Patent ID: 7697568
Filing Date: 2010-04-13
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: transmitting a plurality of probe packets from a router to a modem, wherein the probe packets are transmitted from the router with a first packet transmission rate, and wherein the modem is configured to transmit the probe packets to an aggregator at an upstream data transmission rate; detecting a plurality of reply packets transmitted from the aggregator to the router via the modem, wherein the reply packets are transmitted by the aggregator in response to the probe packets, and wherein the reply packets are received by the router from the modem at a second packet transmission rate; determining, with the router, the upstream data transmission rate of the modem based on the first packet transmission rate, the second packet transmission rate, and an overhead associated with the probe packets and the reply packets; and detecting whether a PPPoE protocol or DHCP is used in the overhead to determine whether the modem is a DSL modem or a cable modem, respectively.