Patent ID: 7158517

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a descrambler configured to receive a data signal and partition out a first portion of overhead information and a payload envelope therefrom, the payload envelope comprising a second portion of overhead information and data; a first timing control coupled to the descrambler and configured to provide a first timing signal; a first submodule comprising a first overhead extractor, a first overhead event generator and a first checker, the first submodule coupled to the first timing control and the descrambler, the first submodule configured to receive the first portion of overhead information, to generate check first check values for checking a portion of the first portion of overhead information received and to generate a first event signal indicating receipt of the first portion of overhead information; a pointer interpreter coupled to the first timing control and the descrambler; a buffer memory coupled to the first timing control and the descrambler to receive the payload envelope; a second timing control coupled to the buffer memory and configured to provide a second timing signal; and a second submodule comprising a second overhead extractor, a second overhead event generator and a second checker, the second submodule coupled to the buffer memory and to the second timing control, the second submodule configured to receive the second portion of overhead information, to generate second check values for checking a portion of the second portion of overhead information received and to generate a second event signal indicating the second portion of overhead information has been received.