Patent ID: 8817810

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a wired network including a plurality of network branches each having a common communication link; a plurality of network devices connected to the network branches; a plurality of time-slot communication schedules respectively stored and accessible by each of the network devices, the plurality of time-slot communication schedules designating time slots during which each of the network devices is assigned to communicate over one of the plurality of network branches; a central communication circuit having a central-communication schedule stored and accessible by the central communication circuit, data-coupling circuitry configured and arranged for communicatively coupling data between the central communication circuit and each of the plurality of network devices through respective ones of the plurality of network branches, and data-logic circuitry configured and arranged to receive communications from the plurality of network devices using the time slots assigned for each of the network devices in the central-communication schedule, assess each of the received communications from one of the network devices as being error-indicative or not error-indicative based on the central-communication schedule compliance, and in response to the each of the received communications on one of the network branches being assessed as being error-indicative, facilitate data corruption on the one of the network branches during a time period corresponding to the each of the received communications assessed as being error-indicative.