Method and system for monitoring computer networks and equipment

• US 8,090,817 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2004
• Issued: 01/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: American Power Conversion Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: American Power Conversion Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Fowler, John J., Cullen, Gerard L.
• Primary Examiner(s): IBRAHIM, MOHAMED
• Application Number:
  US10/775,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20040163102A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,884 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/224, 709/219, 700/1, 700/80, 700/83
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/44 Star or tree networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2845 Telephone line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A system for monitoring a space external to the system is disclosed. The system includes a microprocessor, a memory coupled to the microprocessor, a sensor configured to detect at least one environmental parameter of the space external to the system and configured to generate a sensor signal derived from the at least one detected environmental parameter of the space and at least one port for communicating with a network. The memory includes instructions for processing the sensor signal derived from the at least one environmental parameter of the space external to the system and the memory including a web server application. The at least one port is responsive to the microprocessor. The web server application is configured to provide a webpage associated with the sensor signal via the at least one port.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a space external to the system, the system comprising:

a microprocessor;

a memory coupled to the microprocessor, the memory including instructions for processing a sensor signal derived from at least one environmental parameter of the space external to the system and the memory including a web server application and an alarm processing program configured to;

determine that an alarm condition has not occurred within a first preset time interval;

compare, responsive to determining that the alarm condition has not occurred within the first preset time interval, the sensor signal to a threshold on a second preset time interval; and

generate the alarm condition where the sensor signal exceeds the threshold;

a sensor configured to detect the at least one environmental parameter of the space external to the system and configured to generate the sensor signal derived from the at least one detected environmental parameter of the space, the sensor selected from a group consisting of a temperature sensor, a relative humidity sensor, and an air flow sensor; and

at least one port for communicating with a network, the at least one port responsive to the microprocessor, the web server application configured to provide a webpage associated with the sensor signal via the at least one port.

2. The system claim 1, wherein the network comprises a global computer network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises an intranet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises a wireless network.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more connectors to interface with external devices.

6. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising a power source.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the power source is the excess voltage provided by an Ethernet cable coupled to an Ethernet connector.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is accessed via a telephone line.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is accessed via an Ethernet interface, and wherein the Ethernet interface has compliant TCP/IP stacks.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a radio frequency interface operable to communicate wirelessly within the network.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a radio frequency interface operable to communicate with a device external to the network.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is an embedded Java microprocessor.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor is a tiny internet interface microprocessor.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor operates with an embedded Java software platform.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an air flow sensor comprising a hot-wire anemometer circuit.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein air flow is calculated.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising a microphone.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the system generates a signal upon detecting an audible alarm.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions for processing can be updated via the web server application.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein programming instructions are provided to the web server application via HTTP.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the programming instructions comprise parameter threshold values.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions for processing operably generate an alarm signal in the event that the sensor signal exceeds a parameter threshold value.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising instructions for generating and forwarding an email status report to at least one user.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the status report indicates that the at least one environmental parameter has exceeded a corresponding threshold value.

25. The system of claim 1, further comprising instructions for generating and forwarding an email alarm report to one or more users when the at least one environmental parameter exceeds a corresponding threshold value.

26. The system of claim 1, further comprising instructions for generating and forwarding a status report via electronic paging.

27. The system of claim 1, further comprising instructions for dialing via a telephone connection to inform a system administrator of a loss of power or loss of internet protocol connection.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the web server application provides an HTML interface.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the HTML interface comprises an image display area, a monitored parameter display area, an alarm threshold display area, and a system user information display area.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the system user information display area can be configured by a user to display customized information.

31. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a power source; and

a rechargeable backup power source to provide power upon loss of the power source.

32. The system of claim 31, further comprising a sensor configured to detect the failure of a power supply and notify the microprocessor of the power failure.

33. The system of claim 1, further comprising a video imager to provide a digital image of the space.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the video imager is a CMOS imager.

35. The system of claim 34, further comprising a binary input to activate the video imager to capture an image of the space.

36. The system of claim 35, further comprising an external sensor, wherein the external sensor provides the binary input upon the occurrence of a preset condition.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the external sensor is a magnetic switch for sensing the opening of a door to the space, and wherein the preset condition is the opening of the door.

38. The system of claim 37, further comprising a record data file to track personnel access into a room.

39. The system of claim 1, further comprising instructions for software agents operable to investigate an internal condition of a network component, the network component accessible via the at least one port.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein the software agents investigate the internal condition of compatible network components through communication in accordance with an interface, the interface being an SNMP, DMI, or SMBIOS interface.

41. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more binary outputs connected to one or more relays to control one or more external loads, and instructions for controlling the one or more binary outputs.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the external load is an air conditioning unit.

43. The system of claim 1, wherein the space external to the system is located within a server room.

44. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is mountable on a wall in a position to monitor the contents of a server room.

45. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured to be mounted in an equipment rack.

46. The system of claim 1, further comprising a unique universal resource locator and static internet protocol address.

47. The system of claim 1, further comprising an internet site.

48. The system of claim 1, further comprising an email list of personnel to notify.

49. The system of claim 1, wherein a third-party may access the webpage to monitor equipment in a leased space.

50. The system of claim 1, wherein the relative humidity sensor comprises a ceramic plate that shrinks or expands with changes in relative humidity.

51. The system of claim 1, wherein the webpage is accessible by clicking on a link at an online auction site.

52. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is self-contained and is remote from an end user computer.

53. The system of claim 1, further comprising an event log.

54. The system of claim 1, further comprising a list of user-specified thresholds for each monitored environmental parameter.

55. An apparatus comprising:

a sensor configured to measure ambient conditions with respect to monitored equipment, the sensor physically uncoupled and spaced apart from the monitored equipment and the sensor configured to measure the ambient conditions without use of a bidirectional communication link between the sensor and the monitored equipment, the sensor configured to generate a sensor signal associated with the measured ambient conditions, the sensor selected from a group consisting of a temperature sensor, a relative humidity sensor, and an air flow sensor;

at least one microprocessor responsive to the sensor signal;

video camera circuitry coupled to the at least one microprocessor, the video camera circuitry configured to acquire an image of the monitored equipment;

memory coupled to the at least one microprocessor, the memory including instructions for processing the sensor signal, instructions for processing the image of the monitored equipment, and a web server application; and

an alarm processing program configured to;

determine that an alarm condition has not occurred within a first preset time interval;

compare, responsive to determining that the alarm condition has not occurred within the first preset time interval, the sensor signal to a threshold on a second preset time interval; and

generate the alarm condition where the sensor signal exceeds the threshold; and

at least one network port responsive to the at least one microprocessor and configured for communicating the image of the monitored equipment and the measured ambient conditions in a web page provided by the web server application over a distributed computer network to a remote location for display.

56. The apparatus claim 55, wherein the distributed computer network comprises a global computer network.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the distributed computer network comprises an intranet.

58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the distributed computer network comprises a wireless network.

59. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising one or more connectors to interface with external devices.

60. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the distributed computer network is accessed via an Ethernet interface, and wherein the Ethernet interface has compliant TCP/IP stacks.

61. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising a radio frequency interface operable to communicate wirelessly within the distributed computer network.

62. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising a radio frequency interface operable to communicate with a device external to the distributed computer network.

63. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the sensor comprises an air flow sensor comprising a hot-wire anemometer circuit.

64. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising a microphone.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, further comprising an audible alarm detector that generates a signal upon detecting an audible alarm.

66. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the instructions for processing can be updated via the web server application.

67. The apparatus of claim 66, wherein the instructions for processing comprise parameter threshold values.

68. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the instructions for processing operably generate an alarm signal in the event that the sensor signal exceeds a parameter threshold value.

69. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising instructions for generating and forwarding an email status report to at least one user at the remote location.

70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the status report indicates that the sensor signal has exceeded a corresponding threshold value.

71. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising instructions for generating and forwarding an email alarm report to one or more users when the sensor signal exceeds a corresponding threshold value.

72. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising instructions for generating and forwarding a status report via electronic paging.

73. The apparatus of claim 72, wherein the webpage comprises an image display area, a monitored parameter display area, an alarm threshold display area, and a apparatus user information display area.

74. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the apparatus user information display area can be configured by a user to display customized information.

75. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising:

a power source; and

a rechargeable backup battery to provide power upon loss of the power source.

76. The apparatus of claim 75, further comprising a binary input to activate the video camera circuitry to capture an image of the space.

77. The apparatus of claim 76, further comprising an external sensor, wherein the external sensor provides the binary input upon the occurrence of a preset condition.

78. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein the external sensor is a magnetic switch for sensing the opening of a door to the space, and wherein the preset condition is the opening of the door.

79. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising instructions for software agents operable to investigate an internal condition of a network component, the network component accessible via the at least one port.

80. The apparatus of claim 79, wherein the software agents investigate the internal condition of compatible network components through communication in accordance with an interface, the interface being an SNMP, DMI, or SMBIOS interface.

81. The apparatus of claim 55, further comprising one or more binary outputs connected to one or more relays to control one or more external loads, and instructions for controlling the one or more binary outputs.

82. The apparatus of claim 81, wherein the external load is an air conditioning unit.

83. An apparatus comprising:

a temperature sensor;

a humidity sensor;

an acoustic sensor;

an airflow sensor;

at least one external sensor interface configured to connect to an external sensor, the external sensor configured to monitor environmental conditions ambient to monitored computer equipment;

a web server configured to provide a web page having information derived from at least one of the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the acoustic sensor, the air flow sensor, and the external sensor;

and an alarm processing program configured to;

determine that an alarm condition has not occurred within a first preset time interval;

compare, responsive to determining that the alarm condition has not occurred within the first preset time interval, the sensor signal to a threshold on a second preset time interval; and

generate the alarm condition where the sensor signal exceeds the threshold;

a simple network management protocol module configured to communicate using a simple network management protocol;

at least one network interface responsive to the simple network management protocol module and configured to access a distributed computer network; and

an alarm module responsive to at least one of the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the acoustic sensor, the air flow sensor, and the external sensor and configured to send an alarm notification via the web server.

84. The apparatus of claim 83, further comprising an interface configured to access an external camera.

85. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the alarm notification includes an image from the external camera.

86. The apparatus of claim 83, further comprising an email module configured to send email.