SIL4 Router Isolating Live Railway Traffic for Safe Remote Testing

The patent creates a virtual copy of the production network environment within the router's processor cores. Test equipment can be commissioned remotely by creating virtual representations of the network topology, allowing validation without physical presence at the site. This copying approach maintains reliability of functionality verification while eliminating the need for time-consuming on-site testing phases.

The router acts as an intermediary between test equipment and the live production network. By using virtual private networks (VPNs) and virtual local area networks (VLANs) within the router's processor cores, the system mediates testing activities, allowing remote commissioning while maintaining safety separation. This intermediary approach enables functionality verification without requiring engineers to be physically present at hazardous test sites.

The patent segments the network processing into distinct processor cores, with each core handling specific virtual private networks (VPNs) or virtual local area networks (VLANs). This segmentation creates logical isolation between test equipment and live production equipment within the same physical router. Engineers can assess safety requirements remotely without physical exposure to hazardous test environments, maintaining safety integrity while eliminating direct safety risks.

The router's virtual networking capabilities serve as an intermediary layer between test equipment and the live production network. By routing test traffic through virtual networks in isolated processor cores, the system mediates safety assessments without requiring engineers to physically interact with live equipment. This intermediary approach maintains safety integrity through virtual separation while removing engineers from harmful test environments.

The patent merges multiple virtual private networks (VPNs) and virtual local area networks (VLANs) into a single physical router device, with each processor core handling specific virtual networks. This merging approach maintains safety separation through logical isolation while consolidating hardware resources. The hot-swap capability between processor cores provides redundancy without requiring multiple separate physical devices, thus maintaining safety separation while managing device complexity through resource consolidation.

The router is designed with universal processor cores that can handle multiple different VPNs and VLANs through software configuration. Each processor core can be dynamically assigned to different virtual networks, providing multi-functionality within a single device. This universality maintains safety separation through configurable logical isolation while reducing device complexity compared to dedicated hardware for each network, as the same physical router can serve multiple safety-critical functions.

The patent creates virtual copies of network configurations and topologies within the router's processor cores, enabling remote commissioning without physical site presence. By copying network structures into virtual environments, engineers can validate configurations remotely, improving productivity by eliminating travel and on-site setup time. The configuration and validation complexity is managed through automated virtual network creation and standardization of virtualization protocols.

The system enables self-service commissioning through automated virtual network configuration and validation. The router's virtual networking capabilities automatically establish isolated test environments, perform validation checks, and manage configuration states without requiring manual on-site intervention. This self-service approach improves productivity by allowing remote automated commissioning while the standardized virtualization framework manages configuration complexity through automation rather than manual processes.