Patent ID: 8811428

Claim:
A method for maximizing the use of frame bursts in a cable modem comprising: receiving from a client device one or more packets having a first communication protocol, to be transmitted over a communication channel using a second communication protocol; queuing the one or more packets; determining a maximum size of a burst frame that is transmitted over the communication channel; adding each of the one or more packets in their entirety to the burst frame until the maximum size of the burst frame is reached; determining whether the burst frame has available space; fragmenting using the first communication protocol, when there is available space, a packet of the one or more packets into at least a first fragment packet and a second fragment packet, wherein the first fragment packet has a size substantially equal to the available space of the burst frame; adding the first fragment packet to the burst frame when there is available space; and transmitting the burst frame over the communication channel using the second communication protocol during a transmit window.