Method and System for Internet Protocol Provisioning of Customer Premises Equipment

• US 20100274882A1
• Filed: 07/02/2010
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Holdings LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Woundy, Richard, Bevilacqua, John G.
• Granted Patent: US 11,184,187 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2872 Termination of subscriber connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/825 Involving tunnels, e.g. MPLS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/30 Peripheral units, e.g. input or output ports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2592 using tunnelling or encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6106 specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Method and system for Internet Protocol (IP) provisioning over a cable network. The method and system including a plurality of embedded settop boxes (eSTBs) of at least two different vendors requesting IP provisioning according to a first protocol. The method and system further including a network provisioning unit (NPU) in communication with the eSTBs over the network for responding to the eSTB IP provisioning requests with IP provisioning data, wherein the eSTB IP provisioning data is outputted according to the first protocol such that provisioning of the eSTBs is standard for each vendor in so far as each eSTB utilizes the first protocol for provisioning.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

utilizing a network provisioning system to process first IP provisioning requests having a first protocol associated with first vendor equipment through at least one signaling pathway and processing first IP provisioning data responsive to the first IP provisioning requests through the at least one signaling pathway;

utilizing the network provisioning system to process second IP provisioning requests having a second protocol associated with second vendor equipment through the at least one signaling pathway and processing second IP provisioning data responsive to the second IP provisioning requests through the at least one signaling pathway; and

separating a management network from a data network housing a network provisioning unit (NPU) on a content distribution portion of a network,

wherein the separating separates a video-on-demand (VOD) controller and device controller portion in the management network from the data network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the separation is via a firewall.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in a cable television system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first IP provisioning requests and the second IP provisioning requests are generated by a plurality of client premises device.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining a vendor of each of the plurality of client premises devices using the NPU based on a device vendor identifier included in the first and second IP provisioning requests.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the NPU includes a database comprising IP provisioning data associated by vendor identifiers with a plurality of vendors, and wherein the determining the vendor of each of the plurality of client premises devices includes searching the database for a vendor identifier that matches with the device vendor identifier.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the device vendor identifier includes at least one of a serial number, a hardware version, a software version, an Organization Unique Identifier (OUI), a model number, or a vendor name.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of client premises devices includes an embedded modem.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first protocol is defined according to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

10. A method comprising:

receiving device IP provisioning requests from devices, provided by at least a first and a second vendor, through at least one signaling pathway;

separating a management network from a data network housing a network provisioning unit (NPU), the management network and the data network functioning on a content distribution side of a network;

identifying the at least one of the first and second vendors associated with the devices;

identifying device IP provisioning data associated with each identified vendor; and

transmitting the identified device IP provisioning data from the NPU to the devices requesting the device IP provisioning, through the at least one signaling pathway, wherein the identified device IP provisioning data is outputted according to a first protocol such that the provisioning of the devices is standardized for the at least one of the first and second vendors,

wherein the separating separates a video-on-demand (VOD) controller and device controller portion in the management network from the data network.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the devices comprise client premises devices.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the separation is via a firewall.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the method is performed in a cable television system.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the method is performed in a satellite television system.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the identified device IP provisioning data are sufficient to program the requesting devices to execute a set of operations associated with supporting media services provided by a media service provider.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the media service provider provides the media services with assistance from a first and second unit, and wherein the method further comprises adjusting the identified device IP provisioning data depending on whether the requesting devices are associated with the first or second unit.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the media service provider provides the media services with assistance from a first and second unit that are respectively associated with third and fourth vendors and the devices have different instructional requirements depending on whether the devices are receiving signals from a unit of the third or fourth vendor, wherein the method further comprises providing the identified device IP provisioning data to the requesting devices according to the different instructional requirements of the first and second vendors as well as the third and fourth vendors.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first and second vendors are different from the third and fourth vendors.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the first or second vendors is the same as one of the third or fourth vendors.

20. A system for Internet Protocol (IP) provisioning over a network, the system comprising:

a plurality of devices in communication with the network, at least two of the devices provided by at least two different vendors, each device configured to transmit, according to a first protocol, IP provisioning requests through a signaling pathway that separates a management network from a data network within the network, the management network and the data network functioning on a content distribution side of the network; and

a network provisioning unit (NPU) within the data network, the NPU configured to receive the device IP provisioning requests, identify one of the at least two different vendors associated with the devices, identify device IP provisioning data associated with each identified vendor, and transmit the identified device IP provisioning data through the signaling pathway, wherein the identified device IP provisioning data is transmitted according to the first protocol such that the provisioning of the devices is standard for the at least two different vendors in so far as each device utilizes the first protocol for provisioning,

wherein the signaling pathway further separates a video-on-demand (VOD) controller and device controller portion in the management network from the data network.