Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing quality of service parameters for transmissions of multicast streams on a cable network is provided. A cable network headend connects an external network to a hybrid fiber coax or cable network. The cable network headend maintains a table of cable modems with entries associating each cable modem with one or more quality of service parameters. Virtual cable modem entries are created for multicast streams when indications of quality of service for multicast streams are received by the cable network headend. Multicast packets arriving at the cable network headend are processed using the stored quality of service parameters for the corresponding multicast stream. The multicast packets may then be transmitted, queued, or dropped depending on the specified parameters and traffic shaping or policing algorithms.

Abstract: A time-based buffering system buffers data based upon how long the data should be held in order to comply with a traffic shaping policy. The data's source or destination need not be considered in determining where to buffer the data. The time-based buffering system includes a collection of time-based queues, each of which has a different time to dequeue. The system controlling traffic shaping determines how long a particular piece of data should be buffered (a “traffic shaping delay”) until it can be put on the network. Then, based upon that length of time, the system chooses one of the time-based of queues in which to buffer the data. That chosen queue has a dequeuing time that matches the traffic shaping delay. After the chosen queue dequeues its contents (at the specified time), it assumes a new dequeing time and is free to buffer new data that must be delayed by a time matching the new dequeuing time.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing quality of service parameters for transmissions of multicast streams on a cable network is provided. A cable network headend connects an external network to a hybrid fiber coax or cable network. The cable network headend maintains a table of cable modems with entries associating each cable modem with one or more quality of service parameters. Virtual cable modem entries are created for multicast streams when indications of quality of service for multicast streams are received by the cable network headend. Multicast packets arriving at the cable network headend are processed using the stored quality of service parameters for the corresponding multicast stream. The multicast packets may then be transmitted, queued, or dropped depending on the specified parameters and traffic shaping or policing algorithms.