Collaborative remote communication circuit diagnostic tool

A diagnostic tool for remote, collaborative management of a communications circuit, comprising:

• means for configuring said communications circuit;
• means located substantially at a demarcation point of said communications circuit for testing said configured circuit;
• and,
• means remote from said testing means for monitoring said testing and simultaneously displaying the results of said testing on two or more monitors.

A method of collaboratively and remotely testing a communications line, comprising the steps of:

• a) inserting a diagnostic interface unit into said communications line substantially at a demarcation point of said communications line;
• b) configuring said communications line;
• c) generating, by means of said diagnostic interface unit, a test-pattern on said configured communications line;
• d) monitoring, by means of said diagnostic interface unit, said generated test-pattern;
• and
• e) displaying, substantially simultaneously, on two or more monitors, the results of said step d) of monitoring.

A collaborative remote T1 circuit diagnostic tool, comprising:

• a diagnostic interface unit, linked to said T1 circuit substantially at a demarcation point of said circuit, said interface unit including a MIB II compliant configuration manager, a T1 framing test-signal generator, an ESF format test-signal receiver, a control microprocessor and a 100BaseT communications port;
• a first remote terminal, located remote to said diagnostic interface unit;
• a second remote terminal, said second remote terminal being located remote to both said first terminal and to said diagnostic interface unit;
• a server, located remote to said diagnostic interface unit;
• a first-secure encrypted tunnel connecting said server to said diagnostic interface unit via the Internet;
• a second-secure encrypted tunnel connecting said server to said first remote terminal;
• a third-secure encrypted tunnel connecting said server to said second remote terminal;
• a remote, diagnostic-service software-module running on said server, said software module including a test-initiation module capable of initiating a test protocol on said diagnostic interface unit, a test-analysis module capable of analyzing the results of said test protocol, a test-repair unit capable of initiating repair of a diagnosed fault by data reformatting, and a GUI display module capable of displaying, substantially simultaneously, a graphic version of said analysis of said results on each of said remote terminals.