Patent ID: 7739393

Claim:
In a backup cable modem termination system, a method of restoring transmission of messages between one or more cable modems and the backup cable modem termination system upon failure of an active cable modem termination system, the method comprising: receiving by the backup cable modem termination system subscriber information associated with the one or more cable modems from the active cable modem termination system, the subscriber information including one or more subscriber identifiers; prioritizing the one or more cable modems by the backup cable modem termination system using at least one of the subscriber information or a time of receipt of the subscriber information, the prioritized cable modems indicating an order in which the transmission of messages between the one or more cable modems and the backup cable modem termination system is to be restored; and polling the one or more cable modems by the backup cable modem termination system in the order indicated by the prioritized cable modems such that communication between the one or more cable modems and the backup cable modem termination system is established in the order indicated by the prioritized cable modems, thereby enabling the transmission of messages between the one or more cable modems and the backup cable modem termination system to be restored.