Radio-frequency communications redundancy
First Claim
1. A CMTS system for receiving signals from, and transmitting signals toward, a High-Frequency Coax plant, the system comprising:
- a plurality of normally-active CMTSs each configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
a plurality of interface modules coupled to the normally-active CMTSs and configured to convey data toward the HFC from the normally-active CMTSs and from the HFC toward the normally-active CMTSs; and
a spare CMTS configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
wherein at least two interface modules are coupled to each other in a daisy-chain fashion to couple at least a first of the interface modules to the spare CMTS via at least a second of the interface modules to which the first interface module is daisy-chain coupled.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cable modem termination system (CMTS) for receiving signals from, and transmitting signals toward, a High-Frequency Coax plant includes multiple normally-active CMTSs each configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals, multiple interface modules coupled to the normally-active CMTSs and configured to convey data toward the HFC from the normally-active CMTSs and from the HFC toward the normally-active CMTSs, and a spare CMTS configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals, where at least two interface modules are coupled to each other in a daisy-chain fashion to couple at least a first of the interface modules to the spare CMTS via at least a second of the interface modules to which the first interface module is daisy-chain coupled.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A CMTS system for receiving signals from, and transmitting signals toward, a High-Frequency Coax plant, the system comprising:
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a plurality of normally-active CMTSs each configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
a plurality of interface modules coupled to the normally-active CMTSs and configured to convey data toward the HFC from the normally-active CMTSs and from the HFC toward the normally-active CMTSs; and
a spare CMTS configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
wherein at least two interface modules are coupled to each other in a daisy-chain fashion to couple at least a first of the interface modules to the spare CMTS via at least a second of the interface modules to which the first interface module is daisy-chain coupled. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A CMTS system for receiving signals from, and transmitting signals toward, a High-Frequency Coax plant, the system comprising:
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a plurality of normally-active CMTSs each configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
a plurality of input/output (I/O) modules each associated with a respective normally-active CMTS;
a spare CMTS configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals; and
coupling means for serially coupling at least two of the I/O modules associated with normally-active CMTSs to the spare CMTS. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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13. A method of providing one-to-N redundancy for N normally-active cable modem terminal system (CMTS) data transfer units using a spare CMTS, the method comprising:
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providing the spare CMTS and the N normally-active CMTS data transfer units;
providing coupling of at least two of the CMTS data transfer units to each other; and
monitoring the normally-active data transfer units for de-activation.
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21. A CMTS system for receiving signals from, and transmitting signals toward, a High-Frequency Coax plant, the system comprising:
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a plurality of normally-active CMTSs each configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
a plurality of interface modules coupled to the normally-active CMTSs and configured to convey data toward the HFC from the normally-active CMTSs and from the HFC toward the normally-active CMTSs; and
a spare CMTS configured to receive and transmit modem-compatible signals;
a switch mechanism configured to selectively couple the spare CMTS to at least two interface modules independently of any other of the interface modules;
wherein at least two interface modules are coupled to each other in a daisy-chain fashion to couple at least a first of the interface modules to the spare CMTS via at least a second of the interface modules to which the first interface module is daisy-chain coupled; and
wherein each interface module corresponds to a respective normally-active CMTS, the interface modules each including an upstream input port and a downstream output port, and each interface module is configured to couple its downstream output port and upstream input port to its respective normally-active CMTS, while bypassing the spare CMTS, while the respective normally-active CMTS is operational and to the spare CMTS otherwise.
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Specification