Abstract:
Method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment in which the connection topology for CAT5/5e/6 is changed from a star topology to a bus looping connection topology to ease the structured cabling setup and reduce cable cost. It also provides link redundancy by means of loopback in the event of a cable broken failure. Power supply unit supply power to a plurality of junction boxes in a bus looping connection.

Description:
BACKGROUND ART  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment in which the connection topology for CAT5/5e/6 is changed from a star topology to a bus looping connection topology in a structured cabling system. An Ethernet switch has a plurality of ports with each port connected to a network terminal, device, clients and or servers. In a large star topology environment the structured cabling cost and complexity of will increase whereby every single network terminal, device, clients and or server connection point must be connect to the Ethernet switch.  
         [0002]     A computer network with a star network topology, in its simplest form, consists of one central, or hub computer which acts as a router to transmit messages between connected computers by a store-and-forward or switching system. A hierarchical extension of the star topology allows each node connected by a hub to in turn play the role of a hub for a disjoint set of leaf notes. In this case multiple routes may exist between any two given nodes of the network. Advantages easy to implement and extend, even in large networks. Its well suited for temporary networks (quick setup), typically the cheapest topology to implement. Failure of one station does not affect others. Easy to administer/troubleshoot, any cable break doesn&#39;t disable the entire network, simplified key management in some encryption schemes. The disadvantages, limited cable length and number of stations, maintenance costs may be higher in the long run, performance degrades as additional computers are added, failure of the central node can disable the entire network. The invention of this method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment such problem can be overcome.  
         [0003]     BNC connector (Bayonet Nut Coupling) A commonly used plug and terminal for audio, video and network applications that provides a tighter connection. Using a mount somewhat similar to the way a bayonet (knife) is mounted onto the end of a rifle, BNCs are used to connect a variety of different coaxial cable types. After the plug is inserted, it is turned, causing pins in the terminal to be pinched into a locking groove on the plug.  
         [0004]     There are numerous definitions of the BNC acronym, including Bayonet Neill-Concelman (after its inventors), Barrel Nut Connector, Bayonet Nipple Connector, Bayonet Navy Connector, Baby N Connector, British Naval Connector and British National Connector. BNC T-connector is usually used to connect each node of your network points to the end of thin net coaxial cable attached to the Ethernet devices, the major disadvantage in using thin net cabling is that if there is a fault in the cabling at any computer, it affects all computers on the network. The system can be brought down by one fault in hardware, with a new method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment such problem can be eliminated.  
         [0005]     A hub is a computer networking device that connects multiple Ethernet segments together making them act as a single segment. When using a hub, every attached device shares the same broadcast domain and the same collision domain. Therefore, only one computer connected to the hub is able to transmit at a time. In general, a hub is a central node in a network. The term comes from the analogy to a wheel&#39;s hub, which is the center of the wheel with spokes radiating out from it. Depending on the network topology, the hub provides a basic level 1 OSI model connection among the network objects (workstations, servers, etc). It provides bandwidth which is shared among all the objects, compared to switches, which provide a dedicated connection between individual nodes. A network device that crosses connects stations of LAN segments. Also known as a “frame switch,” LAN switches are available for Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring and FDDI. ATM switches are generally considered in a category by themselves. Network switches are increasingly replacing shared media hubs in order to increase bandwidth. For example, a 16-port 100 BaseT hub shares the total 100 Mbps bandwidth with all 16 attached nodes. By replacing the hub with a switch, each sender/receiver pair has the full 100 Mbps capacity. Each port on the switch can give full bandwidth to a single server or client station or it can be connected to a hub with several stations. The disadvantage for both hub and switch is the limitation of number of port can be connected to single hub/switch, therefore if more then 100 or 1000 ports are require usually many hubs and switches has to be used to connect all individual nodes, which means the cost for hardware and cabling to loop each nodes to these hubs or switches is become very expensive, with a new method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment help to reduce number of hub and switch require for the environment that require more then 100 or 1000 nodes connection.  
         [0006]     A bus network is a network architecture in which a set of clients are connected via a shared communications line, called a bus. There are several common instances of the bus architecture, including one in the motherboard of most computers, and those in some versions of Ethernet networks. Bus networks are the simplest way to connect multiple clients, but often have problems when two clients want to communicate at the same time on the same bus. Thus systems which use bus network architectures normally have some scheme of collision handling or collision avoidance for communication on the bus, quite often using Carrier Sense Multiple Access. The bus topology is passive—the computers on the bus simply listen for a signal; they are not responsible for moving the signal along. The disadvantages of Bus network is difficult to administer/troubleshoot, limited cable length and number of stations, a cable break can disable the entire network, maintenance costs may be higher in the long run, performance degrades as additional computers are added. All these disadvantages can be improve by implementing the invented method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment in which the connection topology for CAT5/6 is changed from a star topology to a bus looping connection topology to ease the structured cabling setup and can reduce the cable cost in total.  
         [0007]     The new method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment overcome the maximum cable length limitation and able to maintain or enhance the base band transmission rate at 10 megabits up to 1000 megabits (10 to 1000 million of Giga bits) per second at half duplex, full duplex collision, transmit activity and receive activity.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is an objective of the invention to provide method of and arrangement for establishing network connections in an Ethernet environment in which the connection topology for CAT5/5e/6 is changed from a star topology to a bus looping connection topology to ease the structured cabling setup and reduce cable cost.  
         [0009]     It is another objective of the invention to provide link redundancy by means of loop back whereby the last port in the bus looping connection topology is connected back to the loop back input port of the main switch thereby forming an alternative path in the event of a cable broken failure in the structured cabling.  
         [0010]     It is another objective of the invention to provide additional bandwidth by means of combining multiple ports to function as one whereby the total bandwidth doubles with every addition port and traffic is aggregated among the combined ports in a bus looping connection topology thereby providing increased bandwidth and redundancy in the structured cabling.  
         [0011]     It is another objective of the invention to provide a power supply extension unit to supply power to one and or more junction boxes in a bus looping connection topology in a structured cabling system.  
         [0012]     The invention will now be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates a general form of bus looping connection topology in accordance with the invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates alternative form of bus looping with link aggregation connection topology in accordance with the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates alternative form of bus looping with loop back connection topology in accordance with the invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates a general form of power supply extension unit in accordance with the invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates alternative form of power supply extension unit in accordance with the invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates a general form of power supply extension unit with link aggregation in accordance with the invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  illustrates alternative form of power supply extension unit with link aggregation in accordance with the invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  illustrates a general form of junction box in accordance with the invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  illustrates alternative form of junction box in accordance with the invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  illustrates a general form of junction box with link aggregation in accordance with the invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  illustrates alternative form of junction box with link aggregation in accordance with the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated therein a general form of bus looping connection topology in accordance with this invention, the bus loop comprising an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cable  20 , connecting to a power supply extension unit  10 , supplying power to a chain ofjunction boxes  11  using the said RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  20 , repeated again and again using the said power supply extension units  10  and chains of junction boxes  11 . Network terminals, devices, clients and or servers  14  are connected to the said power supply extension units  10  and junction boxes  11  using the said RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  21 .  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated therein an alternative form of bus looping with link aggregation connection topology in accordance with this invention, the bus loop comprising an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cable  20  with one and or more RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  22  forming a link aggregation to support increase bandwidth and link redundancy, connecting to a power supply extension unit  12 , supplying power to a chain ofjunction boxes  13  using the said RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  20  with one and or more RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  22  forming a link aggregation to support increase bandwidth and link redundancy, repeated again and again using the said power supply extension units  12  and junction boxes  13 . Network terminals, devices, clients and or servers  14  are connected to the said power supply extension units  12  and junction boxes  13  using the said RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  21 .  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , there is illustrated therein an alternative form of bus looping with loop back connection topology in accordance with this invention, the bus looping comprising an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cable  20 , connecting to a power supply extension unit  10 , supplying power to a chain of junction boxes  11  using the said RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  20 , repeated again and again using the said power supply extension units  10  and chains of junction boxes  11 , and finally looping back to the main switch  15  using an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cable  23 . Network terminals, devices, clients and or servers  14  are connected to the said power supply extension units  10  and junction boxes  11  using the said RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 twisted pair cables  21 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  illustrates a general form of power supply extension unit  10  of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3  in more detailed. Mains power is connected to mains terminal  70 , the mains voltage supply line  71  is directed to an AC to DC converter power supply  72  to produce a regulated DC power supply line  73 , the said regulated DC power supply line  73  is directed to an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  40  and a DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. And EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controller  60  are disabled and or powered down.  
         [0028]     Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  43  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  42  and  52 . RJ45 terminal  30  is used as input port; RJ45 terminal  40  is used as output port with regulated DC power supply line  73 ; RJ45 terminal  50  is used as a standard Ethernet port. The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 bps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating linked speed of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  illustrates an alternative form of power supply extension unit  10  of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3  in more detailed. Mains power is connected to mains terminal  70 , the mains voltage supply line  71  is directed to the AC to DC converter power supply  72  to produce a regulated DC power supply line  73 , the said regulated DC power supply line  73  is directed to a terminal  79  and a DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. An EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controller  60  are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  43  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  42  and  52 . RJ45 terminal  50  is used as input port; RJ45 terminal  40  is used as output port; RJ45 terminal  50  is used as a standard Ethernet port. The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating linked speed of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0030]      FIG. 6  illustrates a general form of power supply extension unit with link aggregation  12  of  FIG. 2  in more detailed. Mains power is connected to mains terminal  70 , the mains voltage supply line  71  is directed to two AC to DC converter power supply  72  and  76  to produce two regulated DC power supply line  73  and  77 , the said regulated DC power supply line  73  is directed to an RJ45 terminal  40  and the said regulated DC power supply line  77  is directed to an RJ45 terminal  44 . The two regulated power supply lines  73  and  77  are used in DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. And EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controller  60  are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  37 ,  43 ,  47  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  36 ,  42 ,  46  and  52 . RJ45 terminal  30  and  34  used as input ports; RJ45 terminal  40  and  44  is used as output ports with regulated DC power supply lines  73  and  77 ; RJ45 terminal  50  is used as a standard Ethernet port. The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating link speed of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 7  illustrates an alternative form of power supply extension unit with link aggregation  12  of  FIG. 2  in more detailed. Mains power is connected to mains terminal  70 , the mains voltage supply line  71  is directed to an AC to DC converter power supply  72  to produce a regulated DC power supply line  73 , the said regulated DC power supply line  73  is directed to terminal  79  and a DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. An EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controller  60  are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  37 .  43 ,  47  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  36 ,  42 ,  46  and  52 . RJ45 terminal  30  and  34  are used as input ports; RJ45 terminal  40  and  44  is used as output; RJ45 terminal  50  is used as a standard Ethernet port. The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating link speed of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 8  illustrates a general form of junction box  11  of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3  in more detailed. RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  30  carries both DC regulated power line  73  and network signals  31 . The said regulated DC power supply line  73  is directed to an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  40  and a DC to DC power converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. And EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controllers are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  43 , and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  42  and  52 . RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  30  is used as input port; RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  40  is used as output port; RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal is used as a standard Ethernet port. The regulated DC power supply line  73  connects both RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminals  30  and  40 . The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating link speed of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 9  illustrates an alternative form of junction box  11  of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3  in more detailed. Terminal  78  carries the DC regulated power line  73  while RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  30  carries the network signals  31 . The said DC regulated power supply line  73  is directed to terminal  79  and a DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. An EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controllers are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  43  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  42  and  52 . RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  30  is used as input port; RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  40  is used as output port; RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal is used as a standard Ethernet port. The regulated DC power supply line  73  connects both terminals  78  and  79 . The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps. half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indication link speed 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 10  illustrates a general form of junction box with link aggregation  13  of  FIG. 2  in more detailed. Both RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  30  and  34  carries both DC regulated power line  73  and  77  network signals  31  and  35 . The said DC regulated power supply line  73  and  77  is directed to an RJ45 CAT5/5e/6 terminal  40  and  44 . The two regulated DC power supply lines  73  and  77  are used in DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. And EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controller  60  are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  37 ,  43 ,  47  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  36 ,  42 ,  46  and  52 . RJ45 terminal  30  and  34  are used as input ports; RJ45 terminal  40  and  44  is used as output ports with regulated DC power supply lines  73  and  77 ; RJ45 terminal  50  is used as a standard Ethernet port. The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating link speed of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 11  illustrates an alternative form ofjunction box with link aggregation  13  of  FIG. 2  in more detailed. Terminal  78  carries the DC regulated power line  73  while CAT5/5e/6 terminal  30  and  34  carries the network signal  31  and  35 . The said DC regulated power supply line  73  is directed to terminal  79  and a DC to DC converter power supply  74  to produce a regulated system power supply  75  to power the switch controller  60  and its associated electronics. An EEPROM or a microcontroller  64  is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  63 . Unused ports of the said switch controller  60  are disabled and or powered down. Physical transceiver pair lines  33 ,  37 ,  43 ,  47  and  53  of the said switch controller  60 , are connected to the appropriate standard Ethernet isolation transformers  32 ,  36 ,  42 ,  46  and  52 . RJ45 terminal  30  and  34  are used as input ports; RJ 45 terminal  40  and  44  is used as output; RJ45 terminal  50  is used as a standard Ethernet port. The said switch controller  60  is capable of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction. The said switch controller  60  has a link status indicator  62  indicating link speed 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 1000 Mbps, half duplex, full duplex, collision, transmit activity and receive activity. The said status indicator  62  is connected to the said switch controller  60  via a serial or parallel interface  61 .  
         [0036]     Numerous other modifications, variations and adaptations may be made to the particular embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.