QAM Archives

1 07, 2010

DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial – The EQAM

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T15:58:05-04:00July 1st, 2010|

In my article on DOCSIS 3.0 M-CMTS architecture, I talked about the distributed nature of the CMTS with an M-CMTS core (the CPU of the system), a DOCSIS Timing Server, and an edge Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (EQAM). I am going to cover the EQAM in detail in this article because in the past couple of years, EQAM (also spelled eQAM) has rapidly become part of our vocabulary but its operation and value often go unappreciated. Further, in order to fully understand DOCSIS 3.0 operation, downstream channel bonding, and possible issue which may arise, a thorough understanding of the eQAM is critical.

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.

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.

5 02, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Upstream RF

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T13:29:04-04:00February 5th, 2009|

Cable modems use RF (radio frequency) signals to transport data over hybrid-fiber coax (HFC) networks according to the DOCSIS® specification. This blog will discuss the finer points extracted from the DOCSIS specification related to how cable modems communicate with the headend Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS), allowing two-way transport of Ethernet traffic over a cable TV network. There are currently three major revisions and one sub-revision of the DOCSIS specification; DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0. With each major revision came significant changes to the cable modem upstream specification because the upstream has typically been the bottleneck in terms of data through-put rates as will be discussed.

2 02, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Advanced RF

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T13:36:52-04:00February 2nd, 2009|

In high speed data communications, the industry has evolved and implemented complex modulation schemes which vary a signals voltage (amplitude), phase, and frequency in order to transmit more data, faster. The following will cover these methods in order to describe how Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) works in DOCSIS communications. We live in an analog world. Sure, [...]

29 01, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: RF Fundamentals

Mia Colabrese2021-08-17T09:58:12-04:00January 29th, 2009|

Most of us are quite comfortable with changing the dial on our FM radios. Don't like what's on Soft 95.1 FM, then change the frequency (Kenneth) to 102.5 FM for some classic rock. What you have actually done is changed the RF (radio frequency) tuner in your car stereo from a lower frequency of 95.1 MHz to a higher frequency of 102.5 MHz where there was a different station playing. The fact that two different stations were playing...

27 01, 2009

DOCSIS and Cable Modems – How it works :: Introduction

Mia Colabrese2021-08-26T08:28:17-04:00January 27th, 2009|

Over the past several years of training people on troubleshooting DOCSIS® networks and explaining how DOCSIS cable modems and CMTSs work, I have been asked numerous times - "Why don't you write a book on this?" You see, there is no definitive book, guide or manual that explains the Data-over-Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) other than the several hundred page specification...