Patent ID: 8510416

Claim:
A method of providing remote configuration access for a programming terminal via a data network having a network protocol, to one or more remote terminals, the programming terminal being adapted to program said one or more remote terminals via switched telephone network (PSTN) using an analog dial up modem, said one or more remote terminals being designed to be remotely configured, wherein a first remote interface means (RIM) is connected to a corresponding one of the one or more remote terminals, the first RIM being adapted to provide a bi-directional interface between the corresponding remote terminal and the data network, wherein a modem emulator function is provided to interface the programming terminal with the data network, the modem emulator function including programming capabilities adapted for transmitting data via the data network, the method including the steps of: obtaining an address for the first RIM or the corresponding remote terminal; converting output signals from the programming terminal to a format suitable for transmission via the data network; establishing a data connection between the programming terminal and the first RIM via the data network using the address of the first RIM or corresponding remote terminal; establishing communication between the first RIM and the corresponding remote terminal; initiating the transmission of said data to the first RIM; in the first RIM, converting the data to a remote terminal format used in programming or configuring the corresponding remote terminal; and transmitting the data in the remote terminal format to the corresponding remote terminal.