Patent ID: 7152199

Claim:
A method for constructing a forward error correction (FEC) coded Ethernet frame, comprising: receiving a conventional Ethernet frame; generating a number of FEC parity bits for the conventional Ethernet frame; inserting a start sequence before the conventional Ethernet frame; appending an even- or odd-delimiter to the conventional Ethernet frame, wherein the even-delimiter is used to separate the conventional Ethernet frame from the FEC parity bits if the last symbol of the conventional Ethernet frame is in an odd-numbered position; wherein the odd-delimiter is used to separate the conventional Ethernet frame from the FEC parity bits if the last symbol of the conventional Ethernet frame is in an even-numbered position; and wherein the even-delimiter and the odd-delimiter are selected such that a Hamming distance between them is greater than the number of bit errors tolerated for the even-delimiter or the odd-delimiter, thereby reducing the probability of mistaking the even-delimiter for the odd-delimiter, or mistaking the odd-delimiter for the even-delimiter, if bit error occurs within the even- or odd-delimiter; appending the number of FEC parity bits to the even- or odd-delimiter; and appending a second delimiter to the FEC parity bits.