Patent ID: 8842991

Claim:
A method in a network device for providing end-to-end connection in a unified optical and coax network, comprising: receiving at an integrated node device (IND) an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) multi-point control protocol (MPCP) message from an optical line terminal (OLT); scheduling coax data communications by forwarding to a customer premises equipment (CPE) a coax MPCP message that emulates the EPON MPCP message; receiving at the IND a data frame from an optical line terminal (OLT), wherein the data frame comprises data and a logical link identifier (LLID) associated with the CPE; placing the data frame in one of a plurality of buffers based on the LLID, wherein one of the plurality of buffers corresponds to the CPE, wherein the data frame stays intact in a media access control (MAC) layer; transmitting the data frame to the CPE from the IND using modulation substantially optimized for a channel to the CPE, wherein the transmitted data frame comprises the LLID from the OLT.