The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 24, 2015
Filed:
Aug. 08, 2013
Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Douglas A. Gourlay, San Jose, CA (US);
Prashant Gandhi, San Jose, CA (US);
Mark McKee, San Jose, CA (US);
Omar G. Abuabara, San Francisco, CA (US);
Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A data communication network (DCN) having a plurality of network devices coupled to the DCN with at least one of the network devices having a 'boot once' connectivity manager processor (CMP). The CMP receives its power over the DCN rather than from the power applied to the network devices. The CMP can execute special operating system code and maintain network connectivity even if the network device itself is powered off, is being booted or is otherwise non-functional. The CMP is also coupled to the network device's memory so that it may respond to out-of-band polling requests for device status information from network management tools. With CMP, network administrators can monitor the boot process of network devices, determine that a network device is non-functional due to power loss and can maintain an accurate inventory status of spare network devices that are stored un-powered in a spares closet.