Cisco Technology, Inc.

David B Fox

John T Chapman

Alon Shlomo Bernstein

Jin Zhang

Michael J Healy

Daniel W Crocker

Shengyou Zeng

Albert A Slane

William Guckel

A network device has a communications port to provide communication with a data network and a cable port to provide communication with a cable network across multiple channels. The network device also has a processor to receive data from the data network, format the data into packets for transmission across the multiple channels and provide an identifier to allow the packets to be reconstructed.

Wideband cable downstream protocol

A hybrid cable modem includes wideband circuitry configured to receive data over multiple different downstream channels at the same time. The wideband circuitry demodulates signals on the different downstream channels and then formats the demodulated signals back into packets or frames for sending out over an Internet Protocol (IP) home network. Narrowband cable modem circuitry is coupled to the wideband circuitry and selectively extracts Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) data from one of the multiple downstream channels being processed by the wideband circuitry.

Wideband cable modem with narrowband circuitry

A modular Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) includes a packet shelf operating a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) framer. One or more downstream Physical Interface (PHY) shelves receive DOCSIS data from the packet shelf over a packet switched network and modulate the DOCSIS data for sending on a downstream path of a cable plant. One or more upstream PHY shelves send DOCSIS data received from an upstream path of the cable plant over the packet switched network to the packet shelf. By separating the PHY components from the MAC and from the system software, the PHY components for a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) plant may be replaced with different PHY components for other access technologies such as wireless, Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), Ethernet-to-the-Home, Fiber-to-the-Home, or fiber Passive Optical Networks (PONs).

Downstream remote physical interface for modular cable modem termination system

A given data packet is parsed into words and a final partial word that are processed (depending on size) in each of multiple successive stages of logic circuitry. Similarly sized words are processed at one stage of the logic circuit. Smaller and smaller modulo-2 components of the final partial word are processed at successive stages of logic circuitry. Based on this technique of processing modulo-2 components in different stages, the corresponding multi-stage logic circuit can be implemented in a low cost logic circuit such as an FPGA device instead of a custom-masked ASIC.

Growing community of inventors

Bolton, MA, United States of America

David B Fox