Monitoring system with bridges for interconnecting system elements

A monitoring system, comprising:

• a first backplane having,
• a first set of data lanes, and
• a first set of ports, each port of the first set of ports being in electronic communication with at least one data lane of the first set of data lanes;
• a second backplane having,
• a second set of data lanes, and
• a second set of ports, each of the second set of ports being in electronic communication with at least one data lane of the second set of data lanes;
• and
• a first bridge circuit detachably coupled to at least one of the first set of ports, and a second bridge circuit detachably coupled to at least one of the second set of ports;
• wherein the second bridge circuit is in electronic communication with the first bridge circuit;
• wherein the first bridge circuit is configured to receive a first set of data from the first set of data lanes, convert the first set of data to a first serial data stream, and to deliver the first serial data stream to the second bridge circuit, thereby delivering the first set of data to the second backplane;
• wherein the second bridge circuit is configured to receive a second set of data from the second set of data lanes, convert the second set of data to a second serial data stream, and to deliver the second serial data stream to the first bridge circuit, thereby delivering the second set of data to the first backplane;
• a first set of functional circuits, each functional circuit of the first set of functional circuits being detachably coupled to at least one port of the first set of ports, the first set of functional circuits being configured to deliver the first set of data to the first backplane and to selectively receive any data delivered to the first backplane;
• and
• a second set of functional circuits, each functional circuit of the second set of functional circuits being detachably coupled to at least one port of the second set of ports, the second set of functional circuits being configured to deliver a second set of data to the second backplane and to selectively receive any data delivered to the second backplane.

A method, comprising:

• receiving a first identification data at a first bridge circuit coupled to a first backplane of a first monitoring subsystem, the first identification data characterizing information identifying hardware of a second monitoring subsystem;
• receiving a second identification data at a second bridge circuit coupled to a second backplane of the second monitoring subsystem, the second identification data characterizing information identifying hardware of the first monitoring subsystem;
• determining, using the first identification data and the second identification data, that first monitoring subsystem is compatible with the second monitoring subsystem;
• receiving a first schedule at the second bridge circuit, the first schedule characterizing a first communication schedule for a first set of functional circuits that are in electronic communication with the first backplane;
• receiving a second schedule at the first bridge circuit, the second schedule characterizing a second communication schedule for a second set of functional circuits that are in electronic communication with the second backplane;
• comparing the first communication schedule to the second communication schedule;
• determining that the first schedule is compatible with the second schedule;
• and
• providing a first signal to at least one first gate of the first bridge circuit and providing a second signal to at least one second gate of the second bridge circuit, thereby activating the at least one first gate and the at least one second gate, and facilitating electronic communication between the first backplane and the second backplane;
• delivering, from the first set of functional circuits, a first set of parallel data streams to a first set of parallel data lanes of the first backplane;
• receiving, at the first bridge circuit, the first set of parallel data streams from the first set of parallel data lanes of the first backplane;
• converting the first set of parallel data streams to a first serial data stream;
• delivering the first serial data stream to the second bridge circuit;
• expanding the first serial data stream to a second set of parallel data streams;
• and
• delivering the second set of parallel data streams to a second set of parallel data lanes.

A method, comprising:

• receiving a first identification data at a first bridge circuit coupled to a first backplane of a first monitoring subsystem, the first identification data characterizing information identifying hardware of a second monitoring subsystem;
• receiving a second identification data at a second bridge circuit coupled to a second backplane of the second monitoring subsystem, the second identification data characterizing information identifying hardware of the first monitoring subsystem;
• determining, using the first identification data and the second identification data, the first monitoring subsystem is compatible with the second monitoring subsystem;
• receiving a first schedule at the second bridge circuit, the first schedule characterizing a first communication schedule for a first set of functional circuits that are in electronic communication with the first backplane;
• receiving a second schedule at the first bridge circuit, the second schedule characterizing a second communication schedule for a second set of functional circuits that are in electronic communication with the second backplane;
• comparing the first communication schedule to the second communication schedule;
• determining that the first schedule is compatable with the second schedule;
• providing a first signal to at least one first gate of the first bridge circuit and providing a second signal to at least one second gate of the second bridge circuit, thereby activating the at least one first gate and the at least one second gate, and facilitating electronic communication between the first backplane and the second backplane;
• determining an estimated delay time characterizing an estimated amount of time required to transfer data between the first bridge circuit and the second bridge circuit;
• determining a dead band period based on at least one of the first communication schedule and the second communication schedule, the dead band time characterizing a total amount of time available to absorb delays in communication between one or more backplane;
• determining an amount of the dead band time that is available based on at least one of the first communication schedule and the second communication schedule;
• and
• comparing the estimated delay time to the amount of dead band time that is available.

A method, comprising:

• receiving a first identification data at a first bridge circuit coupled to a first backplane of a first monitoring subsystem, the first identification data characterizing information identifying hardware of a second monitoring subsystem;
• receiving a second identification data at a second bridge circuit coupled to a second backplane of the second monitoring subsystem, the second identification data characterizing information identifying hardware of the first monitoring subsystem;
• determining, using the first identification data and the second identification data, that first monitoring subsystem is compatible with the second monitoring subsystem;
• receiving a first schedule at the second bridge circuit the first schedule characterizing a first communication schedule for a first set of functional circuits that are in electronic communication with the first backplane;
• receiving a second schedule at the first bridge circuit, the second schedule characterizing a second communication schedule for a second set of functional circuits that are in electronic communication with the second backplane;
• comparing the first communication schedule to the second communication schedule;
• determining that the first schedule is compatible with the second schedule;
• providing a first signal to a least one first gate if the first bridge circuit and providing a second signal to at least one second gate of the second bridge circuit, thereby activating the at least one first gate and the at least one second gate, and facilitating electronic communication between the first backplane and the second backplane;
• receiving a first network identification data at the first bridge circuit, the first network identification data characterizing a first network configuration;
• receiving a second network identification data at the second bridge circuit, the second network identification data characterizing a second network configuration;
• and
• comparing the first network identification data with the second network identification data.