Bonded interconnection of local networks
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a first ring interface to be operatively coupled to subscriber premises on a local ring communication network;
a second ring interface to be operatively coupled to the subscriber premises on the local ring communication network;
a ring traffic processor, operatively coupled to the first and second ring interfaces, operable to transmit and receive communication traffic in the local ring communication network through the first and second ring interfaces;
a first bonding interface that terminates multiple first twisted pairs, bonds the multiple first twisted pairs together to form a first bonded link as a first single logical path, and thereby enables communications over the first bonded link using first frequency bands that are available on the multiple first twisted pairs;
a second bonding interface that terminates multiple second twisted pairs, bonds the multiple second twisted pairs together to form a second bonded link as a second single logical path, and thereby enables communications over the second bonded link using second frequency bands that are available on the multiple second twisted pairs; and
a cross-connect module operatively coupled to the first bonding interface, to the second bonding interface, and to the ring traffic processor, the cross-connect module being operable to receive communication traffic, to determine whether the received communication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of the ring traffic processor, the first bonding interface, and the second bonding interface, and to forward the received communication traffic in accordance with the determination.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods relating to bonded interconnection of local communication networks are disclosed. Bonded communication links, including multiple constituent links that have been bonded together, are terminated to enable communications over the bonded links using bandwidth available on the constituent links. A cross-connect function determines whether received communication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of a local communication network and the terminated bonded links. The received communication traffic is forwarded in accordance with the determination. The local communication networks may include ring networks, linear networks, or both. The bonded links and links between nodes in a local communication network are bonded DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) links in some embodiments. Bonding of DSL links in this manner can be used, for instance, to extend the reach of DSL service without sacrificing bandwidth.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a first ring interface to be operatively coupled to subscriber premises on a local ring communication network; a second ring interface to be operatively coupled to the subscriber premises on the local ring communication network; a ring traffic processor, operatively coupled to the first and second ring interfaces, operable to transmit and receive communication traffic in the local ring communication network through the first and second ring interfaces; a first bonding interface that terminates multiple first twisted pairs, bonds the multiple first twisted pairs together to form a first bonded link as a first single logical path, and thereby enables communications over the first bonded link using first frequency bands that are available on the multiple first twisted pairs; a second bonding interface that terminates multiple second twisted pairs, bonds the multiple second twisted pairs together to form a second bonded link as a second single logical path, and thereby enables communications over the second bonded link using second frequency bands that are available on the multiple second twisted pairs; and a cross-connect module operatively coupled to the first bonding interface, to the second bonding interface, and to the ring traffic processor, the cross-connect module being operable to receive communication traffic, to determine whether the received communication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of the ring traffic processor, the first bonding interface, and the second bonding interface, and to forward the received communication traffic in accordance with the determination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method comprising:
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receiving communication traffic from a local ring communication network through a first ring interface that is operatively coupled to subscriber premises on the local ring communication network or a second ring interface that is operatively coupled to the subscriber premises on the local ring communication network, or from one of first and second bonded links through a first bonding interface that terminates, multiple first twisted pairs and bonds the multiple first twisted pairs together to form the first bonded link as a first single logical path to enable communications over the first bonded link using first frequency bands that are available on the multiple first twisted pairs or through a second bonding interface that terminates multiple second twisted pairs and bonds the multiple second twisted pairs together to form the second bonded link as a second single logical path to enable communications over the second bonded link using second frequency bands that are available on the multiple second twisted pairs; determining, by a cross-connect module that is operatively coupled to the first bonding interface, to the second bonding interface, and to a ring traffic processor that is coupled to the first ring interface and the second ring interface and operable to transmit and receive communication traffic in the local ring communication network through the first and second ring interfaces, whether the received communication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of the ring traffic processor, the first bonding interface, and the second bonding interface; and forwarding, by the cross-connect module, the received communication traffic in accordance with the determination. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which when executed perform a method comprising:
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receiving communication traffic from a local ring communication network through a first ring interface that is operatively coupled to subscriber premises on the local ring communication network or a second ring interface that is operatively coupled to the subscriber premises on the local ring communication network, or from one of first and second bonded links through a first bonding interface that terminates, multiple first twisted pairs and bonds the multiple first twisted pairs together to form the first bonded link as a first single logical path to enable communications over the first bonded link using first frequency bands that are available on the multiple first twisted pairs or through a second bonding interface that terminates multiple second twisted pairs and bonds the multiple second twisted pairs together to form the second bonded link as a second single logical path to enable communications over the second bonded link using second frequency bands that are available on the multiple second twisted pairs; determining whether the received communication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of, the first bonding interface, and the second bonding interface, and a ring traffic processor that is coupled to the first ring interface and the second ring interface and operable to transmit and receive communication traffic in the local ring communication network through the first and second ring interfaces; and forwarding the received communication traffic in accordance with the determination.
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44. A communication system comprising:
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a plurality of gateway nodes serially coupled together through respective bonded links, the plurality of gateway nodes comprising at least a first gateway node and a last gateway node; a plurality of local communication networks, each of the local communication networks comprising a respective one of the gateway nodes and at least one subscriber node for providing a communication service to subscriber premises, each of at least the first gateway node and any intermediate gateway nodes between the first gateway node and the last gateway node comprising a cross-connect module that receives communication traffic;
determines whether the received communication traffic is to be forwarded to one or more of the local communication network and a bonded link that is operatively coupled to the gateway node, the bonded link comprising multiple twisted pairs that are bonded together to form the bonded link as a single logical path to enable communications over the bonded link using frequency bands that are available on the multiple twisted pairs; and
forwards the received communication traffic in accordance with the determination,at least one of the local communication networks comprising a ring communication network that comprises a respective one of the gateway nodes and a subscriber node, at least the respective one of the gateway nodes in the ring communication network further comprising; a first ring interface operatively coupled to the subscriber node, a second ring interface operatively coupled to the subscriber node; and a ring traffic processor, operatively coupled to the first and second ring interfaces and to the a cross-connect module, operable to transmit and receive communication traffic in the ring communication network through the first and second ring interfaces.
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Specification