Patent ID: 7085237

Claim:
An apparatus for collecting alarm signals in a signaling server disposed in a telecommunications network, comprising: a system timing generator including circuitry for producing a serial control signal; a plurality of clock distribution modules organized into at least one level in a nested hierarchy coupled to said system timing generator; a plurality of bus control modules coupled to said at least one level of clock distribution modules in said nested hierarchy, each bus control module interfacing with a plurality of printed board assembly (PBA) cards disposed on a bus segment, wherein each bus control module generates a status signal encoded with alarm data towards said at least one level of clock distribution modules; and multiplexing circuitry in each clock distribution module to multiplex status signals received from one of a lower level in said nested hierarchy and said plurality of bus control modules into a serial bitstream having multiple frames by assigning predetermined time slots to said alarm data based on control information provided in said serial control signal.