Patent ID: 7640581

Claim:
A system for accessing remote devices on a communications network, comprising: a first network configured to enable a user computing device to access remote network elements; a firewall in communication with said first network and configured to restrict access to said first network and the user computing device; a router in communication with said firewall and a remote network element, an in-band access path defined by a communication path between the user computing device and the remote network element via said first network, firewall, and router; a first server in communication with said firewall; a modem bank in communication with said first server and further in communication with the remote network elements via a public switched telephone network (PSTN), an out-of-band access path defined by a communication path between the user computing device and the remote network element via said first network, firewall, first server, modem bank, and PSTN, and wherein the in-band access path from the firewall to the remote network element and the out-of-band access path from the firewall to the remote network element are two distinct paths; said first server configured to: (1) receive a request to communicate with the one or more remote network elements over the out-of-band access path; (2) authenticate a user; (3) facilitate a session with a second server for establishing connection with an external network element; (4) establish secure pathway over the out-of-band access path between the user computing device and the one or more remote network elements; and (5) transmit data for communicating operational status of the one or more remote network elements between the one or more network elements and the user computing device over the secure pathway; and said modem bank including a plurality of modems in communication with said first and second servers and operable to authenticate the request to access the one or more remote network elements and to communicate the operational status of the one or more remote network elements.