Tracing with keys and locks on a telecommunication network

A method for detecting events occurring in a telecommunications network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and processors for executing software programs to control the switch, said method comprising the steps of:

• implanting daemons in selected portions of the software programs, each daemon including a conditional statement responsive to certain events and at least one activity resulting from the detection of a certain event satisfying the conditional statement;
• assigning a lock value to each of the daemons, each lock value uniquely identifying the corresponding daemons and being operable to either activate the processor for executing the daemon or deactivate the processor for bypassing the daemon to continue execution of the software program in response to a key value being equal to the lock value;
• comparing a key value to each lock value for selectively activating the processor to execute the daemon when the key value equals the lock value or deactivating the processor to bypass the daemon when the key value does not equal the lock value;
• executing the activity specified in the daemon if the detected event satisfies the conditional statement;
• and
• continuing execution of the software program after each activity is executed whereby continuous-processing in the SPC exchange is maintained.

A method for detecting events occurring in a telecommunications network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and a processor for executing software programs to control the switch, said method comprising the steps of:

• implanting daemons in selected portions of the software programs, each daemon including a conditional statement responsive to certain events and at least one activity resulting from the detection of a certain event satisfying the conditional statement;
• assigning a lock value to at least two daemons for uniquely identifying them in a group, the lock value being operable to either activate the processors for executing the daemons in the group or deactivate the processors for bypassing the daemons in the group to continue execution of the software program in response to a key value being equal to the look value;
• comparing a key value to the lock value for selectively activating the processors to execute the daemons in the group when the key value equals the lock value or deactivating the processors to bypass the daemons in the group when the key value does not equal the lock value;
• executing the activity specified in each daemon of the group if the detected event satisfies the corresponding conditional statement;
• and
• continuing execution of the software program after each activity is executed whereby continuous-processing in the SPC exchange is maintained.

An apparatus for detecting events occurring in a telecommunications network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and processors for executing software programs to control the switch, said apparatus comprising:

• means for implanting a plurality of daemons in selected portions of the software programs, each of said daemons being operable to perform at least one activity in response to the detection of in event which satisfies a conditional statement contained within said daemon;
• means for assigning a lock value to each of the daemons, each lock value uniquely identifying the corresponding daemon and being operable to activate the processor for executing the daemon in response to a key value being equal to the lock value;
• means for comparing each lock value of each daemon to a key value stored in said SPC exchange for each corresponding daemon and selectively activating the processor to execute the said daemon if said lock value of said daemon equals the corresponding key value;
• means for executing the activity specified in the said daemon if the detected event satisfies the conditional statement contained within said daemon;
• and
• means for continuing execution of the software program after each activity within an activated daemon is executed whereby continuous-processing in the SPC exchange is maintained.

An apparatus for detecting events occurring in a telecommunications network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and processors for executing software programs to control the switch, said apparatus comprising:

• means for implanting daemons in selected portions of the software programs, each daemon including a conditional statement responsive to certain events and at least one activity resulting from the detection of a certain event satisfying the conditional statement;
• means for assigning a lock value to each of the daemons, each lock value uniquely identifying the corresponding daemons and being operable to either activate the processor for executing the daemon or deactivate the processor for bypassing the daemon to continue execution of the software program in response to a key value being equal to the lock value;
• means for comparing a key value to each lock value for selectively activating the processor to execute the daemon when the key value equals the lock value or deactivating the processor to bypass the daemon when the key value does not equal the lock value;
• means for executing the activity specified in the daemon if the detected event satisfies the conditional statement;
• and
• means for continuing execution of the software program after each activity is executed whereby continuous-processing in the SPC exchange is maintained.

An apparatus for detecting events occurring in a telecommunications network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and a processor for executing software programs to control the switch, said apparatus comprising:

• means for implanting daemons in selected portions of the software programs, each daemon including a conditional statement responsive to certain events and at least one activity resulting from the detection of a certain event satisfying the conditional statement;
• means for assigning a lock value to at least two daemons for uniquely identifying them in a group, the lock value being operable to either activate the processors for executing the daemons in the group or deactivate the processors for bypassing the daemons in the group to continue execution of the software program in response to a key value being equal to the lock value;
• means for comparing a key value to the lock value for selectively activating the processors to execute the daemons in the group when the key value equals the lock value or deactivating the processors to bypass the daemons in the group when the key value does not equal the lock value;
• means for executing the activity specified in each daemon of the group if the detected event satisfies the corresponding conditional statement;
• and
• means for continuing execution of the software program after each activity is executed whereby continuous-processing in the SPC exchange is maintained.

In a telecommunication network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and one or more processors for controlling said switch, a method for efficiently tracing the execution of one or more software application programs running on said one or more processors, said method comprising the steps of:

• creating a plurality of daemons, each of said daemons having a unique identity and comprising computer program instructions including a conditional statement for activating said daemon if a lock value embodied in said daemon is found to match an associated key value;
• implanting said plurality of daemons in one or more application programs to render the application programs traceable;
• generating key values in response to trace commands received from one or more users of said traceable application programs;
• storing said generated key values separately from said traceable application programs in the computer system;
• activating selected daemons to selectively trace the execution of said traceable application programs in response to a key value satisfying the conditional statements within each of said daemons;
• generating trace information relating to the performance of the application program in response to the activation of said daemons without interrupting execution of the application program;
• and
• storing said generated trace information in the computer system.

In a telecommunication network comprising stored program control (SPC) exchanges, each SPC exchange comprising a switch and one or more processors for controlling said switch, a system for efficiently tracing the execution of one or more software application programs running on said one or more processors, said system comprising:

• means for creating a plurality of daemons, each of said daemons having a unique identity and comprising computer program to instructions including a conditional statement for activating said daemon if a lock value embodied in said daemon is found to match an associated key value;
• means for implanting said plurality of daemons in one or more application programs to render the application programs traceable;
• means for generating key values in response to trace commands received from one or more users of said traceable application programs;
• means for storing said generated key values separately from said traceable application programs in the computer system;
• means for activating selected daemons to selectively trace the execution of said traceable application programs in response to the key value satisfying the conditional statements within each of said daemons;
• means for generating trace information relating to the performance of the application program in response to the activation of said daemons without interrupting execution of the application program;
• and
• means for storing said generated trace information in the computer system.