Configurable scalable communications equipment protection method system

A method for interconnecting and configuring a plurality of communications interface devices for signal protection and redundancy of service, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing each communications interface device with:
• (a) a bi-directional protection signal connector for communicably receiving and transmitting a communications signal;
• (b) a protection line interface unit (LIU) for bi-directionally terminating a signal present at said protection signal connector, said protection LIU terminating said present signal at a physical layer, and said protection LIU having a bi-directional logic-level port;
• (c) a communications signal processing unit suitable for interfacing to a bi-directional logic-level communications signal and terminating said signal, each signal processing unit having a signal processing signal port;
• (d) a first bi-directional logic-level connector and a second bi-directional logic-level connector;
• (e) a first signal relay disposed between said protection LIU logic-level port and said first logic-level connector such that said logic-level port of said protection LIU may be communicably and selectively connected to said first logic-level connector;
• (f) a second signal relay disposed between said second logic-level connector and said first logic-level connector such that logic-level signals may be communicably and selectively connected between the first and second logic-level connectors;
• (g) a third signal relay disposed between said second logic-level connector and said signal processing signal port such that logic-level signals may be communicably and selectively connected between said second logic-level connector and said signal processing unit for termination;
• forming a daisy-chain signal arrangement among said plurality of communications interface devices by providing a plurality of logic-level interconnects between a first logic-level connector of each communications interface device and a second logic-level connector of another communications interface device;
• and
• configuring and controlling said first, second and third signal relays on each of said communications interface devices to establish one of at least three interconnection modes on each of the communications interface devices:
• (h) routing of a signal present at a device's protection signal connector through the device's protection LIU, through the device's first relay to the device's first logic-level interconnect (route to daisy-chain mode),
• (i) routing of a signal between said first logic-level connector and said second logic-level connector (through-mode), and
• (j) routing of a signal present at said second logic-level interconnect to said signal processing unit for termination (daisy-chain terminator mode),
• such that at least one of the communications interface devices may be configured in “route to daisy-chain mode”, at least one of the communications interface devices may be configured in “daisy-chain terminator mode”, and all communications interface devices positioned in the daisy-chain between these two communications interface devices may be configured in “through mode”, thereby achieving a selectable bidirectional interconnect of a signal from any protection connector on any of the communications interface devices to any signal processing unit on any other communications interface device.