International Business Machines Corporation

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Other

British Telecommunications Public Limited Company

Coherent Communications Systems Corp.

Tellabs Operations, Inc.

Paul C Hershey

John Gary Waclawsky

Raymond F Daugherty

Kenneth James Barker

Charles S Lingafelt, Sr

James R Walker

Charles Steven Lingafelt

Donald B Johnson

Stephen M Matyas

John D Wilkins

An V Le

Jeffrey L Stoltzfus

Christopher G Riedle

The invention features a system and method to enable real-time establishment and maintenance of a standard of operation for a data communications network. The standard is a data set which includes network activity which is historically categorized by traffic type and by activity. The process begins with monitoring the network media or some network component over some period of time. The monitoring information is used to build benchmark data sets. The benchmark data sets contain a standard of operation for the network, which are historically categorized by either traffic type or activity. This standard of operation is constantly built by the intelligent monitoring facilities. After some period of time which is referred to as the benchmark data set refresh interval, the benchmark that was created is employed in a fashion to allow a determination as to whether the data that is taken from the current monitoring activity indicates normal network behavior. If the current network operating characteristics are outside the bounds or normal behavior, then alerts and logs of information can be sent to the expert system. The expert system can then effect some network control. In this manner, auto benchmarking is accomplished with self customization.

Intelligent realtime monitoring of data traffic

A high speed data communication network is adapted to monitor and measure response time between a work station and a central host or processor coupled to the data communications network through a media, such as token ring, FDDI, Ethernet, etc. As the workstation communicates with the processor, a flag is set in a packet transmitted to the processor. The packet traverses the network to an application in the processor and a response returns which includes a flag. Each flag is a specific bit pattern. A programmable digital filter recognizes the flags and counts the number of bits on the network between the flags in the forward and reverse direction. By counting the bits on the media, when the flag moves in one direction or another, the total number of bits transmitted on the media between the two intervening flags is determined. The media speed is used as a clock. The number of bits counted divided by the media speed determines the response time with fine resolutions. All of the measurements are done in near real time without the use of clocks or off-line processing of data to determine response time. The measurements can be done for half duplex or full duplex operation of a network. The measurements can be also used in the network to initiate performance changes according to the response time.

System and method for response time measurement in high speed data

The present invention discloses a system for processing data from scanned documents. The output from a scanner serves as input to a digital filter referred to as an event driven interface. The event driven interface is user-configured with bit patterns to identify and filter out user-designated information from a scanned document. Since only the designated information is extracted from the document, and not extraneous matter of the document, the subsequent storage of only the designated information saves computer memory. Furthermore, the designated information can be transmitted over a data communications network. Such a transmission will occupy less bandwidth than if the entire document was transmitted.

System for transmitting information over a data communications network

A system monitors utilization of a tributary to a main SDH transmission path. The main SDH transmission path is arranged to transport a series of data frames, each of which contains virtual containers. A data signal from tributary is loaded into virtual containers reserved to carry the data signal. The monitoring system includes an optical service unit and a computer. The optical service unit monitors bytes of the virtual containers reserved to carry the tributary for the presence of a predetermined bit pattern and transmits a report containing the results of the monitoring to the computer. In the computer, data contained in the report is used to evaluate utilization of the tributary. One example of the bit pattern which is monitored is the presence of all binary '1's in each byte of tile payload of a virtual container.

Monitoring a synchronous digital hierarchy transmission path

A system for monitoring and managing the operations of a multi-technology telecommunications network is disclosed. The system includes programmable probes operatively connected to a network for monitoring data transfer activity on the network and collecting selected data relating to one or more relevant functions. A workstation interpreter is programmed for (1) receiving input from a system manager identifying the type or types of parameters that are to be monitored, (2) providing appropriate commands to program the programmable probe to effect collection of data relative to the selected parameter, and (3) receiving and storing the parameter data from the probe. The probe hardware is selected for compatibility with the network technology with which it is associated and it is programmed with the appropriate protocols to facilitate communications with the associated technology. The probe and the workstation interpreter are programmed with appropriate management protocols to facilitate communication therebetween. The workstation interpreter is programmed to interpret received data by evaluating a received parameter and providing an indication when the parameter value deviates from a reference value by more than a preselected threshold. The workstation interpreter is further configured to effect a configuration change to the telecommunications network. The configuration change is selected to correct a network condition that caused the monitored function parameter to deviate from the reference value by more than the preselected threshold.

Telecommunications network management observation and response system

An adaptive, active monitor invention is useful in detecting characteristic data patterns in messages on a high speed data network, such as starting delimiters, tokens, various types of frames, and protocol information. Such serial data streams include serial patterns of binary bits, and can also include serial patterns of multiple state symbols, such as in token ring networks and FDDI networks. The adaptive, active monitor includes two finite state machines (FSM) which are constructed to detect the occurrence of a characteristic data pattern having multiple component bit patterns. A first FSM is the predecessor FSM, and it is configured to detect the first occurring component pattern. A second FSM is called the successor FSM, and it is configured to detect the second occurring component pattern. The first FSM will send a starting signal to the second FSM, when the first FSM has successfully detected the first component pattern. The starting signal initializes the second FSM, to take over the analysis of the portion of the bit stream which follows the first component pattern. If the second FSM successfully detects the second component pattern, it then outputs a pattern alarm signal, indicating the successful detection of the entire characteristic data pattern.

Apparatus and method for using finite state machines (FSMs) to monitor a

The disclosed system allows determination of topological aspects of a high speed data communications network in real time without interfering with the operation of the network. The topographical information determined by the present invention includes the cable length of the network, the cable length between stations on the network, and the station addresses and relative order of stations on the network. The system determines the cable length of the network by dividing the amount of time that a token spends on the cables of the network as it travels completely around the network by the propagation speed per unit length of the cables of the network. The system determines the length of cable between any two adjacent stations on the network by determining the length of time between frames transmitted by the adjacent stations, and dividing this time by the propagation speed per unit length of the cable of the network. Lastly, the system determines the number of stations and the addresses of these stations on the network by extracting source addresses from the pertinent network frames.

Enhanced real-time topology analysis system or high speed networks

System for processing information from scanned documents using event

A dynamic realtime routing mechanism for a data communications network, which provides an Event Driven Interface to perform realtime routing of data frames over one of a plurality of destination paths. The Event Driven Interface is programmed with control vectors to identify routing bit patterns in the data frames on the data communications network. Enabling signals produced by the Event Driven Interface are applied to the control input of a multiplexer whose data input is connected to the data communications network. The multiplexer will steer the data frames from the data communications network to one of a plurality of output routing paths, in response to the enabling signals it receives from the Event Driven Interface.

Dynamic realtime routing in a data communications network

A system and method for passively measuring and correcting ring latency on a token or FDDI ring includes generating bits and token frames in a defined pattern according to the token ring protocol. A passive device coupled to the token ring measures CMIN, the minimum spacing, CMAX, the maximum spacing in bits and calculates Fi the frequency of changes in Cmin and Cmax between successive tokens or a token and a frame on the ring. A latency event vector Li is generated by the passive device. A controller responsive to the latency vector Li corrects the spacing between successive tokens or a token and frame to achieve a constant ring latency regardless of electrical or operational changes on the token ring.

System and method for ring latency measurement and correction

A hardwired, dynamically reconfigurable counter array counts occurrences of different traffic events having different rates of occurrences monitored on a high speed data network by an Event Driven Interface (EDI). The array includes a plurality of 'N' bit counters, where 'N' is a binary multiple. The counters are arranged in an array of size 'm,n', where 'm' is the number of rows and 'n' is the number of columns in the array. A signal input is provided to each counter as a first input, each signal being definitive of a specific traffic event occurring on the high speed network. Each counter is connected to the adjacent counter in the column through a multi-terminal logic element, each logic element in a column receives the output of a counter as a first input and provides an output to the succeeding counter as a second input. A counter logic switch responsive to an input signal generates a counter logic vector as an output. The vector comprises a plurality of outputs, each output being provided to a different row of the array as a second input to each logic element. Means are provided for changing the signal inputs and/or the counter logic vector to configure or reconfigure the counters in the array to individual or group counters of the same or different sizes. The counter sizes are selected to match the counting requirements of different traffic events being monitored on the network by the EDI.

Event driven interface having a dynamically reconfigurable counter for

The invention includes indirect addressing which is the realtime calculation of the location of variably offset fields in a frame in a high speed medium. Data frames in a communication medium, include a presence bit which indicates the presence of a variable length field whose length is defined by a length field in the data frame. In accordance with the invention, an Event Driven Interface has its input coupled to the data communications network, to receive the data frame and to identify the presence of the presence bit. In response to this, the Event Driven Interface branches to a first logic path which ignores the plurality of bits in the variable length field corresponding to the length field. Then, the Event Driven Interface branches to a second logic path after the plurality of bits have been ignored, to locate the variably offset field being sought in the data frame. This enables the realtime location of data at variable offsets in the data frame.

Realtime addressing for high speed serial bit stream

System and method for adaptive, active monitoring of a serial data

A workstation manages and controls a plurality of communication networks using different protocols coupled to a common bus. A programmable digital filter connected between the workstation and the networks examines frame information using real time calculation for identifying protocols in the frames. The filter identifies and counts addresses, security conditions and other information of interest on the bus and occurring in the networks. The protocol, address, security data and other information of interest counted by the filter are stored in storage for access by an interpreter. The stored data for the networks accessed by the interpreter is compared to network models for identification of traffic problems and conditions and load balancing. The network interpreter contains a graphical user interface which displays selected information at a monitor for an operator to examine and initiate corrective action by initiating commands. A microprocessor executes the commands for overcoming the traffic condition or problem occurring on the different networks. The microprocessor is further adapted to initiate load balancing in the networks according to the commands issued by the interpreter.

Growing community of inventors

Manassas, VA, United States of America

Paul C Hershey