Broadcom Corporation

National Semiconductor Corporation

R Jeff Lee

Niki Roberta Pantelias

Gerald Grand

Francisco J Gomez

Michael R Zelnick

Bruce W Watson

A method and system for creating an ethernet-formatted packet from an upstream DOCSIS packet. The upstream packet is first received along with packet characteristic data that is contained in physical layer prepend data and in the packet header. A packet tag is then created, based on the packet characteristic data. The packet characteristic data includes identifiers for the transmitting remote device and the channel over which the transmission is sent. Packet characteristic data also includes information about the physical characteristics of the transmission signal, such as the power level and time offset. The packet characteristic data also includes administrative information, such as the minislot count at which the packet is received and whether the packet was received in contention. The packet tag is appended to the payload of the upstream packet. Also appended to the payload is an encapsulation tag, and source and destination address headers. The result is a packet in an ethernet format. The resulting packet can therefore be sent using the ethernet protocol. The packet includes information that characterizes a DOCSIS packet. In a distributed cable modem termination system, this additional characterizing information can be used by processes further upstream, such as packet classification. An analogous operation can take place with respect to packets going downstream. Here, a DOCSIS packet is formed at an intermediate node, on the basis of a received ethernet-formatted packet.

Packet tag for support of remote network function/ packet classification

Packet tag for support of remote network function/packet classification

Tests are performed prior to or during the boot operation to determine whether files are corrupted. This may indicate the presence of a virus. If a potential error is detected, boot is halted, allowing the user to boot from uncorrupted files. In another embodiment, an uniquely formatted floppy diskette is used as an access diskette serves as a hardware key to gain access. In another embodiment, a host controls information stored locally. In another embodiment, security from unauthorized access is provided once a valid user has legitimately accessed a computer. In response to a predefined hot key or a predetermined period of time during which the user has not provided input, portions of the computer are disabled. Upon entry of access information by the valid user, the disabled features are enabled. In another embodiment, access to the computer is made more difficult in response to invalid access attempts. In one embodiment, once a threshold number of invalid access attempts is reached, the computer is locked up, requiring reboot, thereby increasing the difficulty of a would be intruder to gain access to the computer. In one embodiment, once the threshold value is reached, it is reset to a lower value.

Method and structure for securing access to a computer system

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Lawrenceville, GA, United States of America

R Jeff Lee