Patent ID: 8649388
Filing Date: 2014-02-11
Classification: H04B,H04J,H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. In a distributed antenna system (DAS) that includes at least one radio equipment (RE), a method of data distribution in the DAS and a local area network (LAN) in proximity with the DAS, wherein the data include signal samples from a radio equipment controller (REC) and data packets from a switch, wherein the data packets are destined for one or more LAN segments of the LAN, wherein each data packet contains a plurality of data bits organized in accordance with a LAN protocol used by the LAN, the data packet including an address information associated with a destination device of a corresponding LAN segment, wherein each signal sample corresponds to an antenna-carrier, each RE including a digital upconverter (DUC) and a digital to analog converter (DAC) to process the signal samples of one or more antenna-carriers for transmission via an antenna, the method comprising: receiving one or more streams of the data packets at a gateway from the switch, wherein the stream of the data packets destined for the corresponding LAN segment are received over a given gateway port, wherein the corresponding LAN segment is coupled to communicate with a corresponding RE; receiving the signal samples from the REC at the gateway, wherein the signal samples are organized in one or more radio data frames having a frame structure in accordance with a radio data interface protocol, the frame structure including a user data portion and a control information portion, the user data portion including a plurality of containers, wherein the containers are assigned to corresponding antenna-carriers of the corresponding RE, wherein a given container includes one or more of the signal samples of the corresponding antenna-carrier; mapping the data packets and the signal samples for the corresponding RE to one or more mixed-data frames, the mixed-data frames having the frame structure in accordance with the radio data interface protocol, wherein a first set of containers in a user data portion of the mixed-data frame contains the data bits of the data packets for the corresponding LAN segment and a second set of containers in the user data portion of the mixed-data frame contains the signal samples of the corresponding antenna-carrier; transmitting the mixed-data frame over a data transfer interface to the corresponding RE; receiving the mixed-data frame at the corresponding RE; retrieving the data bits and the signal samples from the mixed-data frame, wherein the data bits for the corresponding LAN segment are retrieved from the first set of containers in the mixed-data frame and the signal samples of the corresponding antenna-carrier are retrieved from the second set of containers in the mixed-data frame; formatting the data bits into one or more reconstructed data packets in accordance with the LAN protocol for transmission to the corresponding LAN segment; and providing the signal samples of the corresponding antenna-carrier to the DUC at the corresponding RE.