Variable length burst transmission over the physical layer of a multilayer transmission format

Apparatus for communicating data packets in variable length bursts over a physical layer in a multilayer data communication scheme, each burst containing (i) information data and (ii) overhead including forward error control (FEC) data, said apparatus comprising:

• a programmable block processor for grouping said information data into blocks according to a selected one of a plurality of available grouping modes;
• a programmable FEC encoder for encoding said blocks with said FEC data according to a selected one of a plurality of possible coding levels;
• and
• an interface associated with said block processor and said FEC encoder for:
• selecting a burst mode that uses a particular grouping mode provided by said block processor and a particular coding level established by said FEC encoder to achieve an associated transmission bandwidth efficiency and burst transmission robustness over said physical layer for bursts containing said blocks.