Patent ID: 8601525

Claim:
A method of providing set up services to customer premise equipment, the customer premise equipment coupled to a network, the method comprising: storing user information on a set up server in response to the user purchasing the customer premise equipment; operating a network element as a set up terminal server, the network element being part of the network; receiving from the customer premise equipment a request to initiate a set up process, the request from a client application on the customer premise equipment, the network element executing client side processing for the customer premise equipment, the request generated in response to applying power to the customer premise equipment; accessing the set up server, separate from the network element, to initiate a set up application, the set up server confirming that a user account is paid prior to initiating a connection between the customer premise equipment and the network; wherein the set up server communicates with the customer premise equipment through the network element to perform installation of the customer premise equipment and provisioning of the customer premise equipment; and receiving customer premise equipment status information indicating the status of the customer premise equipment to the network element in the network for diagnostic analysis; wherein the customer premise equipment status information includes first status information received periodically at regular intervals and second status information sent upon a change in the customer premise equipment.