Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer data routing – Alternate path routing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-04
2001-02-06
Maung, Zarni (Department: 2756)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer data routing
Alternate path routing
C709S217000, C709S218000, C709S223000, C370S401000, C370S410000, C379S093130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06185624
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to communications in computer networks. More specifically, it relates to a method and system for cable modem management of a data-over-cable system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cable television networks such as those provided by Comcast Cable Communications, Inc., of Philadelphia, Pa., Cox Communications of Atlanta. Ga., Tele-Communications, Inc., of Englewood, Colo., Time-Warner Cable, of Marietta, Ga., Continental Cablevision, Inc., of Boston, Mass., and others provide cable television services to a large number of subscribers over a large geographical area. The cable television networks typically are interconnected by cables such as coaxial cables or a Hybrid Fiber/Coaxial (“HFC”) cable system which have data rates of about 10 Mega-bits-per-second (“Mbps”) to 30+ Mbps.
The Internet, a world-wide-network of interconnected computers, provides multi-media content including audio, video, graphics and text that requires a large bandwidth for downloading and viewing. Most Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) allow customers to connect to the Internet via a serial telephone line from a Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”) at data rates including 14,400 bps, 28,800 bps, 33,600 bps, 56,000 bps and others that are much slower than the about 10 Mbps to 30+ Mbps available on a coxial cable or HFC cable system on a cable television network.
With the explosive growth of the Internet, many customers have desired to use the larger bandwidth of a cable television network to connect to the Internet and other computer networks. Cable modems, such as those provided by 3Com Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., U.S. Robotics Corporation of Skokie, Ill., and others offer customers higher-speed connectivity to the Internet, an intranet, Local Area Networks (“LANs”) and other computer networks via cable television networks. These cable modems currently support a data connection to the Internet and other computer networks via a cable television network with a “downstream” data rate of 30+ Mbps, which is a much larger data rate than can be supported by serial telephone line used over a modem.
However, most cable television networks provide only uni-directional cable systems, supporting only a “downstream” data path. A downstream data path is the flow of data from a cable system “headend” to a customer. A cable system headend is a central location in the cable television network that is responsible for sending cable signals in the downstream direction. A return data path via a telephone network, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network provided by AT&T and others, (i.e., “telephony return”) is typically used for an “upstream” data path. An upstream data path is the flow of data from the customer back to the cable system headend. A cable television system with an upstream connection to a telephony network is called a “data-over-cable system with telephony return.”
An exemplary data-over-cable system with telephony return includes a cable modem termination system, a cable television network, a public switched telephone network, a telephony remote access concentrator, a cable modem, customer premise equipment (e.g., a customer computer) and a data network (e.g., the Internet). The cable modem termination system and the telephony remote access concentrator together are called a “telephony return termination system.”
The cable modem termination system receives data packets from the data network and transmits them downstream via the cable television network to a cable modem attached to the customer premise equipment. The customer premise equipment sends responses data packets to the cable modem, which sends response data packets upstream via the public switched telephone network to the telephony remote access concentrator, which sends the response data packets back to the appropriate host on the data network. The data-over-cable system with telephony return provides transparent Internet Protocol (“IP”) data traffic between customer premise-equipment, a cable modem and the data network (e.g., the Internet or an intranet). As is known in the art, IP is a routing protocol designed to route traffic within a network or between networks.
When a cable modem used in the data-over-cable system with telephony return is initialized, it will make a connection to both the cable modem termination system via the cable network and to the telephony remote access concentrator via the public switched telephone network. If the cable modem is using telephony return, it will acquire telephony connection parameters on a downstream connection from the cable modem termination system and establish a Point-to-Point Protocol (“PPP”) connection to connect an upstream channel to the telephony remote access concentrator. As is known in the art, PPP is used to encapsulate datagrams over a serial communications link. After a PPP connection is established, the cable modem negotiates a telephony IP address with the telephony remote access concentrator. The telephony IP address allows the customer premise equipment to send IP data packets upstream to the telephony remote access concentrator via the public switched telephone network to the data network.
The cable modem also makes an IP connection to the cable modem termination system so that IP data received on the cable modem termination system from the data network can be forwarded downstream to the customer premise equipment via the cable network and the cable modem.
As more cable television networks provide two-cable traffic over cable television connections, existing cable modems with telephony return begin to become obsolete, since a two-way cable television pathway is preferred over a telephony return pathway. However, many organizations such as telephone service providers or Internet service providers have invested large amounts of money on cable modems with telephony return and in equipment providing the telephony return pathway. Even in a two-way cable system, a lower bandwidth telephony return connection is desirable for sending certain types of data outside of the cable modem channesls. It is therefore desirable to continue to use the telephony return connections of existing cable modems with telephony return in a data-over-cable system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the problems associated with using cable modems with telephony return are addressed. Cable modems with telephony return are used to make management requests for cable television network channels using a telephony return path. A method and system is provided for cable modem management of cable television channels with telephony return. The method includes a data-over-cable system with a network device connected to a first network with a downstream connection of a first connection type, connected to a second network with an upstream connection of a second connection type. In another embodiment of the present invention, the network device is also connected to the first network with an upstream connection of a first connection type.
The method includes sending a management request for one or more connections of the first connection type on the first network from the network device to the second network on the upstream connection. In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the management requests include maintenance requests such as routine connection testing or fault isolation or signaling on the upstream connection to the telephony return access concentrator via the public switched telephone network. A connection is established from the second network to the first network.
The management request is applied from the second network to one or more downstream connections of the first connection type on the first network. In another embodiment of the present invention, the management request is forwarded to, and is applied from, the first network instead from the second network. The results of the management request if any, are returned to the network device from the first netw
Beser Nurettin B.
Fijolek John G.
3Com Corporation
Lesavich Stephen
Maung Zarni
McDonnell & Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff
Prieto Beatriz
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