3com Corporation

Philip C Garner

Carl Ketcham

Craig William Payne

Jennifer Baker

John Major

A method and apparatus for a connection monitor to concurrently interact with a concurrent diagnostic-capable modem during an open connection controlled by a communication application without terminating the open connection between a host system and the modem. The connection monitor and a communication application operate concurrently to enable a user to interrogate a modem for status information while a connection with the modem remains open and functional with other communication applications. A serial device driver presents two types of entry to the operating system, one for normal communications and one for a collateral or side-door entrance from a connection monitor. The serial device driver multiplexes a packaged diagnostic command into the open channel with the data process by the serial driver and dispatched to a local modem. The local modem performs a demultiplexing function by routing traditional communication data to a traditional COM process and diagnostic information is routed to a diagnostic process. Diagnostic status information is likewise packaged and multiplexed into a data stream with traditional COM data information for dispatch to the serial device driver and demultiplexed therein. The inband diagnostic driver interfaces directly with the connection monitor via the operating system for returning the diagnostic status information as retrieved from the local modem. The present invention also provides a method and apparatus for obtaining remote status information from a remote modem by employing related processes.

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Farmington, UT, United States of America

Philip C Garner