A device for determining a status of a link and method

Abstract

Disclosed herein is device (10) for determining the status of a link (1) within a communication network. The link (1) communicates a communication signal (4) between at least two nodes (2,3). The device (10) comprises an electrical circuit (12) in the form of an analogue electrical circuit, however in another embodiment the electrical circuit comprises digital electronics. The electrical circuit (12) is configured to operationally couple to the link (1) and detect a communications signal (4) in the link (1).

Description

[0001] A DEVICE FOR DETERMINING A STATUS OF A LINK AND METHOD

[0002] Technical field

[0003] The disclosure herein generally relates to devices for determining a status of a link and associated methods.

[0004] Background

[0005] A communications network (“network”) generally comprises at least one link (“communications link” or “point-to-point connection”) that can communicate information between a node (“communications network node” or “device”) at one end of the link to another node at the other end of the link. Examples of nodes include but are not limited to:

[0006] • End devices, examples of which include but are not limited to a personal computer, a smart phone, a table computer, a printer, and an loT device

[0007] • Network infrastructure devices, examples of which include but are not limited to a router, a switch, a hub, a bridge, an access point, a modem, a firewall, a gateway, and a server.

[0008] Physical aspects of a link may comprise, for example, an electrical cable, an optical cable, and an electromagnetic signal propagating through cables or free space. Logical aspects of a link may comprise information communicated in accordance with one or more communications protocols examples of which include but are not limited to those defined by the Internet Protocol Suite, including the Internet Protocol, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[0009] A link or a node may fail. Additional nodes and / or links can be installed to assist differentiating between link and node failure and / or detecting failure. Adding nodes and / or links, however, may add complexity and / or cost, may not be able to differentiate all failures, may introduce cyber security vulnerabilities, and may generally degrade network integrity and availability.

[0010] Summary

[0011] Disclosed herein is a device for determining a status of a link. The device comprises an electrical circuit configured to operationally couple to the link, detect a communication signal therein, and generate a link status signal indicative of at least one of positive detection of the communication signal therein and negative detection of the communication signal therein. The device comprises a processor cooperatively arranged with the electrical circuit and configured to trigger at least one action when the link status signal satisfies a link status signal condition.

[0012] In an embodiment, the electrical circuit is configured to be powered by the communications signal when received thereby.

[0013] In an embodiment, the at least one action comprises changing between a plurality of power consumption modes of the processor.

[0014] An embodiment comprises a communication system in information communication with the processor, and the at least one action comprises the communication system sending a message.

[0015] In an embodiment, the action comprises changing between a plurality of power consumption modes of the communication system.

[0016] In an embodiment, the electrical circuit is an analogue electrical circuit.

[0017] In an embodiment, the analogue circuit comprises a radio frequency (RF) transducer and rectifier cooperatively arranged therewith for producing the link status signal.

[0018] In an embodiment, the analogue circuit comprises at least one of an differential signal sensor or common-mode voltage sensor.

[0019] An embodiment comprises a power supply system. The power supply system may comprise at least one of DC power input terminals, a battery, a bias-tee circuit and DC power injector, a photovoltaic cell, Power-over-Ethernet and a super capacitor.

[0020] An embodiment comprises an antenna transducer for a network node.

[0021] An embodiment comprises an enclosure. The electrical circuit and processor may be disposed in the enclosure. The antenna transducer may be disposed in the enclosure.

[0022] In an embodiment, the processor comprises a microcontroller.

[0023] In an embodiment, the electrical circuit is configured to detect the communications signal from a leaky cable.

[0024] In an embodiment, the at least one action comprises sending a message indicating positive detection. The at least one action may comprise sending a message indicating negative detection. The at least one action may comprise sending a message indicating that the link status signal has changed between positive detection and negative detection. The at least one action may comprise sending a message indicating the link status signal is the same as indicated in a previously sent message.

[0025] Disclosed herein is a method for determining the status of a communications link. The method comprises generating a link status signal indicative of at least one of positive detection of the communication signal therein and negative detection of the communication signal therein. The method comprises in the processor, determine whether link status signal satisfies a link status signal condition and if so satisfied, trigger at least one action.

[0026] An embodiment comprises using the link status signal to determine whether to change a processor between a plurality of power consumption modes.

[0027] An embodiment comprises using the link status signal to determine whether to change a communications system in information communication with the processor between a plurality of power consumption modes.

[0028] In an embodiment, the at least one action comprises sending a message.

[0029] In an embodiment, the at least one action is executed by a network node.

[0030] In an embodiment, the at least one action executed by the network node comprises at least one of changing computer networks, reboot, change network node power consumption mode, change network node firmware, and activate a network node electrical circuit.

[0031] Disclosed herein is non-transitory processor readable tangible media including program instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform a method disclosed above.

[0032] Disclosed herein is a computer program for instructing a processor, which when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform a method disclosed above.

[0033] Any of the various features of each of the above disclosures, and of the various features of the embodiments described below, can be combined as suitable and desired.

[0034] Brief description of the figures

[0035] Embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram on an embodiment of a device for determining the status of a link.

[0036] Figures 2 and 3 show other embodiments of a device for determining the status of a link.

[0037] Figure 4 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for determining the status of a link.

[0038] Figures 5 and 6 show other embodiments of a device for determining the status of a link.

[0039] Figure 7 shows a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method for determining the status of a link.

[0040] Description of embodiments

[0041] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram on an embodiment of a device generally indicated by the numeral 10. The device 10 is for determining the status of a link 1 within a communication network. The link 1 communicates a communication signal 4 between at least two nodes 2,3. The device 10 comprises an electrical circuit 12 in the form of an analogue electrical circuit, however in another embodiment the electrical circuit comprises digital electronics. The electrical circuit 12 is configured to operationally couple to the link 1 and detect a communications signal 4 in the link 1. The electrical circuit 12 is configured to generate a link status signal 14 indicative of at least one of positive detection of the communication signal 4 therein (“positive detection”) and negative detection of the communication signal therein (“negative detection”). The device 10 comprises a processor 16 that is cooperatively arranged with the electrical circuit 12. The processor 16 is configured to trigger at least one action when the link status signal 14 satisfies a link status signal condition. The device 10 optionally comprises an enclosure 19 in which the electrical circuit 12 and processor 16 are disposed.

[0042] The electrical circuit 12 can passively monitor link-activity, providing a coarse metric or “low fidelity” status check. The link status signal may be, for example, a DC voltage. The low fidelity check can include determining the presence or absence of one or more of a radio frequency (RF) signal, electrical energy, light, and network layer 1 detection. The electrical circuit 12 generally does not read data on the link.

[0043] The processor can be configured to trigger at least one of the following actions, for example: • A message can be sent indicating positive detection

[0044] • A message can be sent indicating negative detection

[0045] • A message can be sent indicating that the link status signal has changed between positive detection and negative detection

[0046] • A message can be sent indicating the link status signal is the same as indicated in a previously sent message.

[0047] Generally, any suitable and desired action may be triggered.

[0048] Examples of link status signal conditions include but are not limited to:

[0049] • The communication signal is not detected, that is negative detection

[0050] • The communication signal is detected, that is positive detection

[0051] • The link status signal has changed, for example from positive detection to negative detection or vice versa

[0052] • The magnitude of the link status signal has changed, for example it has decreased by a predefined percentage, say 50%

[0053] • The magnitude of the link status signal does not fall within a predefined range.

[0054] The link status signal 14 has a higher absolute value (“logical high” or “1”) for positive detection and a lower absolute value (“logical low” or “0”) for negative detection, however in another embodiment this is reversed. Logical high and logical low are represented by two different voltages, however in another embodiment the logical states are represented by two different currents.

[0055] In one example of the use of the device 10, the communications signal 4 in the link 1 ceases. The link status signal generated subsequently changes from logical high to logical low (or vice versa in an alternative embodiment).

[0056] In the case that the link l is a wireless link - for example connecting a Wi-Fi router and an appliance in the form of a vending machine - the electric circuit 12 can be optionally configured to detect the link’s wireless communications signal 4. For example, the analogue circuit 12 can comprise a radio frequency (RF) to electrical current transducer and electrical rectifier cooperatively arranged therewith for producing the link status signal 14. Alternatively or additionally, it may comprise an electromagnetic field sensor, a radio frequency sensor, and a live fibre sensor. The electrical circuit 12 may take any suitable and desired form. In the case that the link 1 comprises an electrical cable, the electric circuit can, for example, optionally:

[0057] • be configured to receive communication signal radiating (“leaking”) from the cable, which may be for example a leaky feeder cable.

[0058] • comprise a network tap with RF connectors

[0059] • comprise at least one of differential signal sensor, and / or comprise a common-mode voltage sensor.

[0060] In the case that the link comprises an optical fibre cable, the electrical circuit can, for example, comprise a photodetector, for example a photodiode, photomultiplier or generally any suitable and desired form of photodetector.

[0061] Operationally coupling the device 10 to the link 1 can take any suitable form, examples of which include but are not limited to:

[0062] • The device 10 can optionally be inserted in the link 1, and can optionally have one or more network connectors to facilitate this.

[0063] • The device 10 can optionally be configured to be proximally secured to the link 1, for example it may have a generally suitable fastener - for example a clip or clamp for a cable.

[0064] • The device 10 may define a cable passage for receiving the link 1 therethrough.

[0065] Generally, but not necessarily, the communication signal 4 is a digital signal that can be transmitted over an analogue medium, such as UTP cable (e.g. Ethernet) or radio waves (e.g. Wi-Fi, LTE), or over a digital medium, such as fibre optics. The analogue electrical circuit 12 is generally unable to obtain the information from digital communication signals. Extracting digitally encoded information generally requires a digital electronic circuit. Similarly, the analogue electrical circuit 12 is unable to write information to the digital communication signal 1.

[0066] The processor 16 comprises a microcontroller. The microcontroller can be generally any suitable and desired microcontroller, which may be selected for a power budget and / or other requirements. Microcontrollers from the PIC24F extreme low power family of microcontrollers may be selected, for example, which have relatively low power consumption and can put an analogue to digital converter ("ADC”) in a sleep mode for less power consumption. The ADC can be operated while the microcontroller 16 is in a sleep mode for periodic sampling. When not in a low power mode, the processor 16 generally requires more power than can be extracted from the communications signal 4. The processor 16 can optionally perform a “high fidelity” status check at a relatively higher power consumption mode - for example, the processor 16 can take at least one measurement of the DC voltage generated by the electrical circuit 12 and store it in memory. The stored DC voltage measurements may be associated with various link statuses. The processor can compare subsequent DC voltage measurements and determine a link status.

[0067] The processor 16 comprises non-transitory processor readable tangible media including program instructions. When executed by a processor, the program instructions can cause the processor to trigger the at least one action in accordance with at least one trigger condition. The program instructions can cause the processor to perform a “high fidelity” status check. The program instructions can cause the processor to enter a lower power consumption mode after performing the “high fidelity” status check. The program instructions can be written using MPLAB software or generally any suitable software, and subsequently transferred to the processor readable tangible media.

[0068] Figure 2 shows another embodiment of a device 20 for determining the status of the link 1, where parts similar or identical in form and / or function to those in figure 1 are similarly numbered. Device 20 is configured to manage power - it can detect link status while in a low power usage mode and then when the link status changes, it is able to change the power usage mode to enable use of a communications system. The analogue electrical circuit 12 is configured to be powered by the communications signal 4. The processor 16 comprises a PIC24F16KA302 microcontroller, which has a plurality of power consumption modes. The specifications for the higher-power consumption active mode are -150 pA at 1 MHz and 2.5V. The specification for lower-power deep sleep with ADC active mode is -4 pA. The processor 16 can be in a relatively low power consumption mode (e.g. the deep sleep mode) and trigger itself to change to a relatively high-power consumption mode (e.g. the active mode) - that is wake up - when the positive detection becomes negative detection. The processor is powered by a power system 18 comprising a battery. Subsequent to switching to the relatively high-power consumption mode, the processor 16 can trigger other actions. For example, another action triggered by the processor can be sending information indicative of the status of the link. The device 20 comprises a communication system 22 in information communication with the processor and powered by the power system 18. The processor 16 can also change the power consumption mode of the communication system 22, for example powering or waking up the communication system 22 when the positive detection becomes a negative detection, and then triggering the communication system 22 to send the information indicative of the status of the link 1 to, for example, alert a person or another system.

[0069] Figure 3 shows another embodiment of a device 30 for determining the status of a link between a primary system, for example a cellular network booster 31 using an antenna 32 to connect to a cellular tower base station 37 where parts similar or identical in form and / or function to those in figures 1 and 2 are similarly numbered. The device 30 comprises a plurality of RF connectors in the form of SMA connectors 33 and 34 to which interconnecting link cables 40 and 42 in the form of coaxial cables are connected. The SMA connectors 33, 34 are internally connected by electrical conduit 35 in the form of an RF trace or transmission line, for example. Electrical conduit 35 can optionally be configured to leak the communications signal 4, for example comprise a leaky coaxial feeder cable in the form of a T-RAD-600 sold by Times Microwave Systems (USA), or generally any suitable and desired radiating cable. The communication system 22 in this embodiment is a Cat-M communications module for sending an alert using an onboard antenna. The device 30 can optionally comprise a photovoltaic cell for charging the battery 18. The device 30 can optionally comprise a GNSS (GPS) module.

[0070] The devices 10-30, for example, can optionally perform embodiments of a method. A flow chart for embodiments of the method is shown in figure 4. Application examples of embodiments of the method are now described with reference to the flow chart of figure 4. In a first application example, a ‘Primary Device or System’ is a 4G router installed inside a vending machine. In this example the device has a battery and no external power. The device is connected inline between the vending machine’s 4G router and a 4G compatible antenna. If the battery in the device fails, the RF signal will continue to pass between the 4G router and the antenna.

[0071] The device does not need to be awake to pass RF energy between the 4G router and the antenna.

[0072] 1. Sleep - the Device is set to the ‘ Sleep Mode’ as determined by step 3. Different sleep mode’s draw different amounts of power by enabling or disabling various functionality.

[0073] 2. Wakeup? - on an intermittent basis (e.g. every hour), or by sensing and reacting to new information (e.g. a change in voltage, a change in location, a detection of movement) the Device will partially wake-up to decide whether there is a need to fully wake-up to complete a Primary System Status Check. E.g, if more than 3 hours has passed since the last status check or the location has changed, the Device will decide to wake up to complete a Status Check. 3. Determine Sleep Mode - Even if there is no need to fully wake-up to complete a Primary System Status check, there is a need for the Device to decide whether the Sleep Mode needs to be adjusted before returning to Sleep. Sleep Mode is determined using known information, e.g. RF energy detection, SSID scan.

[0074] 4. Wakeup - the Device enables all functionality required to complete a status check, in this example, this might include just the RF energy detection circuit.

[0075] There may be various wakeup schedules, e.g. once a day, the Device may be scheduled to undertake a more comprehensive status check that involves connecting to the internet.

[0076] 5. Status Check - a simple status check may be using an RF energy detection circuit to determine that as long as energy is detected that the primary system is operating ‘OK’, alternatively, a more complex status check may take place, e.g. an SSID scan or querying a web API to demine whether the Primary System administrator has requested a remote reboot, remote support session, remote firmware update or other action

[0077] 6. Status Information - the status check interacts with the Primary System and / or External Systems to retrieve the required Status Information

[0078] 7. Status OK? - Device evaluates Status Information along with other known information (e.g. GPS) to determine whether Status is OK or whether actions should be initiated. E.g. a lack of RF energy detection from the Primary System may indicate a not OK status.

[0079] The determination that the Primary System is not ‘OK’ results in Device taking a range of possible actions.

[0080] 8. Device Action - examples: initiate a primary system action, change RF configuration, connect to the internet, initiate an external system action by sending an MQQT packet, send an SMS, activate a relay to reboot an external system, reboot Device, redo status check

[0081] 9. External System Action - examples: send an email alert, update a dashboard, change a configuration, send an SMS

[0082] 10. Primary System Action - examples: change a configuration (e.g. change from Starlink to LTE uplink), reboot, power down, roll back firmware, update firmware, activate a relay Example 2: Device for use with a 5G Fixed Wireless Gateway installed in a vehicle.

[0083] The device is installed ‘in-line’ between the 5G Fixed Wireless Gateway and an antenna.

[0084] In this scenario, the Device may be receiving power via a DC or Bias-tee circuit in order to remain ‘awake’ the majority of the time.

[0085] 1. Sleep - the Device is set to the ‘ Sleep Mode’ as determined by step 3. Different sleep mode’s draw different amounts of power by enabling or disabling various functionality.

[0086] 2. Wakeup? - on an intermittent basis (e.g. every 5 seconds), or by sensing and reacting to new information (e.g. a change in voltage, a change in location, a detection of movement) the Device will partially wake-up to decide whether there is a need to fully wake-up to complete a Primary System Status Check. E.g, if more than a 30 seconds has passed since the last status check or the location has changed, the Device will decide to wake up to complete a Status Check.

[0087] 3. Determine Sleep Mode - Even if there is no need to fully wake-up to complete a Primary System Status check, there may be a need for the Device to decide whether the Sleep Mode needs to be adjusted before returning to Sleep. Sleep Mode can be determined using known information, e.g. vehicle battery status, vehicle movement status. While vehicle is running there is essentially unlimited power, the Device remains ‘on’ with all peripherals within the Device active (e.g. Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / CatMl / GPS) and may be locally logging various information such as GPS coordinates, voltage etc to RAM, to flash or even to cloud, it may even be connected to the primary system using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but for the purpose of this process is still considered to be in a ‘sleep’ state as it is not interacting with the primary system.

[0088] Immediately after the vehicle is powered off there is no longer unlimited power available, the Sleep Mode of the Device would be configured to reduce power usage by disabling various functions depending on the state of the system and its power source e.g. immediately after the vehicle stops, the Device may reduce power by disconnecting GPS.

[0089] If the vehicle hasn’t moved in an hour and the vehicle battery is below 12.8v the system can enter a Deep Sleep mode where the modem and GPS is disabled and the CPU, most of the RAM, and other digital peripherals are clock gated. 4. Wakeup - the Device enables all functionality required to complete a status check, in this example, this would include the Wi-Fi card and the GPS.

[0090] 5. Status Check - the Device connects to the Primary System (5G Gateway) using Wi-Fi and pre-configured WPA-PSK credentials, the Device is assigned an IP address via DHCP by the Primary System and proceeds to query using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) the status of the system. Alternatively, an API could be queried, an SSID scan could be completed to determine if the Primary System is active, or an RF energy sensor could be used to determine whether the Primary System is active. Various other Status Checks are possible.

[0091] 6. Status Information - SNMP / API data is returned to the Device.

[0092] 7. Status OK - Device evaluates SNMP / API (or other data) along with other known information (e.g. voltage / GPS) to determine whether Status is OK or whether actions should be initiated. E.g. if the SNMP / API doesn’t return anything and the voltage is OK and GPS indicates the vehicle is moving, it is likely that there is something wrong with the Primary System (5G Gateway), i.e. it is expected that the Primary System would return some data, the lack of data being returned indicates a possible ‘bricked’ (failed) device.

[0093] The determination that the Primary System is not ‘OK’ results in Device taking a range of possible actions.

[0094] 8. Device Action - examples: initiate a primary system action, change RF configuration, connect to the internet, initiate an external system action by sending an MQQT packet, send an SMS, activate a relay to reboot an external system, reboot Device, redo status check.

[0095] 9. External System Action - examples: send an email alert, update a dashboard, change a configuration, send an SMS.

[0096] 10. Primary System Action - examples: change a configuration (e.g. change from Starlink to LTE uplink), reboot, power down, roll back firmware, update firmware, activate a relay.

[0097] Figure 5 shows another embodiment of a device 50 for determining the status of a link, where parts similar or identical in form and / or function to those in figure 1-3 and 4 are similarly numbered. This embodiment replaces an existing antenna on a network node 52 in the form of, for example, a cellular router, or generally any suitable and desired network node. In addition to functioning as an antenna for the network node 52, the device 50 can detect activity to securely detect wireless link status based on a change in the RF output from the network node 52 on RF input connector 33 connected to antenna transducer 54 for the network node 52. The power system 18 can take generally any suitable form, for example comprising a battery trickle charged via a bias tee power injector.

[0098] Figure 6 shows another embodiment of a device 60 for determining the status of a link, were parts similar or identical in form and / or function to those in figure 1-3, 4 and 5 are similarly numbered. This embodiment can be used to monitor an Ethernet link by inserting device 60 between two nodes, for examples between an Ethernet switch 62 and a computer server 65. The device 60 comprises a plurality of network connectors 63,64 in the form of RJ45 connectors to which interconnecting link cables 40 and 42 in the form of twisted pair cables are connected, connectors 63,64 are internally connected by electrical conduit 35 in the form of an PCB trace, high speed signal trace, or Ethernet transmission circuit, for example. The communication system 22 in this embodiment is a BLE communications module for sending an alert using an onboard antenna. The device 60 can optionally comprise a photovoltaic cell for charging the battery 18. If a change in the Ethernet signal being sent over the link is detected, the processor 16 will wake up a BLE communications system 22 to send an alert. The battery 18 can be a replaceable primary battery. Device 60 is fail-safe, generally not increasing the risk of link failure because the Ethernet passes through the device 60 irrespective of state of charge of the primary battery.

[0099] In an embodiment of a device similar to that shown in figure 6 for monitoring an ethernet link, the device is configured to be fastened - e.g. clipped or clamped - to an Ethernet cable in the form of an unshielded twisted pair Cat6 cable. The absence of connectors or additional cable terminations may reduce the risk of introducing failure points. A similar device is configured to be simultaneously fastened to a plurality of cables for monitoring a plurality of Ethernet links. This may be useful for, for example, monitoring a plurality of links to a plurality of edge devices in the form of, for example, IP surveillance cameras. The cable may be an optical fibre cable, in which case a micro bend may allow a small amount of light to escape from the optical fibre cable and detected by an onboard photodetector.

[0100] The devices 10-60, for example, can optionally perform embodiments of another method. A flow chart for embodiments of the method is shown in figure 7. Steps of an embodiments of the method are now described with reference to the flow chart of figure 7. Step 1 - Low fidelity status check - the electrical circuit 12 is constantly converting data from the monitored link (e.g. RF energy) to data that can be read by the microprocessor while in a power conserving state (e.g. DC voltage that is readable by an analogue-to- digital converter).

[0101] Step 2 - Decide whether to wake up the processor 16. An optional processor wakeupcircuit, for example, can be configured with conditions based on the voltage level provided from the sensing circuit.

[0102] Step 3 - If there is no need to wake up, the processor 16 is left in a low power consumption state and the electrical circuit 12 low fidelity status checks continue. Steps 1-2-3 loop.

[0103] Step 4 - If there is a need to wake up the processor 16, the processor’s power state is set to ‘wake’.

[0104] Step 5 - A high-fidelity status check occurs, this process may directly interact with the monitored primary system independently or may leverage the same electrical circuit 12 as the low-fidelity status check in a different way, for example, by increasing the frequency of sample sensing, storing this information and comparing the results against known values. Some embodiments may have processors with have more than one microprocessor, with a nested version of the method embodiment shown here implemented, e.g. an ultra-low power microprocessor may be used to complete a medium fidelity sensing process, prior to deciding whether to wake up a low power microprocessor which can complete a medium-high fidelity sensing process etc.

[0105] Step 6 - decide if action is required, based on the output of the “high-fidelity” status check process. If no action is required, we return to step 3 and continue the 1-2-3 loop.

[0106] Step 7 - decide based on the action that is required whether external communications are required.

[0107] Step 8 - if external communications are required, wake up the communications module, if not, skip this step.

[0108] Step 9 - complete other required actions, e.g. send message, initiate reboot, interact with external API. Optionally, the processor is put in a low power consumption mode in this or another step. Step 10 - external system actions related to step 9 e.g. API for SMS.

[0109] Step 11 - primary system actions related to step 9 e.g. reboot of system.

[0110] Step 12 - if the communications module was woken up, put it back to sleep.

[0111] Now that embodiments have been described, it will be appreciated that some embodiments may have some of the following advantages:

[0112] • The ability to monitor the status of a link

[0113] • The ability to report the status of a link

[0114] • Information carried by a link may be kept confidential

[0115] • Information carried by a link may not be changed

[0116] • Failure of a link may not affect the ability of embodiments to successfully send a link failure alert.

[0117] • Failure of embodiments may not be detrimental to the link status

[0118] • Link status can be determined without inspecting data communicated by the link, for example: o There is no need to determine error rates for frames using a Frame Check Sequence whereby a network node adds a check sum or redundancy check (CRC) to the frame trailer o Parity bits need not be checked

[0119] Variations and / or modifications may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention. For example,

[0120] • The links may generally have any suitable and desired form, and may comprise for example: o Twisted pair cables, examples of which include but are not limited to Cat5e cable, Cat6 cable, and Cat7 cable o Coaxial cables, examples of which include but are not limited to RG6 / U coaxial cable, and RG11 / U coaxial cable o Fibre optical cables, examples of which include but are not limited to single mode fibre optical mode cables, and multimode optical fibre cables o Wireless links, examples of which include but are not limited to a IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) link, a Bluetooth link, a cellular network link, and a satellite network link o Computer network protocols, cellular network protocols, or generally any form of suitable and desired protocols or combinations thereof.

[0121] • The power system may generally be any suitable and desired power system, for example it may comprises at least one of DC power input terminals, a battery, a bias-tee circuit and DC power injector, a photovoltaic cell, Power-over-Ethernet, and a super capacitor.

[0122] • The communication signal carried by the link may generally have any suitable and desired wired or wireless networking protocol, examples of which include but are not limited to Ethernet (IEEE 802.3), Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), SONET / SDH, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and Ethernet over Powerline Communication (PLC-IEEE 1901)).

[0123] • The processor may comprise any suitable and desired logic device, examples of which include but are not limited to an Intel Core microprocessor, an ARM microprocessor, ESP32 microprocessor, Raspberry Pi Zero microprocessor, PIC24F microprocessor, STM32L476 microcontroller unit, and a FPGA. The STM32L476, for example, has the following power modes: sleep, low-power run, low-power sleep, Stop 0-2, standby and shutdown.

[0124] • The communications system may take the form of a communications module and / or network interface. Examples communication modules (and example approximate power consumptions) for wireless networking protocols include but are not limited to: o Bluetooth Classic:

[0125] ■ Idle: 1-5 mW

[0126] ■ Receive (RX): 30-50 mW

[0127] ■ Transmit (TX) : 40- 100 mW o Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE):

[0128] ■ Idle: 1-2 mW

[0129] ■ Receive (RX): 10-20 mW

[0130] ■ Transmit (TX): 15-30 mW o Wi-Fi (802.1 In / g):

[0131] ■ Idle: 15-30 mW

[0132] ■ Receive (RX): 100-200 mW

[0133] ■ Transmit (TX): 200-800 mW o Wi-Fi (802. l lac / ax):

[0134] ■ Idle: 20-50 mW

[0135] ■ Receive (RX): 200-400 mW

[0136] ■ Transmit (TX) : 400- 1000 mW o Narrowband loT (NB-IoT):

[0137] ■ Idle: 0.5-5 mW (in PSM mode)

[0138] ■ Receive (RX): 20-30 mW

[0139] ■ Transmit (TX): 100-250 mW o LTE-M (Category Ml):

[0140] ■ Idle: 0.5-10 mW (in PSM mode)

[0141] ■ Receive (RX): 20-40 mW

[0142] ■ Transmit (TX): 200-400 mW o 4G LTE (Category 1):

[0143] ■ Idle: 10-30 mW (DRX mode)

[0144] ■ Receive (RX): 200-500 mW

[0145] ■ Transmit (TX): 500-2000 mW o 5G (NR):

[0146] ■ Idle: 30-60 mW (in DRX mode)

[0147] ■ Receive (RX): 500-1500 mW

[0148] ■ Transmit (TX): 1000-3000 mW (depending on data rate and conditions) o Zigbee:

[0149] ■ Idle: 0.1-1 mW (deep sleep mode)

[0150] ■ Receive (RX): 15-25 mW

[0151] ■ Transmit (TX): 20-40 mW o LoRa:

[0152] ■ Idle: 0.1-2 mW (sleep mode)

[0153] ■ Receive (RX): 10-20 mW

[0154] ■ Transmit (TX): 40-120 mW (depending on power level)

[0155] The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Reference to a feature disclosed herein does not mean that all embodiments must include the feature.

[0156] Prior art, if any, described herein is not to be taken as an admission that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises" or “comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, that is to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims

Claims1. A device for determining a status of a link, the device comprising: an electrical circuit configured to operationally couple to the link, detect a communication signal therein, and generate a link status signal indicative of at least one of positive detection of the communication signal therein and negative detection of the communication signal therein; and a processor cooperatively arranged with the electrical circuit and configured to trigger at least one action when the link status signal satisfies a link status signal condition.

2. A device defined by claim 1 wherein the electrical circuit is configured to be powered by the communications signal when received thereby.

3. A device defined by either one of claim 1 and claim 2 wherein the at least one action comprises changing between a plurality of power consumption modes of the processor.

4. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims comprising a communication system in information communication with the processor, and the at least one action comprises the communication system sending a message.

5. A device defined by claim 4 wherein the action comprises changing between a plurality of power consumption modes of the communication system.

6. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims wherein the electrical circuit is an analogue electrical circuit.

7. A device defined by claim 6 wherein the analogue circuit comprises a radio frequency (RF) transducer and rectifier cooperatively arranged therewith for producing the link status signal.

8. A device defined by either one of claim 6 and claim 7 wherein the analogue circuit comprises at least one of an differential signal sensor or common-mode voltage sensor.

9. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims comprising a power supply system.

10. A device defined by claim 9 wherein the power supply system comprises at least one of DC power input terminals, a battery, a bias-tee circuit and DC power injector, a photovoltaic cell, Power-over-Ethernet and a super capacitor.

11. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims comprising an antenna transducer for a network node.

12. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims comprising an enclosure.

13. A device defined by claim 14 wherein the electrical circuit and processor are disposed in the enclosure.

14. A device defined by claim 13 comprising an enclosure in which are disposed the electrical circuit, processor and antenna transducer. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims wherein the processor comprises a microcontroller.

15. A device defined by one of the preceding claims wherein the electrical circuit is configured to detect the communications signal from a leaky cable.

16. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims wherein the at least one action comprises sending a message indicating positive detection.

17. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims wherein the at least one action comprises sending a message indicating negative detection.

18. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims wherein the at least one action comprises sending a message indicating that the link status signal has changed between positive detection and negative detection.

19. A device defined by any one of the preceding claims wherein the at least one action comprises sending a message indicating the link status signal is the same as indicated in a previously sent message.

20. A method for determining the status of a communications link, the method comprising the steps of generating a link status signal indicative of at least one of positive detection of the communication signal therein and negative detection of the communication signal therein; in the processor, determine whether link status signal satisfies a link status signal condition and if so satisfied, trigger at least one action.

21. A method defined by claim 20 comprising using the link status signal to determine whether to change a processor between a plurality of power consumption modes.

22. A method defined by either one of claim 20 and claim 21 comprising using the link status signal to determine whether to change a communications system in information communication with the processor between a plurality of power consumption modes.

23. A method defined by any one of the claims 20 to 22 wherein the at least one action comprises sending a message.

24. A method defined by any one of the claims 20 to 23 wherein the at least one action is executed by a network node.

25. A method defined by claim 24 wherein the at least one action executed by the network node comprises at least one of changing computer networks, reboot, change network node power consumption mode, change network node firmware, and activate a network node electrical circuit.

26. Non-transitory processor readable tangible media including program instructions which when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform a method defined by any one of the claims 20 to 24.

27. Disclosed herein is a computer program for instructing a processor, which when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform a method defined by any one of the claims 20 to 24.

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