1-9. (canceled)
10. A relay device for connecting a plurality of buses, wherein information communication standards which a plurality of the buses are to be in conformity to are different from each other and a plurality of the buses need a converting process previously set at the time of transmitting information from one of the buses to another bus,
the relay device comprising:
a first storing device which stores first identification information indicative of the relay device itself;
an allocating device which allocates different processor identification information to each of information processors connected to the buses;
a second storing device which stores second identification information including the allocated processor identification information and indicating the information processor, for each of the buses connected;
a generating device, at the time of controlling operation of a target information processor as the information processor connected to the another bus, which generates a control message including the first identification information indicative of the relay device connected to the another bus to which the target information processor is connected, operation information indicative of the operation, and the processor identification information indicative of the target information processor; and
a transmitting device which transmits the generated control message to the relay device connected to the another bus to which the target information processor is connected.
11. The relay device according to claim 10,
wherein the first identification information includes bus kind information indicative of a kind of each of the buses, and device identification information unique to the relay device in each of the buses.
12. The relay device according to claim 10,
wherein the second identification information includes bus unique identification information which is preset for the information processor on the bus to which the information processor to which the processor identification information is allocated is connected, and the allocated processor identification information.
13. The another relay device to which the control message is transmitted from the relay device according to claim 10, comprising:
an extracting device which extracts the processor identification information and the operation information from the control message transmitted;
a command generating device which generates command information for making the information processor indicated by the extracted processor identification information execute the operation indicated by the extracted operation information; and
a command transmitting device which transmits the generated command information to the information processor indicated by the extracted processor identification information.
14. The relay device according to claim 10,
wherein the one of the buses is a bus conformed with the IEEE1394 standard, and the another bus is a bus conformed with the IP.
15-16. (canceled)
17. A relay method executed by a relay device connecting a plurality of buses, wherein information communication standards which a plurality of the buses are to be in conformity to are different from each other, and a plurality of the buses need a converting process previously set at the time of transmitting information from one of the buses to another bus, and
the relay device comprising:
a first storing device which stores first identification information indicative of the relay device itself; an allocating device which allocates different processor identification information to each of information processors connected to the buses; and a second storing device which stores second identification information including the allocated processor identification information and indicating the information processor for each of the buses connected,
the method comprising:
a generating process, at the time of controlling operation of a target information processor as the information processor connected to the another bus, of generating a control message including the first identification information indicative of the relay device connected to the another bus to which the target information processor is connected, operation information indicative of the operation, and the processor identification information indicative of the target information processor; and
a transmitting process of transmitting the generated control message to the relay device connected to the another bus to which the target information processor is connected.
18-19. (canceled)
20. An information recording medium where a relay process program is computer-readably recorded, the relay process program making a relay computer included in a relay device for connecting a plurality of buses, wherein information communication standards which a plurality of the buses are to be in conformity to are different from each other, and a plurality of the buses need a converting process previously set at the time of transmitting information from one of the buses to another bus, function as:
a first storing device which stores first identification information indicative of the relay device itself;
an allocating device which allocates different processor identification information to each of information processors connected to the buses;
a second storing device which stores second identification information including the allocated processor identification information and indicating the information processor for each of the buses connected;
a generating device, at the time of controlling operation of a target information processor as the information processor connected to the another bus, which generates a control message including the first identification information indicative of the relay device connected to the another bus to which the target information processor is connected, operation information indicative of the operation, and the processor identification information indicative of the target information processor; and
a transmitting device which transmits the generated control message to the relay device connected to the another bus to which the target information processor is connected.
21-22. (canceled)
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A tributary card comprising:
an automatic protection switching (APS) distribution module operable to couple to a tributary line, to a first switching fabric, and to a second switching fabric, the distribution module further operable to forward copies of traffic received from the tributary line to the first switching fabric and to the second switching fabric;
an APS selection module operable to couple to the tributary line, to the first switching fabric, and to the second switching fabric, the selection module further operable to forward traffic received from a selected one of the first switching fabric and the second switching fabric to the tributary line;
a relay coupled between the selection module and the tributary line; and
a controller providing a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation:
in the first mode of operation, the tributary card maintaining the relay in a closed position and the controller monitoring for failure of the tributary card; and
in the second mode of operation, the tributary card maintaining the relay in an open position.
2. The tributary card of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable, in response to detecting a failure of the tributary card in the first mode of operation, to switch the tributary card to the second mode of operation, thus opening the relay.
3. The tributary card of claim 2, wherein the controller is further operable, in response to detecting a failure of the tributary card in the first mode of operation, to communicate a failure notification to an APS hub using a serial, point-to-point link between the controller and the APS hub.
4. The tributary card of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable, in the second mode of operation, to receive notification to act as a working card and, in response, to switch the tributary card to the first mode of operation, thus closing the relay.
5. The tributary card of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to receive the notification from an APS hub using a parallel communication link between the controller and the APS hub.
6. The tributary card of claim 1, wherein the controller is further operable to monitor for failure of the tributary card by detecting a cessation of traffic received from the tributary line and a cessation of traffic received from the selected one of the first switching fabric and the second switching fabric and, in response, initiating diagnostics of the tributary card.
7. The tributary card of claim 1, further comprising a memory element maintaining a media access control (MAC) address assigned to the tributary card.
8. A method for redundancy control, the method comprising the steps of:
identifying a first card and a second card, each of the first card and the second card having a relay and a memory element operable, wherein the first card is provisioned as working and the second card is provisioned as redundant;
determining an media access control (MAC) address stored in the memory element of the first card;
communicating the MAC address to the second card for storage in the memory element of the second card;
instructing the second card to open the relay on the second card;
receiving a notification of failure of the first card; and
in response to the notification, instructing the second card to close the relay on the second card.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to the notification, instructing a switching fabric to receive packet data from the second card rather than packet data from the first card.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving the notification from the first card, the notification indicating that the first card has opened the relay on the first card.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the relay of the first card couples between a switching fabric and a tributary line, and the relay of the second card couples between the switching fabric and the tributary line, each of the relays operable when closed to permit traffic from the switching fabric to the tributary line and when open to inhibit traffic from the switching fabric to the tributary line.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in response to receiving a notification of failure of a first switching fabric:
instructing the first card to switch from processing communications received from the first switching fabric to processing communications received from a second switching fabric; and
instructing the second card to switch from processing communications received from the first switching fabric to processing communications received from the second switching fabric.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first switching fabric and the second switching fabric each comprise asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching fabrics.
14. The method of claim 13, farther comprising, in response to receiving the notification of failure of the first switching fabric:
instructing a first ATM processor card associated with the first switching fabric to disable receiving and transmitting switch ports on the first ATM processor card; and
instructing a second ATM processor card associated with the second switching fabric to disable receiving and transmitting switch ports on the second ATM processor card.
15. Logic for redundancy control, the logic embodied in a medium and operable when executed to perform the steps of:
identifying a first card and a second card, each of the first card and the second card having a relay and a memory element, wherein the first card is provisioned as working and the second card is provisioned as redundant;
determining an media access control (MAC) address stored in the memory element of the first card;
communicating the MAC address to the second card for storage in the memory element of the second card;
instructing the second card to open the relay on the second card;
receiving a notification of failure of the first card; and
in response to the notification, instructing the second card to close the relay on the second card.
16. The logic of claim 15, further operable, in response to the notification, to instruct a switching fabric to receive packet data from the second card rather than packet data from the first card.
17. The logic of claim 15, further operable to receive the notification from the first card, the notification indicating that the first card has opened the relay on the first card.
18. The logic of claim 15, wherein the relay of the first card couples between a switching fabric and a tributary line, and the relay of the second card couples between the switching fabric and the tributary line, each of the relays operable when closed to permit traffic from the switching fabric to the tributary line and when open to inhibit traffic from the switching fabric to the tributary line.
19. The logic of claim 15, further operable, in response to receiving a notification of failure of a first switching fabric:
to instruct the first card to switch from processing communications received from the first switching fabric to processing communications received from a second switching fabric; and
to instruct the second card to switch from processing communications received from the first switching fabric to processing communications received from the second switching fabric.
20. The logic of claim 19, wherein the first switching fabric and the second switching fabric each comprise asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching fabrics.
21. The logic of claim 20, further operable, in response to receiving the notification of failure of the first switching fabric:
to instruct a first ATM processor card associated with the first switching fabric to disable receiving and transmitting switch ports on the first ATM processor card; and
to instruct a second ATM processor card associated with the second switching fabric to disable receiving and transmitting switch ports on the second ATM processor card.
22. An automatic protection switching hub comprising:
means for identifying a first card and a second card, each of the first card and the second card having a relay and a memory element, wherein the first card is provisioned as working and the second card is provisioned as redundant;
means for determining an media access control (MAC) address stored in the memory element of the first card;
means for communicating the MAC address to the second card for storage in the memory element of the second card;
means for instructing the second card to open the relay on the second card;
means for receiving a notification of failure of the first card; and
means for, in response to the notification, instructing the second card to close the relay on the second card.