Monitoring in communication system with wireless trunk

• US 8,165,028 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1997
• Issued: 04/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Yuhan, Albert H., Douglas, Philip, Sola, Ismail I., Menon, Narayan P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moe, Aung S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chung, Hoon J
• Application Number:
  US08/987,872
• Time in Patent Office: 5,249 Days
• Field of Search: 455/554, 455/555, 455/423, 455/424, 455/425, 455/435, 455 671- 677, 455/404, 455/8, 455/422.1, 370242-245, 370/246, 370/247, 370/250, 370/340, 370/327, 370216-228, 370/310.2, 370328-339, 370/349, 340/825.16, 340/825.32, 340/825.36, 340/539, 379/26, 379/33, 379/28, 379/29, 379/37, 714/2, 714/4.1, 714/4.11, 714/4.2, 714 25- 31, 714 48- 57
• US Class Current: 370/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/14 WLL [Wireless Local Loop]; RLL [Radio Local Loop]

Abstract

A communication system having a wireless trunk for connecting multiple phone lines over wireless communication links to a cellular network comprises a central telephone switch, such as a private branch exchange or key system, connected through one or more trunk lines to a wireless access communication unit. The wireless access communication unit preferably comprises a separate subscriber interface for each trunk line from the central telephone switch. The wireless access communication unit collects data from each of the subscriber interfaces, formats the data into a format compatible with an over-the-air protocol, and transmits the information over one or more wireless channels to a cellular base station. The wireless access communication unit thereby connects calls received from the central telephone switch'"'"'s trunk lines over a wireless trunk to a network. A controller within the wireless access communication unit interfaces the subscriber interfaces with a radio transceiver, and assists in the conversion of data from a format suitable for wireless transmission. The controller also assists in distributing data received over the wireless trunk to the separate subscriber interfaces, and converting the data to a format suitable for communication with the central telephone switch. Calls may be selectively routed by the central telephone switch over landlines, instead, to the wireless access communication unit, thereby bypassing landlines.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a fault associated with a hardware or software failure fault in a wireless access communication unit;

transmitting, over a wireless communication link, a service request message from the wireless access communication unit to a base station of a cellular network in response to the fault;

receiving an acknowledgement message from the base station;

transmitting a fault notification message to the base station in response to the acknowledgement, the fault notification message including an identifier field, a failure type field, a status field, a failure cause field, and a log number field; and

transmitting a release message to the base station after transmitting the fault notification message, wherein the fault notification message received at the base station is to be transmitted as a base station alarm message from the base station to an operations management center.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a fault comprises detecting either a hardware or software fault in the wireless access communication unit.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a quality of service failure fault in the wireless access communication unit.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a communication failure fault in the wireless access communication unit.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting a fault notification message comprises transmitting the fault notification message including a permanent equipment identifier associated with the wireless access communication unit.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating between a telephone station and said base station over said wireless communication link using said wireless access communication unit as an intermediary.

7. A wireless access communication unit comprising:

a subscriber port to be coupled to a telephone switch;

a subscriber interface to be coupled to said subscriber port;

a radio transceiver to transmit and receive information over a wireless connection to a wireless base station; and

a controller to manage data transfer between said radio transceiver and said subscriber interface, and to cause said radio transceiver to transmit a fault notification message to the wireless base station in response to a fault in the wireless access communication unit, the fault notification message including an identifier field, a failure type field, a status field, a failure cause field, and a log number field, the controller further causing said radio transceiver to;

transmit a service request message to the base station in response to the fault;

receive an acknowledgement message from the base station in response to the service request message before transmitting the fault notification message; and

transmit a release message to the base station after transmitting the fault notification message.

8. The wireless access communication unit of claim 7, wherein said fault comprises either a hardware or software failure fault in the wireless access communication unit.

9. The wireless access communication unit of claim 7, wherein said fault comprises a quality of service failure fault in the wireless access communication unit.

10. The wireless access communication unit of claim 7, wherein said fault comprises a communication failure fault in the wireless access communication unit.

11. The wireless access communication unit of claim 7, wherein said alarm message comprises a permanent equipment identifier associated with the wireless access communication unit.

12. A method comprising steps of:

a step for detecting a fault associated with a wireless access communication unit;

a step for transmitting, over a wireless communications link, a service request message from the wireless access communication unit to a base station of a cellular network in response to the fault;

a step for receiving an acknowledgement message from the base station;

a step for transmitting a fault notification message to the base station in response to the acknowledgement, the fault notification message including an identifier field, a failure type field, a status field, a failure cause field, and a log number field; and

a step for transmitting a release message to the base station after transmitting the fault notification message, said fault notification message after being received at said base station being transmitted as a base station alarm message from the base station to an operations management center.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of detecting a fault comprises a step for detecting one or more of a hardware, a software, a quality of service, and a communication failure in the wireless access communication unit.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising a step for communication between a telephone station and the base station over the wireless communication link using the wireless access communication unit as an intermediary.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step for transmitting a fault notification method comprises a step for transmitting the fault notification message including a permanent equipment identifier associated with the wireless access communication unit.

16. An apparatus comprising:

a subscriber port means to be coupled to a telephone switch means;

a subscriber interface means to be coupled to said subscriber port means;

a radio transceiver means for transmitting and receiving information over a wireless connection means to a wireless base station means, and

a controller means for managing data transfer between the radio transceiver means and the subscriber interface means and for causing the radio transceiver means to transmit a fault notification message to the wireless base station means in response to a fault in the apparatus, the fault notification message including an identifier field, a failure type field, a status field, a failure cause field, and a log number field, the controller means further causing said radio transceiver means to;

transmit a service request message to the wireless base station means in response to the fault;

receive an acknowledgement message from the wireless base station means in response to the service request message before transmitting the fault notification message; and

transmit a release message to the wireless base station means after transmitting the fault notification message.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein fault comprises one or more of a hardware, a software, a quality of service, and a communication failure in the apparatus.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the alarm message means comprises a permanent equipment identifier associated with the apparatus.

19. A method comprising:

receiving, over a wireless communications link, a service request message from a wireless access communication unit at a base station of a cellular network in response to the wireless access communication unit detecting a fault in the wireless access communication unit;

transmitting an acknowledgement message from the base station to the wireless access communication unit;

receiving a fault notification message from the wireless access communication unit in response to the acknowledgement, the fault notification message including an identifier field, a failure type field, a status field, a failure cause field, and a log number field;

receiving a release message from the wireless access communication unit after receiving said fault notification message at said base station; and

transmitting, in response to said fault notification message, a base station alarm message from the base station to an operations management center.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein transmitting a fault notification message comprises transmitting the fault notification message including a permanent equipment identifier associated with the wireless access communication unit.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising communicating between a telephone station and said base station over said wireless communication link using said wireless access communication unit as an intermediary.

22. A wireless base station of a cellular network comprising:

a cellular network radio transceiver to;

receive, over a wireless communications link of the cellular network, a service request message from a wireless access communication unit at the base station in response to the wireless access communication unit detecting a fault in the wireless access communication unit;

transmit an acknowledgement message from the base station to the wireless access communication unit;

receive a fault notification message from the wireless access communication unit in response to the acknowledgement, the fault notification message including an identifier field, a failure type field, a status field, a failure cause field, and a log number field; and

to

receive a release message from the wireless access communication unit after receiving said fault notification message at said base station; and

a management communications transceiver to transmit, in response to said fault notification message, a base station alarm message from the base station to an operations management center.

23. The wireless base station of claim 22, wherein the fault notification message comprises a permanent equipment identifier associated with the wireless access communication unit.

24. The wireless base station of claim 22, wherein the cellular network radio transceiver is further to communicate between a telephone station and said base station over said wireless communication link using said wireless access communication unit as an intermediary.