APPARATUS FOR REMOTELY MANAGING DIVERSE INFORMATION NETWORK RESOURCES

摘要

In a data exchange network, in which various resources, such as hubs, routers, etc., distributed across the data exchange network are remotely controlled from a single point of maintenance, a consistent approach is provided for managing the network hardware resources. A set of consistent displays is provided for remote front panels allowing visual management of remote, heterogeneous devices, while also allowing the display of non-graphical data in a usable form. A common user interface (18) allows operator control of the network which may include many disparate types of equipment (24A-N), supplied by various manufacturers. User definition of each network element is allowed based on a uniform vocabulary of element representations. A network management (21) architecture provides a common development language for describing specific functions and attributes of network elements. Each element includes a protocol module (22) which, in conjunction with a system engine (14), effects coordinated network control.