Featured Articles

DOCSIS 3.0 Advanced Troubleshooting

Advanced Troubleshooting in a DOCSIS 3.0 Plant

If you missed the SCTE Cable-Tec 2011, I am making available my presentation and white paper on Advanced Troubleshooting in a DOCSIS 3.0 Plant. Each speaker had only 20 minutes to cover topics that could easily last hours, so the presentations are understandably brief. Below you will find More »

DOCSIS 3.0 Partial Service

DOCSIS 3.0 | Partial Service

Partial Service is a new term encountered in the DOCSIS 3.0 MULPI specification and realized in field deployments of DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems using upstream bonding. This was a topic that I touched on in this years SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, but will explore in greater detail in this article. More »

Intraway DOCSIS Security and Fraud Detection

Fresh Tech | Intraway Secures DOCSIS

I first heard of Intraway's products through a LinkedIn request to talk about DOCSIS security from Intraway's CEO, Leandro Rzezak. This immediately peaked my interest becuase today our DOCSIS networks are inherently insecure and many are unaware of this. What do I mean by insecure? No, not More »

DOCSIS Xpert Protocol Analyzer

Fresh Tech | DOCSIS Protocol Analyzer – Can’t stop a good idea!

When I first heard rumor that a knew company had a DOCSIS protocol analyzer floating around I had to see it! With full disclosure, many of you know that after 10 years in RF and fiber-optic transport equipment, I spent a few years designing, marketing and selling DOCSIS protocol More »

CPAT Flex Ingress Detection solution

Fresh Tech | Leakage Detection with Brains!

I admit that while I help my clients better understand the sources and negative impacts of RF ingress on DOCSIS in a cable plant, I have never found leakage/ingress detection itself particularly high-tech. That was until Daniel Babeux of VGI Solutions gave me a demo of their CPAT Flex More »

Televe's CATV Spectrum Analyzer

Fresh Tech | Awesome Spectrum Analyzer at a Cool Price!

What first caught my eye by Televes H45 Spectrum Analyzer was the HDMI port feeding a flatscreen television. How cool is that? I also noticed the small unit was displaying a QAM "haystack" along with its power, MER, BER, and the demodulated picture just beside the measurements. More »

Rohde & Schwarz Cable Load Generator

Fresh Tech from Cable-Tec Expo 2011

At this year's Cable-Tec Expo, Rohde & Schwarz (www.rohde-schwarz.com) introduced a 1U Cable Load Generator (CLG) capable of simulating cable TV networks with full channel loading. This baby is not just limited to North America, but can do channel plans for the World over! Here are the highlights: More »

DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Maximum Transmit Power

Why are my DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems transmitting at 52.2 dBmV?

A recent question from a reader provided an interesting response - the answer: maximum transmit power is 52.2 dBmV for DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems under certain conditions. The answer is very simple. They were transmitting at their maximum transmit level. That being in a 16-QAM modulation More »

DOCSIS DHCP IP Provisioining

IPv6 and PC Provisioning in a DOCSIS Network

With IPv6 on the way in a number of MSO (Multi-System Operator) networks, I have received numerous questions lately about how home devices such as routers and PCs attached to DOCSIS cable modems will get their IP addresses. Will cable operators suddenly start issuing IPv6 IP addresses to their More »

DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modems Support IPv6

DOCSIS 3.0 Tutorial – DOCSIS Does IPv6

Everyone is familiar with Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses. You probably even set them up in your home network, such as 192.168.1.1 IPv4 is described in IETF publication RFC 791 (September 1981), which replaced the previous version RFC 760, dating back to January 1980. So its More »

BTR | Rollouts Continue as DOCSIS 3.0 Matures

DOCSIS 3.0 Matures

The following article just released by Broadband Technology Report was written by Carl Weinschenk.  A number of us from the industry contributed to Carl’s piece, but it is a nice high-level summary article on the status of DOCSIS 3.0.  Below you will find a snippet of the article with a link to the BTR website

Cable Modems Stuck? | init(r1), init(r2)…

Cable Modems Stuck in init(r1) init(r2)

Many of us have been there before – one or more cable modems stuck in one of numerous “init()” conditions – how do we interpret these messages and what do we do? A recent reader wrote in and had just this problem.  DOCSIS cable modems going offline and getting stuck in “R1″ or “R2″  condition, also known

Which is Best CMTS or EOC? (via Aegistechnotes)

Ethernet-over-Coax

Interesting post from fellow DOCSIS technologist on CMTS vs. EOC (Ethernet over Coax). Check out the post and his blog.

DOCSIS 3.0 Speaking Engagements

DOCSIS 3.0 Speaking Engagements

See me present at IBBS’s symposium during September 13-14, 2011 or Cable-Tec Expo during November 15-17, 2011 on DOCSIS 3.0 test equipment and troubleshooting.

Why are my DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems transmitting at 52.2 dBmV?

DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Maximum Transmit Power

A recent question from a reader provided an interesting response – the answer: maximum transmit power is 52.2 dBmV for DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems under certain conditions. The answer is very simple. They were transmitting at their maximum transmit level. That being in a 16-QAM modulation with four bonded upstream channels.

Top 10 DOCSIS 3.0 Terms You Need to Know

Top 10 DOCSIS 3.0 Terms

This is the speak you need to know when talking DOCSIS 3.0 to any DOCSIS Engineer or specialist. It is important that you learn the full name, in many cases the acronym and also what value the particular terminology plays in a DOCSIS 3.0 network as it will likely be crucial in troubleshooting tough-to-diagnose DOCSIS impairments.

Moving to the Cloud | Google Chromebook

Google CR-48 Chromebook

Here is a list of five applications that I have found to be extremely useful for cloud-based computing. There are many I have still not tried, but this will give you some idea of what is out there. Chromebooks are definitely worth considering as a low cost laptop.

IPv6 and PC Provisioning in a DOCSIS Network

DOCSIS DHCP IP Provisioining

With IPv6 on the way in a number of MSO (Multi-System Operator) networks, I have received numerous questions lately about how home devices such as routers and PCs attached to DOCSIS cable modems will get their IP addresses. Will cable operators suddenly start issuing IPv6 IP addresses to their customers? Will you as a subscriber need to upgrade your equipment to support IPv6? Or does the cable modem act as a Network Address Translation (NAT) device and hand-out IP address to each device attached to it? These are some very good questions and the answers are addressed in the DOCSIS specification as I will outline.

DOCSIS 3.0 Modems Readily Available

If you have been upgraded to DOCSIS 3.0 and were issued a cable modem from your cable provider, you are probably paying a monthly fee for that device. I have always been a strong advocate of owning my own cable modems because it likely pay for itself over the two or three years you own it.

DOCSIS 101: T1,T2,T3, & T4 Timeout Descriptions

DOCSIS T1, T2, T3 and T4 timeouts

This is a handy summary of the various timeout errors you will find in a DOCSIS network. T3 and T4 timeouts are described in much more detail elswhere in this blog, however this post provides a high level overview of the various timeouts as a reference.

bradyvolpe.com is Stephen Fry proof thanks to caching by WP Super Cache