Patent Publication Number: US-2005141492-A1

Title: Subscriber station

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM  
      The present application claims priority from Canadian Patent Application Number 2,454,408, filed Dec. 30, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates generally to computer networking and more particularly to a subscriber station.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Solving the “last-mile” problem has been an important piece of providing ubiquitous, high-speed Internet access to business and residential customers (“subscribers”) at their premises. Digital Subscriber Line (“DSL”) and CATV Internet services, are now well-entrenched means of solving the last-mile problem.  
      A common feature of last mile solutions is a switching station that has a gateway connected to the Internet via a backhaul, such as a T1, T3, or a virtual network or the like. The gateway interfaces the backhaul with the particular communication medium or channel used to deliver the Internet service to the subscriber premises.  
      In DSL (and its variants, commonly referred to XDSL) the switching station is typically a central office as commonly found in the public switched telephone network (“PSTN”), and the gateway is a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (“DSLAM”). The communication medium is typically the traditional twisted pair of copper wires that run between the central office and subscriber premises, and normally connect to a plain old telephone service (“POTS”) telephone in the subscriber premises. Where the subscriber is a DSL customer, the twisted pair of copper wires in the customer premises are also connected to a DSL modem, which in turn connects to the subscriber&#39;s computer or intranet.  
      Problems with the foregoing arise when a subscriber loses, or believes they have lost, Internet connectivity. To troubleshoot this problem, it is common for the service provider to send a service technician to the subscriber premises. To verify Internet connectivity, the service technician can attempt to make their own Internet connection from the subscriber premises in order to assess whether a connectivity problem actually exists, and if so, to attempt to determine the nature of the problem. However, such use of service technicians can be wasteful, particularly where the technician discovers that no connectivity problem exists and that the subscriber&#39;s problems are in fact related to the subscriber&#39;s proprietary equipment, or other equipment located at the subscriber&#39;s premises. Another common issue is that a firewall running in the subscriber station may need to have its firmware updated, and yet this also typically requires the physical presence of someone at the subscriber station to make these update.  
      It is also known to provide subscriber stations (i.e. DSL modems, Cable modems, Internet Routers and/or appropriate combinations thereof) with web-based management sessions for configuring the subscriber station. Such configurations typically include settings relating to security, internet protocol (“IP”) addresses ranges etc. In the DSL modem environment, it is also common to include a management session so that the subscriber can provide user-id and password used for the Point-to-Point Protocol Over Ethernet (“PPPoE”) that is common to DSL networks. However, due to security concerns such web-based management sessions are rarely made available outside the private network and over public networks, thereby limiting the ability to control the subscriber station from the private network. Another concern with leaving management sessions open to the public network is the consumption of resources inside the subscriber station needed to operate the management sessions—it can therefore be preferred to invoke the management sessions as needed thereby keep resources available on the subscriber station for processing of network traffic. As a result, service technicians still need to be dispatched to the subscriber premises in order to access such management sessions and make appropriate modifications thereto.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel subscriber station remote control system and method that obviates or mitigates at least one of the above-identified disadvantages of the prior art.  
      An aspect of the invention provides a subscriber station comprising first and second interfaces for connection to first and second networks respectively, each of the networks having a first medium associated therewith. The subscriber station also includes a microprocessor interconnecting the interfaces and for communicating transmissions between the networks. The subscriber station also includes a persistent storage device connected to the microprocessor for storing a management session executable on the microprocessor. The management session is operable to control the transmissions according to configurations made to the management session over the first medium. The management session can be activated via an activation signal sent over another medium that is different from the first medium.  
      The subscriber station can include functionality selected from the group consisting of an xDSL modem, a cable modem, a routing device, a firewall, a set-top box and a wireless local loop subscriber station.  
      Where the subscriber station is an xDSL modem, the first interface is connectable to a DSLAM via a twisted pair. The second interface is connectable to a client either directly or via an Intranet. In this case, the subscriber station is operable to carry Internet communications between the client and the DSLAM.  
      The first network can be the Internet and the second network can be an Intranet. The first medium can include at least one of layers three through seven of the OSI reference model. The another medium can be layer one of the OSI reference model, or some other medium that is different from layers three through seven of the OSI reference model.  
      Where the another medium is layer one, then the activation signal can include at least one “Sync” signal, or the signal can includes a plurality of “Sync” signals sent over predetermined intervals that are recognizable to the management session.  
      The activation signal used for activation of the management session can also be based on activation of a physical switch located on an exterior of the subscriber station.  
      The another medium can be layer two of the OSI reference model. In this case the activation signal can be based on a predefined code sent via the vendor proprietary segment of the specification as defined in International Telecommunications Standard (“ITU”) Telecommunication Standardization Sector (“ITU-T”) G. 992.1, dated July 1999.  
      The configurations can be made over a secure channel established over the first medium. More particularly, where the first network is the Internet and the management session is a web-based application, then the secure channel can be a secure socket layer (“SSL”).  
      The management session can require authentication of a user at least once after activation and prior to permitting changes to the configurations.  
      The management session can send an acknowledgement to a source of the signal after receipt thereof, regardless of whether the session is successfully activated.  
      The source of the activation signal can be a management console associated with a service provider respective to the subscriber station. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention will now be described by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of a subscriber station and a system associated therewith in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic representation of the management session application stored on the subscriber station of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  shows the management session of  FIG. 2  in the closed state;  
       FIG. 4  shows the management session of  FIG. 2  in the open state;  
       FIG. 5  shows a flowchart depicting a method of controlling a subscriber station according to another embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 6  shows the management session of  FIG. 2  in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 7  shows the management session of  FIG. 6  when performing the method of  FIG. 5 ;  
       FIG. 8  shows the management session of  FIG. 6  when performing the method of  FIG. 5 ;  
       FIG. 9  shows the management session of  FIG. 6  when performing the method of  FIG. 5 ; and,  
       FIG. 10  shows the management session of  FIG. 2  in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a subscriber station remote control system is indicated generally at  30 . System  30  includes at least one subscriber premises  34  that is connected to a service provider  38 , which in turn is connected to a public network which in the present embodiment is the Internet  42 .  
      Subscriber premises  34  includes a subscriber station  46  which lies intermediate a junction  50  and a private network, which in the present embodiment is an Intranet  54 . In turn, Intranet  54  connects to at least one Client  58 . Client  58  is any computing device, such as a personal computer, a server, a television set-top box, a personal digital assistant or the like that is operable to conduct communications over Intranet  54  as well as Internet  42 . By the same token, Intranet  54  can be based on any wired or wireless protocols and infrastructures now or in the future used to provide private network services, including Ethernet, 802.11b, Bluetooth, or the like. In its simplest form, intranet  54  can simply be a link, such as an Ethernet cable, that directly connects client  58  to subscriber station  46 . Alternatively, intranet  54  can be a more complex configuration of hubs, routers, switches, wireless access points, combined with a plurality of other clients, printers, servers and other computing devices connected thereto.  
      System  30  is based on xDSL, and service provider  38  is a traditional telephone company that provides high speed Internet access to subscriber premises  34  via a plain old telephone system (“POTS”) copper wire twisted pair  62 . It should be understood that twisted pair  62  represents all of the components that typically lie along the path of pair  62 , including junction boxes, bridges etc. Because they are not necessary, system  30  does not show the other traditional POTS infrastructure such as switches and handsets.  
      In order to demarcate infrastructure responsibility between subscriber premises  34  and service provider  38 , twisted pair  62  terminates at junction  50 , and resumes thereafter with a subscriber premises twisted pair  66  that connects junction  50  to subscriber station  46 . Thus, infrastructure inside subscriber premises  34  is the responsibility of the subscriber, whereas all infrastructure inside service provider  38 , including twisted pair  62 , is the responsibility of service provider  38 .  
      It is to be understood that the teachings herein of system  30  are applicable to other present day or future “last mile solutions”, in addition to xDSL, including but not limited to high speed Internet over cable, Internet over satellite, and wireless local loop. But, in a present embodiment, subscriber station  46  includes the functionality of a traditional xDSL modem and is thereby able to effect Internet-type network communications between Intranet  54  and Internet  42  via service provider  38 . Subscriber station  46  can also include the functionality of other devices, such as a firewall, router and gateway etc.  
      Subscriber station  46  also includes a management session application  70  stored in the firmware of station  46  that can be used to configure subscriber station  46 . Management session  70  executes as a web-based application over various networks in system  30 , and can be activated by a signal that is out-of-band from the protocol layer on which session  70  actually executes. Further details about management session  70  will be explained in greater detail below.  
      It is to be clarified that the particular equipment configuration of subscriber premises  34  is merely exemplary, and other configurations of subscriber premises can include any number of other communication appliances and arrangements thereof, such as POTS telephone handsets, a private branch exchange (“PBX”), wireless access point (“WAP”), etc. Additionally, it is to be reiterated that subscriber premises  34  can belong to residential, business or any other type of subscriber.  
      Service provider  38  is characterized by at least one central office  74  and a network control centre  78 . Central office  74  includes a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (“DSLAM”)  82  that connects a router  86  with subscriber station  46 . DSLAM  78  is any known DSLAM such as the Alcatel Standard Density DSLAM, Model 1000 ADSL from Alcatel USA, Inc., 3400 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Tex. 75075, or the Alcatel High HI Density DSLAM, Model 7300 ASAM also available from Alcatel USA, Inc. In turn, router  86  can direct traffic from Internet  42  and control centre  78  to subscriber station  46  via DSLAM  82 .  
      Control centre  78  includes an internal network  90  that can interconnect to a plurality of central offices  74  with at least one management console  94 . Management console  94  is a computing device such as a personal computer that is operated by a customer service representative of service provider  38 . Management console  94  is operable to interact with a variety of network components relating to system  30 , including providing information about the hardware, software and network status of Internet  42 , central office  74  and the like. Additionally, management console  94  is operable to activate management session  70  on subscriber station  46  and thereby remotely configure subscriber station  46 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , management session  70  is shown in greater detail, and in particular how management  70  interacts with the network protocol stack  100  that is associated with twisted pair  66  and other network components of system  30 . In a present embodiment, network protocol stack  100  is based on the Open Systems Interconnect (“OSI”) reference model, and thus includes a physical layer  101 , a data link layer  102 , a network layer  103 , a transport layer  104 , a session layer  105 , a presentation layer  106  and an application layer  107 . Management session  70  includes a plurality of software objects  110 . Each object  110  represents different aspects of functionality of management session  70 , and can thus be implemented in other ways other than objects depending on the programming language or other software or hardware environment used to implement session  70 . More particularly, object  1101  is used to activate management session  70 , and to activate other objects  110  in session, such remaining objects being collectively indicated at  114  in  FIG. 2 .  
      Of particular note, object  1101  does not directly interact with any portion of protocol stack  100  that is used by the remaining objects  114 , and accordingly management session  70  is activated by out-of-band means. Remaining objects  114  are directed to the actual functionality associated with management session  70 , which can be used to configure subscriber station  46 . For example, object  1102  can be used to set the user-id and password for authentication of the subscriber that owns Intranet  54  with service provider  38 , as is commonly found in the Point-to-Point Protocol Over Ethernet (“PPPOE”) that is commonly employed by xDSL service providers. As an additional example, object  1103  can be used to open or close various IP ports on subscriber station  46 , thereby giving a measure of control over the types of IP traffic that can enter or leave Intranet  54 . As an additional example, object  1104  can be used to configure a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”) server within subscriber station  46 , such that subscriber station  46  is operable to dynamically assign private network IP addresses to devices on Intranet  54 , such as client  58 . These examples of functions of objects  1102 ,  1103  and  1104  will be used in the discussion below, and at such times object  1102  will be referred to as authentication object  1102 ; object  1103  will be referred to as port-control object  1103 ; and object  1104  will be referred to as DHCP object  1104 .  
      Continuing with this example, it will be assumed that remaining objects  114  each interact with at least one of layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107 . This example is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In  FIG. 3 , session  70  is shown in a closed state, wherein layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107  are shown closed to remaining objects  114  by means of an “X” indicated at  118 . In contrast, in  FIG. 4  session  70  is shown in an active state, wherein layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107  are shown open to remaining objects  114  by means of a double-arrow indicated at  122 .  
      Accordingly, object  1101  is operable to change session  70  between the closed state shown in  FIG. 3  and the active state shown in  FIG. 4 . Object  1101  is also operable to interact with the remainder of system  30  out-of-band from layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107 . Thus, in the present embodiment, the terms in-band means the end-to-end relationship between client  58  and Internet  42  over the protocol layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107 , while out-of-band means any thing that is outside of this path and not at protocol layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107 .  
      Various ways of implementing this out-of-band interaction are contemplated. In order to help explain certain of these implementations and various other aspects of system  30 , reference will now be made to  FIG. 5  which shows a method for remotely controlling a subscriber station and which is indicated generally at  400 . In order to assist in the explanation of the method, it will be assumed that method  400  is operated using system  30 . However, it is to be understood that system  30  and/or method  400  can be varied, and need not work exactly as discussed herein in conjunction with each other, and that such variations are within the scope of the present invention.  
      Before discussing method  400 , certain assumptions will be made about system  30 . Referring now to  FIG. 6 , it will be assumed that system  30  is in the closed state (previously shown in  FIG. 3 ). It will also be assumed that object  1101  is implemented as object  1101   a , and that object  1101   a  is operable to ‘listen’ for communications sent over layer  101  of protocol stack  100 , as represented by link  126 .  
      Thus, beginning first at step  410 , object  1101   a  waits to receive an out-of-band activation signal. This ‘waiting’ is represented in  FIG. 6  as object  1101   a  listens over link  126  to layer  101 , waiting for an activation signal. The receipt of the out-of-band activation signal is represented in  FIG. 7  as management console  94  sends an out-of-band activation signal, indicated at  130 , over physical layer  101  of twisted pair  66 , where it is received by object  1101   a . In this particular embodiment, the activation signal takes the form of a traditional “Sync” signal as is currently already employed in the xDSL modem environment, with the exception that object  1101   a  is configured to respond to the traditional “Sync” signal in the novel manner described herein. As a potentially more secure variation to simply sending one “Sync” signal, out-of-band signal  130  can be a plurality of “Sync” signals sent over a predefined interval recognizable to object  1101   a.    
      Method  400  thus advances to step  420  where the signal sent at  410  is authenticated. Thus, in the example of signal  130  being comprised of a plurality of “Sync” signals sent over a predefined intervals, object  1101   a  would consider such signals to be authenticated if the “Sync” signals were received according to a recognized pattern, and at this point the authentication signal  130  would be considered authenticated and method  400  would advance to step  430 . However, if for any reason authentication failed, method  400  would return to step  410 .  
      At step  430 , the in-band management session is activated. This step is represented in  FIG. 8 , wherein object  1101   a  interacts with the remainder of session  70  in order to place session  70  in the open state. At step  440 , the in-band session executes. This step is represented in  FIG. 9 , wherein management console  94  is shown interacting with remaining objects  114  via a virtual link  134 . While not required, in a present embodiment, at this point object  1101   a  will send an acknowledgment to management console  94  that the activation signal was successfully received via layer  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and/or  107 . A customer service representative operating console  94  now has access to all of the configuration tools present in subscriber station  46 , and can accordingly interact with authentication object  1102  to help the subscriber at subscriber premises  34  set any user-ids or passwords needed to access Internet  42  via service provider  38 . Or, a customer service representative operating console  94  can interact with port-control object  1103  to open or close particular IP ports on subscriber station  46  and thereby control the types of traffic that can be exchanged between Intranet  54  and Internet  42 . Or, a customer service representative operating console  94  can interact with DHCP object  1104  to help the subscriber at subscriber premises  34  configure how IP addresses are dynamically assigned to client  58  or other components in Intranet  54 . By the same token, a customer service representative operating console  94  can interact with any other configuration tools that may be available on session  70 .  
      Once session  70  is placed in the open state, the means by which management console  94  becomes aware of the IP address of subscriber station  46  (and thereby give access to remaining objects  114 ), is not particularly limited. For example, where subscriber station  46  has a static IP address within Internet  42  and where that static  1 P address is known by service provider  38 , then once session  70  is in the open state management console  94  can simply access remaining objects  114  via that known static IP address. Alternatively, where subscriber station  46  dynamically requests a new IP address each time it activates itself on Internet  42 , then object  1101   a  can be configured to both activate session  70  by placing session  70  in the open state, and to cause session  70  to request an IP address from service provider  38  as part of that activation. Once that dynamic IP address is successfully received by session  70 , it can be reported back to management console  94  via any suitable manner. One way that the dynamic IP address can be reported back to management console  94  is by providing the IP address of management console  94  to subscriber station  46  as part of the firmware programming of subscriber station  46 . Thus, once session  70  is in the open state, session  70  can identify itself (and the dynamic IP address assigned to subscriber station  46 ) to management console  94 . Of course, a failure to report a dynamically assigned IP address back to management console  94  will indicate to management console  94  that there is a technical problem with the equipment outside of subscriber premises  34 , and appropriate action can then be taken by service provider  38 .  
      As the management session at step  440  is executed, method  400  will periodically advance to step  450  to determine whether the management session is still valid. If it is valid, method  450  will simply cycle back to step  440 . However, if the session is no longer valid, then method  400  advances to step  460  at which point the session is closed and management session  70  will return to the closed state shown in  FIG. 6 , and method  400  will return to step  410  where it will begin anew.  
      The criteria used at step  450  to determine whether the session is still valid are not particularly limited. For example, it can be based on a simple inactivity time-out, wherein it is determined that remaining objects  114  have not been executed or utilized despite the fact that session  70  is in the open state. As another criteria used at step  450 , management session  70  can be closed in response to a signal sent to object  1101   a  that instructs object  1101   a  to close the sessions. As still a further example of criteria that can be used at step  450 , session  70  can be configured to immediately and automatically shift to the closed state after one or all of remaining objects  114  have been opened and then closed. As a still further example, an operator at management console  94  can be asked to periodically resubmit a valid user-id and password to subscriber station  46 .  
      Having described method  400  in relation to object  1101   a , it is to be reemphasized that system  30 , management session  70  and method  400  can operate with other types of out-of-band signals. For example, the interaction with object  1101   a  over physical layer  101  need not be implemented as a “Sync” signal, but could be implemented simply with a physical push-button switch (or the like) mounted on the exterior of subscriber station  46 . In this manner, steps  410  would be effected simply by having a subscriber at premises  34  physically push the button located on subscriber station  46 . In this manner, a subscriber at premises  34  engaged in a telephone call with the representative at console  94  can be instructed by the customer service representative to depress the button on the subscriber station  46  in order to activate the management session  70 . In this variation, authentication at step  420  can be dispensed with, or it can be effected by having the customer service representative at console  94  enter a user-id and password that is known to subscriber station  46 . Other types of physical layer activations will now occur to those of skill in the art.  
      It is also to be understood that the out-of-band activation need not occur over physical layer  101 . For example, in  FIG. 10  and object  101   b  is shown. Object  1101   b  is operable to ‘listen’ for communications sent over layer  102  of protocol stack  100 , as represented by link  138 . The types of communications for which object  1101   b  will conform to the types of communications that are reserved for layer  102 . For example, those of skill in the art will be familiar with the status query codes proposed in the International Telecommunications Standard (“ITU”) Telecommunication Standardization Sector (“ITU-T”) G.992.1, dated July 1999 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference), currently defined codes are for determining the status of layer  102 . The inventor of the present invention proposes to make use of the vendor proprietary port of the standard for the purpose of out-of-band activation of a subscriber station such as subscriber station  46  from the DSLAM  82  over layer  102  utilizing object  1101   b  or the like. In this variation, object  1101   b  can also be configured to send an acknowledgment to management console  94  that the activation signal was successfully received via layer  102  as part of the authentication at step  420 .  
      While only specific combinations of the various features and components of the present invention have been discussed herein, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that desired subsets of the disclosed features and components and/or alternative combinations of these features and components can be utilized, as desired. For example, while system  30  in  FIG. 1  includes a variety of POTS equipment, including telephone  66 , switch  90  and PSTN  42 , it is to be understood that these elements can all be omitted in other embodiments of the invention.  
      While subscriber station  46  includes the functionality of a traditional xDSL modem it is to be understood that subscriber station  46  can also include the functionality of other devices, such as a firewall, router and gateway, either individually or in combination. For example, in another embodiment of the invention a firewall can be provided that has a in-band management session that can be activated through an out-of-band signal.  
      As an additional example, other, or additional, types of authentication can be employed at step  420  than previously described. For example, management console  94  can be presented with a login screen asking for a user-id and password that is known to subscriber station  46 . If the operator at management console  94  (or a hacker attempting to access subscriber station  46  via Internet  42 ) fails to enter the correct user-id and password, authentication will fail and method  400  will return from step  420  back to step  410 .  
      A still further means of activating management session  70  out-of-band (i.e. without using any of layers  103 ,  104 ,  105 ,  106  and  107 ), is to associate a table with object  1101  that is stored in session  70 . The table will include a number of preset times and dates during which management session  70  is automatically activated and made available to management console  94  or the like. In this particular variation, it is contemplated that management session  70  will require authentication of any user at management console  94  prior to granting that user access to remaining objects  114 .  
      A still further means of activating management session  70  out-of-band is by configuring management session  70  to recognize a predefined series of Dual Tone Multi Frequency (“DTMF”) tones over a voice connection made with subscriber station  46  via twisted pair  66  using the POTS network inherent to a service provider  38  offering xDSL services.  
      Further security can be added to method  400  by having steps  430  and  440  occur over a secure socket layer (“SSL”) or other encrypted channel between subscriber station  46  and management console  94 . Still further security can be employed by only allowing management session  70  to communicate with predefined IP addresses that are proprietary to service provider  38 .  
      Furthermore, while the embodiments discussed herein primarily contemplate control of subscriber station  46  from management console  94 , it should be understood that the teachings herein can be employed to provide control of subscriber station  46  from other points outside of, or inside of, subscriber premises  34 . Accordingly, management session  70  can be configured, if desired, to allow control over subscriber station  46  to any party located on Internet  42 .  
      As a still further variation, it is contemplated that management session  70  can include the ability to allow various services to be switched “on” or “off”. For example, where service provider  38  offers Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VOIP”) services, then additional objects  110  can be added to session  70  that can be used to alternatively activate or deactivate the ability of a subscriber using Internet  42  to make use of such VOIP services. As another example, where service provider  38  is able to offer cable television or pay television services or the like, then additional objects  110  can be added to session  70  that can be used to alternatively activate or deactivate the such video services. It is contemplated that such functionality may be of immediate interest to service providers offering Internet services over cable or satellite links, and of future use to the extent that video over xDSL becomes more prevalent. As a still further example, where a subscriber chooses to pay reduced fees for reduced bandwidth access to Internet  42 , (or increased fees for increased bandwidth) then additional objects  110  can be locally stored in session  70  to regulate the rate that traffic enters or leaves subscriber station  46  according to the subscriber&#39;s choice. Other types of services and/or subscription offerings will now occur to those of skill in the art.  
      It is also contemplated that management session  70  can include functionality to allow it to update itself or portions of itself, by way of activating a connection with an update service maintained by service provider  38  or elsewhere on Internet  42 . Such updates can be automatically performed by session  70 , or invoked manually by a user anywhere within system  30  that is authenticated. Such updates may involve adding, removing, changing, activating or deactivating various ones of remaining objects  114  according to changing services offered by service provider  38 , and/or changes to subscriptions for such services by the subscriber at subscriber premises  34 . In this manner, as new functionality and/or services become available, additional objects  110  can be added to remaining objects  114  without having to physically swap out one subscriber station for another. Management session  70  can also include other functionality directed to maintenance of subscriber station  46 , such as periodically verifying that the set of remaining objects  114 , and their states, correspond with the subscriber&#39;s actual service subscription, thereby ensuring the subscriber is receiving services that correspond to the subscriber&#39;s agreement with the service provider. The invocation of such periodic verification can be based on a predefined schedule, or it can be invoked remotely by the service provider—either manually via an operator located at management console  94 , or automatically by software that is located at an unmanned version management console  94  that is configured to automatically, and periodically, activate management session  70  in order to perform a verification of the subscriber&#39;s subscription. The appropriate implementation of management console  94  can thus allow a management application running on console  94  to interoperate with the management session  70  at a peer-to-peer level without any human intervention.  
      Subscriber station  46  and its variants can allow a service provider to verify connectivity between a subscriber premises and the service provider without the need for dispatching a service technician to the subscriber premises. For example, where management session  70  includes an object  110  in remaining objects  114  that is operable to request an external IP address for subscriber station  46  (i.e. to identify subscriber station  46  on Internet  42 ) from service provider  38 , then a user at management console  94  can utilize object  1101  to remotely activate that management session  70 . At this point, object  1101  can then be instructed to interact with the appropriate one of remaining objects  114 , and thereby cause subscriber station  46  to make the request for the IP address from service provider  38 . The success or failure of such a request can then be reported back to management console  94  via object  1101 . If there is a failure, then the user at management console  94  can assign a technician from service provider  38  to troubleshoot the problem, looking for problems that can lie along twisted pair  62  or at central office  74 . However, if the request for the IP address is successful, the user at management console  94  can notify the subscriber that any problems must lie within subscriber premises  34 , thereby improving operating efficiencies for service provider  38 . A successful request for the IP address can be additionally coupled with instructing subscriber station  46  to report that IP address back to management console  94 , (i.e. by providing object  1101  with the IP address of management console  94  so that subscriber station  46  knows how to reach management console  94  via layers  103  through  107 ) thereby allowing management console  94  to use the IP address of subscriber station  46  to interact with the remaining objects  114  in management session  70 . Such connectivity verification can be applied to other types of last-mile solutions as well that utilize a subscriber station according to the teachings herein. Also, such connectivity verification can be used in conjunction with the connectivity verification techniques included in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/670,261 filed on Sep. 26, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
      As an additional example, while management console  94  has been discussed as being operated by a user or customer service representative, it should be understood that in some circumstances it can be desired to use automated software to operate console  94  and thereby interact with subscriber station  46 . For example, where it is desired to check connectivity between service provider  38  and subscriber station  46 , a subscriber can simply interact with an over the telephone with an interactive voice response (“IVR”) system located at service provider  38 , to instruct management console  94  to conduct such connectivity tests. The IVR system can then report back the results of such tests over the telephone back to the subscriber.  
      Management session  70  can also include a number of objects  110  that are directed to specialized diagnostics of the IP connection along various points in the system. As a simple example, one such object could be a “ping” command that can be invoked remotely by management console  94 . As management console  94  instructs subscriber station  46  to “ping” specified IP addresses in Intranet  54 , Internet  42  or within service provider  38 , management console  94  can thus be provided with some basic network statistics about packet throughput from subscriber station  46  to those specified IP addresses. Other more sophisticated types of Quality of Service (QoS) diagnostic tools can also be provided in management session  70 . In this manner, an operator at management console  94  can periodically perform diagnostics over various portions of all subscriber premises that connect to service provider  38 .  
      It is to be reemphasized that other configurations of system  30  are possible. For example, service provider  38  need not actually own or operate both central office  74  and control centre  78 . Instead, service provider  38  may own central office  74 , but the services provided at control centre  78  can be provided on an out-source basis, to another service provider or to some other independent third party altogether.  
      The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples of the present invention and alterations and modifications may be effected thereto, by those of skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.