Patent ID: 8583503

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a web-enabled user interface resident on a server that is integrated with an Ethernet exchange switch fabric and configured to automate an end-to-end process of interconnecting private Ethernet networks of two or more carriers via one or more virtual circuits established between two or more ports of the switch fabric, wherein components making up the interface are implemented in electronic circuits, software coding, or any combination of the two, and where components implemented in software coding are stored in an executable format on a non-transitory machine-readable medium; where the web-enabled user interface is configured to present web pages and templates to a browser application on a client machine to solicit information from participating carriers, which is extracted from the web pages and the templates and stored in an associated database in order to enable the participating carriers to 1) publish network services and capabilities offered, 2) search for the network services and the capabilities offered by each carrier, 3) submit requests for quotes (RFQs) and responses to the RFQs, 4) initiate a provisioning of the virtual circuits between their private Ethernet networks, and 5) monitor and troubleshoot the virtual circuits as well as their own private Ethernet networks from the web-enabled user interface.