Abstract: A modulation system and method for enabling communications across a noisy media environment is configured to employ a dynamically reconfigurable QAM modulation scheme and adjust transmission characteristics in response to information received in order to modify performance of system components.

Abstract: Performing soft error correction includes receiving a word at a soft correction engine capable of operating in more than one correction mode, identifying soft bit positions within the word, and automatically generating a number of possible results for the received word using combinations of the soft bit positions and more than one correction mode. The soft correction engine may include a Golay engine.

Abstract: A modulation system and method for enabling communications across a noisy media environment is configured to employ a dynamically reconfigurable QAM modulation scheme and adjust transmission characteristics in response to information received in order to modify performance of system components.

Abstract: A modulation system is configured to employ a dynamically reconfigurable M-ary modulation scheme.

Abstract: A media access control (MAC) controller is disclosed for a network providing communication for network stations located at a plurality of customer premises and sharing a communication medium, each of the premises having a plurality of network stations. The MAC controller includes a virtual local area network (vLAN) controller, providing access to the communication medium for and communication among the stations located at a single customer's premises, to define a vLAN between them. A group local area network (gLAN) controller provides access to the communication medium for and communication among interfering vLANs, two vLANs being considered to be interfering when one can sense communications over the medium from a station in the other. A MAC controller is provided in at least one station in a vLAN.

Abstract: A filter is created by sampling noise during an inter-frame gap of a received signal, sampling a data frame preamble from within a data frame of the received signal, and computing filter coefficients based on the noise sampled during the inter-frame gap and the data frame preamble sampled from within the data frame.

Abstract: The location of a device on an electrical power line is identified using a power line characteristic, such as a power line impedance as a function of frequency, and/or a power line transfer function identified from the first device to a second device communicating with the first device over the electrical power line. Power line information is determined by receiving a signal from a first device, determining a power line transfer function based on the received signal, and determining power line information based on the determined power line transfer function.

Abstract: A filter is created by sampling noise during an inter-frame gap (110) of a received signal, sampling a data frame preamble (115) from within a data frame (105) of the received signal, and computing filter coefficients based on the noise sampled during the inter-frame gap (110) and the data frame preamble (115) sampled from within the data frame (105).

Abstract: This disclosure relates to varying load and modulation applied to each of multiple frequency subchannels based on anticipated attenuation experienced by those subchannels. Communicating data includes identifying a static component of a transmission medium for wideband communications having at least two subchannels determining a function of noise is attenuation versus frequency for the static component selecting wideband modulation schemes for the subchannels based on the function determined and communicating a data signal over the subchannels. The transmission medium includes a medium other than a copper telephone wire between and including a carrier facility and a termination of the copper telephone wire at an access point at a user premise and copper telephone wire in a cable riser in multitenant units and multi-dwelling buildings. Independent demodulation functions may be applied to at least two of the subchannels.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to varying load and modulation applied to each of multiple frequency subchannels based on anticipated attenuation experienced by those subchannels. Communicating data includes identifying a static component of a transmission medium for wideband communications having at least two subchannels determining a function of noise is attenuation versus frequency for the static component selecting wideband modulation schemes for the subchannels based on the function determined and communicating a data signal over the subchannels. The transmission medium includes a medium other than a copper telephone wire between and including a carrier facility and a termination of the copper telephone wire at an access point at a user premise and copper telephone wire in a cable riser in multitenant units and multi-dwelling buildings. Independent demodulation functions may be applied to at least two of the subchannels.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to varying load and modulation applied to each of multiple frequency subchannels based on anticipated attenuation experienced by those subchannels. Communicating data includes identifying a static component of a transmission medium for wideband communications having at least two subchannels determining a function of noise is attenuation versus frequency for the static component selecting wideband modulation schemes for the subchannels based on the function determined and communicating a data signal over the subchannels. The transmission medium includes a medium other than a copper telephone wire between and including a carrier facility and a termination of the copper telephone wire at an access point at a user premise and copper telephone wire in a cable riser in multitenant units and multi-dwelling buildings. Independent demodulation functions may be applied to at least two of the subchannels.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to varying load and modulation applied to each of multiple frequency subchannels based on anticipated attenuation experienced by those subchannels. Communicating data includes identifying a static component of a transmission medium for wideband communications having at least two subchannels determining a function of noise is attenuation versus frequency for the static component selecting wideband modulation schemes for the subchannels based on the function determined and communicating a data signal over the subchannels. The transmission medium includes a medium other than a copper telephone wire between and including a carrier facility and a termination of the copper telephone wire at an access point at a user premise and copper telephone wire in a cable riser in multitenant units and multi-dwelling buildings. Independent demodulation functions may be applied to at least two of the subchannels.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to varying load and modulation applied to each of multiple frequency subchannels based on anticipated attenuation experienced by those subchannels. Communicating data includes identifying a static component of a transmission medium for wideband communications having at least two subchannels (110), determining a function of noise or attenuation versus frequency for the static component (120), selecting wideband modulation schemes for the subchannels based on the function determined (130), and communicating a data signal over the subchannels (145). The transmission medium includes a medium other than a copper telephone wire between and including a carrier facility and a termination of the copper telephone wire at an access point at a user premise and copper telephone wire in a cable riser in multitenant units and multi-dwelling buildings. Independent demodulation functions may be applied to at least two of the subchannels.

Abstract: A media access control (MAC) controller is disclosed for a network providing communication for network stations located at a plurality of customer premises and sharing a communication medium, each of the premises having a plurality of network stations. The MAC controller includes a virtual local area network (vLAN) controller, providing access to the communication medium for and communication among the stations located at a single customer's premises, to define a vLAN between them. A group local area network (gLAN) controller provides access to the communication medium for and communication among interfering vLANs, two vLANs being considered to be interfering when one can sense communications over the medium from a station in the other. A MAC controller is provided in at least one station in a vLAN.

Abstract: Performing soft error correction includes receiving a word at a soft correction engine (310a, 310b) capable of operating in more than one correction mode, identifying soft bit positions within the word, and automatically generating a number of possible results (370) for the received word using combinations of the soft bit positions and more than one correction mode. The soft correction engine (310a, 310b) may include a Golay engine.

Abstract: A media access control (MAC) controller is disclosed for a network providing communication for network stations located at a plurality of customer premises and sharing a communication medium, each of the premises having a plurality of network stations. The MAC controller includes a virtual local area network (vLAN) controller, providing access to the communication medium for and communication among the stations located at a single customer's premises, to define a vLAN between them. A group local area network (gLAN) controller provides access to the communication medium for and communication among interfering vLANs, two vLANs being considered to be interfering when one can sense communications over the medium from a station in the other. A MAC controller is provided in at least one station in a vLAN.

Abstract: Performing soft error correction includes receiving a word at a soft correction engine capable of operating in more than one correction mode, identifying soft bit positions within the word, and automatically generating a number of possible results for the received word using combinations of the soft bit positions and the more than one correction modes. The soft correction engine may include a Golay engine.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to varying load and modulation applied to each of multiple frequency subchannels based on anticipated attenuation experienced by those subchannels. Communicating data includes identifying a static component of a transmission medium for wideband communications having at least two subchannels, determining a function of noise or attenuation versus frequency for the static component, selecting wideband modulation schemes for the subchannels based on the function determined, and communicating a data signal over the subchannels. Independent demodulation functions may be applied to at least two of the subchannels.

Abstract: An optical disc drive waits to receive a command to perform a function on optical media in the disc drive. The optical media includes a pitted premastered area that cannot be overwritten and a grooved user-writeable area that can be overwritten. Once a command is received, one portion of the disc drive processes the command while another portion of the disc drive monitors the processing of the command and waits until the command is processed. If an error condition is detected while processing the command, the disc drive generates an event request such as a notify event request, a focus event request, a spin event request, and a tracking event request. When an event issues, the disc drive interrupts processing of the command and attempts to recover from the error condition. The state of the disc drive when the requested event was received is saved before attempting to recover from the error condition.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for storing, updating, adding, deleting, and locating file system objects on a WORM storage medium, wherein information can be written to, but not erased from, the storage medium. The WORM storage medium has a writeable area that includes a system area and a data area. The system area includes system information regarding the file system objects on the storage medium. A system sector is written starting at one end of the system area, while the content of the file system objects is written in the data area starting at another end of the writeable area. When a change is made to the file system objects in the writeable area, an updated system sector is generated that replaces the previous file system information for those modified file system objects. Since the previous system sector is not erasable, the updated system sector is written in a location in the system area where it will be read before any previous system sectors.