Patent ID: 8638817

Claim:
A communication apparatus, comprising: an input configured to receive a client signal, the client signal having an associated first frequency and carrying client data; an output configured to output a frame that includes first portions of the client data, stuff bytes, and justification control (JC) bytes, the JC bytes indicating whether the stuff bytes include second portions of the client data, the client data, stuff bytes, and justification control bytes being included in a first channel; and circuitry configured to supply virtual justification control (VJC) bytes, the VJC bytes being included in a second channel, the VJC bytes being indicative of a distribution of the client data in the frame, wherein the circuitry includes an accumulator that supplies control data indicative of the VJC bytes, wherein the frame includes a plurality of first words and the client signal includes a plurality of second words, each of the plurality of second words having a bit width, and each of the plurality of first words including selected bytes of the client data, the accumulator supplying the control data in response to a number of the selected bytes of client data and the bit width.