Monitoring system and method implementing failure time spectrum scan

A computer readable medium having a program for enabling efficient monitoring of electrical signals communicated along a plurality of nodes, each node having a plurality of signal channels, the signals being measured by a spectrum analyzer, the program comprising:

• means for providing a channel plan having predefined characteristics including at least a center frequency, a bandwidth and a power level of a carrier signal for each signal channel;
• means for receiving signal data from a respective node sampled by the spectrum analyzer;
• and
• means for testing communication of said signals on the respective node by conducting a test plan prescribing performance of an automated test which compares actual measured values from the received signal data with expected values indicated by the predefined characteristics of the channel plan and thereby produces a test result, said means for testing further configured to compare the test result with an alarm limit and to control said spectrum analyzer to perform a failure time spectrum scan when said test results exceed said alarm limit, said failure time spectrum scan representative of power amplitude versus frequency over the frequency spectrum of the respective node;
• and
• means for displaying the power amplitude versus frequency over the frequency spectrum represented by the failure time spectrum scan.

A method comprising:

• providing a channel plan having predefined characteristics including at least a center frequency, a bandwidth and a power level of a carrier signal for each signal channel provided by a node of a network;
• testing communication of a plurality of signals communicated on the node by conducting a test plan, said test plan prescribing an automated test which compares actual measured values on each signal channel provided by the node with expected values indicated by the predefined characteristics of the channel plan, and thereby produces a test result;
• comparing the test result with a user definable alarm limit;
• performing a failure time spectrum scan on the node when said test result exceed said alarm limit, said failure time spectrum scan representative of power amplitude versus frequency over the frequency spectrum of the node;
• and
• displaying the power amplitude versus frequency over the frequency spectrum of the node.

An apparatus comprising:

• a spectrum analyzer monitoring a plurality of channels corresponding to a respective node of a network in accordance with a test plan for the node, wherein a channel plan provides predefined characteristics including at least a center frequency, a bandwidth and a power level of a carrier signal for each of the channels, and the test plan provides an automated test which compares actual measured values from monitoring signals on the channels by the spectrum analyzer with expected values indicated by the predetermined characteristics of the channel plan;
• means for automatically performing a failure test spectrum scan for the respective node when a result of the test exceeds an alarm limit for the test, the failure test plan providing a power amplitude versus frequency graph over a frequency spectrum of the node;
• and
• means for displaying the graph.

An apparatus comprising:

• a spectrum analyzer;
• a switch controllable to connect a respective node of a plurality of nodes of a network to the spectrum analyzer, each node having a corresponding plurality of channels;
• and
• a controller controlling the switch to connect a selected node of the plurality of nodes to the spectrum analyzer, wherein
• the spectrum analyzer monitors the plurality of channels corresponding to the selected node in accordance with a test plan for the selected node,
• a channel plan provides predefined characteristics including at least a center frequency, a bandwidth and a power level of a carrier signal for each of the plurality of channels corresponding to the selected node,
• the test plan provides an automated test which compares actual measured values from monitoring signals on the plurality of channels corresponding to the selected node by the spectrum monitor with expected values indicated by the predetermined characteristics of the channel plan,
• the controller automatically performs a failure test spectrum scan for the selected node when a result of the test exceeds an alarm limit for the test, the failure test plan providing a power amplitude versus frequency graph over a frequency spectrum of the selected node, and
• the controller displays the graph on a screen.