Patent ID: 8004962

Claim:
A system to address a problem associated with a network, the system comprising: a video ready access device operable to transmit a packetized video broadcast stream; a test module operable to test the network including the video ready access device; a monitor module operable to monitor the network including the video ready access device; and a rule management module coupled to the testing module and the monitor module, wherein the rule management module is operable to: receive a notification regarding a problem within the network that affects the packetized video broadcast stream; isolate the cause of the problem to a video ready access device, an upstream device that is upstream of the video ready access device, or a downstream device that is downstream of the video ready access device; determine whether a software failure has occurred within the video ready access device; determine whether hardware information associated with hardware of the video ready access device matches recorded information; determine whether a physical alarm, a video error message, or a combination thereof is valid; and perform a line test between the video ready access device and another device downstream of the video ready access device; wherein the monitor module is operable to determine whether a software failure has occurred within the video ready access device; when the software failure has occurred, the rule management module is further operable to generate an instruction to another portion of the system to automatically: download or reinstall software within the video ready access device, wherein the software corresponds to the software previously downloaded or installed; or rollback to a prior version of the software; wherein when the hardware information is different from the recorded information, the rule management module is further operable to generate an instruction to another portion of the system to automatically: reset the hardware or a portion thereof; update the recorded information; or any combination thereof.