By Jim B. VanKoughnet, Manitoba Telephone System
A hardware and software system capable of monitoring up to ten Cable TV networks is discussed. The use of multiple processors in combination with a real time multi-tasking operating system allows rapid detection and analysis of network faults. In addition to the reporting of catastrophic failures, amplifier alarm and analog data converted to digital are obtained and placed into a memory resident database during normal polling. Monitoring a Cable TV trunk presents a unique challenge due to the fact that the facility itself is used to carry monitoring communication. During partial network failures, reliable monitoring communication may not be possible. This system provides failsafe measures to minimize uncertainty during failure conditions. A communication problem is not allowed to affect all stations in the system because of the separate hardware ports and software tasks that accommodate each trunk.