Mia Colabrese, Author at Volpe Firm

21 06, 2010

DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial – CMTS Architecture

Mia Colabrese2021-08-18T10:10:11-04:00June 21st, 2010|

Before we dive into bits, bytes and protocol, first we will discus some hardware. During the evolution of DOCSIS 3.0 there were a number of interesting interim steps along the way, shall we say building blocks, to arrive at a full blown D3.0 CMTSs. This left us with two fundamentally different system architectures in production by CMTS vendors, Integrated and Modular CMTSs. It is important to understand these "architectures" from a purchasing, operational and deployment standpoint as they have different requirements in some cases, some are better than others depending on the system layout.

12 10, 2009

DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial – Introduction

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T16:05:13-04:00October 12th, 2009|

This is the first of a new series of Tutorials focused on the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) version 3.0. I will make the assumption that you are familiar with the DOCSIS 1.x / 2.0 standards or have already reviewed my DOCSIS Basics Tutorial as I will be using many terms without explanation since they were previously covered. The DOCSIS 3.0 specification is an extension of the DOCSIS 1.x and 2.0 specification which dramatically increases the data throughput by adding a technology known as channel bonding to the DOCSIS downstream and upstream, adding increased security, adding support for IPv6, and substantially improving the back-office management support (MIBs, SNMP, IPDR, etc.) for DOCSIS. Each of these topics will covered in much greater detail in this DOCSIS 3.0 tutorial in multiple posts yet to come.

7 10, 2009

DOCSIS Upstream – Part II

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T13:40:53-04:00October 7th, 2009|

This article will focus more specifically on DOCSIS 3.0 issues that will occur as you are deploying DOCSIS 3.0 or post -deployment.

2 10, 2009

Speeding Upstream – Part I

Mia Colabrese2021-08-18T10:19:55-04:00October 2nd, 2009|

The first part of this article (in CT's March 2009 issue) discussed downstream potential issues, while this one focuses on the potential issues associated with upstream deployments. In particular, this article covers the critical upstream areas that one should be aware of when getting ready to deploy or already deploying DOCSIS 3.0.

2 07, 2009

DOCSIS 3.0 Tips

Mia Colabrese2020-07-02T15:51:55-04:00July 2nd, 2009|

If you have not had a chance to catch the June issue of Communications Magazine, check out the article penned by John Downey, of Cisco Systems, and I on "the critical upstream areas that one should be aware of when getting ready to deploy or already deploying DOCSIS 3.0." The shortened version of this article can be found on CT's website HERE. The full version should be made available on this blog soon.

20 04, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Tutorial Wrap Up

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T13:35:17-04:00April 20th, 2009|

If you have followed the "DOCSIS and Cable Modems - How it works" tutorials this far, congratulations! You now have a basic foundation of how DOCSIS networks operate and the ability to pick up the DOCSIS specification and read and comprehend it - this is hard to do for the novice. If you are just finding this blog for the first time, then I recommend that you go to the DOCSIS Tutorial Series and start at the beginning before proceeding.

9 03, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Quality of Service

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T13:22:59-04:00March 9th, 2009|

DOCSIS 1.0 enabled data over coax with a "best effort" service using a data request-grant methodology. DOCSIS 1.1 and subsequent specifications added guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) by providing Unsolicited Grant Synchronization (UGS) which means that a cable modem does not have to send a data request in order to receive a bandwidth grant from the CMTS. The new UGS service is an enabling technology which has allowed cable operators to successfully deploy the highly revenue generating Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services. In the following sections I will illustrate the differences between best-effort (request-grant) and QoS (UGS) services.

3 03, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Station Maintenance

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T15:43:18-04:00March 3rd, 2009|

While the UCD provides the language of the DOCSIS network, the Station Maintenance messaging is the proverbial "heartbeat" of the DOCSIS network. A station maintenance session consists of a Range Request sent from a cable and a Range Response sent by the CMTS. The CMTS analyzes the signal quality of the Range Request message and sends back any necessary RF adjustments in the Range Response message. This "handshake" between every cable modem and the CMTS must occur once every 30 seconds as dictated by the DOCSIS specification.

28 02, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: UCD

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T10:36:51-04:00February 28th, 2009|

Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, so is a complete Upstream Channel Descriptor (UCD) as seen by a cable modem. This message, sent every two seconds by the the CMTS, contains an enourmous amount of valuable information that every cable modem on a DOCSIS network needs to know in order to communicate. Often undervalued, the UCD is a virtual Hitchiker's Guide to the DOCSIS network! So without any further ado, let me show you an example of a full UCD message and then explain its contents further

22 02, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Anatomy of a Burst

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T22:35:57-04:00February 22nd, 2009|

DOCSIS Cable Modem Data Burst Defined Previously I have discussed that cable modems share the upstream channel by using Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). This means that when a cable modem is not transmitting data its RF transmitter is turned off. In order to transmit data it must transmit a burst of data which contains a REQUEST to the CMTS. The REQUEST relays the cable modem's Service IDentifier and the number of bytes of information the modem has to transmit in its buffer. The CMTS prioritizes all incoming

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