Downstream remote physical interface for modular cable modem termination system
First Claim
1. A modular cable modem termination system (CMTS), comprising:
- a packet shelf operating a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) framer; and
one or more downstream Physical Interface (PHY) shelves receiving DOCSIS data from the packet shelf over a packet switched network and modulating the DOCSIS data for sending on a downstream path of a cable plant.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
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).
139 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A modular cable modem termination system (CMTS), comprising:
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a packet shelf operating a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) framer; and
one or more downstream Physical Interface (PHY) shelves receiving DOCSIS data from the packet shelf over a packet switched network and modulating the DOCSIS data for sending on a downstream path of a cable plant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for operating a distributed Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), comprising:
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receiving packet data from a wide area network;
formatting the packet data into Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) frames; and
sending the DOCSIS MAC frames over a packet switched network to a remote Physical Interface (PHY) for a cable plant. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A packet shelf, comprising:
a processor configured to format Internet Protocol (IP) packets into Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) frames and encapsulate multiple DOCSIS frames into a common payload in a tunneling packet for sending to a remote Physical Interface (PHY) for a cable. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A modular cable downstream Physical Interface (PHY), comprising:
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a packet switched network interface for receiving Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) frames over a packet switched network; and
one or more Quadrature Amplitude Modulators (QAMs) modulating information in the DOCSIS frames received over the packet switched network interface onto a downstream path of a cable plant. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for operating a downstream Physical Interface (PHY) in a cable network, comprising:
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receiving Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) frames from a DOCSIS Medium Access Controller (MAC) over a packet switched network; and
modulating the information in the DOCSIS frames for transporting over a downstream path of a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) cable plant. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for operating a downstream Physical Interface (PHY) in a cable network, comprising:
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means for receiving Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) frames from a DOCSIS Medium Access Controller (MAC) over a packet switched network; and
means for modulating the information in the DOCSIS frames for transporting over a downstream path of a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) cable plant. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A system for operating a distributed Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), comprising:
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means for receiving packet data from a wide area network;
means for formatting the packet data into Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) frames; and
means for sending the DOCSIS MAC frames over a packet switched network to a remote Physical Interface (PHY) for a cable plant. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. An article of machine-readable media, containing instructions that, when executed, cause the machine to:
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receive packet data from a wide area network;
format the packet data into Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) Media Access Control (MAC) frames; and
send the DOCSIS MAC frames over a packet switched network to a remote Physical Interface (PHY) for a cable plant.
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Specification