Patent ID: 7933276

Claim:
In a passive optical network (PON) implementing shared access between at least one central unit and a plurality of end-stations, a dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) processor comprising: a. a DBA co-processor, for performing and accelerating DBA functions, that includes: i. an end-station queue status query unit, coupled to end-stations through a PON data-path receive bus and operative to identify bandwidth report messages of a PON protocol, from end stations, in a data stream received from the PON data-path receive bus and to process the bandwidth report messages; ii. a bandwidth allocation unit operative to decide the amount of allocated bandwidth to each end station, based on the bandwidth report messages; and iii. a commanding end-stations unit, coupled to the end-stations through a PON data-path transmit bus and operative to pass to the end-stations, PON messages that include placements on a timeline, based on the information on the allocated bandwidth; and b. a central processing unit (CPU) core is logically coupled to the DBA co-processor through a CPU bus and operative to configure and dynamically control all DBA co-processor units and to run sections of algorithms that cannot be accelerated on the DBA co-processor; wherein the PON data-path receive bus and the PON data-path transmit bus bypass the CPU core; and whereby the DBA processor provides both the flexibility of a CPU and the strength of dedicated hardware acceleration in dynamic allocation of bandwidth in the communications network.