A distributed user-interface for use in cooperative management of subscriber access networks

With the thousands and even millions of end-user devices in subscriber access network systems, and with the huge volume of end-user requests to process, it can soon become quite impossible for a single operator to manage an entire system alone, making distributed management a necessity. With this in mind, we have developed a distributed user-interface called 'Distributed DUALQUEST.' With Distributed DUALQUEST, management work can be divided among operators, both by geographic area of responsibility and by task type (i.e. network operation management, end-user support, etc.). Close coordination among operators is required since work performed by any operator will likely be strongly interrelated with that performed by others (e.g. an end-user support operator might process a new subscription application, while a network operation management operator might arrange for the installation of equipment for that new subscriber). For this reason, Distributed DUALQUEST provides a data-flow control function for circulating data among operators. Distributed DUALQUEST also provides a function by which operators are able to share a common window. This can be especially important when they must cope with network failures that extend across individual area lines. Additionally, Distributed DUALQUEST also provides a function for supervising the work of operators. Supervisors can monitor work being performed; when necessary, they can adjust the balance of work loads by changing the lines of division, and they can help out individual operators by working together with them on a shared window. Finally, it is often important for operators to have a clear picture of the geographical location of an individual subscriber, and Distributed DUALQUEST satisfies this requirement by providing bifocal windows, in which individual sections of the network can be magnified while others are compressed. Magnified sections can display individual-house level geographical information.