Mapping Via Back To Back Ethernet Switches
First Claim
1. A base station for use in a point-to-multi-point communication with a plurality of remote stations, comprising:
- a MAC processor connected to a communication physical layer for transmitting and receiving communications from each of the remote stations over links;
an inner Ethernet switch communicating with the MAC processor through a trunk connection which carries all the data packets to and from all the connected remote stations, the inner Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports; and
an outer Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports, with each of the plurality of Ethernet ports of the outer Ethernet switch having a dedicated connection to a single Ethernet port on the inner Ethernet switch to thereby define Ethernet port sets, the data packets to and from any one connected remote station being transmitted through a single Ethernet port set which has been assigned to that remote station, the outer Ethernet switch having one or more additional ports for external network connections on the base station device;
wherein mapping the base station-remote links'"'"' packets is achieved with tags added to data packets based upon the Ethernet port set being used between the inner and outer Ethernet switches.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A base station in a fixed wireless point to multi-point communication system includes a MAC processor and inner and outer Ethernet switches. The inner Ethernet switch communicates with the outer Ethernet switch on a plurality of ports, with packets to or from each connected remote station always traveling over a single inter-switch port pair dedicated to that remote station. Mapping the base station-remote links'"'"' downstream packets from the MAC processor is achieved with tags added in the inner Ethernet switch (downstream packets, based upon which inter-switch port pair carried the packet) and in the MAC processor (upstream packets).
11 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A base station for use in a point-to-multi-point communication with a plurality of remote stations, comprising:
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a MAC processor connected to a communication physical layer for transmitting and receiving communications from each of the remote stations over links; an inner Ethernet switch communicating with the MAC processor through a trunk connection which carries all the data packets to and from all the connected remote stations, the inner Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports; and an outer Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports, with each of the plurality of Ethernet ports of the outer Ethernet switch having a dedicated connection to a single Ethernet port on the inner Ethernet switch to thereby define Ethernet port sets, the data packets to and from any one connected remote station being transmitted through a single Ethernet port set which has been assigned to that remote station, the outer Ethernet switch having one or more additional ports for external network connections on the base station device; wherein mapping the base station-remote links'"'"' packets is achieved with tags added to data packets based upon the Ethernet port set being used between the inner and outer Ethernet switches. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of handling data packets in a base station for use in a point-to-multi-point communication with a plurality of remote stations, comprising:
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transmitting and receiving communications from each of the remote stations over links with a MAC processor via a communication physical layer; carrying all the data packets to and from all the connected remote stations through a trunk connection between the MAC processor and an inner Ethernet switch, the inner Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports; transmitting the data packets through an outer Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports, with each of the plurality of Ethernet ports of the outer Ethernet switch having a dedicated connection to a single Ethernet port on the inner Ethernet switch to thereby define Ethernet port sets, data packets to and from any one connected remote station being transmitted through a single Ethernet port set which has been assigned to that remote station, the outer Ethernet switch having one or more additional ports for external network connections on the base station device; and mapping the base station-remote links'"'"' packets by adding tags to data packets corresponding to the Ethernet port set being used between the inner and outer Ethernet switches. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A wireless point-to-multi-point communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of remote stations; a base station transmitting and receiving communications from each of the remote stations over wireless links, the base station comprising; a MAC processor connected to a communication physical layer for transmission and reception; an inner Ethernet switch communicating with the MAC processor through a trunk connection which carries all the data packets to and from all the connected remote stations, the inner Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports; and an outer Ethernet switch having a plurality of Ethernet ports, with each of the plurality of Ethernet ports of the outer Ethernet switch having a dedicated connection to a single Ethernet port on the inner Ethernet switch to thereby define Ethernet port sets, the data packets to and from any one of the remote stations being transmitted through a single Ethernet port set which has been assigned to that remote station, the outer Ethernet switch having one or more additional ports for external network connections on the base station device; wherein mapping the base station-remote links'"'"' packets is achieved with tags added to data packets based upon the Ethernet port set being used between the inner and outer Ethernet switches.
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Specification