Passive monitor for broadcast communication network
US5097469A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 21, 1990 |
| Grant date | Mar 17, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 21, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L43/18
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention is a network monitor that passively detects sequences of control frame transmissions. Detected control frame sequences are compared to a model of the expected exchange of control frames. The monitor concludes that a malfunction has occurred when the detected control frame sequences do not match the frame sequences indicated by model. The monitor is quite useful with a network that uses a token passing protocol, since it can determine whether a particular station is working improperly by tracking whether the token is passed in the order proscribed by the expected token-passing sequence in the model. The monitor can detect and diagnose many types of network malfunctions. The monitor also observes and maintains statistics on network data traffic and configuration information, in real time. Since the monitor independently tracks which station has the token, statistics are developed on how much traffic is passing to and from bridges.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.