SYSTEM FOR TESTING THE UPSTREAM CHANNEL OF A CABLE NETWORK
First Claim
1. A system for determining the performance of a portion of a network, the system comprising:
- a receiver including circuitry for;
receiving a signal from a transmission point at a destination, andreturning the signal to the transmission point; and
a transmitter including circuitry for;
transmitting the signal from the transmission point onto the portion of the network,correcting errors introduced into the signal in transmission from the destination to the transmission point, anddetermining the performance of the portion of the network from the transmission point to the destination.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for testing a portion of a cable network provides a pattern generator, Addresser, forward error corrector, and comparator. The system is particularly adapted to testing the upstream channel in a cable network. The pattern generator generates a test signal. The addresser addresses the signal to a known server and also instructs the known server to return the test signal to the test system. The forward error corrector corrects errors introduced in the test signal in transmission from the known server to the test system. The comparator then compares the returned test signal to the originally transmitted test signal to determine the performance of the back channel. Preferably, the comparator uses a bit error rate test to determine the performance of the back channel.
24 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A system for determining the performance of a portion of a network, the system comprising:
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a receiver including circuitry for; receiving a signal from a transmission point at a destination, and returning the signal to the transmission point; and a transmitter including circuitry for; transmitting the signal from the transmission point onto the portion of the network, correcting errors introduced into the signal in transmission from the destination to the transmission point, and determining the performance of the portion of the network from the transmission point to the destination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for determining the performance of a portion of a network, the method comprising:
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a receiver including circuitry for; receiving a signal at a destination, and returning the non-discarded signal portions to a transmission point; and a transmitter including circuitry for; transmitting a signal from a transmission point onto the portion of the network, detecting errors in the signal received at the destination, discarding portions of the signal received at the destination that contain errors, determining the magnitude of the discarded portions of the signal from the returned, non-discarded portions, using a block error rate test to determine the performance of the portion of the network, and determining the performance of the portion of the network from the transmission point to the destination. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A device for determining the performance of a portion of a network comprising:
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a forward error corrector; and a comparator coupled to the forward error corrector. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A device for determining the performance of a portion of a network comprising:
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circuitry for correcting errors in a signal; and circuitry for comparing a signal to a standard. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A memory device for storing program instructions comprising:
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a forward error corrector; and a comparator. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for determining the performance of a portion of a network, the system comprising:
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a cable modem termination system (CMTS) for; receiving a test packet, and returning the test packet from the CMTS on a downstream portion of the network; and a tester for; transmitting a test packet from onto an upstream portion of the network, and using the test packet in the tester to determine the performance of the upstream portion of the network. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification