US5751965A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Network connection status monitor and display
Assignee: CA Inc
•
Filing: 1996-03-21
•
Granted: 1998-05-12
•
Expires: 2016-03-21
Abstract
Abstract A system provides representations of connections or other relationships among entities that make up a communications network. The representations may each have a color or shading to represent different conditions of the relationship. The representations may be graphical and may also include textual information as well as graphical hot-spots selectable by a user to provide even more detailed information regarding the relationship. The condition of each relationship may be determined based upon a combination of the conditions of the interface elements which are coupled together to form the communications relationship.
Inventors
- 👤 Gregory E. Mayo
- 👤 Roger G. Desroches
- 👤 David N. Nedde
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 02:22
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/02; H04L41/0213; H04L41/20; H04L41/22
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
129 words
A method for resolving a condition of a connection within a communications network to a user, comprising the steps of: (a) determining a condition of a first interface element of the network; (b) determining a condition of a second interface element of the network, the first and second interface elements sharing the connection within the network; (c) combining the conditions of the first and second interface elements to determine the condition of the connection from a predetermined plurality of connection conditions the predetermined plurality of connection conditions including a disabled/bad condition indicative that the connection would not be operable even if a disabled one of the first and second interface elements were to be enabled; and (d) displaying a representation of the condition of the connection to the user.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
129 words
A method for resolving a condition of a connection within a communications network to a user, comprising the steps of: (a) determining a condition of a first interface element of the network; (b) determining a condition of a second interface element of the network, the first and second interface elements sharing the connection within the network; (c) combining the conditions of the first and second interface elements to determine the condition of the connection from a predetermined plurality of connection conditions the predetermined plurality of connection conditions including a disabled/bad condition indicative that the connection would not be operable even if a disabled one of the first and second interface elements were to be enabled; and (d) displaying a representation of the condition of the connection to the user.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1, wherein: the first interface element is a first port of a first device; the second interface element is a second port of a second device.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing a predetermined plurality of interface element conditions, and wherein step (a) includes classifying the first interface element condition as one of the predetermined plurality of interface element conditions.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
85 words
The method of claim 3, wherein the step of storing the predetermined plurality of interface element conditions includes storing the following predetermined conditions: a good condition indicative that the interface element has an operational status; a bad condition indicative that the interface element has a faulty status; an unknown condition indicative that the interface element has an unknown status; a disabled condition indicative that the interface element has a disabled status; and an unreachable condition indicative that the interface element has a not communicating status.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising: maintaining a logical representation of the network that includes a model representative of the condition of the connection.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
77 words
The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) includes determining the condition of the connection from the following predetermined conditions: a good condition indicative that the connection has an operational status; a bad condition indicative that the connection has a faulty status; an unknown condition indicative that the connection has an unknown status; a disabled condition indicative that the connection has a disabled status; and an initial condition indicative that the connection has a recently established status.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) includes logically combining the conditions of the first and second interface elements to determine the condition of the connection.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 1, wherein step (d) includes displaying the representation as a graphical image having a selected color based upon the condition of the connection.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step (d) includes displaying the representation in a plurality of different displays that represent different information about the network.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: maintaining a logical representation of the network that includes a first model representative of the first interface element and a second model representative of the second interface element; associating the relationship condition with each of the first and second models.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of monitoring the network to determine when the relationship is established, and wherein step (a) is performed when the relationship is established.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of monitoring the network to determine when the condition of the first interface element changes, and wherein step (a) is performed when the condition of the first interface element changes.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
102 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the step (c) of combining includes: determining a condition of a first data path between the first interface element and the second interface element; determining a condition of a second data path that is parallel with the first data path, the first data path and second data path providing a parallel data path; logically combining the condition of the first data path with the condition of the second data path to create a condition representative of the parallel data path; and wherein the step of displaying includes displaying the condition representative of the parallel data path.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
134 words
An apparatus for resolving a condition of a connection within a communications network to a user, comprising: first means for determining a condition of a first interface element of the network; second means for determining a condition of a second interface element of the network, the first and second interface elements sharing the connection in the network; third means for combining the conditions of the first and second interface elements to determine the condition of the connection from a predetermined plurality of connection conditions the predetermined plurality of connection conditions including a disabled/bad condition indicative that the connection would not be operable even if a disabled one of the first and second interface elements were to be enabled; and fourth means for displaying a representation of the condition of the connection to the user.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
134 words
An apparatus for resolving a condition of a connection within a communications network to a user, comprising: first means for determining a condition of a first interface element of the network; second means for determining a condition of a second interface element of the network, the first and second interface elements sharing the connection in the network; third means for combining the conditions of the first and second interface elements to determine the condition of the connection from a predetermined plurality of connection conditions the predetermined plurality of connection conditions including a disabled/bad condition indicative that the connection would not be operable even if a disabled one of the first and second interface elements were to be enabled; and fourth means for displaying a representation of the condition of the connection to the user.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) includes determining the condition of the first interface element from a predetermined plurality of interface element conditions that is different from the predetermined plurality of connection conditions.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein: the first interface element is a first port of a first device; the second interface element is a second port of a second device.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising means for storing a predetermined plurality of interface element conditions, and wherein the first means includes means for classifying the first interface element condition as one of the predetermined plurality of interface element conditions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
76 words
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the predetermined plurality of interface element conditions includes: a good condition indicative that the interface element has an operational status; a bad condition indicative that the interface element has a faulty status; an unknown condition indicative that the interface element has an unknown status; a disabled condition indicative that the interface element has a disabled status; and an unreachable condition indicative that the interface element has a not communicating status.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising means for maintaining a logical representation of the network that includes a model representative of the condition of the connection.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
70 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the predetermined plurality of connection conditions includes: a good condition indicative that the connection has an operational status; a bad condition indicative that the connection has a faulty status; an unknown condition indicative that the connection has an unknown status; a disabled condition indicative that the connection has a disabled status; and an initial condition indicative that the connection has a recently established status.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the third means includes means for logically combining the conditions of the first and second interface elements to determine the condition of the connection.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the fourth means includes means for displaying the representation as a graphical image having a selected color based upon the relationship condition.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the fourth means includes means for displaying the representation in a plurality of different displays that represent different information about the network.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
52 words
The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising: means for maintaining a logical representation of the network that includes a first model representative of the first interface element and a second model representative of the second interface element; and means for associating the relationship condition with each of the first and second models.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising means for monitoring the network to determine when the relationship is established, and wherein the first means is responsive to the relationship being established.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
39 words
The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising means for monitoring the network to determine when the condition of the first interface element changes, and wherein the first means is responsive to the condition of the first interface element changing.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
105 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the third means includes: means for determining a condition of a first data path between the first interface element and the second interface element; means for determining a condition of a second data path that is parallel with the first data path, the first data path and second data path providing a parallel data path; means for logically combining the condition of the first data path with the condition of the second data path to create a condition representative of the parallel data path; and wherein the fourth means includes displaying the condition representative of the parallel data path.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first means includes means for determining the condition of the first interface element from a predetermined plurality of interface element conditions that is different from the predetermined plurality of connection conditions.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4833592A
Cited
US5353399A
Cited
US5483631A
Cited
US5606664A
Cited
US5226120A
Cited
US5261044A
Cited
US5559955A
Cited
US5436909A
Cited
US5394522A
Cited
WO1993010495A1
Cited
US5452415A
Cited
EP0609990A2
Cited
US5481674A
Cited
US5627819A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-05-11 | 2001-11-10 | 2002-05-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-05-11 | 2005-11-10 | 2006-05-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-05-11 | 2009-11-10 | 2010-05-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |