Enhanced communications network testing and control system

For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each site being uniquely identified by a site address selected from a pool of available site addresses, an improved network testing and control system comprising, at the central site;

• means for selectively and concurrently sharing said communication links with a host processor at said central site for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, said sharing and reporting means having
• means for testing operating equipment at a remote site including means for transmitting a test signal sequence to the remote site, and for receiving a test signal response from the remote site, via the shared communications link associated with the remote site address;
• means for accepting at the central site test-scheduling information including a dynamically changeable designation of a test sequence to be performed at a later time, the address of the remote site on which the test sequence is to be performed, and the time when the test sequence is to begin;
• means for storing the test-scheduling information;
• and
• means for providing the test-scheduling information to the test signal sequence transmitting means at the designated date and time, for automatically initiating the scheduled test sequence at the designated remote site.

A method of monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, the network having analog communication links connecting said central site to said remote site equipment, said central site having a host data processing system, said method including the monitoring of a plurality of status variables for each remote site and comprising, for each remote site, the steps of

• sharing said communication links between said host system and a central-site monitoring system;
• generating, in response to selectively concurrently shared two-way signal communication between said central site and said remote site on said communication links, an initial status listing responsive to the status variables for the remote site;
• generating a status change signal responsive to a change of at least one status variable from its value in the status listing;
• and
• responsive to the status change signal, determining for the associated variable, the state change or changes.

A method of monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, the network having analog communications links connecting the central site to the remote site equipment, and over which a host processor at the central site communicates with the remote sites, and wherein the central site further includes first and second data processing systems, the first data processing system being connected directly to the second data processing system and the second data processing system being further connected to the remote sites over said links, said method comprising, for each remote site to be monitored, the steps of

• selectively concurrently sharing communication of status signals between said central-site data processing systems and said remote sites over said analog communications links with the digital communication of said network;
• generating, in response to said communication of status signals, a status listing containing the initial status of the status variables to be monitored;
• the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system a status change inquiry signal;
• responsive to the status change inquiry signal, the second data processing system sending a status change signal to the first data processing system if any of the monitored status variables have changed state since the generation of the status listing, and the second data processing system sending a no status change signal if none of the monitored status variables has changed state since the generation of the status listing;
• responsive to receiving a status change signal, the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system another, second status change inquiry signal;
• responsive to the second status change inquiry signal, the second data processing system sending a second status change signal to the first data processing system if any of the monitored status variables have changed state since the generation of the status listing and sending a said no status change signal if none of the monitored status variables has changed state since the generation of the status listing;
• responsive to receiving a second status change signal, the first data processing system sending to the second data processing system a first status request signal;
• and
• responsive to the first status request signal, the second data processing system sending to the first data processing system a status update signal indicating the status of each of the monitored status variables.

For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, said central site having a host processing system communicating with said remote sites over said communications links, an improved network testing and control system comprising, at the central site,

• means for selectively concurrently sharing said communications links with said host processing systems for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, said sharing and reporting means having
• a data processing system including a plurality of connection port means, each port means being connected to at least one communications link of the network for providing serial communications between the data processing system and each remote site on such link, said data processing system and said host processing system selectively concurrently sharing said communications links;
• the data processing system further comprising
• means for communicating substantially simultaneously, in parallel, through each port means over said communications links with the remote sites connected thereto and means, with respect to each port, responsive to a preselected signal, for monitoring, over said communications links, the remote sites connected thereto, and for ascertaining from data received over said shared links the status of at least one selected variable associated with each remote site, said variable comprising a status condition, signal or operating parameter.

Apparatus for monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, said network providing digital communications between said central site and said remote sites over a plurality of analog communication links, said central site having a host processing system communicating with said remote sites over said communication links, said monitoring apparatus comprising

• memory means for storing status information,
• means for generating and storing in said memory means, in response to status inquiry signals, information corresponding to the initial status of the status variables for each monitored remote site,
• means for generating a status change signal responsive to a change of state of at least one status variable of a monitored remote site,
• means at the remote site responsive to the status change signal for determining the variable state change or changes in response to which said status change signal was generated, said means for determining comprising means for comparing the states of status variables to the initial status information stored in the memory means, and
• means for selectively concurrently sharing the communication of said status inquiry signals and said status variable signals and said status change signals between said central and said remote sites over said communications links with said digital communication.

For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each site being uniquely identified by a site address selected from a pool of available site addresses, said central site having a host computer communicating over said communication links, an improved network testing and control system comprising, at the central site,

• means for selectively concurrently sharing said communications links with said host processing systems for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links,
• a plurality of connection port means, each port means being connected to at least one communications link of the network for providing serial communications between the central site and each remote site on such link with said sharing;
• means at the central site for accepting test-scheduling information including a dynamically changeable designation of a test to be performed at a later time, the port means for which a remote site test is to be performed, and the time of day when the test is to begin;
• means for storing the test-scheduling information;
• and
• means for initiating automatically the scheduled test, on the remote sites connected to the designated port means, at the designated time and on said links with said sharing.

For use with a digital communications network which provides digital communication between a plurality of sites, one of said sites being designated a central site and the other sites being designated remote sites and said digital communications between said central site and said remote sites being over a plurality of analog communications links, each site having means for generating a unique site address identifying said site, and wherein said remote site can dynamically connect and disconnect from said network, an improved network testing and control system, comprising, at the central site,

• means for selectively concurrently sharing said communications links with a host processor at said central site for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links,
• means for polling the remote sites connected to said shared lines to determine their addresses,
• means for storing a record of the addresses determined by such polling, to provide a site location table containing the addresses of the remote site, and
• means for updating said site location table.

A method for monitoring the operative status of remote site equipment in a digital communications network from a central site of the network, wherein said network has plural remote sites each of which is operable asynchronously of other remote sites and of said central site, the network having analog communications links connecting said remote sites to said central site and over which a host processor at the central site communicates with the remote sites, said method including monitoring a plurality of status variables for each remote site for reporting on the operational status of remote sites connected to said communication network communications links, and comprising the steps of

• selectively concurrently sharing communication of such status between the central site and the remote sites over the analog communications links used by said host processor with said digital communications of said network,
• generating at and transmitting from the central site, and receiving at at least one remote site, over said analog communications links, time mask data,
• monitoring and processing at said central site status variable changes at least at said one remote site and received over said analog communications links, and
• inhibiting, at the central site, the processing of status variable changes received over said analog communications links from at least said one remote site during time periods determined by said time mask data.