Apparatus and method for displaying system state information

1. An apparatus comprising:

a programmable controller operative to determine a present state of a system based on event signals received from the system, the programmable controller providing a signal representative of the system state;

a driver operative to generate a control signal in response to the signal provided by the programmable controller;

a display device operative to provide a visual representation of the state of the system in response to the control signal; and

wherein the system has a plurality of ports for transmitting and receiving data, with at least one port of the plurality of ports providing at least one of the event signals, where the at least one event signal carries information on a status of the at least one port with respect to transmission and receipt of data by the at least one port.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the programmable controller further comprises:

a register for storing programming information;

a port for receiving event information; and

a processor operative to generate the signal responsive of the system state in response to the event information and the programming information stored in the register.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the register further comprises:

multiple bits, each bit storing a value of zero or one.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the driver further comprises:

an array of tn-state devices.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the display device further comprises:

a light emitting diode.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the display device further comprises:

an array of light emitting diodes, arranged in a matrix.

7. A method of operating a display system, comprising the steps of:

providing event signals representative of a condition of a system to a programmable controller;

generating signals representative of system state in response to the event signals; and

displaying a visual representation of information representing system state in response to signals generated by the programmable controller;

wherein the system has a plurality of ports for transmitting and receiving data, with at least one port of the plurality of ports providing at least one of the event signals, where the at least one event signal carries information on a status of the at least one port with respect to transmission and receipt of data by the at least one port.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising the step of:

providing programming information to the programmable controller.

9. A programmable display controller for controlling a display device based on event information indicative of a current one of a set of predefined states of a communication system, comprising:

a programmable controller responsive to programming information defining a selected display state associated with each of the states of the communication system, the programmable controller being operative to generate a control signal indicative of a current display state based on the current state of the communication system and said programming information;

wherein the event information of the communication system is based on event signals received from the communication system and wherein the communication system has a plurality of ports for transmitting and receiving data, with at least one port of the plurality of ports providing at least one of the event signals, where the at least one event signal carries information on a status of the at least one port with respect to transmission and receipt of data by the at least one port.

10. The programmable display controller of claim 9 , wherein the programmable controller further comprises:

at least one register for storing programming information;

at least one port for receiving event information;

a processor operative to generate a signal in response to the event information and the settings stored in the register.