EP0689327A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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System and method for determining network connectivity
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1995-05-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-05-19
Abstract
Abstract The present invention comprises a system (such as a multiprotocol LAN adapter) for use in a workstation or other processing machine for automatically determining the type of network to which the workstation is connected and for automatically determining the type of physical medium to which the workstation is attached. The system comprises a plurality of different physical ports for supporting various available physical media over which network data may be transmitted. For example, the system may comprise a port for connecting to shielded twisted pair (STP) wiring, a port for connecting to unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring, a port for connecting to coaxial cable, and a port for supporting the Attachment Unit Interface (AUI). Connected to each of these physical ports are various network interface devices for supporting the various available networking protocols, e.g., token ring, Ethernet, etc. Logic circuitry and control software are connected to the network interface devices. In order to determine the valid network connections to the individual ports, a short interrogation frame is successively transmitted by each of the network interface devices to each of the ports. Depending upon the status of each transmission, the system determines what type of network (if any) is connected to and by which type of physical medium. Based upon these two determinations, the workstation can be automatically configured without user intervention.
Inventors
- 👤 Warren David Bailey
- 👤 Erick Leonard Dixon
- 👤 Michele Mosser Ferris
- 👤 Henry Michael Garrett
- 👤 Gregory Francis Paussa
- 👤 Anthony Dean Walker
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 02:13
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L49/00; H04L49/90; H04L49/9063; H04L69/00; H04L69/18; H04L69/30; H04L69/32; H04L69/322; H04L69/323
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
174 words
A system for use with a processing machine for providing access to one or more networks via one or more ports, each of said networks conforming to a particular networking protocol of a set of networking protocols, said system comprising: one or more ports for providing access to said one or more networks; means, connected to said ports, for interrogating each of said one or more ports for determining the connectivity of any of said one or more networks at each of said one or more ports, said interrogating means comprising: means for successively transmitting an interrogation signal to each of said one or more ports; means connected to each of said one or more ports for monitoring the status of each interrogation signal transmission; means, connected to said monitoring means, for determining the connectivity of said one or more networks at each of said one or more ports based upon the status of each interrogation signal transmission; and means, connected to said determining means, for generating an output indicative of said network connectivity.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system defined in claim 1 further comprising means for interfacing with said processing machine, said interfacing means being connected to said output generating means for receiving said output indicative of said network connectivity.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
87 words
The system defined in claims 1 or 2 further comprising means, connected to said signal transmitting means, for generating an interrogation frame in digital form, and further wherein said signal transmitting means comprises means for receiving and for converting said interrogation frame from digital form into analog form, for transmitting said analog form interrogation frame via said one or more ports, for receiving analog form status of said transmitted interrogation frame from said one or more ports, and for converting said analog form status into digital form.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
The system defined in claim 3 wherein said status monitoring means is connected to said signal transmitting means for receiving said digital form communications and comprises a transmit status register having contents representing the status of said interrogation signal transmission, said determining means determining said network connectivity based upon said contents.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said networks conforms to the Ethernet protocol and further wherein said status monitoring means comprises means for determining whether there have been excessive collisions and whether there have been excessive deferrals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
62 words
The system defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said ports is a connector adapted for receiving a shielded twisted pair (STP) cable which is connected to a token ring network or an Ethernet network and another is a connector adapted for receiving an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable which is connected to token ring network or an Ethernet network.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system defined in claim 1 wherein said one or more ports provide physical connectivity to said one or more networks.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
46 words
The system defined in claims 1 or 7 wherein said determining means comprises means for determining whether each of said one or more ports has a valid physical connection to one of said one or more networks based upon the status of each interrogation signal transmission.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
76 words
The system defined in claims 1 or 8 wherein said interrogation signal transmitting means comprises means for successively transmitting an interrogation signal conforming to a first networking protocol of said set of networking protocols to a first portion of said one or more ports and further comprises means for successively transmitting an interrogation signal conforming to a second networking protocol of said set of networking protocols to a second portion of said one or more ports.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
216 words
A method for use in a system, said system configured for use with a processing machine for communicating over one or more networks, said system providing access to said one or more networks via one or more ports, each network conforming to a protocol type of a set of protocol types; said method automatically determining the connectivity of said one or more networks at each of said one or more ports and comprising the steps of: a) transmitting an interrogation signal to a first port of said one or more ports; b) monitoring the status of said interrogation signal transmission; c) determining the connectivity of said one or more networks at said first port based upon the status of said interrogation signal transmission; and d) generating an output indicative of said network connectivity at said first port. e) transmitting an interrogation signal to a second port said one or more ports, f) monitoring the status of said second interrogation signal transmission, g) determining the connectivity of said one or more networks at said second port based upon the status of said second interrogation signal transmission, h) generating an output indicative of said network connectivity at said second port, and i) repeating steps e through h for a remaining selected portion of said one or more ports.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
132 words
The method defined in claim 10 wherein the interrogation signal of step a conforms to a first protocol type of said set of protocol types, and further wherein said method further comprises the steps of : j) transmitting a second interrogation signal conforming to a second protocol type of said set of protocol types to a first port said one or more ports; k) monitoring the status of said second interrogation signal transmission; l) determining the connectivity of a network conforming to said second protocol type of said set of protocol types at said first port based upon the status of said second interrogation signal transmission; and m) generating an output indicative of the connectivity a network conforming to second protocol type of said set of protocol types at said first port.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
37 words
The method defined in claims 10 or 11 wherein said interrogation signal is a data frame having a source address and a destination address, said source address and said destination address being the address of said system.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method defined in claim 10 wherein step c further comprises the step of determining whether each of said one or more ports has a valid physical connection to one of said one or more networks based upon the status of each interrogation signal transmission.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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