Director device arrangement with visual display arrangement and methods thereof

1. An apparatus for enabling a plurality of monitoring functions to be performed on data traffic traversing through a network, comprising:

a power module for providing power to circuitry of said apparatus;

a processor module for providing processing capability to said apparatus;

a set of network ports, said set of network ports including a set of input network ports for receiving said data traffic and a set of output network ports for outputting said data traffic from said apparatus;

a switchboard arrangement, said switchboard arrangement including at least a first switch chip and a second switch chip, said first switch chip and said second switch chip interacting with one another to perform said plurality of monitoring functions on said data traffic received by said switchboard arrangement;

logic module for analyzing said data traffic and for displaying statistical data pertaining to said data traffic; and

a visual display arrangement, said visual display arrangement being configured to display said statistical data, whereas said data traffic is configured to traverse between said set of input network ports and said set of output network ports irrespective whether said power is provided to said circuitry, said processor module, and said switchboard arrangement of said apparatus.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a set of monitoring ports, said set of monitoring ports being configured to receive at least one of said data traffic traversing through said network, whereas said data traffic is configured to traverse said apparatus between said set of input network ports and said set of output network ports.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein at least one of said power module, said processor module, said set of network ports, and said set of monitoring ports is modularized to facilitate repair in a modularized manner.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said logic module is at least one of

a single programmable component,

a set of programmable components, wherein each programmable component of said set of programmable components is configured to perform different function, and

a set of programmable digital electronic components.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said logic module is at least one of

a field-programmable field arrays (FPGA),

an application-specific integrated circuit ASIC), and

a complex programmable logic device (CPLD).

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said visual display arrangement include an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen.

7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said statistical data displayed on said visual display arrangement is configured to be cycled through to enable different data parameter to be displayed.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said statistical data includes real-time utilization rate of network capacity, average utilization rate, highest peak of traffic peaks, traffic types, and fault conditions.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said statistical data is displayed as text.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said statistical data is displayed graphically.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said logic module is configurable enabling a threshold to be set for each data parameter, wherein a visual warning is provided when said threshold is exceeded.

12. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said apparatus is at least one of a switch, a router, and a network tap.

13. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each network port of said set of network ports is capable of receiving and sending up to one gigabit of data.

14. The apparatus a claim 2 wherein said first switch chip and said second switch chip are coupled via a connector, said connection being capable of handling said data traffic flowing between said first switch chip and said second switch chip.

15. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each switch chip of said switchboard arrangement includes a logic arrangement for handling at least a portion of said plurality of monitoring functions.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said logic arrangement is configurable, thereby enabling said plurality of monitoring functions to be configured to a user's specification.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said plurality of monitoring functions includes at least one of a regeneration function, a filtering function, a forward function, an aggregation function, and a conversion function.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one port of said set of network ports is configured for at least performing one of receiving and sending up to ten gigabits of data.

19. The apparatus claim 18 wherein said switchboard arrangement includes a logic arrangement for filtering said data traffic received by said at least one port of said set of network ports thereby enabling said apparatus to receive said up to ten gigabits of data, and convert said up to ten gigabits of data into a plurality of data packets of at most one gigabit of data.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said switchboard arrangement includes a logic arrangement for aggregating said data traffic into a set of data packets of said up to ten gigabits of data capable of being sent through said at least one port of said set of network ports.