Sedna Patent Services, LLC

Cox Communications, Inc.

Stephen R Vogel

James B Armstrong

Hiep T Nguyen

Steven Jeffrey Zack

Apparatus and method providing improved fault tolerance through redundancy of hardware and software suitable for use in a head-end of an interactive information distribution system. Communications between each of a head-end controllers and each of the server modules are coincidentally sent along at least two signal paths to provide to additional fault tolerance in the event one of the signal paths becomes inoperable. In one embodiment, a video switch comprises a plurality of I/O ports coupled between a plurality of server modules and a plurality of subscriber equipment for transferring video information between the server and the subscriber equipment. A primary and secondary switch controller are each coupled to the head-end controllers and the plurality of I/O ports. The primary switch controller is used for routing data packets containing said video information between the plurality of I/O ports. The secondary switch controller monitors status of the primary switch controller and I/O ports, and initiates a switchover event in an instance where the primary switch controller exhibits a failure.

Method and apparatus of load sharing and improving fault tolerance in an interactive video distribution system

An apparatus and method for programming a remote programmable logic device. The apparatus comprises a processing system having a first file to second file conversion program stored therein. The processing system receives the first file from a first communications medium and transmits the converted second file through a second communications medium in a format native to the remote programmable logic device. The method comprises sending a first file to a processing system via a first communications medium, converting the first file to a second file in a format native to the remote programmable logic device, and sending the second file in a format native to the remote programmable logic device to the remote programmable logic device via a second communications medium.

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Medford, NJ, United States of America

Stephen R Vogel