Patent ID: 7334252

Claim:
In a cable modem termination system (CMTS), a method of changing the provisioning status of a selected cable modem in a cable modem network having a provisioning system, the method comprising: transmitting a first configuration file to the selected cable modem thereby allowing the selected cable modem to initially provision and perform a self-test; performing periodic ranging between the selected modem and the CMTS operating in a primary hub of a cable television plant; and causing a change in provisioning status of the selected cable modem by performing one of: i) deliberately interrupting the periodic ranging at the MAC/physical layer of the cable modem network by the CMTS receiving a clear modem reset command directly from the provisioning system via simple network management protocol (SNMP) and the CMTS causing a disruption in the periodic ranging with the selected cable modem, thereby causing the selected cable modem to return to a synchronization process with the cable modem network and causing the selected cable modem to receive a second configuration file; and ii) transmitting a ranging abort message to the selected cable modem thereby deliberately causing the cable modem to have an RF failure, wherein the RF state of the cable plant is intact and the ranging abort message is a forced signal sent to the cable modem from the CMTS upon instructions from the provisioning system via SNMP; wherein a power-on state of the cable modem is maintained during the periodic ranging interruption process and the RF failure process and the self-test performed during initial provisioning is relied on by the cable modem.