System for encapsulating Ethernet frames over very high speed digital subscriber lines

A method of transporting Ethernet frames over a Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) transport facility, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving an input Ethernet frame data from an Ethernet compatible communication device;
• generating a multibyte preamble field for use in identifying the start of a VDSL frame by a receiver;
• generating a length field representing the length of said Ethernet frame to be transmitted over said VDSL transport;
• generating a data field comprising said Ethernet frame to be transmitted over said VDSL transport facility;
• assembling said preamble field, length field and said data field so as to generate a VDSL frame;
• transmitting said VDSL frame over said VDSL transport facility asynchronously with respect to a transmit Start of Cell (SOC) signal;
• receiving VDSL frame data over said VDSL transport facility asynchronously with respect to a receive SOC signal;
• extracting the Ethernet frame from said data field and generating an output Ethernet frame therefrom;
• and
• transmitting said output Ethernet frame to said Ethernet compatible communication device.

A method of transporting Ethernet frames over a Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) transport facility, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving Ethernet frames for transmission over said VDSL transport facility;
• encapsulating said received Ethernet frames within VDSL frames, wherein said Ethernet frames are placed within DVSL frames without any segmentation prior to encapsulation;
• inserting a preamble and length field into said VDSL frames;
• and
• transmitting VDSL frames over said VDSL transport facility asynchronously with respect to a transmit Start of Cell (SOC) signal.

An apparatus for transporting Ethernet frames over a Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) transport facility, comprising:

• an Ethernet transceiver for transmitting and receiving Ethernet frames to and from an Ethernet port;
• a VDSL transceiver for transmitting and receiving VDSL frames to and from said VDSL transport facility;
• means for encapsulating Ethernet frames within VDSL frames, wherein said Ethernet frames are placed within DVSL frames without any segmentation prior to encapsulation;
• means for extracting Ethernet frames from VDSL frames received over said VDSL transport facility;
• means for inserting a preamble and length field into said VDSL frames;
• and
• wherein VDSL frames are transmitted and received over said VDSL transport facility asynchronously with respect to transmit and receive Start of Cell (SOC) signals, respectively.

A Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) for transporting Ethernet frames over a Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) transport facility, comprising:

• a plurality of VDSL transceivers for transmitting and receiving VDSL frames to and from said VDSL transport facility;
• encapsulation means for encapsulating Ethernet frames within VDSL frames, wherein said Ethernet frames are placed within DVSL frames without any segmentation prior to encapsulation;
• means for inserting a preamble and length field into said VDSL frames;
• extracting means for extracting Ethernet frames from VDSL frames received over said VDSL transport facility;
• an Ethernet transceiver for transmitting and receiving Ethernet frames to and from an Ethernet port;
• and
• wherein VDSL frames are transmitted and received over said VDSL transport facility asynchronously with respect to transmit and receive Start of Cell (SOC) signals, respectively.

An apparatus for transporting Ethernet frames over a Very high speed Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) transport facility, comprising:

• means for receiving Ethernet frames for transmission over said VDSL transport facility;
• means for encapsulating said received Ethernet frames within VDSL frames, wherein said Ethernet frames are placed within DVSL frames without any segmentation prior to encapsulation;
• means for inserting a preamble and length field into said VDSL frames;
• and
• means for transmitting VDSL frames over said VDSL transport facility asynchronously with respect to a transmit Start of Cell (SOC) signal.