Method and apparatus for asynchronous PPP and synchronous PPP conversion

An asynchronous/synchronous converter for two-way communication between an asynchronously communicating DTE device and a synchronous digital network comprising:

• an asynchronous driver capable of two way asynchronous communication with a standard universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART);
• a synchronous driver capable of two way synchronous communication with a digital network;
• an asynchronous data buffer for storing asynchronous PPP data packets received from said DTE device and for storing asynchronous PPP data packets prior to transmission to said DTE device;
• a synchronous data buffer for storing synchronous PPP data packets received from said network and for storing synchronous PPP data packets prior to transmission to said network;
• an asynchronous/synchronous translator capable translating between asynchronous PPP and synchronous PPP formats, said translator capable of reading complete asynchronous PPP packets from said asynchronous data buffer, translating control fields and formatting to a form suitable for synchronous PPP transmission, and storing complete synchronous PPP data packets into said synchronous data buffer, said translator further capable of reading complete synchronous PPP packets from said synchronous data buffer, translating control fields and formatting to a form suitable for asynchronous PPP transmission, and storing complete asynchronous PPP packets into said asynchronous data buffer;
• and
• a converter memory for storing Asynchronous Control Character Map (ACCM) protocol control values received from said DTE device or said network, said converter memory connected to said translator and said translator reading data stored in said converter memory to facilitate in translation.

A method for converting link control packets between a DTE device using Asynchronous PPP and a network device using Synchronous PPP comprising the steps of:

• detecting each time said DTE sends a configuration request packet containing a DTE-Asynchronous Character Control Map (ACCM), and when such a packet is received storing the DTE-ACCM, deleting the ACCM from the packet, and transmitting said DTE configuration request packet to said network device using a Synchronous PPP;
• detecting each time said network device sends a configuration acknowledge packet and when such a packet is received inserting said stored DTE-ACCM into the packet and transmitting said network configuration acknowledge packet to said DTE using an Asynchronous PPP;
• detecting each time said network device sends a configuration request packet, and if the packet contains a net-ACCM storing the net-ACCM and removing the net-ACCM from the packet, then inserting a DCE-ACCM into the network configuration request packet and transmitting said configuration request packet to said DTE using an Asynchronous PPP;
• and
• detecting each time said DTE sends a configuration acknowledge packet and when such a packet is received deleting said DCE-ACCM from the packet and inserting said stored net-ACCM into the packet and transmitting said DTE configuration acknowledge packet to said network device using a Synchronous PPP.

A converter for two-way communication between a first device using asynchronous communication (the asynchronous device) and a second device using synchronous communication (the synchronous device) comprising:

• an asynchronous driver capable of two way asynchronous communication with said asynchronous device;
• a synchronous driver capable of two way synchronous communication with said synchronous device;
• an asynchronous/synchronous translator capable of translating between asynchronous and synchronous data formats, said translator capable of reading complete units of asynchronous data received from said asynchronous device, translating control fields and formatting to a form suitable for synchronous transmission, and directing complete units of synchronous data to said synchronous driver, said translator further capable of reading complete units of synchronous data received from said synchronous device, translating control fields and formatting to a form suitable for asynchronous transmission, and directing complete units of asynchronous data to said asynchronous driver;
• and
• a converter memory for storing protocol control values received from said asynchronous device or said synchronous device, said memory connected to said translator and said translator reading data stored in said converter memory to facilitate in translation.