Patent ID: 8607145

Claim:
A method for a network diagnostic component that is placed in-line between first and second nodes in a network to graphically display received low speed signal patterns, the method comprising: an act of receiving a low speed signal pattern from the first node for communication with the second node, the low-speed signal pattern comprising one or more sequences of repeated Dwords and repeated DC-Idles; an act of creating a compressed record of the low speed signal pattern in a memory, said act comprising recording in the memory each sequence of repeated Dwords or DC-Idles in the form of a single said Dword or DC-Idle and a repeat count value therefor; an act of writing in the memory one or more markers specifying a start and a completion of a speed negotiation signal or a low speed signal specified by a communication protocol; an act of interpreting the compressed record and the one or more markers to ascertain the type and duration of the low speed signal pattern; and an act of displaying a graphical representation of the low speed signal pattern based on the interpretation of the compressed record and the one or more markers.