Patent ID: 7672230

Claim:
A method for facilitating communications between a network node and a Head End of an access network, the access network including a plurality of nodes which communicate with the Head End via at least one upstream channel and at least one downstream channel, the access network including a first node adapted to communicate with the Head End via at least one downstream channel and at least one upstream channel, the access network further including a second node adapted to communicate with the Head End via at least one downstream channel and at least one upstream channel, the at least one downstream channel including a first downstream channel and a second downstream channel, wherein the first downstream channel is associated with a first channel identifier, and the second downstream channel is associated with a second channel identifier, the at least one upstream channel including a first upstream channel associated with a third channel identifier, wherein the third channel identifier is different from the first channel identifier and second channel identifier, the method comprising: communicating between the Head End and the first and second nodes via the first downstream channel; receiving, at the first node, a first communication from the Head End via the first downstream channel, said first communication including a request to perform a dynamic channel change operation, said dynamic channel change (DCC) request including a request to perform a downstream channel change operation to cause the first node to switch from the first downstream channel to the second downstream channel; implementing, at the first node, the downstream channel change operation in response to the dynamic channel change request; determining whether data transmitted from the Head End is successfully received at the first node via the second downstream channel; communicating between the Head End and the first node via the second downstream channel in response to a determination that data transmitted from the Head End can be successfully received at the first node via the second downstream channel; and communicating between the Head End and the second node via the first downstream channel after successful completion of the downstream channel change operation at the first node; and switching, at the first node, from the second downstream channel to the first downstream channel in response to a determination that data transmitted at the Head End can not be successfully received at the first node via the second downstream channel.