Abstract: An arbitration mechanism provides quality of service guarantees for time-sensitive signals sharing a local area computer network with non-time-sensitive traffic. Device adapters are placed at all access points to an Ethernet network. The device adapters limit admission rates and control the timing of all packets entering the network. By doing so, collisions are eliminated for time-sensitive traffic, thereby guaranteeing timely delivery. A common time reference is established for the device adapters. The time reference includes a frame with a plurality of phases. Each of the phases is assigned to a device adapter. Each device adapter is allowed to transmit packets of data onto the network only during the phase assigned thereto. The length of the phases may be modified in accordance with the number of packets to be transmitted by a particular device adapter.

Abstract: A method, system and program for preventing intrusion in a communications network. A source node initiates a request for network services, such as session establishment, database access, or application access. Known network resources and authorized user information is stored in a database at a network portal along with access policy rules that are device and user dependent. Identification of the source node is required before the source node can construct a transformed packet header that is included with a synchronization packet before transmission to a destination node. An appliance or firewall in the communications network receives and authenticates the synchronization packet before releasing the packet to its intended destination. The authentication process includes verification of the access policy associated with the source node. Once received at the destination node, the transformed packet header is reformed by extracting a key index value.

Abstract: Methods, systems and computer-readable data storage media for authentication and/or access authorization in a communications network. A source node initiates a request for network services, such as session establishment, database access, or application access. Known network resources, authorized user, and/or source information are stored in a database at a network portal along with access policy rules that can be device and/or user dependent. A source node can construct a packet header including a user identifier indicating the user originating the request, and/or a source identifier indicating the hardware from which the request is originated. At least one of these identifiers are included with a synchronization packet for transmission to a destination node. An appliance or firewall in the communications network receives, authenticates, and determines whether resource access is authorized before releasing the packet to its intended destination.

Abstract: The effect of network jitter upon the quality of service operation of networked gateway devices is minimized with the use of minimum delay filtering prior to the control/synchronization processing by the “off-ramp” networked gateway device.

Abstract: A method and circuitry for implementing digital multi-channel demodulation circuits. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide a digital multi-channel demodulator circuit. The demodulator includes a frequency-block down-converter that receives a multi-channel analog RF signal and shifts the multi-channel analog RF signal to a lower frequency band. An ADC receives the multi-channel analog RF signal from the frequency-block down-converter and converts the multi-channel analog RF signal to a multi-channel digital RF signal. A digital channel demultiplexer receives the multi-channel digital RF signal from the ADC and demultiplexes the multi-channel digital RF signal into separate digital RF channels.

Abstract: A videoconferencing method automatically detects, within an image generated by a camera, locations and relative sizes of faces. Based upon the detection, a control system tracks each face and keeps a camera pointed at and focused on each face, regardless of movement about a room or other space. Preferably, multiple cameras are used, and an automatic algorithm selects a best face image and resizes the face image to substantially fill a transmitted frame. Preferably, an image encoding algorithm adjusts encoding parameters to match a currently amount of bandwidth available from a transmission network. Brightness, contrast, and color balance are automatically adjusted. As a result of these automatic adjustments, participants in a video conference have freedom to move around, yet remain visible and audible to other participants.

Abstract: An arbitration mechanism provides quality of service guarantees for time-sensitive signals sharing a local area computer network with non-time-sensitive traffic. Device adapters are placed at all access points to an Ethernet network. The device adapters limit admission rates and control the timing of all packets entering the network. By doing so, collisions are eliminated for time-sensitive traffic, thereby guaranteeing timely delivery. A common time reference is established for the device adapters. The time reference includes a frame with a plurality of phases. Each of the phases is assigned to a device adapter. Each device adapter is allowed to transmit packets of data onto the network only during the phase assigned thereto. The length of the phases may be modified in accordance with the number of packets to be transmitted by a particular device adapter. A master device adapter may be appointed to synchronize each of the device adapters.

Abstract: Error correction coding across multiple channels is provided in multi-channel transmission systems. Specifically, redundancy is provided by selecting a portion of original data from each of a plurality of original channels, performing at least one encoding operation using the portions of original data to produce at least one portion of redundancy data, including the portion of redundancy data in at least one redundancy channel, and transmitting the redundancy channel along with the original channels. Error correction is achieved by receiving at least one redundancy channel and a plurality of original channels, selecting a portion of redundancy data from the redundancy channel, selecting a portion of original data from each of the original channels, and performing at least one decoding operation using the portion of redundancy data and the portions of original data to correct at least one error in the portions of original data.

Abstract: A system for facilitating high-speed access and recording is provided. The system includes a demodulator, an buffer memory and a hard disk. During a write cycle, the demodulator is used to receive one or more content streams. The content streams received by the demodulator are first stored in the buffer memory. When the buffer memory has reached its storage capacity, its contents are then transferred to the hard disk for storage. During a read cycle, contents from the hard disk are read and then stored in the buffer memory. Other components of the system can then access the read-out contents from the buffer memory. The amount of contents retrieved from the hard disk and stored in the buffer memory may be more than what is requested depending on the application requesting the contents. The hard disk further includes different zones. There are two types of zones, namely, high-speed zone and random-access zone.

Abstract: A backend data processor of a network monitoring system attempts to identify the point of presence (POP) associated with each uploaded network performance data record by comparing the POP identification information contained in each uploaded data record with the known, valid POP telephone numbers stored in a lookup phone book. A series of lookup searches are performed by comparing a certain number of the digits of the raw POP string with corresponding digits of the POP numbers stored in the lookup phone book until an exact, unique match is found. An initial “pessimistic” lookup search compares the rightmost N digits of the uploaded POP string with the rightmost N digits of each POP number in the lookup phone book for all countries. If the initial pessimistic lookup search is unsuccessful, an optimistic lookup search is conducted taking into account independent information indicating the country code and area code from which the data record originated.

Abstract: A system for managing bandwidth in a content distribution system is provided. The system can be incorporated into the content head end of the content distribution system. The system includes a program multiplexer, a multi-channel modulating module, a channel multiplexer, a digital-to-analog converter and a frequency block-up converter, all arranged in a sequential configuration. Packets representing respective content programs are fed to the program multiplexer. The program multiplexer multiplexes the packets into an output queue. How the packets are multiplexed by the program multiplexer into the output queue depends on the specific design and/or application. Packets from the output queue are then fed to the multi-channel modulating module. The multi-channel modulating module receives the packets and routes them to various modulators representing corresponding RF channels. The various modulators then modulate the respective packets to generate corresponding RF signals.

Abstract: A method and circuitry for implementing digital multi-channel demodulation circuits. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention provide a digital multi-channel demodulator circuit. The demodulator includes a frequency-block down-converter that receives a multi-channel analog RF signal and shifts the multi-channel analog RF signal to a lower frequency band. An ADC receives the multi-channel analog RF signal from the frequency-block down-converter and converts the multi-channel analog RF signal to a multi-channel digital RF signal. A digital channel demultiplexer receives the multi-channel digital RF signal from the ADC and demultiplexes the multi-channel digital RF signal into separate digital RF channels.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for use in administering a complex system, such as a distributed computing ensemble. A model of the system being administered is prepared, preferably during runtime of the invention, by a combination of autodiscovery processes and manual input of information as needed. The model represents not only the resources found in the administered system, but also the service-relationships among those resources. The system administrator also can define elements in the model corresponding to arbitrary groupings of already-existing parts of the model. Software agents, which can be reconfigured, started and terminated as desired during runtime, report changes in state of the managed resources to the model, which updates itself and explores portions of the model adjacent (in terms of the service relationships) to the affected resource(s).

Abstract: A switch for connecting a desired peripheral to a desired computer uses a peripheral interface to translate either Universal Serial Bus (USB) or non-USB peripheral data to a common data format, the data is then routed to a computer interface that translates the common data format to either USB or non-USB computer data.

Abstract: An arbitration mechanism provides quality of service guarantees for time-sensitive signals sharing a local area computer network with non-time-sensitive traffic. Device adapters are placed at all access points to an Ethernet network. The device adapters limit admission rates and control the timing of all packets entering the network. By doing so, collisions are eliminated for time-sensitive traffic, thereby guaranteeing timely delivery. A common time reference is established for the device adapters. The time reference includes a frame with a plurality of phases. Each of the phases is assigned to a device adapter. Each device adapter is allowed to transmit packets of data onto the network only during the phase assigned thereto. The length of the phases may be modified in accordance with the number of packets to be transmitted by a particular device adapter. One of the device adapters may be designated as a master timing device to synchronize each of the other device adapters.

Abstract: An arbitration mechanism provides quality of service guarantees for time-sensitive signals sharing a local area computer network with non-time-sensitive traffic. Device adapters are placed at all access points to an Ethernet network. The device adapters limit admission rates and control the timing of all packets entering the network. By doing so, collisions are eliminated for time-sensitive traffic, thereby guaranteeing timely delivery. A common time reference is established for the device adapters. The time reference includes a frame with a plurality of phases. Each of the phases is assigned to a device adapter. Each device adapter is allowed to transmit packets of data onto the network only during the phase assigned thereto. The length of the phases may be modified in accordance with the number of packets to be transmitted by a particular device adapter.

Abstract: An arbitration mechanism provides quality of service guarantees for time-sensitive signals sharing a local area computer network with non-time-sensitive traffic. Device adapters are placed at all access points to an Ethernet network. The device adapters limit admission rates and control the timing of all packets entering the network. By doing so, collisions are eliminated for time-sensitive traffic, thereby guaranteeing timely delivery. A common time reference is established for the device adapters. The time reference includes a frame with a plurality of phases. Each of the phases is assigned to a device adapter. Each device adapter is allowed to transmit packets of data onto the network only during the phase assigned thereto. The length of the phases may be modified in accordance with the number of packets to be transmitted by a particular device adapter. A master device adapter may be appointed to synchronize each of the device adapters.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for determining the QoS of a communication system. In one embodiment a service verification equipment device (SVE) is placed into the communications link between the wide area network and the transmitting customer premise and an SVE is placed into the communications link between the wide area network and the receiving customer premise. The transmitting SVE inserts a test cell into the customer's data stream over communications link which informs the receiving SVE that a test is commencing. After a predetermined number of customer data cells are sent, the transmitting SVE inserts a termination cell into the communications link at the end of the test. The receiving SVE then compiles data related to the QoS of the communications link and that data is analyzed to determine the QoS.

Abstract: A switch for connecting a peripheral device to a downstream USB device includes a plurality of peripheral interfaces operably connectable to respective peripheral devices; a USB downstream interface operably connectable to the downstream USB device, where the downstream interface is adapted to simulate insertion and removal of an upstream USB device; and a switcher for selectively establishing communication between a desired peripheral interface and the USB downstream interface.

Abstract: A network system for providing efficient transmission of real-time data and non-real-time data between a plurality of network devices, including an arbitration mechanism that provides a low cost and high performance mechanism for delivery of quality of service guarantees for time-sensitive data sharing a local area with non-time-sensitive data. Device adapters are placed at all access points to a local network. The device adapters limit admission rates and control the timing of all packets entering the network. An X-Hub placed at the center of the network provides for transparent, concurrent transport of signals transmitted by device adapters. Collisions may therefore be eliminated for time-sensitive traffic, thereby guaranteeing timely delivery. A common time reference is established for the device adapters and the X-Hub. The time reference defines a frame with a plurality of phases. Each of the phases defines a state of the X-Hub, and a state for each of the device adapters.