IP data encapsulation and insertion in a transport multiplexer

• US 7,356,029 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2002
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Silagi, Randall, Meandzija, Branislav N., Kaku, Vicky B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan; Wing
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sefcheck; Gregory B.
• Application Number:
  US10/124,602
• Publication Number:
  US 20030012190A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,184 Days
• Field of Search: 370389-390
• US Class Current: 370/390
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2212/00 Encapsulation of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 : Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 : Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 : Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 : Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6433 : Digital Storage Media - Command and Control Protocol [DSM-CC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/52 : Systems for transmission of a pulse code modulated video signal with one or more other pulse code modulated signals, e.g. an audio signal or a synchronizing signal assembling of a multiplex stream by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, assembling of a packetised elementary stream at server side H04N21/236; disassembling of a multiplex stream, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, extraction or processing of Service Information, disassembling of packetised elementary stream at client side H04N21/434

Abstract

A system and method of multiplexing data into an MPEG transport stream are described. In particular, an IP packet is examined to determine if it is a multicast IP packet. If so, the IP packet is repackaged into one or more MPEG packets for transmission in the MPEG transport stream.

Claims

1. A method of encapsulating an Internet Protocol (“

IP2) data packet into at least one Moving Pictures Experts Group (“

MPEG2) data packet, the IP data packet having content and a destination address and the method comprising;

receiving the IP data packet;

examining the destination address to determine whether the IP data packet is a multicast IP packet;

if the IP data packet is determined to be a multicast packet;

creating a Digital Storage Media-Command and Control (“

DSM-CC2) header for the MPEG data packet using the destination address from the IP data packet;

creating an MPEG header for the at least one MPEG data packet; and

assembling the DSM-CC header, the MPEG header and the content from the IP data packet into at least one MPEG data packet;

if the IP data packet is determined not to be a multicast packet;

routing the IP data packet through a host processor stack.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the content of the IP data packet is less than 160 bytes long; and

responsive to an indication that the content of the IP data packet is less than 160 bytes long, filling the remainder of the MPEG data packet with a Cyclic Redundancy Code (“

CRC”

) and with dummy data.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the dummy data comprises the numerical value of 255 and is repeated until a 188 byte MPEG data packet has been formed.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the format of the assembled MPEG data packet is one of a Digital Video Broadcast (“

DVB”

) data format or a ATSC data format; and

the DSM-CC header indicates the format of the assembled MPEG data packet.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

inserting the assembled MPEG data packet into an MPEG data stream using a multiplexer; and

responsive to receipt of the IP data packet, verifying that the multiplexer has been properly configured to process the assembled MPEG data packet.

6. A method of encapsulating and inserting a multicast Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) data packet into a Moving Pictures Experts Group (“

MPEG”

) data stream comprising first and second MPEG data packets, the IP data packet having content of at least 165 bytes long and a destination address, the method comprising;

receiving an IP data packet;

fragmenting the content of the IP data packet into a first content component that is no more than 164 bytes long and at least one second content

component that is no more than 180 bytes long;

creating a Digital Storage Media-Command and Control (“

DSM-CC”

) header for the MPEG data stream using the destination address from the IP data packet;

creating an MPEG header with at least one packet identifier (“

PID”

) for the MPEG data stream;

assembling the DSM-CC header, the MPEG header and the first content component into a first MPEG data packet;

creating a Cyclic Redundancy Code (“

CRC”

);

assembling the MPEG header, the CRC and the second content component into a second MPEG data packet; and

inserting the first and second MPEG data packets into an MPEG data stream.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein first and second assembled MPEG data packets are stored in a first in-first out (“

FIFO”

) memory prior to inserting the packets into the MPEG data stream.

8. A method of encapsulating an Internet Protocol (“

IP”

) data packet into at least one Moving Pictures Experts Group (“

MPEG”

) data packet, the IP data packet having content and a destination address, the method comprising;

receiving the IP data packet and determining whether the IP data packet is a multicast IP packet;

using the destination address to create a Digital Storage Media-Command and Control (“

DSM-CC”

) header with a Cyclic Redundancy Code (“

CRC”

) for the MPEG data packet;

creating an MPEG header for the MPEG data packet;

creating a CRC for the MPEG data packet;

determining the number of bytes of content of the IP data packet, responsive to a determination that there are N bytes of content, assembling the DSM-CC header, the MPEG header, the CRC and the content into a single MPEG data packet wherein N is greater than zero;

responsive to a determination that there are less than N bytes of content, adding content fill to enlarge the content to N bytes and assembling the DSM-CC header, the MPEG header, the CRC and the filled content into a single MPEG data packet; and

responsive to a determination that there are more than N bytes of content, fragmenting the content into a first content component of N+4 bytes and a second content component, assembling the DSM-CC header, the MPEG header and the first content component into a first MPEG data packet, and assembling the MPEG header, the CRC and the second content component into a second MPEG data packet.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein:

the format of the assembled MPEG data packets is one of a Digital Video Broadcast (“

DVB”

) data format or a ATSC data format; and

the DSM-CC header indicates the format of the assembled MPEG data packets.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein:

determining whether the IP data packet is a multicast packet comprises examining the destination address to determine whether the source address of the received IP data packet is a broadcast, unicast or multicast IP packet; and

responsive to a determination that the IP packet is not a multicast IP packet, sending the IP packet to an address resolution process (“

ARP”

) task for processing.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein N is 164.