Patent ID: 7545813

Claim:
A method for registering remote nodes in an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) which includes a central node and at least one remote node, wherein a number of virtual remote nodes are coupled to a common physical remote node and transmit upstream data through a common transmitter within the common physical remote node, the method comprising: receiving a solicitation message from the central node at a remote node during a discovery cycle, wherein the remote node is coupled to multiple virtual remote nodes, and wherein the solicitation message assigns a discovery slot in which an unregistered virtual remote node may transmit a response message to the central node for registration without scheduling by the central node; and transmitting a response message from an unregistered virtual remote node to register within the assigned discovery slot; wherein if the virtual remote nodes coupled to the common physical remote node seek registration concurrently, the method further comprises controlling the transmission of response messages from these virtual remote nodes to the central node so as to avoid collisions between response messages from different remote nodes.