Abstract: A method of traffic regulation in a packet communication network involves a token bucket associated with a subscriber. Packets arriving at the regulator are handled in accordance with the token bucket configuration. The method involves measuring a demand placed on the network by the subscriber. The token bucket configuration is dynamically adjusted based on the demand. Another method of traffic regulation handles packets arriving at the regulator in accordance with first and second token bucket configurations. The first token bucket regulates packet rate while the second token bucket regulates data rate. Another method of traffic regulation involves handling packets in accordance with a token bucket configuration, where the amount of tokens to be removed is based on the amount of the flow and is further based on a classification of the flow. Packet-level devices for traffic regulation are also contemplated.

Abstract: Automated booting of a client for a subscriber is provided for clients that are for use in interactive user sessions that involve multimedia. A subscribe message is sent from the client to a proxy server. The proxy server authenticates the subscribe message, and sends the subscribe message to the configuration server. A notify message is sent to the client from the configuration server. The notify message is sent through the proxy server, and contains a location of a profile for the client. The profile is downloaded to the clients. This arrangement allows the persistence of profiles in a centralized place.

Abstract: Automated booting of a client for a subscriber is provided for clients that are for use in interactive user sessions that involve multimedia. A subscribe message is sent from the client to a proxy server. The proxy server authenticates the subscribe message, and sends the subscribe message to the configuration server. A notify message is sent to the client from the configuration server. The notify message is sent through the proxy server, and contains a location of a profile for the client. The profile is downloaded to the client. This arrangement allows the persistence of profiles in a centralized place.

Abstract: A protection CMTS is available to immediately service a cable modem should that modem's service from a working CMTS fail for any reason. To speed the service transfer (cutover) from the working CMTS to the protection CMTS, the cable modem may preregister with the protection CMTS well before the cutover becomes necessary. The cable modem's registration with both the working CMTS and the protection CMTS preferably employs a single IP address, so that the cable modem need not obtain a new IP address during cutover. While the cable modem may register with both the working CMTS and the protection CMTS, the devices are designed or configured so that only the working CMTS injects a host route for the cable modem into the appropriate routing protocol. Only after cutover to the protection CMTS does the protection CMTS inject its host route.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments include a system and method for providing at least one electronic application to at least one device. In one embodiment, the method includes acquiring device information that relates to the device and determining whether the device supports the at least one application based on the device information. The method may further include generating an electronic message for the device wherein the message contains at least one link for acquiring the at least one application when the device supports the application.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments include a system and method for providing at least one electronic application to at least one device. In one embodiment, the method includes acquiring device information that relates to the device and determining whether the device supports the at least one application based on the device information. The method may further include generating an electronic message for the device wherein the message contains at least one link for acquiring the at least one application when the device supports the application.

Abstract: A process for managing usage on a broadband network, said process comprising: (a) monitoring a subscriber's broadband usage; (b) determining if said usage rises to a level indicative of an event; (c) determining if said event is consistent with heavy usage or with a security incident; (d) if said event is consistent with heavy usage, offering said subscriber at least one of a plan for an upgraded subscription, or an incentive to concentrate usage in nonpeak time; and (e) if said event is consistent with a security incident, exercising security measures to minimize unintended usage.

Abstract: A complex, multiple location consumer communication and content delivery system includes a plurality of headend facilities and a central facility including a database. A distributed information technology (IT) architecture involves back office IT infrastructure located at the central facility, and headend IT infrastructure located at each headend facility. Headend IT infrastructure may be provided with a policy setting limits for transactions that normally require real-time access to the central database. The headend is programmed to handle real-time transactions, without real-time access to the central database, in accordance with the set policy limits.

Abstract: The disclosed embodiments include a system and method for providing at least one electronic application to at least one device. In one embodiment, the method includes acquiring device information that relates to the device and determining whether the device supports the at least one application based on the device information. The method may further include generating an electronic message for the device wherein the message contains at least one link for acquiring the at least one application when the device supports the application.

Abstract: A method of traffic regulation in a packet communication network involves a token bucket associated with a subscriber. Packets arriving at the regulator are handled in accordance with the token bucket configuration. The method further involves measuring a demand placed on the packet communication network by the subscriber. The token bucket configuration for the subscriber is dynamically adjusted based on the demand. Another method of traffic regulation handles packets that arrive at the regulator in accordance with first and second token bucket configurations. The first token bucket regulates packet rate while the second token bucket regulates data rate. Another method of traffic regulation involves handling packets in accordance with a token bucket configuration, where the amount of tokens to be removed is based on the amount of the flow and is further based on a classification of the flow. Packet-level devices for traffic regulation are also contemplated.

Abstract: A protection CMTS is available to immediately service a cable modem should that modem's service from a working CMTS fail for any reason. To speed the service transfer (cutover) from the working CMTS to the protection CMTS, the cable modem may preregister with the protection CMTS well before the cutover becomes necessary. The cable modem's registration with both the working CMTS and the protection CMTS preferably employs a single IP address, so that the cable modem need not obtain a new IP address during cutover. While the cable modem may register with both the working CMTS and the protection CMTS, the devices are designed or configured so that only the working CMTS injects a host route for the cable modem into the appropriate routing protocol. Only after cutover to the protection CMTS does the protection CMTS inject its host route.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating configuration files using policy descriptions is provided. The present invention provides a method of generating a binary configuration file by receiving an identification encoded filename, parsing the identification encoded filename to determine identification parameters, matching the identification parameters to a set of configuration policy data to create configuration file parameters, and generating the binary configuration file from the configuration file parameters. The identification encoded filename can be can be run through an authentication check to provide increased security. Once created, the binary configuration file can also be validated, providing increased integrity. In one aspect of the present invention implemented is provided on a TFTP server. In another aspect of the invention an LDAP server is queried for certain configuration policy data, the configuration policy data being optionally cached on the TFTP server.

Abstract: A switching apparatus (and method and program storage device for storing the method) for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series including a label common to all cells of said series, includes at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port, at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus with an outbound label, a storage device for storing a series of cells received at each incoming port until the last cell of the series is received, and, a device for transmitting each of the series of cells sequentially from the first cell to the last cell from the storage device to a selected outgoing port. Each cell of each series has an outbound label common to all cells of the series, and all cells of each of the series are transmitted before transmitting any cells of other series having the same outbound label.

Abstract: This invention discloses a way to map IP or similar routing information onto a technology that uses label switching and swapping, such as ATM, without the need to change the network paradigm. This allows a network to continue to function and appear as a standard IP network, but with much higher performance. One of the requirements of IP networks is to decrement the IP packet Time-To-Live (TTL) field on each hop it traverses. Currently, switched packets within an ATM like network cannot decrement the TTL. This invention can decrement packet TTLs appropriately by maintaining a hop-count per each switched path. This hop-count maintains the total number of hops a packets would have traversed, had it been forwarded in the IP hop-by-hop model, rather than through the ATM like switched path. Before forwarding a packet on a switched path, an ingress ISR decrements the TTL by the hop-count. In this way, at the switched path exit point, the TTL is the same as if it had been forwarded by IP.

Abstract: In networks that use the label switching paradigm, labels are typically allocated to a "flow", where a flow is identified as an end-to-end connection between two or more user applications. This approach may quickly lead to exhaustion of the label space, because the number of user connections across a network is unbounded and hence can be too numerous. Moreover, this requires that the setup and teardown procedures be exercised for each user connection. This demands large amounts of resources (in terms of labels, memory and processing) from the network devices. An important objective of this inventive proposal is to reduce the consumption of labels in a network. Several methods are identified through which multiple flows that traverse the same network hops can use a single connection through the network to transport data from the ingress to the egress point of a network. In other words, the flows are "aggregated" onto a single connection from an ingress to an egress point of a network.

Abstract: IP based networks use a number of different IP routing protocols to determine how packets ought to be routed. However, due to the rapid growth of the Internet, there is a great need for higher packet forwarding performance. This invention describes a way to map IP routing information onto a technology that uses label switching and swapping, such as ATM, without the need to change the network paradigm. This allows a network to continue to function and appear as a standard IP network, but with much higher performance. In this invention, an Integrated Switch Router (ISR), is a switch that has been augmented with standard IP routing support. The ISR at an entry point to the switching environment performs standard IP forwarding of datagrams, but the "next hop" of the IP forwarding table has been extended to include a reference to a switched path (for example, the VCC in ATM technology).