame of the at least one first set of system capability instructions transferred from the first memory to the target processor is valid prior to completing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions, wherein the first frame transferred from the first memory to the target processor is a frame that was loaded last onto the first memory; means for completing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions to the target processor if the at least one first set of system capability instructions is determined to be valid; and if the at least one first set of system capability instructions is not valid; means for ceasing the transfer of the at least one first set of system capability instructions from the first memory to the target processor; and means for transferring at least one second set of system capability instructions from a second memory to the target processor. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification