Neighbor discovery in cable networks
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system, comprising:
- a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) configured to operate between a data network and a cable network, the CMTS to communicate upstream traffic sent from a plurality of cable modems to the data network, to receive traffic from the data network for forwarding downstream to the cable modems, wherein the CMTS includes;
a database containing addressing information for the cable modems;
a communications link to allow the CMTS to communicate with the cable network; and
circuitry configured to;
receive a neighbor discovery message from a requesting one of the cable modems;
identify an address corresponding to the received neighbor discovery message;
compare the identified address to the database to determine whether the database includes a stored address corresponding to the identified address;
forward the received neighbor discovery message if the corresponding stored address is absent from the database; and
filter the received neighbor discovery message according to the comparison such that the neighbor discovery message is not forwarded to one of the other cable modems if the corresponding stored address is present in the database.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A network device has a communications link to allow the device to communicate with customer devices and a processor. The processor is to receive neighbor discovery messages from requesting customer devices, examine the neighbor discovery messages to determine if the neighbor discovery message should be forwarded to other of the customer devices, and respond to the requesting customer devices.
153 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) configured to operate between a data network and a cable network, the CMTS to communicate upstream traffic sent from a plurality of cable modems to the data network, to receive traffic from the data network for forwarding downstream to the cable modems, wherein the CMTS includes; a database containing addressing information for the cable modems; a communications link to allow the CMTS to communicate with the cable network; and circuitry configured to; receive a neighbor discovery message from a requesting one of the cable modems; identify an address corresponding to the received neighbor discovery message; compare the identified address to the database to determine whether the database includes a stored address corresponding to the identified address; forward the received neighbor discovery message if the corresponding stored address is absent from the database; and filter the received neighbor discovery message according to the comparison such that the neighbor discovery message is not forwarded to one of the other cable modems if the corresponding stored address is present in the database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method, comprising:
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examining a received neighbor discovery message using a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), the neighbor discovery message originating from one of a plurality of cable modems and formatted to be forwarded to one or more of the non-originating cable modems; identifying an address according to the examination using the CMTS, the address associated with information included in the neighbor discovery message; comparing, using the CMTS, the identified address to a database containing addressing information for the cable modems; filtering, using the CMTS, the neighbor discovery message according to the comparison, said filtering preventing the neighbor discovery message from being forwarded to the non-originating cable modems; and responding to the requesting customer device using the CMTS if said filtering is performed. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A cable modem termination system, comprising:
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means for allowing the cable modem termination system to communicate with cable modems; and means for; receiving and processing a message from an originating one of the cable modems, the message requesting an address determination; identifying an address according to the processing, the address associated with information included in the message; comparing the identified address to a list containing addressing information for the cable modems; determining whether the list includes a stored address corresponding to the identified address according to the comparison; and preventing the message from being forwarded according to the determination such that the message is not forwarded if the stored address is present in the list. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. An article of machine-readable media containing instructions that when executed by a machine performs:
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receiving and processing a message from an originating one of a plurality of cable modems, the message requesting an address determination; identifying an address according to the processing, the address associated with information included in the message; comparing the identified address to a list containing addressing information for the cable modems; determining whether the list includes a stored address corresponding to the identified address according to the comparison; and preventing the message from being forwarded to at least one network device according to the determination such that the message is not forwarded to the network device if the stored address is present in the list. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification