CABLELABS
TO BOOST DOCSIS 2.0 TO 30 MBPS UPSTREAM
Cable
Television Laboratories (CableLabs) is developing a new
version of the Data Over Cable Service Interface
Specification (DOCSIS) that uses advanced physical layer
modulation techniques to boost upstream bandwidth
capabilities to as much as 30 Mbps per 6 MHz channel
without requiring any physical rebuilding of cable
networks. Specifically, DOCSIS 2.0 will incorporate
S-CDMA (synchronous code division multiple access) and A-TDMA
(advanced frequency agile time division multiple access)
modulation to increase upstream capabilities. The
current DOCSIS 1.0 provides about 5 Mbps upstream per 6
MHz channel, while DOCSIS 1.1 provides 10 Mbps upstream.
Other attributes of DOCSIS 2.0 will include:
- full
compatibility with DOCSIS 1.0 and 1.1 cable modems and
cable modem termination systems (CMTSs)
- additional
channel capacity in the form of more digital bits of
throughput capacity in the upstream path
- increased
protection against electronic impairments that occur in
cable systems, allowing for a more robust operating
environment
- coexistence
of S-CDMA and A-TDMA in the same physical channel as
DOCSIS 1.0/1.1
- further
enhancements to the international DOCSIS standard (ITU
J-114), which has been adopted worldwide and provides
international interoperability.
CableLabs
believes work on DOCSIS 2.0 can be completed this year.
http://www.cablelabs.com/news_room/PR/01_pr_adv_phy_083101.html
CableLabs,
August 31, 2000
- In
July, CableLabs made public an interim specification
and an architectural report for its CableHome project,
which aims to extend advanced network services from
DOCSIS cable modems to PCs and other devices inside
the home. Specifically, the CableHome QoS
specification defines a standard signaling and
management mechanism for applications to establish and
maintain service sessions with different levels of
quality across the home network and cable network.
The CableHome architecture is defined to be
independent of any particular physical networking
technology. In addition, CableLab’s
PacketCable initiative is developing interoperable
interface specifications for delivering advanced,
real-time multimedia services over a two-way cable
plant.
- Cable
Labs is a non-profit research and development
consortium of cable television system operators
representing North and South America.
VITESSE
INTRODUCES NEXT GENERATION NETWORK PROCESSORS
Vitesse
introduced two new network processors for OC-48 and 10
Gbps applications, as well as three new models of its
existing IQ2000 Network Processor Unit (NPU).
Vitesse’s second generation NPU, the IQ2200, will
deliver twice the instructions per packet processing
capability at a given line rate as its predecessor, while
reducing power consumption by half. The single chip
device is capable of performing upper layer services such
as HTTP load balancing, content delivery networking, IP
SEC VPNs, and DiffServ, while maintaining a 2 Gbps line
rate. In mid-2002, Vitesse will introduce a
single-chip, software-programmable, 10 Gbps network
processor based on a highly parallel, multi-processor
architecture and targeted at applications requiring 10GbE
or OC-192 performance, as well as those requiring
high-density Gigabit Ethernet or multiple OC-48
configurations. The
programming model will be the same as with the IQ2000/2200
processors. Vitesse said its expanded network
processor family complements its portfolio of intelligent
switching fabrics, traffic management engines, physical
layer devices, and optical components. http://www.vitesse.com/
Vitesse, September 4, 2001
- Last
month, Vitesse introduced its next generation of SONET/SDH
switch fabric and line card devices, enabling
increased density of OC-48 and OC-192 interfaces,
allowing implementation of 2.5 Gbps backplane
connectivity, providing support for VT1.5 grooming and
delivering higher density STS-1/STM-1 grooming.
The new SONET/SDH chipset solution is targeted at
all-optical transport applications, such as next
generation SONET/SDH ADMs at the optical edge,
Multiservice Provisioning Platforms (MSPPs) in metro
environments, and high density STS-1/STM-1 based
optical crossconnects in the core.
NTT
DOCOMO SETS PRICING AND LAUNCH DATE FOR 3G SERVICE
NTT
DoCoMo will launch commercial 3G service within 30 km of
Tokyo's center on October 1st. The 3G
service will feature standard voice connectivity, SMS, 64
kbps videophone connectivity, packet data communications
at a maximum of 384 kbps downstream and up to 64 kbps
upstream, circuit switched data connections at 64 kbps
upstream/downstream, and the option of leased line
connections into a corporate LAN. DoCoMo outlined
six different pricing plans. http://www.nttdocomo.com/new/contents/01/whatnew0903.html
NTT DoCoMo, September 3, 2001
NTT
DEVELOPS AUTOMATED ANALYSIS TOOL FOR TRACKING ROUTING
BETWEEN ISPs
Nippon
Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) unveiled an automated
system for analyzing routing performance and failures
between multiple ISPs. NTT’s ENCORE intelligent
diagnostics system works by distributing agents across the
Internet to monitor routing information from individual
ISPs, then compiling this data and inferring behavior
patterns and analyzing the causes of failures. NTT
is currently conducting evaluation tests of the ENCORE
system on a global scale, using monitoring points
installed in Japan and on the East Coast of the US. http://www.ntt.co.jp/news/news01e/0108/010830.html
NTT,
August 30, 2001
NTT
BROADCASTS REAL-TIME STREAMING VIDEO OVER ADSL TO
STOREFRONT DISPLAYS
Seiko
Epson Corporation and NTT DATA Corp. began testing a new
service that broadcasts real-time streaming video to
convenience store windows in Tokyo. The service will
broadcast content live from a studio to nine convenience
stores in Tokyo, where it will be projected onto
front-window screens from ceiling-mounted projectors. The
programming, to be hosted by Fuji Television announcers
and put together using the content creation expertise of
Fuji Television, will feature information on the latest
trends, convenience store products, daily living, weather
reports and TV program PR. The service will be
delivered over ADSL connections. http://www.nttdata.co.jp/en/media/2001/082700.html
NTT
Data, August 28, 2001
INTERNATIONAL
SOFTSWITCH CONSORTIUM TO HOST MGCP EVENT
The
International Softswitch Consortium (ISC) will host a
Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) interoperability
event during the week of September 24, 2001. Signup
information is available at http://interop.softswitch.org
ISC, August 31, 2000
EUROPE’S
LAMBDANET SELECTS JUNIPER ROUTERS FOR IP/MPLS BACKBONE
LambdaNet
Communications Gmbh, which is building a 22,000-km optical
network connecting major cities across Europe, selected
Juniper Networks for its IP/MPLS backbone. The
Juniper routers will be used to rapidly provision
wholesale IP services, including VPNs, for other
telecommunication carriers, ISPs, ASPs, web hosting
providers and content delivery networks. The service is
currently available in France and Germany. Financial
terms were not disclosed. http://www.juniper.net/
http://www.lambdanet.net
LambdaNet Communications, August 30, 2001
Guest
Column
IP/MPLS
is the Future,
But We Mustn’t Forget The Past
Chad
Dunn
Co-Founder
and Director of Product Management at WaveSmith Networks
September 4, 2001
The
business potential and operational efficiencies of using
new Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks to carry
IP traffic are quickly becoming apparent. It is only a
matter of time until IP/MPLS becomes the industry’s
multiservice network technology platform of choice.
However, incumbent service providers can’t ignore the
fact that ATM, Frame Relay, and private-line networks are
hard at work today generating the majority of their data
service revenue.
For
example, more than 35,000 enterprises in the U.S. alone
subscribe to Frame Relay access services, according to
research firm Vertical Systems Group. In some
carrier networks, this traffic is transported across
backbone WANs constructed purely of Frame Relay switches.
More often, Frame Relay subscriber traffic is aggregated
with other traffic streams and is transported across a
high-capacity ATM backbone. In fact, ATM is thriving as
the dominant architecture in carrier backbones in most
service providers’ core data networks. As such, most of
the available expertise in WAN installation,
configuration, and troubleshooting lies in the areas of
ATM and Frame Relay.
Because
of their substantial investments in expertise and capital,
it is impractical and economically unfeasible for service
providers to simply toss out their existing networks and
replace them with IP/MPLS-specific infrastructures. So how
do they resolve the dilemma of protecting their current
businesses while preparing for an IP/MPLS future? One way
is to slowly begin introducing telephony-grade,
multiservice switches into their networks. These switches
should integrate support for legacy networks, IP/MPLS, and
all associated management and support systems.
Today’s
Switching Landscape
ATM,
Frame Relay, and private-line networks are mature and have
been working well for carrying corporate traffic. ATM is
particularly flexible, supporting interface speeds to
OC-48c/STM-16 and offering inherent class of service (CoS)
capabilities for optimizing the performance of various
traffic streams, such as voice, video, LAN data, and SNA.
However,
these switches are not fail-proof, as evidenced by several
well-publicized system-wide network outages in recent
months. For this important reason, the multiservice
switches in place today will eventually become obsolete,
at least in certain network segments.
ATM
switches, for example, were designed in the mid-1990s and
have already reached the status of a legacy technology.
Many of today’s ATM switches can be upgraded with MPLS
software for delivering IP services. However, these
platforms do not have the reliability levels necessary to
carry tomorrow’s huge mix of mission-critical multimedia
IP services. This is largely because they are based on
shared software architectures in which the failure of a
single process affects other processes.
High-availability
switch architectures are of particular importance at the
edge of the network, where subscriber traffic is
aggregated. Because customers usually link to an edge
access device with a single connection (rather than with
redundant mesh links, which are prominent in the
backbone), the system uptime of edge switches plays a
large role in a service provider’s ability to deliver
high customer service levels.
Read
the Full Column >>
http://www.convergedigest.com/Bandwidth/archive/010904GUEST-chaddunn2.htm
|
