Multi-carrier LAN modem server

• US 6,704,317 B1
• Filed: 05/27/1998
• Issued: 03/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: 3Com Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Dobson, William Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHUONGCHAU BA
• Application Number:
  US09/085,907
• Time in Patent Office: 2,113 Days
• Field of Search: 370/337, 370/328, 370/338, 370/400, 370/401-402, 370/403, 370/404, 370/405, 370/406, 370/407, 370/420, 370/421, 370/425, 370/352, 370/354, 370/356, 370/493, 370/494, 370/495, 370/497, 375/260, 375/354, 375/229, 375/232, 375/285, 375/296
• US Class Current: 370/401
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0044 allocation of payload

Abstract

A gateway modem server device for a home LAN. The modem server includes a first transceiver that utilizes DMT modulation methods for communication over the local LAN, and a second transceiver for communication with the access infrastructure that utilizes POTS telephone services. The LAN devices connected to the LAN access the modem server via LAN adapter devices. The adapter devices are internal or external to the LAN devices and provide a transceiver and protocol stacks for the LAN devices to communicate with each other. The physical layer of the transceivers includes transmitter having a DMT modulator and demodulator that is dynamically configurable with respect to data rate and spectrum usage. The devices communicate with the modem server and the modem server communicates to the POTS service provider over the same medium.

Claims

1. A gateway modem server residing on a discrete multi-tone local area network and providing POTS modem service to a plurality of devices on the discrete multi-tone local area network, where the devices communicate with the gateway modem server and the gateway modem server communicates to a POTS service provider over the discrete multi-tone local area network, said gateway modem server comprising:

a POTS modem transceiver for sending and receiving modulated signals to and from a the POTS service provider, said modulated signals primarily occupying the POTS frequency band;

a multi-point transceiver connected to said POTS modem transceiver, wherein said multi-point transceiver transmits and receives multi-carrier data bursts to and from the plurality of devices on the discrete multi-tone local area network, and wherein said multi-point transceiver exchanges digital data with said POTS modem transceiver;

whereby any one of the plurality of devices on the discrete multi-tone local area network transmits to a public network by way of said multi-point transceiver and said POTS modem transceiver.

2. The gateway modem server of claim 1 wherein said multi-point transceiver utilizes a plurality of predetermined carrier frequencies and selectively transmit on less than all of said plurality of predetermined carrier frequencies.

3. The gateway modem server of claim 1 wherein said multi-point transceiver includes a transformer for converting frequency domain signals to time domain signals.

4. The gateway modem server of claim 3 wherein said transformer performs a discrete Fourier transform.

5. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein the medium over which said multi-point transceiver transmits and receives multi-carrier data bursts is POTS wiring.

6. The gateway modem server of claim 1 wherein said data bursts comprise a plurality of frames wherein at least one frame contains at least one predetermined data symbol.

7. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said transceiver further comprises a frequency domain equalizer.

8. The gateway modem server of claim 7, wherein said transceiver transmits at least one known symbol on at least two non-adjacent carriers and transmits data symbols on carriers between said at least two non-adjacent carriers, and wherein said frequency domain equalizer generates filter taps for each said carrier in response to said at least one known symbol on at least two non-adjacent carriers.

9. The gateway modem server of claim 8, wherein said equalizer generates said filter taps by interpolating points between the received said at least one known symbol on at least two non-adjacent carriers.

10. The gateway modem server of claim 9, wherein said equalizer updates said filter taps by calculating averages of said at least one known symbol for each of said at least two carriers and interpolating points between said averages.

11. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said transceiver transmits known symbols on every N^th carrier, where N is any integer greater than 1.

12. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises a point-to-point protocol module that provides routing functionality for multi-point connectivity between the plurality of devices on the local area network and the public network.

13. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises a network address translation (NAT) module.

14. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises a dynamic host configuration protocol (DICP) module.

15. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises a management module having a single network management protocol (SNMP) agent and a point-to-point protocol module.

16. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises a simple client agent.

17. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises a network adapter that communicates with full-rate devices (FRD) and sub-rate devices (SRD).

18. The gateway modem server of claim 17, wherein said network adapter further comprises an address resolution protocol (ARP) module for querying a MAC address from at least one of the plurality of devices on the local area network.

19. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver is adapted for communication using one of ISDN, G.Lite and xDSL services.

20. The gateway modem server of claim 1, wherein said multi-point transceiver further comprises at least one of a routing module and a session authentication and security module.