FIBER COAX UNIT (FCU) ARCHITECTURE FOR ETHERNET PASSIVE OPTICAL NETWORK (EPON) PROTOCOL OVER COAX (EPOC)

摘要

Data connectivity is achieved at a transition between a first network that uses a first medium access control (MAC) protocol for data communication over a first type of physical medium and a second network that uses a second MAC protocol for data communication over a second type of physical medium. A combination apparatus provides a plurality of MAC instances on both the first network side and the second network side. The MAC instances on the first network side and the second network side are logically paired with each other during device discovery process on the network. The logical pairing is used to selectively provide data received at the first network interface to a MAC instance on the second network side and vice versa. Example implementations include a fiber coax unit providing connectivity between a Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) and an Ethernet Protocol over Coaxial Cable (EPoC) network.