Patent ID: 8068419

Claim:
A system for controlling a transport of data across an integrated satellite and fiber optic transmission network, said transmission network comprising a local POP location and a remote POP location, said POP locations each comprising equipment in operable association, said equipment comprising at least one digital router, a customer premises circuit on said router, at least one transcoder, a standards converter, a video gateway device, and an IP switch, said system comprising: a graphical user interface used to input a service order comprising an identity of a data stream, a service time, at least one service circuit parameter, and a destination; a database comprising (i) information relating to the service order, said service order information including the identity of the desired data stream and data relating to the availability of bandwidth needed to transport the desired data stream to the specified destination at the specified service time, and (ii) information relating to the operation of at least two of said plurality of routers in the transmission network, said operational information including data relating to configuration and operational status of a router, and data relating to future availability of a router to transport the desired data stream; computer readable program code used to automatically (i) access the database to identify at least two of the plurality of routers that are available to transport the desired data stream across the transmission network the specified destination at the specified service time and using the specified service circuit parameter; (ii) schedule the service order using the identified at least two routers to transport the desired data stream across the transmission network to the destination at the specified service time and using the specified service circuit parameter; and (iii) activate each of the identified at least two routers at the desired service time to transport the desired data stream to the specified destination in near real time using the identified at least two routers and a packet-based transmission network.