Tunneling scheme for transporting information over a cable network

• US 20050265398A1
• Filed: 05/20/2005
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chapman, John T., Guckel, William
• Granted Patent: US 7,864,686 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/509
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1859 adapted to provide push services, e.g. data channels

Abstract

A cable network includes a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) set-top gateway (DSG) server connected to an Internet Protocol (IP) network and a DSG client operating in a set-top device connected to a cable network. A DSG agent operates in a cable modem termination system (CMTS) coupled between the IP network and the cable network. The DSG agent receives data from the DSG server and sends the data to the DSG client over dynamically assigned DSG tunnels.

Claims

1. A cable modem termination system, comprising:

a processor sending address tables over a cable plant that dynamically map set-top client identifiers with tunnel addresses, the processor sending data to the set-top devices over tunnels using the tunnel addresses in the address tables mapping to the set-top device client identifiers.

2. The cable modem termination system according to claim 1 wherein the processor sends address tables mapping multiple different set-top device client identifiers to a same tunnel address so that the set-top devices with different client identifiers receive data over the same tunnel address.

3. The cable modem termination system according to claim 1 wherein the set-top device client identifiers are media access control (MAC) addresses and the tunnel addresses are MAC destination addresses.

4. The cable modem termination system according to claim 1 wherein some of the tunnel addresses are media access control (MAC) multicast addresses.

5. The cable modem termination system according to claim 1 wherein the address tables contain rules identifying different types of client identifiers mapping to the tunnel addresses.

6. The cable modem termination system according to claim 5 wherein the different types of client identifiers include a well known media access control (MAC) address, a conditional address system identifier, a broadcast identifier, or a software application identifier.

7. The cable modem termination system according to claim 1 wherein some of the address tables include classifiers mapping the set-top device client identifiers with different classifications of data transported in the tunnels.

8. The cable modem termination system according to claim 7 wherein the classifiers include Internet Protocol (IP) source addresses, IP destination addresses, and user datagram protocol (UDP) destination port addresses.

9. The cable modem termination system according to claim 1 wherein the processor operates in both a basic mode where the tunnel addresses are statically set equal to the set-top device client identifiers and an advanced mode where the tunnel addresses are assigned to set-top devices dynamically with the address tables.

10. A network device, comprising:

a processor having an associated network device identifier and receiving address tables mapping the network device identifier to dynamically assigned tunnel addresses, the processor then processing data received in tunnels having the tunnel addresses mapping to the associated network device identifier.

11. The network device according to claim 10 wherein the processor operates in a set-top device that receives the tunnels over a cable plant.

12. The network device according to claim 10 wherein the network device identifier is a well known media access control (MAC) address, a conditional address system identifier, a broadcast identifier, or a software application identifier.

13. The network device according to claim 10 wherein at least some of the address tables include classifiers identifying different data identifiers for the tunnel addresses, the processor then only processing the data corresponding with the classifiers in the assigned tunnel addresses2.

14. The network device according to claim 10 wherein some of the address tables map an upstream channel identifier (VCID) associated with the processor to one or more tunnel addresses.

15. A system for transporting data over a cable network comprising:

a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) set-top gateway (DSG) server connected to an Internet Protocol (IP) network;

a DSG client operating in a set-top device connected to a cable network; and

a DSG agent operating in a cable modem termination system (CMTS) coupled between the IP network and the cable network, the DSG agent receiving data from the DSG server and sending the data to the DSG client over dynamically assigned DSG tunnels.

16. The system according to claim 15 wherein the DSG agent periodically sends downstream channel descriptor (DCD) messages to the DSG client mapping DSG tunnels to set-top device client identifiers, the DSG client then processing data received over the DSG tunnels mapped to associated set-top device client identifiers in the DCD messages.

17. The system according to claim 16 wherein the DCD messages map multiple different set-top device client identifiers to the same DSG tunnel.

18. The system according to claim 16 wherein the downstream channel descriptors include rules for associating DSG tunnels to different types of set-top device identifiers and classifiers for mapping different data identifiers for data sent in the DSG tunnels with the different set-top device client identifiers.

19. A method for sending information over a cable network, comprising:

sending address tables over a cable plant that dynamically map set-top client identifiers with tunnel addresses; and

establishing tunnels over the cable plant having the tunnel addresses; and

sending data to the set-top devices using the tunnel addresses mapping to the set-top device client identifiers.

20. The method according to claim 19 including using media access control (MAC) addresses as the set-top device client identifiers and using multicast (MAC) addresses for the tunnel addresses.

21. The method according to claim 19 including providing rules in the address tables that use a well known MAC address, a conditional address system identifier, a broadcast identifier, or a software application identifier as the set-top device client identifiers.

22. The method according to claim 21 including providing classifiers in the address tables that map the client identifiers with different Internet Protocol (IP) source addresses, IP destination addresses, and user datagram protocol (UDP) destination port addresses, or upstream channel identifiers (UCIDs).

23. The method according to claim 21 including randomly changing the tunnel addresses on a periodic basis and accordingly updating the tunnel addresses in the address table.

24. A method for receiving data, comprising:

receiving address tables indexing a local network device identifier to dynamically assigned tunnel addresses;

identifying tunnels received over a network having tunnel addresses indexed to the local network device identifier; and

receiving data over the identified tunnels.

25. The method according to claim 24 including using a preconfigured media access control (MAC) address as the local network device identifier and MAC multicast destination addresses as the tunnel addresses.

26. The method according to claim 24 including processing data in the identified tunnels having Internet Protocol (IP) address values corresponding to address classifiers identified in the address tables.

27. A method for transporting data over a cable network comprising:

operating a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) set-top gateway (DSG) server that supplies information;

operating a DSG client that receives the information from the DSG server; and

operating a DSG agent that receives data from the DSG server and sends the data to the DSG client over dynamically assigned DSG tunnels.

28. The method according to claim 27 including periodically sending downstream channel descriptor messages from the DSG agent to the DSG client that map client identifiers associated with the DSG client to dynamically assigned DSG tunnel addresses.

29. A system for sending information over a cable network, comprising:

means for sending address tables over a cable plant that dynamically map set-top client identifiers with tunnel addresses; and

means for establishing tunnels over the cable plant having the tunnel addresses; and

means for sending data to the set-top devices using the tunnel addresses mapping to the set-top device client identifiers.

30. The system according to claim 29 including means for using media access control (MAC) addresses as the set-top device client identifiers and using multicast (MAC) addresses for the tunnel addresses.

31. The system according to claim 29 including means for providing rules in the address tables that use a well known MAC address, a conditional address system identifier, a broadcast identifier, or a software application identifier as the set-top device client identifiers.

32. The system according to claim 31 including means for providing classifiers in the address tables that map the client identifiers with different Internet Protocol (IP) source addresses, IP destination addresses, and user datagram protocol (UDP) destination port addresses, or upstream channel identifiers (UCIDs).

33. The system according to claim 31 including means for randomly changing the tunnel addresses on a periodic basis and accordingly updating the tunnel addresses in the address table.

34. A system for receiving data, comprising:

means for receiving address tables indexing a local network device identifier to dynamically assigned tunnel addresses;

means for identifying tunnels received over a network having tunnel addresses indexed to the local network device identifier; and

means for receiving data over the identified tunnels.

35. The system according to claim 34 including means for using a preconfigured media access control (MAC) address as the local network device identifier and MAC multicast destination addresses as the tunnel addresses.

36. The system according to claim 34 including means for processing data in the identified tunnels having Internet Protocol (IP) address values corresponding to address classifiers identified in the address tables.

37. A storage media containing software for sending information over a cable network, the software when executed:

sending address tables over a cable plant that dynamically map set-top client identifiers with tunnel addresses; and

establishing tunnels over the cable plant having the tunnel addresses; and

sending data to the set-top devices using the tunnel addresses mapping to the set-top device client identifiers.