Highly integrated media access control
First Claim
1. A media access controller integrated circuit (MAC IC), comprising:
- a pre-processor configured to receive an egress signal from a source node, and to extract payload frames included in the egress signal;
a controller configured to identify a fragmented payload frame from among the extracted payload frames, and to reassemble the fragmented payload frame according to an instruction included in a header of the egress signal; and
a post-processor configured to identify a suppressed packet header included in the extracted payload frames, and to expand the suppressed packet header according to a packet expansion rule.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A supervisory communications device, such as a headend device within a communications network, monitors and controls communications with a plurality of remote communications devices throughout a widely distributed network. The supervisory device allocates bandwidth on the upstream channels by sending MAP messages over its downstream channel. A highly integrated media access controller integrated circuit (MAC IC) operates within the headend to provide lower level processing on signals exchanged with the remote devices. The enhanced functionality of the MAC IC relieves the processing burden on the headend CPU and increases packet throughput. The enhanced functionality includes header suppression and expansion. DES encryption and decryption, fragment reassembly, concatenation, and DMA operations.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A media access controller integrated circuit (MAC IC), comprising:
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a pre-processor configured to receive an egress signal from a source node, and to extract payload frames included in the egress signal; a controller configured to identify a fragmented payload frame from among the extracted payload frames, and to reassemble the fragmented payload frame according to an instruction included in a header of the egress signal; and a post-processor configured to identify a suppressed packet header included in the extracted payload frames, and to expand the suppressed packet header according to a packet expansion rule. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for processing an egress signal in a media access controller integrated circuit (MAC IC), comprising:
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receiving, by the MAC IC, the egress signal from a source node; extracting, by the MAC IC, payload frames included in the egress signal; identifying, by the MAC IC, a fragmented payload frame from among the extracted payload frames; reassembling, by the MAC IC, the fragmented payload frame according to an instruction included in a header of the egress signal; identifying, by the MAC IC, a suppressed packet header included in the extracted payload frames; and expanding, by the MAC IC, the suppressed packet header according to a packet expansion rule. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A media access controller integrated circuit (MAC IC), comprising:
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a pre-processor configured to process an egress signal received from a source node, the pre-processor comprising; an interface configured to receive the egress signal; a decryptor configured to extract intelligence information from the egress signal in accordance with a security protocol associated with the MAC IC, and to decrypt information included in the egress signal based on the extracted intelligence information; and a header processor configured to extract payload frames included in the egress signal; a controller configured to identify a fragmented payload frame from among the extracted payload frames, and to reassemble the fragmented payload frame according to an instruction included in a header of the egress signal; and a post-processor configured to identify a suppressed packet header included in the extracted payload frames, and to expand the suppressed packet header according to a packet expansion rule. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification