Gateway for transporting out-of-band messaging signals

• US 9,264,250 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Taylor, Kevin N., Jones, Doug
• Primary Examiner(s): EBRAHIM, ANEZ C
• Application Number:
  US12/970,364
• Publication Number:
  US 20110085564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,888 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2838 Distribution of signals within a home automation network, e.g. involving splitting/multiplexing signals to/from different paths adaptations of television systems for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution H04N7/106; hybrid transport H04L12/6418; home network arrangements specially adapted for distribution of digital video signals H04N7/24
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2872 Termination of subscriber connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/825 Involving tunnels, e.g. MPLS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/30 Peripheral units, e.g. input or output ports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2592 using tunnelling or encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6106 specially adapted to the downstream path of the transmission network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) having a gateway configured to output signals on over data tunnels for transfer over a cable network to Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). Each data tunnel is preferably characterized as a one-way data stream of out-of-band (OOB) messaging signals.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having stored therein computer executable instructions, that when executed by the processor, cause the device to perform;

receiving out-of-band (OOB) signals through a signaling pathway that provides firewall separation between control data and content data, the OOB signals comprising at least a first message having a first message type and a second message having a second message type;

transmitting the first message to a first destination address via a first data tunnel having a first tunnel type corresponding to the first message type and the second message to a second destination address via a second data tunnel having a second tunnel type corresponding to the second message type; and

transmitting, to a third destination address, information associating the first tunnel type with the first destination address and associating the second tunnel type with the second destination address.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the tunnel types comprises a broadcast tunnel, a conditional access tunnel, an application tunnel or a code download tunnel.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the transmitting via the first data tunnel and the second data tunnel collectively comprises transmitting via a plurality of output ports.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein a first one of the plurality of output ports is associated with the first message type and a second one of the plurality of output ports is associated with the second message type.

5. The device of claim 4 further comprising:

a plurality of blades, each blade comprising one or more of the plurality of output ports.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the plurality of output ports includes a first output port and a second output port located on a first blade of the plurality of blades.

7. The device of claim 5 wherein the plurality of output ports includes a first output port located on a first blade of the plurality of blades and a second output port located on a second blade of the plurality of blades.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the first message and the second message are transmitted according to protocols defined in a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS).

9. A method comprising:

receiving out-of-band (OOB) signals through a signaling pathway that provides firewall separation between control data and content data, the OOB signals comprising at least a first message having a first message type and a second message having a second message type;

transmitting the first message to a first destination address via a first data tunnel having a first tunnel type corresponding to the first message type and the second message to a second destination address via a second data tunnel having a second tunnel type corresponding to the second message type; and

transmitting, to a third destination address, information associating the first tunnel type with the first destination address and associating the second tunnel type with the second destination address.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting the first message and the second message to one or more devices having modem functionality.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the transmitting to the third destination address comprises transmitting via a management data stream.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the transmitting to the third destination address comprises transmitting via a third data tunnel.

13. A method comprising:

receiving out-of-band (OOB) messaging signals through a signaling pathway that provides firewall separation between control data and content data;

transmitting the OOB messaging signals via at least two types of data tunnels over a network to user devices, each data tunnel characterized as a one-way data stream of the OOB messaging signals, where each type of data tunnel is associated with a different type of OOB messaging signal such that different types of data tunnels transfer different types of OOB messaging signals; and

transmitting, via a third type of data tunnel, downstream channel information associating, for each of the at least two types of data tunnels, a tunnel type and a destination address.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein at least one of the at least two types of data tunnels comprises a broadcast tunnel.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein at least one of the at least two types of data tunnels comprises a conditional access tunnel.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the at least two types of data tunnels comprises an application tunnel.

17. A method comprising:

receiving out-of-band (OOB) messaging signals through a signaling pathway that provides firewall separation between control data and content data;

transmitting the OOB messaging signals via at least two types of data tunnels for transfer over a network to user devices, wherein each data tunnel comprises a one-way data stream having a corresponding destination address;

associating each type of data tunnel with a different type of OOB messaging signal such that different types of data tunnels transfer different types of OOB messaging signals; and

transmitting, via a third type of data tunnel, downstream channel information associating, for each of the least two types of data tunnels, a tunnel type and the corresponding destination address.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein at least one of the at least two types of data tunnels comprises a broadcast tunnel, a conditional access tunnel, an application tunnel or a code download tunnel.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the transmitting the OOB messaging signals via the at least two types of data tunnels comprises transmitting via a plurality of output ports.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the transmitting via the third type of data tunnel comprises transmitting via a management data stream.