Patent ID: 7639620

Claim:
A system, comprising: a centralized Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) component operating between a first network and a second cable network and configured to provide a plurality of cable modems access to the first network, wherein the centralized CMTS component is configured to perform a first portion of Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) processing on received packet traffic; a distributed node located remotely from the centralized CMTS component and configured to perform, on communications received from the centralized CMTS component, a remaining second portion of the DOCSIS processing not performed by the centralized CMTS component, wherein the distributed node comprises: a first interface configured to communicate with the centralized CMTS component; a second interface in communication with the first interface and configured to communicate with the plurality of cable modems that are located in the second cable network; circuitry in communication with the first and second interfaces and configured to perform the remaining DOCSIS processing, wherein the circuitry is configured to perform at least one selected from the group including downstream modulation, ranging, registration, generation of channel MAP messages, and generation and termination of Media Access Control (MAC) messages; and the circuitry configured to transfer packets through the first interface and over a portion of the second cable network to the centralized CMTS component; wherein the portion of the second cable network is located between the centralized CMTS component and the distributed node such that the distributed node is remotely located with respect to the centralized CMTS component.