CATV hybrid fiber-coaxial network headend virtual gateway

1 . A computer-implemented method for communication with radio frequency (RF) amplifiers in a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network, the computer-implemented method comprising:

providing, by one or more computer processors, return communications from one or more RF amplifiers to a headend; and

providing, by the one or more computer processors, forward communications from the headend to the one or more RF amplifiers, wherein:

the return communications and the forward communications use out of band (OOB) communication protocols.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein providing the return communications from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend further comprises:

receiving, by the one or more computer processors, one or more NDR Ethernet packets containing data to be sent from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend;

converting, by the one or more computer processors, the data into a return digital bitstream;

packaging, by the one or more computer processors, the return digital bitstream into one or more payloads for out of band (OOB) transmission;

converting, by the one or more computer processors, the one or more payloads into one or more return Ethernet packets; and

sending, by the one or more computer processors, the one or more return Ethernet packets to the headend.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the return digital bitstream is in I/Q (in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components) format.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein converting the data into the return digital bitstream further comprises:

demodulating the data into the return digital bitstream using frequency information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein converting the data into the return digital bitstream further comprises:

de-whitening, by the one or more computer processors, the data;

retrieving, by the one or more computer processors, a first number of preambles and a second number of sync words from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers;

retrieving, by the one or more computer processors, a header, the one or more payloads, and one or more CRC calculations; and

combining, by the one or more computer processors, the first number of preambles, the second number of sync words, the header, the one or more payloads, and the one or more CRC calculations into the return digital bitstream.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein converting the one or more payloads into the return Ethernet packets further comprises:

combining the return digital bitstream with Ethernet information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers, wherein the Ethernet information includes at least one of a preamble, a destination address, a source address, an Ethernet type, the one or more payloads, and a CRC calculation for the return Ethernet packets.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein providing the forward communications from the headend to the one or more RF amplifiers further comprises:

receiving, by the one or more computer processors, one or more forward Ethernet packets from the headend;

extracting, by the one or more computer processors, one or more payloads from the one or more forward Ethernet packets;

converting, by the one or more computer processors, the one or more payloads into a Frequency-shift keying (FSK) package;

converting, by the one or more computer processors, the FSK package into a forward digital bitstream;

packaging, by the one or more computer processors, the forward digital bitstream into one or more NDF Ethernet packets; and

sending, by the one or more computer processors, the one or more NDF Ethernet packets to the one or more RF amplifiers.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein converting the FSK package into the forward digital bitstream further comprises:

using frequency information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the forward digital bitstream is in I/Q (in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components) format.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the one or more NDF Ethernet packets contain DOCSIS External Downstream Interface (DEPI) packages.

11 . A system for communication with radio frequency (RF) amplifiers in a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network, the system comprising:

a headend;

one or more RF amplifiers;

one or more computer processors;

one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors, the program instructions including instructions to:

provide return communications from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend; and

provide forward communications from the headend to the one or more RF amplifiers, wherein:

the return communications and the forward communications use out of band (OOB) communication protocols.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein providing the return communications from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend further comprises:

receive one or more NDR Ethernet packets containing data to be sent from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend;

convert the data into a return digital bitstream;

package the return digital bitstream into one or more payloads for out of band (OOB) transmission;

convert the one or more payloads into one or more return Ethernet packets; and

send the one or more return Ethernet packets to the headend.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein convert the data into the return digital bitstream further comprises:

de-whiten the data;

retrieve a first number of preambles and a second number of sync words from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers;

retrieve a header, the one or more payloads, and one or more CRC calculations; and

combine the first number of preambles, the second number of sync words, the header, the one or more payloads, and the one or more CRC calculations into the return digital bitstream.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein convert the data into the return digital bitstream further comprises:

demodulate the data into the return digital bitstream using frequency information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein convert the one or more payloads into the return Ethernet packets further comprises:

combine the return digital bitstream with Ethernet information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers, wherein the Ethernet information includes at least one of a preamble, a destination address, a source address, an Ethernet type, the one or more payloads, and a CRC calculation for the return Ethernet packets.

16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein providing the forward communications from the headend to the one or more RF amplifiers further comprises:

receive one or more forward Ethernet packets from the headend;

extract one or more payloads from the one or more forward Ethernet packets;

convert the one or more payloads into a Frequency-shift keying (FSK) package;

convert the FSK package into a forward digital bitstream;

package the forward digital bitstream into one or more NDF Ethernet packets; and

send the one or more NDF Ethernet packets to the one or more RF amplifiers.

17 . A system for communication with radio frequency (RF) amplifiers in a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network, the system comprising:

a headend;

one or more RF amplifiers;

one or more computer processors;

one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors, the program instructions including instructions to:

provide out of band (OOB) return communications from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend, including instructions to:

receive one or more NDR Ethernet packets containing data to be sent from the one or more RF amplifiers to the headend;

convert the data into a return digital bitstream;

package the return digital bitstream into one or more return payloads for OOB transmission;

convert the one or more return payloads into one or more return Ethernet packets;

send the one or more return Ethernet packets to the headend;

provide OOB forward communications from the headend to the one or more RF amplifiers, including instructions to:

receive one or more forward Ethernet packets from the headend;

extract one or more forward payloads from the forward Ethernet packets;

convert the one or more forward payloads into a Frequency-shift keying (FSK) package;

convert the FSK package into a forward digital bitstream;

package the forward digital bitstream into one or more NDF Ethernet packets; and

send the one or more NDF Ethernet packets to the one or more RF amplifiers.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein convert the data into the return digital bitstream further comprises:

de-whiten the data;

retrieve a first number of preambles and a second number of sync words from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers;

retrieve a header, the one or more return payloads, and one or more CRC calculations; and

combine the first number of preambles, the second number of sync words, the header, the one or more return payloads, and the one or more CRC calculations into the return digital bitstream.

19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein convert the data into the return digital bitstream further comprises:

demodulate the data into the return digital bitstream using frequency information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers.

20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein convert the one or more return payloads into the return Ethernet packets further comprises:

combine the forward digital bitstream with Ethernet information obtained from one or more control packages received from the one or more RF amplifiers, wherein the Ethernet information includes at least one of a preamble, a destination address, a source address, an Ethernet type, the one or more return payloads, and a CRC calculation for the return Ethernet packets.