Dynamic digital communication system control
View Patent ↗Methods, apparatus and systems for dynamically controlling a digital communication system, such as a DSL system, collect information about digital communication lines in the system and adaptively and/or dynamically determine line and signal characteristics of the digital communication lines, including interference effects. Based on the determined characteristics and the desired performance parameters, operation of the digital communication lines is adjusted to improve or otherwise control the performance of the system. The collection and processing of information may be performed by a party that is not a user in the system. This independent party also may control operational characteristics and parameters of the system. The invention can be used to eliminated or reduce signal interference such as crosstalk that can be induced on communication lines in systems such as DSL systems. Specific iterative power allocation and vectored transmission techniques and apparatus are disclosed.
1. An arrangement for controlling communication in a digital communication system having a plurality of communication lines on which signals are transmitted and received, the signals being affected by interference during transmission, the arrangement comprising:
a first processing arrangement that creates a model of the interference characteristics of a communication line selected from the plurality of communication lines, the interference characteristics due to signals carried on the plurality of communication lines;
a second processing arrangement that processes signals using the model to determine interference characteristics created by actual signals carried on the other communication lines and in response, remove interference from the actual signals; and
a plurality of user blocks, wherein at least one block operates independent from other blocks and adapted to collect information about line, signal and interference characteristics of the communication lines at a common processing node responsive to the actual signals,
wherein each user block is permitted to transmit and receive signals using a data rate and wherein the second processing arrangement is further adapted to analyze a weighted sum of the data rates of the signals over the plurality of communication lines.
2. The arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the second processing arrangement further allocates energy to each of the plurality of communication lines for transmission of signals.
3. The arrangement of claim 2 wherein the signals are sent using a plurality of frequencies and further wherein the second processing arrangement is further adapted to dynamically adjust the frequencies used to send the signals.