| 摘要 |
An architecture for providing high-speed access over frequency-division multiplexed (FDM) channels allows transmission of ethernet frames and/or other data across a cable transmission network or other form of FDM transport. The architecture involves downstream and upstream FDM multiplexing techniques to allow contemporaneous, parallel communications across a plurality of frequency channels. Furthermore, the architecture allows a central concentrator to support a plurality of remote devices that each have guaranteed bandwidth through connection-oriented allocations of bi-directional data flows. The upstream and downstream bandwidth allocation can support symmetrical bandwidth as well as asymmetrical bandwidth in either direction. The architecture generally can be used to support connection-oriented physical layer connectivity between a remote device and the central concentrator. Furthermore, the architecture may be integrated into other higher level devices such as, but not limited to, bridges, switches, routers, and/or gateways. In addition, the architecture may be used as a local network such as the networks commonly called local area networks (LANs). As a local network, the architecture supports guaranteed bandwidth for delivery of data flows to a plurality of host devices. Each host device might have a network interface card (NIC) that conforms to the architecture of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. Moreover, because the architecture may peacefully coexist with other services commonly-found in cable distribution networks, these other services may also be delivered to a host device. Thus, as a non-limiting example a host device may utilize the preferred embodiments of the present invention for local area network (LAN) data communication, and may also utilize cable television video channels in the same communication medium to carry various multimedia information.
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