Patent ID: 8675721

Claim:
An apparatus for determining and displaying a throughput rate of a modem, wherein the modem includes a first housing, first circuitry disposed within the first housing for demodulating data received by the modem and modulating data transmitted by the modem, and at least a first port for outputting demodulated data from the modem and inputting data to the modem for modulating, comprising: a stand-alone counting device, connecting between the modem and a computer, for displaying an indication of the throughput rate to a user of the computer, wherein the stand-alone counting device includes: a second housing; a second port for receiving demodulated data output from the first port and outputting data to the first port; a third port for outputting the demodulated data to the computer, and receiving data transmitted from the computer; second circuitry, disposed within the second housing and connected between the second and third ports, for monitoring traffic between the second and third ports and generating the throughput rate in accordance with said monitoring; wherein the second circuitry is different from the first circuitry disposed within the first housing; and one or more displays, coupled to an output of the second circuitry, for displaying the throughput rate to the user; wherein said first port is a first Ethernet port, said second port is a second Ethernet port, and said third port is a third Ethernet port; wherein the stand-alone counting device further comprises a dock that includes the second Ethernet port and a power connector, wherein the second Ethernet port and the power connector respectively mate with the first Ethernet port and a power coupling on the first housing when the modem is inserted into the dock.