At+t Corp.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

At&t Bell Laboratories

American Telephone & Telegraph Co., At&t Bell Laboratories

Other

At&t Intellectual Property I, LP

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Fraser Research, Inc.

Alexander Gibson Fraser

Kadangode K Ramakrishnan

Peter Onufryk

William Todd Marshall

Glenford Ezra Mapp

Charles Robert Kalmanek, Jr

Richard Vandervoort Cox

Thomas Joseph Killian

Alan Edward Kaplan

Norman Loren Schryer

Steven Michael Bellovin

Joseph Henry Condon

Srinivasan Keshav

Charles R Kalmanek

Roy Philip Weber

Alan David Berenbaum

Hubert Rae McLellan, Jr

Guy G Riddle

Carlos A Perea

Robert H Delaney

Robert C Restrick, Iii

A M Odlyzko

A system and method for providing telephony and high-speed data access over a broadband access network, comprising a network interface unit (NIU) coupled to a backup local exchange carrier (LEC) line, the broadband access network coupled to the NIU, an intermediate point-of-presence (IPOP) coupled to the broadband access network, and at least one external access network coupled to the IPOP. The system also provides for a fail-safe mode in which the NIU supports the LEC line for lifeline services.

Method and system for telephony and high-speed data access on a broadband access network

A flow in a network is identified and handled by using a virtual host address. A packet is received at a switch with a first virtual host address as its destination address. If the packet is the first packet of a flow received by the switch, then a second virtual host address is determined by the switch. The first virtual host address is stored in a packet forwarding table correlated with the second virtual host address. A subsequently received packet of the same flow has the same first virtual host address as its destination address, and is forwarded to the second virtual host address in accordance with the packet forwarding table.

System and method for handling flows in a network

A large high capacity switch is provided for a communication network which is constructed from a network of smaller switches. Data is fragmented into fixed sized cells and the cells of a traffic flow are aggregated by grouping cells to form larger yet uniform units of information transfer. The groups are transmitted synchronously and in parallel to increase the effective bandwidth of information transfer.

Switching network

An improved method of addressing devices in a local area network is disclosed. A small plug-in tag may be added to each device on the network. The tag is given an easily remembered name provided by the user. In addition the tag can be given a pictorial icon which can be represented by a moderate number of bits. The name and the optional icon may be visible on a label on the tag. The tag contains a chip with a small memory into which the name and optionally the bit map representation of the icon is entered. In addition, an optional unique identifier may be entered. Pins on the tag are connected to the device which has its own network address, such as an Ethernet address. Optionally, the network address may be copied into the unique identifier, or the unique identifier may be copied into the network address. The use of the tag permits easy configuration and reconfiguration of the network. The invention is particularly applicable in home or small office networks where computer-knowledgeable persons are not available to perform configuration functions.

Electronically readable name tags for network communications

Method and device provide for the encapsulation of control information in a real-time data stream. In one embodiment a method of encapsulating data in an information frame is provided. This information frame has a payload portion and a trailer portion wherein the trailer portion is designated for control data and the payload portion is designated for real-time data. In use control data is inserted into the payload portion of the information frame and an extension bit is used to signify the presence of control data in the payload portion of the information frame. The information frame is then transmited over a virtual circuit.

Method and apparatus for the encapsulation of control information in a real-time data stream

A system and method for providing telephony and high speed data access over a broadband access network, comprising a network interface unit (NIU) coupled to a backup local exchange carrier (LEC) line, the broadband access network coupled to the NIU, an intermediate point-of-presence (IPOP) coupled to the broadband access network, and at least one external access network coupled to the IPOP. The system also provides for a fail-safe mode in which the NIU supports the LEC line for lifeline services.

Method and system for telephony and high speed data access on a broadband access network

A system and method for networking. A globally valid address in a Wide Area Network includes device identification information and device location information, wherein the device identification information is distinct from the device location information. This facilitates providing network services for mobile devices. Device identification information includes a persistent, globally unique identity for devices that can be coupled to the network, and for each communication endpoint adapted to be coupled to the Wide Area Network. Network addresses are portable, allowing a network services customer to easily change its network service provider, and supporting hosts that have more than one network interface. Inline agents provide network services efficiently and transparently to users. The present invention provides a definition of network service that scales well and is capable of exploiting opportunities that will be presented by new network technologies.

Network system and method

Improved telecommunication apparatus is realized with a structure that is tailored to provide an ID signal to the telecommunication network, which signal uniquely identifies the apparatus. The ID signal can be communicated to the network under control of the apparatus, or polled by the network The apparatus includes a second port through which communication services are provided to a customer, and the ID signal can be sent to that second port as well. The apparatus further includes circuitry for processing signals flowing between the two ports, allowing the characteristics of the signal to change and thereby provide for format conversions, encryption, and other capabilities.

Customer telecommunication interface device having a unique identifier

A packet telephone system which employs a packet network that provides virtual circuits. The packet telephone system employs short packets containing compressed speech. The use of the short packets makes possible compression and decompression times and bounded delays in the virtual circuits which are together short enough to permit toll-quality telephone service. The packet telephone system employs an intelligent network interface unit to interface between the packet network and standard telephone devices. The network interface unit does the speech compression and decompression and also responds to control packets from the packet network. Consequently, many telephone system features can be implemented in the network interface unit instead of in the switches. The network interface unit may also be used to provide data connections to devices attached to it. The combination of virtual circuits, with bounded delays, short packets, rapid compression and decompression, and intelligent network interface units makes it possible to build a telephone system with fewer and cheaper switches and fewer links for a given volume of traffic than heretofore possible and also permits substantial savings in provisioning and maintaining the system.

Packet telephone system

Line card control in an ATM or other packet-based switch is provided using an in-band device configuration in which control messages from a control processor of the switch are transmitted in one or more cells to a transmission convergence device in a line card. The transmission convergence device filters a stream of cells received in the line card in order to identify cells including control messages directed to the line card. The transmission convergence device then executes one or more commands associated with a given control message. Each control message may be transmitted in a single cell including a header and a payload. A message trailer portion of the payload may include device-specific data which specifies an interpretation of the payload structure. For example, the payload may include a series of commands, each including a read or write opcode, an address, and a data field. Alternatively, the device-specific data may indicate that the payload includes a single read command, with a longer address and a larger data field. The message trailer may also include a CRC field which is compared with a CRC computed for the payload to determine whether the control message should be accepted or rejected, and a pass-through data field which is returned unmodified from the line card as part of an acknowledgment of receipt and execution of the control message.

In-band device configuration protocol for ATM transmission convergence devices

Improved telecommunication apparatus is realized with a structure that is tailored to provide an ID signal to the telecommunication network, which signal uniquely identifies the apparatus. The ID signal can be communicated to the network under control of the apparatus, or polled by the network. The apparatus includes a second port through which communication services are provided to a customer, and the ID signal can be sent to that second port as well. The apparatus further includes circuitry for processing signals flowing between the two ports, allowing the characteristics of the signal to change and thereby provide for format conversions, encryption, and other capabilities.

Improved telecommunication apparatus is realized with a structure that is tailored to interact with the telecommunication network strictly in packet format. The apparatus includes circuitry for creating either control or information packets, where each packet comprises a header portion and a payload portion. The apparatus also includes an identifier module that enables the apparatus to identify itself to the telecommunication network with an identifier signal that is unique to it. The apparatus further includes encoding and decoding circuitry to create, and decode, highly compressed digital representations of audio signals and, optionally, encryption and decryption features to enhance security of communication. Still further, the apparatus includes circuitry to enable users to interact with the network and partake of telephony service.

Packet format interface for telecommunication instruments

Improved telecommunication apparatus is realized with a structure that is tailored to interact with the telecommunication network strictly in packet format. The apparatus includes circuitry for creating either control or information packets, where each packet comprises a header portion and a payload portion. The apparatus also includes an identifier module that enables the apparatus to identify itself to the telecommunication network with an identifier signal that is unique to it. The packet format allows the apparauts to provide a myriad of services that in today's environment are implemented within the telecommunication network, including for example, call transfer, call forwarding, bridging, call waiting etc.

Customer telecommunication interface device with built-in network

A symmetrical low-cost high-density interface for ATM devices. The interface can connect any device which transmits ATM cells to any device which receives ATM cells. The signals of the interface include two control signals and four, eight, sixteen, or thirty-two data signals. The control signals are SOC, which is sent from a transmitter to a receiver and indicates the start of an ATM cell, and STRB, which determines when the transmitter sends SOC and data signals and when the receiver samples SOC and the data signals. STRB is sent under control of the receiver, and the receiver can thus use STRB to control the rate at which the receiver receives cells or portions thereof from the transmitter.

Growing community of inventors

Bernardsville, NJ, United States of America

Alexander Gibson Fraser