US6798740B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for switch core health monitoring and redundancy
Assignee: Avaya Inc
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Filing: 2000-03-13
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Granted: 2004-09-28
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Expires: 2020-03-13
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus selecting between primary switching fabric in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network includes a Tap Mux controller that monitors the signals being transmitted to each of four fabric access devices. As each of the fabric access devices receives nine communication lines, the Tap Mux controller monitors a total for 36 communication lines on the primary switching fabric. Because the switching fabric is completely redundant, however, the Tap Mux controller also monitors a total of 36 communication lines on the protection switching fabric. The Tap Mux controller, therefore, includes logic that defines 72 state machines that each monitor one of the 72 lines. Each state machine, in the described embodiment, initiates a defined length time window and counts errors therein. Protection path switching occurs, for example, only when 10 errors occur on any one of the 36 primary switching fabric lines being received by four fabric access devices therein within a 100 millisecond window initiated at the detection of the first error on the communication line. If 10 errors are not detected within a defined communication window, in the described embodiment, the window is terminated and is only reinitiated upon the detection of the next line error.
Inventors
- 👤 Tissa Senevirathne
- 👤 Van Hunter
- 👤 Sri Reddy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 03:41
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L1/00; H04L1/22; H04L1/20; G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/16; G06F11/20; G06F11/202; G06F11/2023; G06F11/2025; G06F11/2038
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 39
Claim 1
Independent Claim
124 words
A Tap Mux controller for selecting between a primary switch fabric and a protection switch fabric, comprising: a storage device for storing computer instructions; an internal bus coupled to communicate with the storage device; a port coupled to the internal bus; a processor coupled to communicate with the storage device by way of the internal bus wherein the processor executes the computer instructions stored within the storage device; and wherein the computer instructions define logic for prompting the processor to communicate with a plurality of fabric access devices by way of the port to monitor for specified receive errors and wherein the processor selects the protection switch fabric whenever a specified number of errors of a defined list of errors within a defined period.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
124 words
A Tap Mux controller for selecting between a primary switch fabric and a protection switch fabric, comprising: a storage device for storing computer instructions; an internal bus coupled to communicate with the storage device; a port coupled to the internal bus; a processor coupled to communicate with the storage device by way of the internal bus wherein the processor executes the computer instructions stored within the storage device; and wherein the computer instructions define logic for prompting the processor to communicate with a plurality of fabric access devices by way of the port to monitor for specified receive errors and wherein the processor selects the protection switch fabric whenever a specified number of errors of a defined list of errors within a defined period.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 1 wherein the defined logic prompts the processor to select the protection path only if the ten errors are detected within a defined time window.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
The Tap Mux Controller of claim 1 wherein the defined time window starts at the detection of the first error and wherein the time window is reset after 100 milliseconds if 10 specified errors were not detected within the time window.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 1 wherein the defined logic prompts the processor to monitor only errors detected during transmission of signals to the plurality of fabric access devices.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
53 words
The Tap Mux Controller of claim 4 wherein controller monitors for transmission errors in signals being transmitted to four fabric access devices, and wherein the defined logic prompts the processor to monitor errors detected during the transmission of signal on any one of 72 communication lines coupled to the four fabric access devices.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The Tap Mux Controller of claim 5 wherein the logic prompts the processor to generate 72 state machines, one for each of the 72 communication line sources being monitored for defined errors.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 1 wherein the port is an eight bit parallel bus.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 1 further comprising four parallel buses that are eight bits wide each, wherein each eight bit wide bus is coupled to one of four fabric access devices.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
130 words
A fabric controller for selecting between primary and protection switching fabrics, comprising: a health monitoring module for determining when the protection path switching fabric should be selected over the primary path switching fabric; wherein the health monitoring module defines a fixed length time window wherein switching to the protection path only occurs if a specified number of errors occur within a specified period of time while the fixed length time window is defined; an error monitoring module communicatively coupled with the health monitoring module and for monitoring transmission errors within the primary and protection switching fabrics; and a switching module coupled to receive switching commands from the health monitoring module, the switching module for effectuating a switching change from one of the primary and protection switching fabrics to the other.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
130 words
A fabric controller for selecting between primary and protection switching fabrics, comprising: a health monitoring module for determining when the protection path switching fabric should be selected over the primary path switching fabric; wherein the health monitoring module defines a fixed length time window wherein switching to the protection path only occurs if a specified number of errors occur within a specified period of time while the fixed length time window is defined; an error monitoring module communicatively coupled with the health monitoring module and for monitoring transmission errors within the primary and protection switching fabrics; and a switching module coupled to receive switching commands from the health monitoring module, the switching module for effectuating a switching change from one of the primary and protection switching fabrics to the other.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 9 wherein the fixed length time window is equal to 100 milliseconds.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 9 wherein the specified number of errors is equal to ten.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
33 words
The Tap Mux controller of claim 9 wherein the error monitoring module creates up to 72 state machines for monitoring up to 72 lines transmitting signals to a plurality of fabric access devices.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
72 words
A method for selecting a protection switch fabric over a primary switch fabric, comprising: monitoring to detect specified transmission errors in communication signals being transmitted to at least one fabric access device; defining a time window upon detecting at least one of the specified transmission errors; counting errors during the defined time window; and selecting the protection switch fabric if a specified number of errors are counted during the defined time window.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
72 words
A method for selecting a protection switch fabric over a primary switch fabric, comprising: monitoring to detect specified transmission errors in communication signals being transmitted to at least one fabric access device; defining a time window upon detecting at least one of the specified transmission errors; counting errors during the defined time window; and selecting the protection switch fabric if a specified number of errors are counted during the defined time window.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors are counted within a specified time period of the first error whereby protection path selection does not occur for a tenth or greater error if ten errors were not detected during the defined window.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 14 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors are counted within a time period of the first error wherein the specified number of errors is equal to 10.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors are counted within the specified time period is equal to 100 milliseconds.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes parity errors.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes idle pattern errors.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes clock recovery errors.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes PLL locking errors.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes buffer related errors.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes free queue head pointer related errors.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors are counted within a specified time period relative to each other.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 23 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors are counted within a time period of the first error wherein the specified number of errors is equal to 10.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 24 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors are counted within the specified time period is equal to 100 milliseconds.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes parity errors.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes idle pattern errors.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes clock recovery errors.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes PLL locking errors.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes buffer related errors.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 25 wherein the protection path is selected if the specified number of errors includes free queue head pointer related errors.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
82 words
An asynchronous transfer mode communication system for transmitting data through one of a primary switch fabric and a protection switch fabric, comprising: a fabric controller; a plurality of fabric access devices coupled to produce eight bit words to the fabric controller over a parallel bus; a plurality of Tap Muxes, each coupled to produce 4 bit nibbles of data to one of the plurality of fabric access devices; and a plurality of ports for producing bits of data to the Tap Muxes.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
82 words
An asynchronous transfer mode communication system for transmitting data through one of a primary switch fabric and a protection switch fabric, comprising: a fabric controller; a plurality of fabric access devices coupled to produce eight bit words to the fabric controller over a parallel bus; a plurality of Tap Muxes, each coupled to produce 4 bit nibbles of data to one of the plurality of fabric access devices; and a plurality of ports for producing bits of data to the Tap Muxes.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 32 wherein the Fabric controller selects the protection switch fabric over the primary switch fabric by monitoring the number of detected errors received at the fabric access devices.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
36 words
The system of claim 33 wherein the fabric controller selects the protection switch fabric over the primary switch fabric whenever nine errors are detected within a defined period beginning with upon detection of a first error.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
12 words
The system of claim 33 wherein the defined period is 100 milliseconds.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-09-28 | 2008-03-29 | 2008-09-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-09-28 | 2012-03-29 | 2012-09-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-09-28 | 2016-03-29 | 2016-09-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |