Patent ID: 7065071

Claim:
A Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) termination device in an access network system by which a subscriber gets access to a backbone network, comprising: a first interface to a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM); a second interface to a backbone network; a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) link controller for establishing and disconnecting a PPP link; a header processor for converting between a network-layer packet and a PPP data packet including the network-layer packet; a switch for switching a connection among the first interface, the second interface, the PPP link controller, and the header processor, depending on which one of a PPP data packet and a link control packet is inputted, wherein the link control packet is used for link establishment and disconnection; and a segmentation and reassembly section, wherein the header processor is arranged and adapted to determine which one of a PPP data packet and a link control packet is inputted from the first interface and, when the link control packet has been inputted, the segmentation and reassembly section segments the link control packet into cells to be forwarded to the PPP link controller by the switch, wherein the PPP link controller performs a link establishment procedure based on the link control packet in the cells.