Cisco Technology, Inc.

Ascend Communications, Inc.

John P Prokopik

John T Chapman

Alvar Antonio Dean

Michael J Healy

Richard J Santarpio

Mahesh N Ganmukhi

Mohammed Ismael Tatar

Promode Nedungadi

Garry Paul Epps

Mark Andrew Gustlin

Guy Fedorkow

Steven Philip Holmes

David Doak

Randall A Johnson

Michael J Taylor

Ronald Louis Baracka, Jr

Michael P DeMilia

A wideband cable modem system increases available bandwidth of a single channel by encoding a data stream into wideband packets. The wideband packets are associated with a logical wideband channel that extends over multiple physical downstream cable channels.

Wideband cable system

A port adapter for connecting zero or more network interfaces to a host system having a SPI-4 bus is disclosed. The port adapter comprises zero or more network interfaces; a SPI-4 bus coupled to a host system to provide a communication channel between the host and the network interfaces; a control bus coupled to the host system for controlling and monitoring the port adapter; and interface logic that interfaces the SPI-4 bus and the control bus to the network interfaces. Methods are provided for selecting and using one of a small plurality of different packet formats for various networking technologies, so that the port adapter can hide details of the technology that it handles from the host system, and for operating the host system's SPI-4 bus at one of several speeds based on bandwidth requirements of the port adapter.

Port adapter for high-bandwidth bus

First and second control processor cards are employed in conjunction with first and second switch fabric cards to interconnect Input/Output cards in a telecommunications switch. The control processor cards provide a portion of the functionality previously associated with switch fabric cards, such as exertion of control over allocation of bandwidth within the switch. The control processor cards also provide new functionality. In particular, each control processor card can configure both switch fabric cards. Redundant control processor cards and redundant switch fabric cards are employed to provide a switch that is less susceptible to failure than switches with only redundant switch fabric cards. Hence, failure of a control processor card and a switch fabric card can be sustained without resulting in switch failure. Timing control functions may also be provided by a separate timing module card.

Control processor switchover for a telecommunications switch

Growing community of inventors

Auburn, NH, United States of America

John P Prokopik