Fault tolerant, collateral message and recovery system within a telephone distributed processing system having message switching modules for transmission link

Claim 3

The method of robust collateral messaging as defined in claim 1, wherein said step (a) further comprises independently transmitting said encoded message through another of said data transmission links.

Claim 4

The method of robust collateral messaging as defined in claim 2, wherein said step (b) further comprises comparing said encoded messasge extracted from said one of said data links with that extracted from said another of said data links.

Claim 5

A method as in claim 1 wherein said controlling step (d) includes the step of selectively disabling said predetermined data processor in response to said at least one encoded message.

Claim 6

A method as in claim 1 wherein said extracting and subjecting steps each operate on encoded messages carried by redundant data links.

Claim 7

A collateral messaging system operating within a distributed data processing system having a plurality of component modules each of which including a controlling data processor and each of which communicating with other component modules through data links, said collateral messaging system comprising: (a) means in one of said plurality of component modules for transmitting through one of said data links an encoded message; (b) means in another one of said plurality of component modules for extracting from said one of said data links said encoded message; and (c) message decoding means in said another one of said plurality of component modules for recognizing and decoding said encoded message and for directly controlling an associated controlling data processor in response to said encoded message, wherein the means for extracting said encoded message comprises means for receiving, storing and forwarding to said message decoding means component bits of said encoded message transmitted in a predetermined and independent bit-position on at least two independent ones of said data links; wherein the message decoding means comprises a stored label for identifying the location of the message decoding means within said distributed data processing system; and wherein the message decoding means further comprises a programmable local data processor for applying a software filtering operation to the component bits of said encoded message.

Claim 8

A collateral messaging system operating within a distributed data processing system having a plurality of component modules each of which including a controlling data processor and each of which communicating with other component modules through data links, said collateral messaging system comprising: (a) means in one of said plurality of component modules for transmitting through one of said data links an encoded message; (b) means in another one of said plurality of component modules for extracting from said one of said data links said encoded message; and (c) message decoding means in said another one of said plurality of component modules for recognizing and decoding said encoded message and for directly controlling an associated controlling data processor in response to said encoded message, wherein the means for extracting said encoded message comprises means for receiving, storing and forwarding to said message decoding means component bits of said encoded message transmitted in a predetermined and independent bit-position on at least two independent ones of said data links; wherein the message decoding means comprises a stored label for identifying the location of the message decoding means within said distributed data processing system; and wherein the message decoding means further comprises a programmable local data processor for applying a software filtering operation to the component bits of said encoded message.

Claim 9

The system as defined in claim 6, said programmable local data processor directly controlling a controlling data processor after said software filtering operation by resetting or disabling the associated predetermined data processor in accordance with the encoded message.

Claim 10

The system as defined in claim 7, wherein the message decoding means further comprises sanity reset means for continuously periodically resetting said programmable local data processor.

Claim 13

In a telephone switch distributed data processing system including a plurality of telephone switch modules each of which includes a controlling data processor communicating with other telephone switch modules through a data communications network, wherein said controlling data processor is capable of resetting, inhibiting processing and restarting processing, a robust collateral messaging system including: transmitting means, operatively connected to a first of said plurality of telephone switch modules and to said data communications network, for transmitting an encoded control message over said data communications network; receiving means, operatively connected to a second of said plurality of telephone switch modules and to said data communications network, for receiving said transmitted encoded control message; message decoding means, operatively connected to said receiving means, for recognizing and decoding said received encoded control message; and resetting means, coupled to said second module controlling data processor and to said message decoding means, for selectively initiating any of a reset, inhibit processing and restart processing of said second module controlling data processor in response to receipt and successful decoding of said encoded control message by said message decoding means.

Claim 14

In a telephone switch distributed data processing system including a plurality of telephone switch modules each of which includes a controlling data processor communicating with other telephone switch modules through a data communications network, wherein said controlling data processor is capable of resetting, inhibiting processing and restarting processing, a robust collateral messaging system including: transmitting means, operatively connected to a first of said plurality of telephone switch modules and to said data communications network, for transmitting an encoded control message over said data communications network; receiving means, operatively connected to a second of said plurality of telephone switch modules and to said data communications network, for receiving said transmitted encoded control message; message decoding means, operatively connected to said receiving means, for recognizing and decoding said received encoded control message; and resetting means, coupled to said second module controlling data processor and to said message decoding means, for selectively initiating any of a reset, inhibit processing and restart processing of said second module controlling data processor in response to receipt and successful decoding of said encoded control message by said message decoding means.

Claim 15

A system as in claim 11 wherein said resetting means comprises means for initiating any of said reset, inhibit processing and restart processing only upon receipt of redundant versions of the control message by said receiving means.

Claim 16

A system as in claim 11 wherein: said data communications network includes first and second independent data links coupling said transmitting means to said receiving means; said transmitting means transmits redundant versions of said encoded control message to said receiving means over both said first and said second data links; and said receiving means receives said transmitted redundant versions from both said first and second data links.