Patent ID: 7978723

Claim:
A method for initializing devices in a cable modem system, the method, performed by at least one of the devices, comprising: receiving upstream channel identifiers on a plurality of downstream channels, each of the upstream channel identifiers identifying one of a plurality of upstream channels, at least one upstream channel, of the plurality of upstream channels, being dedicated to providing initialization opportunities, the at least one upstream channel including fewer than all of the plurality of upstream channels, where one or more upstream channels, of the plurality of upstream channels, provide no initialization opportunities and transmit data communications traffic while the dedicated at least one upstream channel provides initialization opportunities, where the one or more upstream channels differ from the at least one upstream channel; reading from a particular upstream channel, of the plurality of upstream channels, identified by a particular one of the upstream channel identifiers; determining whether the particular upstream channel corresponds to the at least one upstream channel that provides initialization opportunities; performing initialization when the particular upstream channel corresponds to the at least one upstream channel, reading, when the particular upstream channel does not correspond to the at least one upstream channel, another one of the plurality of upstream channels, identified by another one of the upstream channel identifiers; determining, based on reading the other one of the upstream channels, whether the other one of the upstream channels corresponds to the at least one upstream channel; and performing, when the other one of the upstream channels corresponds to the at least one upstream channel, initialization.