Method and system for a wide-bandwidth, on-premises network
View Patent ↗A network device comprising: a first connector for connecting to an external network from which data may be communicated using a first frequency band in accordance with a first communications protocol; a second connector for connecting to an on-premises network; and circuitry residing in a signal path between said first connector and said second connector. The circuitry may be operable to: permit a first portion of the first frequency band to pass from the first connector to the second connector; block a second portion of said first frequency band from passing from the first connector to the second connector; and communicate, via the second connector, signals that are normally communicated in frequency ranges not including the first frequency band, into the on-premises network using the first frequency band. The signals may include packets formatted in accordance with Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) standards.
1. A system comprising:
a network device comprising:
a first connector for connecting to an external network from which data is communicated using a first frequency band f 1 to f 2 in accordance with a first communications protocol;
a second connector for connecting to an on-premises network; and
circuitry residing in a signal path between said first connector and said second connector, said circuitry being operable to:
permit a first portion of said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 to pass from said first connector to said second connector;
block a second portion of said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 from passing from said first connector to said second connector; and
communicate, via said second connector, signals that are normally communicated in a frequency range f 3 to f 4 which does not include said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 , into said on-premises network using said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 .
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said signals comprise packets formatted in accordance with Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) standards.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein said first portion of said first frequency band spans from 5 megahertz (MHz) to 42 MHz.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein said circuitry is operable to:
receive downstream signals via said first connector;
recover data from said downstream signals;
encapsulate said data into one or more packets according to a second communications protocol used in said on-premises network; and
transmit said one or more packets into said on-premises network via said second connector.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein said one or more packets are multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) packets.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein said circuitry is operable to:
receive upstream signals via said second connector;
recover data from said upstream signals;
encapsulate said data into one or more packets according to a protocol used in said external network; and
transmit said one or more packets into said external network via said second connector.
7. A system comprising:
a network device comprising:
a first connector for connecting to an external network in which upstream signals are communicated in accordance with a first communications protocol using a first frequency band f 1 to f 2 and one or both of first and second downstream signals are communicated using a second frequency band f 3 to f 4 ;
a second connector for connecting to an on-premises network; and
circuitry residing in a signal path between said first connector and said second connector, said circuitry being operable to:
permit said one or both of said first and second downstream signals to pass from said first connector to said second connector;
block said upstream signals communicated in accordance with a first communications protocol from passing from said first connector to said second connector; and
communicate, via said second connector, said one or both of first and second downstream signals that are normally communicated in a frequency range f 3 to f 4 which does not include said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 , into said on-premises network using said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 .
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein said signals comprise packets formatted in accordance with Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) standards.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein said signals are also communicated in a frequency range above 1 GHz.
10. The system of claim 7 , wherein said circuitry is operable to:
receive said downstream signals via said first connector;
recover data from said downstream signals;
encapsulate said data into one or more packets according to a protocol used in said on-premises network; and
transmit said one or more packets into said on-premises network via said second connector.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein said one or more packets are multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) packets.
12. The system of claim 7 , wherein said circuitry is operable to:
receive second upstream signals via said second connector;
recover data from said second upstream signals;
encapsulate said data into one or more packets according to a protocol used in said external network; and
transmit said one or more packets into said external network via said first connector.
13. The system of claim 7 , wherein said network device is positioned furthest upstream of all devices of said on-premises network.
14. A method comprising:
in a network device comprising a first connector for connecting to an external network in which upstream signals communicated in accordance with a first communications protocol are communicated using a first frequency band f 1 to f 2 and one or both of first and second downstream signals are communicated using a second frequency band f 3 to f 4 , and comprising a second connector for connecting to an on-premises network:
permitting said one or both of said first and second downstream signals communicated in accordance with said first communications protocol to pass from said first connector to said second connector;
blocking said upstream signals communicated in accordance with a first communications protocol from passing from said first connector to said second connector; and
communicate, via said second connector, said one or both of first and second downstream signals that are normally communicated in said frequency band f 3 to f 4 which does not include said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 , into said on-premises network using said first frequency band f 1 to f 2 .
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said signals comprise packets formatted in accordance with Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) standards.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein said signals are also communicated in a frequency range above 1 GHz.
17. The method of claim 14 , comprising:
receiving said downstream signals via said first connector;
recovering data from said downstream signals;
encapsulating said data into one or more packets according to a protocol used in said on-premises network; and
transmitting said one or more packets into said on-premises network via said second connector.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said one or more packets are multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA) packets.
19. The method of claim 14 , wherein said circuitry is operable to:
receive second upstream signals via said second connector;
recover data from said second upstream signals;
encapsulate said data into one or more packets according to a protocol used in said external network; and
transmit said one or more packets into said external network via said second connector.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein said network device is positioned furthest upstream of all devices of said on-premises network.