Patent US4925267A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent US6510162B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6510162B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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System and method for managing channel usage in a data over cable system
Assignee: HP Inc
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Filing: 1998-05-27
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Granted: 2003-01-21
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Expires: 2018-05-27
Abstract
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 maximum camp-on time.
Inventors
- 👤 John G. Fijolek
- 👤 Nurettin B. Beser
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 20:30
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04H; H04H20/00; H04H20/12; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/02; H04L41/0213; H04L41/04; H04L41/044
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
139 words
A system for managing a network comprising: a plurality of network devices connected to the network and arranged as clusters of network devices, wherein each network device of said plurality of network devices is arranged within one of the clusters of network devices, each of said clusters of network devices being addressable by a respective multicast address; a plurality of data channels, each said data channel being operable to provide communications to at least one of said plurality of network devices; and the plurality of network devices being connected to a server for monitoring the data channel on which each of said plurality of network devices are communicating and for each given cluster of network devices, the server assigning network devices of the given cluster to one of the plurality of data channels using the given cluster's multicast address.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
139 words
A system for managing a network comprising: a plurality of network devices connected to the network and arranged as clusters of network devices, wherein each network device of said plurality of network devices is arranged within one of the clusters of network devices, each of said clusters of network devices being addressable by a respective multicast address; a plurality of data channels, each said data channel being operable to provide communications to at least one of said plurality of network devices; and the plurality of network devices being connected to a server for monitoring the data channel on which each of said plurality of network devices are communicating and for each given cluster of network devices, the server assigning network devices of the given cluster to one of the plurality of data channels using the given cluster's multicast address.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
35 words
The system of claim 1 wherein each of said network devices includes a plurality of configuration parameters for defining communications information about said network devices wherein one of said configuration parameters includes the multicast address.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 2 further comprising a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for providing configuration parameters.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 2 wherein said configuration parameters are maintained in a plurality of configuration files.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
The system of claim 4 wherein said configuration files are identified by a filename, said filename comprising a filename extension, wherein each of said network devices having the configuration file named by filenames having substantially the same filename extension is in the same cluster.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 further comprising a network management station for issuing commands to configure said network devices.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of data channels include downstream channels for providing data to the network devices on a bandwidth and wherein data is communicated from the network devices over a telephone connection.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
The system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of data channels include downstream channels for providing data to the network devices on a first bandwidth and upstream channels for providing data from the network devices on a second bandwidth.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
117 words
A method for managing a network comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of network devices for communicating on a plurality of data channels and a network administrator for issuing commands to said network devices; registering each said network device on said network, said registering step comprising the steps of: assigning said network devices to a plurality of clusters of network devices; and assigning a multicast address to each said cluster such that a given multicast address identifies all network devices in a given cluster; and sending a move command to one of said multicast addresses to move the network devices in the cluster addressed by said one of said multicast addresses to a selected data channel.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
117 words
A method for managing a network comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of network devices for communicating on a plurality of data channels and a network administrator for issuing commands to said network devices; registering each said network device on said network, said registering step comprising the steps of: assigning said network devices to a plurality of clusters of network devices; and assigning a multicast address to each said cluster such that a given multicast address identifies all network devices in a given cluster; and sending a move command to one of said multicast addresses to move the network devices in the cluster addressed by said one of said multicast addresses to a selected data channel.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of: analyzing the data channel which the network devices are communicating; and performing said step of sending the move command when a few of said network devices are communicating on the selected data channel while many of said network devices are communicating on a few data channels.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of: initializing each of said network devices by the steps of: scanning a bandwidth for available data channels; synchronizing communication on a first data channel; receiving upstream channel description parameters at each network device; and receiving network communication information for communicating with a network host.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the step of registering said network devices further comprises the steps of: receiving a registration request from at least one of said network device, said registration request comprising a plurality of configuration parameters; and responding to said registration request by sending a configuration file comprising said configuration parameters and said multicast address.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 12 wherein the step of assigning said network devices to clusters comprises the step of: setting a file name for each said configuration file for each said network device, said file name comprising a cluster identification.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 13 wherein said setting a file name step includes the step of using a file extension to provide said cluster identification.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of sending a restart command to each said network device in the cluster moved to the selected channel.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of the network device waiting to restart when said network device is communicating data.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of providing a camp-on parameter to each said network device.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of waiting to restart includes the step of waiting for a wait-time.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-01-20 | 2006-07-22 | 2007-01-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-01-20 | 2010-07-22 | 2011-01-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-01-20 | 2014-07-22 | 2015-01-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |