Abstract: An access point which is installed over the standard electronic wall box and provides access to different types of existing cables in a standard electronic wall box is disclosed. The access point includes at least one pass-through slot which houses a pass-through port. The pass-through port supports different types of connectors for different types of cables installed in the standard electronic wall box. The pass-through slot is used to expose the different types of connectors on the access point. The access point also includes a connection port to connect the access point to a wall cable which is a network uplink cable for connecting the access point to a network. The access point further includes an expansion slot to connect an expansion module to the access point. When the access point is installed on the standard electronic wall box, the pass-through slot is used to expose a cable that is different from the wall cable.

Abstract: Apparatus for delivering operating power from a data terminus to a utilization device includes a first data connection connecting the data terminus to a data repeater station and a second data connection connecting the data repeater station to the utilization device. A first power sourcing equipment delivers DC operating power to the data repeater station over a physical layer of the first data connection. A second power sourcing equipment at the repeater station receives operating power over the physical layer of the first data connection and delivers operating power over a physical layer of the second data connection to the utilization device.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for automatically selecting different data rates for communicating data over a high bit rate, digital signal line (HDSL) line such as a dry pair line. In one embodiment master/slave interface circuits at opposite ends of a line attempt to establish communications at a higher frequency. If this fails, communications are attempted at a lower frequency. If communications are successful at the higher frequency and communications continue for a predetermined period of time at the higher frequency and then communications fail, an attempt is made to reestablish communications at the higher frequency. An algorithm is set forth for enabling selecting among a plurality of different speeds.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for automatically selecting different data rates for communicating data over a high bit rate, digital signal line (HDSL) line such as a dry pair line. In one embodiment master/slave interface circuits at opposite ends of a line attempt to establish communications at a higher frequency. If this fails, communications are attempted at a lower frequency. If communications are successful at the higher frequency and communications continue for a predetermined period of time at the higher frequency and then communications fail, an attempt is made to reestablish communications at the higher frequency. An algorithm is set forth for enabling selecting among a plurality of different speeds.

Abstract: An Ethernet adapter card for automatically switching a workstation into a network is provided. The adapter card utilizes a current circuit to sense current drawn by an external communications network and a circuit for automatically switching between a card-mounted internal transceiver and the network's external transceiver whenever the external network is coupled to the workstation via an AUI port. The adapter card provides for default selection of the internal transceiver when the external communication network is disconnected from the workstation AUI port.

Abstract: A fault tolerant register employing triple redundant storage of data and continuous voting to protect the data from Single Event Upset, or SEU. The fault tolerant register includes a single master multiplexer, three slave multiplexers connected in parallel to the output of the master multiplexer and three voting circuits positioned in feedback paths of the slave multiplexers. The slave multiplexers provide triple redundant storage for the data and the voting circuits correct any data that might become disrupted. The fault tolerant register of the present invention provides greatly improved SEU tolerance without a large increase in circuit area or without resorting to error correction and its attendant scrubbing process.

Abstract: Switching circuitry for automatically connecting two sets of terminals in two circuit modules, through a larger set of conductors, some of which may be defective or unavailable for other reasons. The circuitry includes two identical switching matrices, each of which receives signals indicative of the availability status of the conductors, and connects the terminals to an available subset of the conductors. Each switching matrix has an array of switching cells arranged in such a manner that a cell will connect a terminal to a conductor unless the conductor is not available, or unless the same terminal has already been assigned to another conductor, or the same conductor has already been assigned to another terminal.

Abstract: An electronic system having multiple identical subsystems, some of which can be excluded from the system when defective or held as spares. A mapping circuit associated with each subsystem has a first register for storing a physical address of the subsystem and a second register for storing a logical address. To configure the system to include a selection of subsystems, pairs of physical and corresponding logical addresses are transmitted to the subsystem mapping circuits. When a transmitted physical address matches the address stored in the first register, the second register is enabled to receive a transmitted logical address. The mapping of physical to logical address is therefore distributed among all of the subsystems rather than being handled in a central mapping unit. Subsystems that are to remain out of service have a null address stored in their second registers.