Advanced fiber node

1. A system comprising:

circuitry for use in a hybrid fiber-coaxial network, the circuitry comprising:

a first transceiver configured to connect said circuitry to an optical link;

a second transceiver configured to connect said circuitry to an electrical link;

a first processing path;

a second processing path in parallel with said first processing path; and

a switching circuit, wherein:

in a first configuration, said switching circuit couples said first transceiver to said second transceiver via said first processing path and said first transceiver is coupled to a headend which uses one or both of an upstream external PHY interface (UEPI) and a downstream external PHY interface (DEPI); and

in a second configuration, said switching circuit couples said first transceiver to said second transceiver via said second processing path and said first transceiver is coupled to a headend which does not use either a UEPI or a DEPI.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

said first transceiver comprises a passive optical network (PON) transceiver; and

said second transceiver comprises a data over coaxial service interface specification (DOCSIS) physical layer transceiver.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein:

said first processing path comprises one or both of a UEPI and a DEPI; and

said second processing path comprises an optical network unit (ONU) and a DOCSIS media access control (MAC) circuit.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein:

said first processing path comprises a packet shelf to access shelf interface (PASI); and

said second processing path comprises a protocol bridging circuit and a DOCSIS media access control (MAC) circuit.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein:

said switching circuit is configured among said first configuration and said second configuration based on a type of headend to which said first transceiver is coupled.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

said switching circuit is configured among said first configuration and said second configuration based on a type of headend to which said first transceiver is coupled.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein said switching circuit is configured based on a control signal received via said optical link.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein said circuitry is operable to:

autonomously detect a type of headend connected to said optical link; and

configure said switching circuit based on said detected type of headend.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said second processing path is operable to perform functions of a cable modem terminal system (CMTS).

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein said functions of said CMTS include media access planning for allocating bandwidth on said electrical link.

11. A method comprising:

performing by circuitry of a hybrid fiber-coaxial network:

selecting between a first configuration of a switching circuit of said circuitry and a second configuration of said switching circuit based on a type of headend to which said circuitry is connected via an optical link, wherein:

in said first configuration, said switching circuit couples a first transceiver of said circuitry to a second transceiver of said circuitry via a first processing path;

in said second configuration, said switching circuit couples said first transceiver of said circuitry to said second transceiver of said circuitry via a second processing path;

in said first configuration, said first transceiver is coupled to said circuitry to said optical link using one or both of an upstream external PHY interface (UEPI) and a downstream external PHY interface (DEPI);

in said second configuration, said first transceiver is coupled to a headend that does not use either a UEPI or a DEPI; and

said second transceiver is configured to connect said circuitry to an electrical link.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

said first transceiver comprises a passive optical network (PON) transceiver; and

said second transceiver comprises a data over coaxial service interface specification (DOCSIS) physical layer transceiver.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

said first processing path comprises one or both of a UEPI and a DEPI; and

said second processing path comprises an optical network unit (ONU) and a DOCSIS media access control (MAC) circuit.

14. The method of claim 13 , comprising:

configuring, by said circuitry, said switching circuit among said first configuration and said second configuration based on a type of headend to which said first transceiver is coupled.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein:

said first processing path comprises a packet shelf to access shelf interface (PASI); and

said second processing path comprises a protocol bridging circuit and a DOCSIS media access control (MAC) circuit.

16. The method of claim 15 , comprising:

configuring, by said circuitry, said switching circuit among said first configuration and said second configuration based on a type of headend to which said first transceiver is coupled.

17. The method of claim 11 , comprising configuring, by said circuitry, said switching circuit based on a control signal received via said optical link.

18. The method of claim 11 , comprising:

detecting, by said circuitry, a type of headend connected to said optical link; and

configuring, by said circuitry, said switching circuit based on said detected type of headend.

19. The method of claim 11 , wherein said second processing path is operable to perform functions of a cable modem terminal system (CMTS).

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein said functions of said CMTS include media access planning for allocating bandwidth on said electrical link.