System and method for managing channel usage in a data over cable system
US6510162B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 27, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 21, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 27, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L41/044
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for managing the data channel usage in a data over cable system having more than one data channel. The system includes network devices, which are cable modems connected in at least a downstream connection to one of the data channels in a cable network. The upstream connection to the cable modem may be to the cable network or to alternative networks such as, the public switched telephone network. During initialization, the cable modems attempt to communicate over a channel designated for it in the configuration parameters provided for the cable modems. If unable to use the channel, or if no channel has yet been defined for it, the cable modem scans the bandwidth for an available data channel. The cable modem may lock on the first found data channel. The cable modems register with the cable network and are assigned to a cluster. The user of a network administrator analyzes channel usage and moves cable modems to different channels in clusters. When a cable modem is moved to a different data channel, it is restarted. The restart may wait until the cable modem is inactive if it is issued when the cable modem is communicating data. The wait time may be set to a maxim…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.