Volpe Firm | Technology Blog

11 10, 2012

Cable Modem Registration, T3 & T4 Timeouts Poster

Mia Colabrese2012-10-11T09:50:04-04:00October 11th, 2012|

Would you like a copy of our Cable Modem Registration with T3 and T4 Timeouts Poster? The poster is 23 x 35 inches. That's approximately two feet by three feet. It's a nice size to hang up in your headend or in your office. We have a limited quantity of posters that we will be distributing at the SCTE EXPO. Come see us at one of our three EXPO presentations and we will be happy to give you a poster after the presentation. We will require a business

8 10, 2012

Capacity Planning | Build It & They Will Fill It

Mia Colabrese2012-10-08T10:01:54-04:00October 8th, 2012|

Capacity Planning - Helps Make Future Capital Expenditure Decisions Capacity Planning in the good old days, was an issue that impacted neighborhoods with web hogs in the them. Peak usage hours were dreaded, teenagers downloading music were seen as a scourge, and web surfers were just plan old annoying. What did these people think the internet was for? How things have changed. Today people not only download music and surf the web but also watch movie content, make video conference calls, teach classes, and do just about anything else they can think of. What

1 10, 2012

Cable Modem Registration | A Second Look

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T10:17:11-04:00October 1st, 2012|

DOCSIS Cable Modems Registration Process Even the most interesting man in the world enjoy's the DOCSIS cable modem registration process, so it is worth a second look. It is one of the most popular topics because it covers a wide range of how DOCSIS works, from physical layer to Internet protocol (IP) layer. It is therefore worthy of an encore article with more depth and an update to include DOCSIS 3.0. During the cable modem registration process it is important to understand that three (3) different levels of

24 09, 2012

DOCSIS Return | Dirty Fiber Optic Connectors

Mia Colabrese2012-09-24T03:14:16-04:00September 24th, 2012|

An often overlooked, but easy to resolve RF impairment are loose and/or dirty fiber optic connectors. This issue often manifests itself as an increased noise floor when viewed on a spectrum analyzer. The key to determining the difference between regular ingress and fiber connector noise is that the noise created by a loose or dirty fiber connector does not stop at the diplex filter roll-off frequency (typically 42 MHz in North America and 65 MHz Europe). The image below shows a perfect example of this type of impairment:

19 09, 2012

See Us | SCTE EXPO Workshop DOCSIS and EPON

Mia Colabrese2012-09-19T03:30:12-04:00September 19th, 2012|

EPON, EPoC, DPoE, RFoG, DOCSIS®-Beyond the Alphabet Soup Operators’ services are migrating from traditional to IP delivery, which is driving a need for an evolution in the access network. Technology changes to the access network are a multi-year deployment cycle, so operators are investigating and trialing different technologies for next generation delivery. This session will explore the pros and cons, technical and financial trade-offs, and possible hybrid approaches of these various technologies. Moderator: Brady Volpe, CTO & Founder, The Volpe Firm, Inc. Advanced DOCSIS® vs. EPoC: A Residential Case

17 09, 2012

DOCSIS Codeword Errors | What you should know

Mia Colabrese2024-04-19T10:18:35-04:00September 17th, 2012|

Calculating... Calculating... DOCSIS Codeword Errors - You will likely see them DOCSIS correctable codeword errors and uncorrectable codeword errors are available as a metric in most cable operator monitoring tools and Operations Support Systems (OSS). The monitoring tools and OSS generally provide data and dashboards for users to monitor overall network health and then identify a problem when it occurs. Metrics like codeword errors are extracted directly from DOCSIS CMTSs using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or Internet Protocol Detail Records (IPDR), the later being preferred due to

13 09, 2012

See Us | SCTE EXPO 2012 Symposium

Mia Colabrese2012-09-13T02:00:24-04:00September 13th, 2012|

DIGITAL HOME SYMPOSIUM The Digital Home: Preparing for the Future Conference Event—registration required Space is limited! Tuesday, Oct. 16 10:00 am-5:00 pm The one-day pre-conference Digital Home Symposium will focus on the need to drive an optimized experience within the customer premises. The symposium will offer expert presentations and in-depth discussions on the latest technologies, standards and operational processes found in the new and constantly evolving digital home. The symposium is designed to help all levels of the cable system operator and vendor workforces to create and implement

4 09, 2012

DOCSIS Security Illegal Wiretapping and Eavesdropping

Mia Colabrese2012-09-04T10:00:57-04:00September 4th, 2012|

Wiretapping has Evolved Before electronic eavesdropping there was just wiretapping. When you think of wiretapping you may think of a guy in a box truck or apartment eating donuts with pizza listening in on endlessly boring phone conversations waiting to hear that one "Eureka" moment of important information. The movie Casino comes to mind too. The scene where Sam and Nicky have their wives talk on the phone first and then take the conversation over in timed intervals so that they can speak. So what is wiretapping? It is

20 08, 2012

DOCSIS Security | Mac Address Cloning

Mia Colabrese2021-08-18T10:07:01-04:00August 20th, 2012|

Theft of Service via Cloning DOCSIS Security - If only cloning your favorite pet was as easy as cloning a MAC address on a cable modem. There are dozens of websites out there giving subscribers or hackers step by step instructions on how to clone a MAC address. Each cable modem, regardless of brand, is uniquely identified by its Cable Modems ID, or MAC address - short for Media Access Control. This address is programmed into a writable memory address of the hardware in the cable modem, and is associated with a

14 08, 2012

DOCSIS Security | Uncapping Cable Modems

Mia Colabrese2012-08-14T10:57:21-04:00August 14th, 2012|

So what is uncapping cable modems? Uncapping cable modems refers to activities performed to alter a DOCSIS cable modems settings. Plain and simple someone is messing with the cable modem's configuration file to get what they want. So what do they want? Greater bandwidth (the need for speed), wanting more than one public IP, or any other configurable options a DOCSIS modem can offer. Maybe they just want to prove they can do it and or feel they are getting the shaft from their cable provider. Really the psychology of people is