Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for content selection, delivery and payment may comprise a management entity that coordinates operation of one or more endpoint devices. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to select one or more parameters associated with a particular content type from the management entity. The particular content type may specify a type of media content that is handled by the one or more endpoint devices. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to receive configuration information from the management entity based on the selected one or more parameters associated with the particular content type. The one or more endpoint devices may be configured utilizing the received configuration information. The one or more endpoint devices may be operable to pay for the received configuration information.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for determining and controlling user experience in a network may comprise a management entity that coordinates operation of one or more endpoint devices. One or more parameters associated with a content type may be received from the one or more endpoint devices by the management entity. The management entity may utilize the received one or more parameters associated with the content type to determine configuration information for the one or more endpoint devices. The content type may specify a type of media content that is handled by the one or more endpoint devices.

Abstract: A switching fabric, within a network switching device, may comprise a plurality of dedicated interface modules to enable the switching fabric to interface with a plurality of switching support subsystems. The switching support subsystems may comprise a memory subsystem, a content address memory (CAM) subsystem, a packet processing subsystem, and a physical layer (PHY) subsystem. The switching fabric may be operable to determine capacity and/or capability of each of the plurality of switching support subsystems; and to configure each of the plurality of dedicated interface modules based on the determined capacity and/or capability of a corresponding switching support subsystem. The switching fabric also comprises an inter-switch interface module to enable coupling the network switching device to a plurality of other network switching devices, to form a multi-device switching mesh that enable sharing of resources and/or aggregation of switching capabilities of the network switching devices.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for fault resilience in Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) aware Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) networks are provided. In this regard, a path cost, which may be based at least on AVB compatibility, may be determined for each network path discovered between a first network node and a second network node. Additionally, a plurality of network paths may be selected based on the determined path cost, and a plurality of network connections may be established over the selected plurality of network paths. Also, a plurality of data streams may be transmitted and/or received via the established network connections, wherein at least one of data streams comprises data that is redundant to a first data stream. Furthermore, a primary data stream may be conveyed via a first network connection and one or more redundant data streams may be conveyed via a second network connection.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for securing a network utilizing IPsec and MACsec protocols are provided. In one or more network nodes, aspects of the invention may enable conversion between Ethernet packets comprising payloads secured utilizing IPsec protocols and Ethernet packets secured utilizing MACsec protocols. For example, IPsec connections may be terminated at an ingress network node and IPsec connections may be regenerated at an egress network node. Packets secured utilizing MACsec protocols may be detected based on an Ethertype. Packets comprising payloads secured utilizing IPsec protocols may be detected based on a protocol field or a next header field. The conversion may be based on a data structure stored by and/or accessible to the network nodes. Aspects of the invention may enable securing data utilizing MACsec protocols when tunneling IPsec secured data through non-IPsec enabled nodes.

Abstract: Optical signals may be communicated with A/V Bridging services between an upstream link partner and a down stream link partner, each comprising an asymmetric Ethernet optical physical layer (PHY). High bandwidth A/V optical signals may be transmitted from the upstream link partner and low bandwidth optical signals may be transmitted from the downstream link partner. One or more of a time stamp, a traffic class and/or a destination address may be utilized in generating PDUs and managing communications via the asymmetric Ethernet optical PHY. The receiving link partner may register for delivery of the PDUs. An aggregate communication rate may be distributed evenly or unevenly among one or more optical links for transmission and aggregated upon reception via asymmetric Ethernet optical PHY operations. Compressed, uncompressed, encrypted and/or unencrypted optical signals may be handled. Signal processing may comprise forward error checking and clock recovery.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for a centralized vehicular electronics system utilizing Ethernet optimized for use in an aircraft are provided. In this regard, one or more processors and/or circuits in an aircraft may be operable to receive one or more Ethernet packets over one or more Ethernet links, generate a plurality of signals based on the received packets, wherein the plurality of signals comprise a plurality of signal formats suitable for conveyance to a plurality of electronic components in the aircraft, and output the plurality of signals to a plurality of electronic components in the aircraft. The electronic component(s) may comprise a display and/or audio output. The signals may be formatted in accordance with video and/or audio standards. The electronic component(s) may comprise an Ethernet port and the circuit(s) and/or processor(s) may be operable to communicate packets between the Ethernet port and the one or more Ethernet links.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for vehicular power distribution utilizing power over Ethernet in an aircraft are provided. In this regard, one or more circuits and/or processors may be operable to receive supply power that is formatted in accordance with one or more aviation standards, condition the received supply power, and provide the conditioned supply power to one or more electronic components that are communicatively coupled to the Ethernet cable. The one or more circuits and/or processors may be built into and/or mounted on a seat in the aircraft. The one or more circuits and/or processors may provide the conditioned supply power to the one or more electronic components based on a power classification of the one or more electronic components.

Abstract: A method of handling data packets in a network device and an apparatus for handling data packets in a network device are disclosed. The method includes receiving an incoming data packet and the incoming data packet is parsed to obtain a portion of the incoming data packet. That portion is compared with rules stored in a rule table, where each rule specifies a set of actions. A match between the portion and a particular rule of the rules is selected and a particular set of actions, specified by that particular rule is executed. Each rule includes a mask, a selection flag and a validity check that are used in the comparison of the portion with each rule. The rules may be compared with the packet portion serially or in a parallel fashion and if more than one rule matches the portion, the highest priority is selected as the matching rule.

Abstract: According to an example embodiment, an apparatus at a power source equipment (PSE) may include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive data via a communications link with a powered device (PD), and a controller configured to: determine a propagation delay of the communications link based on a message exchange between the PSE and the PD, the PSE and PD being connected via the communications link; and determine an amount of power to be supplied via Power Over Ethernet (POE) from the PSE to the PD via the communications link based on the propagation delay of the communications link.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for determination and exchange of network timing information are provided. In this regard, for each network hop traversed by a packet, a propagation delay of said network hop may be determined. Moreover, the propagation delay, and/or a hop length calculated utilizing the propagation delay, may be appended to the packet. The packet may, for example, be a MMRP registration packet or a SRP reservation packet. The packet may be dropped in instances that the propagation delay and/or length of a one or more traversed network hops is outside a determined range. The hop length may be determined by multiplying the propagation delay by a speed of propagation on the hop. The speed of propagation may be determined based on the physical layer technology associated with the network hop. Digital rights management may be implemented for media communicated on the network hop based at least in part on the hop length or the propagation delay.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for vehicular power distribution utilizing power over Ethernet are provided. In this regard, power may be distributed via one or more Ethernet links to one or more devices of a vehicular electronics network, where the Ethernet links may also communicate multimedia and/or control information to and/or from the devices. Power may be distributed to devices of the vehicular electronics network in accordance with power over Ethernet standards. At least one component in the vehicular electronics network may operate as power supplying equipment (PSE). At least one component in the vehicular electronics network may operate as a powered device (PD). At least one component in the vehicular electronics network may operate as a powered device. An amount of power distributed to one or more of the devices may be determined based on a power classification of the one or more devices.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for a centralized vehicular electronics system utilizing Ethernet with audio video bridging are provided. In this regard, electronic devices in a vehicle may be communicatively coupled via one or more Ethernet links and information may be communicated between the electronic devices over the Ethernet link(s) utilizing audio video bridging. At least one of multimedia, control, diagnostic, and sensory information between the electronic devices. Accordingly, resources on the one or more Ethernet links may be reserved via AVB to give priority to one of multimedia, control, diagnostic, and sensory information. Information communicated between the devices may be secured utilizing MACsec and related protocols. The electronic devices may comprise two or more network ports and may be enabled to forward packets between the two or more ports. The Ethernet links may comprise optical and/or copper cabling.

Abstract: Optical signals may be communicated with A/V Bridging services between an upstream link partner and a down stream link partner, each comprising an asymmetric Ethernet optical physical layer (PHY). High bandwidth A/V optical signals may be transmitted from the upstream link partner and low bandwidth optical signals may be transmitted from the downstream link partner. One or more of a time stamp, a traffic class and/or a destination address may be utilized in generating PDUs and managing communications via the asymmetric Ethernet optical PHY. The receiving link partner may register for deliver of the PDUs. An aggregate communication rate may be distributed evenly or unevenly among one or more optical links for transmission and aggregated upon reception via asymmetric Ethernet optical PHY operations. Compressed, uncompressed, encrypted and/or unencrypted optical signals may be handled. Signal processing may comprise forward error checking and clock recovery.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for managing multimedia traffic over Ethernet are provided. In this regard, multimedia traffic comprising one or more Ethernet frames may be identified via one or more headers comprising the frames and processed according to the identification. In this regard, general Ethernet traffic may be multiplexed into egress frames based on the identification. Similarly, ingress Ethernet frames may be demultiplexed into multimedia traffic and general traffic based on the identification. Headers utilized to identify and/or route multimedia traffic and general traffic may comprise Ethertype and/or subtype fields. Headers utilized to identify and/or route multimedia traffic and general traffic may comprise a connection identifier field. Similarly, Headers utilized to identify and/or route multimedia traffic and general traffic may comprise a data type field.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for Audio/Video Bridging aware shortest path bridging are provided. In this regard, network nodes which are AVB enabled and capable of routing information based on a desired path cost and/or a desired quality of service (QoS) may be identified, and an AVB enabled path comprising one or more of the identified nodes may be established for communication over a network. In this regard, the desired cost may be a least cost and may be the “shortest path” between two nodes in a network. Additionally, the nodes maybe identified using Shortest path Bridging protocols and/or Audio Video Bridging protocols and/or extensions thereof. Also, bridge protocol data units may be exchanged to identify the nodes.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for Ethernet and multimedia functions into a LAN subsystem are provided. In this regard, an integrated network interface which may comprise one or more Ethernet interfaces, and one or more high definition (HD) multimedia interfaces may be enabled to transmit and/or receive HD multimedia content over a network. Audio/Video Bridging and/or Audio/Video Bridging extensions may be utilized for the transmission and/or reception of HD multimedia content over a network. The integrated network interface may be enabled to transmit and/or receive physical layer signals adhering to protocols such as Ethernet and DisplayPort and may be configurable to select the type of signals to be transmitted or received. In this regard, aspects of the invention may enable converting Ethernet frames to DisplayPort micro-packets and visa-versa.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for fault resilience in Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) aware Shortest Path Bridging (SPB) networks are provided. In this regard, a path cost, which may be based at least on AVB compatibility, may be determined for each network path discovered between a first network node and a second network node. Additionally, a plurality of network paths may be selected based on the determined path cost, and a plurality of network connections may be established over the selected plurality of network paths. Also, a plurality of data streams may be transmitted and/or received via the established network connections, wherein at least one of data streams comprises data that is redundant to a first data stream. Furthermore, a primary data stream may be conveyed via a first network connection and one or more redundant data streams may be conveyed via a second network connection.

Abstract: Methods and systems for docking a laptop with Ethernet A/V bridging to guarantee services are disclosed and may include interfacing a portable computing device with a docking station using an Ethernet interface, and utilizing audio/video (AV) bridging for communicating data between the portable computing device and one or more devices coupled to the docking station. AV bridging may be utilized based on latency requirements of the data communication. The interfacing may include directly coupling an Ethernet port of the docking station to an Ethernet port of the portable computing device. Alternatively, the interfacing may include coupling an Ethernet port of the docking station to an Ethernet port of the portable computing device via an Ethernet cable. The portable computing device may be powered via the Ethernet interface, and may utilize power over Ethernet protocol. The docking station may include a passive or active docking station.

Abstract: Aspects of a method and system for implementing redundancy for streaming data in audio video bridging networks are provided. Network resources may be reserved over a plurality of network paths. Reserved resources may be utilized for the transmission and/or reception of a corresponding plurality of data streams, wherein one or more of the streams may comprise redundant data. A plurality of data streams may be transmitted and/or received by a plurality of network interface hardware devices. Similarly, a plurality of data streams may be transmitted and/or received by a plurality of ports integrated into a single network interface hardware device. Each of the plurality of data streams may be assigned a unique identifier and the identifier of a first data stream may differ by one bit from an identifier of a data stream comprising data redundant to the first data stream.