Method and apparatus for PPP auto-connect
First Claim
1. In a distributed network including at least one local area network having a network device and a wide area network having an access concentrator, a customer premise access equipment comprising:
- a first interface operatively connected to the network device and being adapted to receive at least one data packet from the network device;
a second interface operatively connected to the access concentrator and being adapted to provide at least one data packet to the access concentrator for transmission to the wide area network; and
an auto-connect module operably connected to the first interface and the second interface and being adapted to automatically establish a physical connection between the second interface and the access concentrator based at least in part on reception of a data packet intended for the wide area network by the customer premise access equipment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various implementations for providing transparent connectivity between local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) are disclosed herein. A customer premise access equipment (CPE) can be adapted to automatically establish a physical transport layer connection with one or more remote access concentrators on a WAN when an outgoing data packet intended for a device on the WAN is received from a network device located on a LAN. Additionally, in at least one embodiment, the CPE includes a packet filter to prevent certain data packets, such as packets intended for the CPE, from initiating an automatic connection, where the packet filter can be adapted to filter the packets based on the ports associated with the packets.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. In a distributed network including at least one local area network having a network device and a wide area network having an access concentrator, a customer premise access equipment comprising:
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a first interface operatively connected to the network device and being adapted to receive at least one data packet from the network device;
a second interface operatively connected to the access concentrator and being adapted to provide at least one data packet to the access concentrator for transmission to the wide area network; and
an auto-connect module operably connected to the first interface and the second interface and being adapted to automatically establish a physical connection between the second interface and the access concentrator based at least in part on reception of a data packet intended for the wide area network by the customer premise access equipment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. In a communications processor for processing data transmitted between a network device of a local area network and an access concentrator of a wide area network, a network protocol stack comprising:
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at least one higher-level protocol layer;
at least one lower-level protocol layer; and
a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) layer operably connected to the at least one higher-level protocol layer and the at least one lower-level protocol layer and being adapted to;
receive a data packet from the network device via the higher-level protocol layer;
determine an intended destination of the packet based at least in part on a port used to receive the packet from the network device; and
automatically establish a physical connection with the access concentrator when the wide area network is the intended destination of the packet. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for communicating data from a network device of a local area network to an access concentrator of a wide area network using a customer premise access equipment, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, at a port of the customer premise access equipment, a data packet from the network device;
determining an intended destination of the data packet based at least in part on the port; and
automatically establishing a physical connection between the customer premise access equipment and the access concentrator for transmission of the packet when the intended destination is the wide area network. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. In a network protocol stack of a customer premise access equipment for processing data transmitted between a network device of a local area network and an access concentrator of a wide area network, the network protocol stack including at least a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) layer, a method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, at the PPP layer, a data packet from the network device via a port of a higher-level protocol layer of the network stack;
determining, at the PPP layer, an intended destination of the first data packet based at least in part on the port; and
automatically establishing a physical connection between the customer premise access equipment and the access concentrator when the intended destination of the data packet is the wide area network. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. In a customer premise access equipment for processing data transmitted between a network device of a local area network and an access concentrator of a wide area network, a computer readable medium comprising a set of executable instructions adapted to manipulate a processor to:
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receive a data packet from the network device via an available port of the customer premise access equipment;
determine an intended destination of the first data packet based at least in part on the port; and
automatically establish a physical connection between the customer premise access equipment and the access concentrator when the intended destination of the data packet is the wide area network. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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Specification