METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE TOTAL POWER MARGIN AVAILABLE FOR AN HFC NETWORK
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for measuring a network comprising:
- a receiver configured to receive communications from a first network element at a first frequency f1 and a test signal from test network element at a test frequency ft at the same time, the test signal from the test network element containing testing data;
an error monitoring unit which is configured to measure an error rate of the test signal at the frequency ft to provide a measured error rate; and
a power monitoring unit which is configured to measure power in communication signals received in the network to provide a measured power.
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Abstract
The available power margin in a network is determined by increasing the transmission power levels of selected network elements while transmitting a test signal. The quality of the test signal is measured during the successive increases in power level of the selected network elements by measuring the error rate of the test signal. Once the error rate of the test signal reaches a predetermined threshold, the power levels of the signals on the network are determined. The power margin is determined by the difference in the baseline power level on the network and the power level at which the error rate of the test signal exceeded the threshold.
70 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring a network comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive communications from a first network element at a first frequency f1 and a test signal from test network element at a test frequency ft at the same time, the test signal from the test network element containing testing data; an error monitoring unit which is configured to measure an error rate of the test signal at the frequency ft to provide a measured error rate; and a power monitoring unit which is configured to measure power in communication signals received in the network to provide a measured power. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for determining power margin in a network comprising the steps of:
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selecting a first network element to transmit a first signal at a first frequency f1 and a test network element to transmit a test signal at a test frequency ft; instructing the first network element to transmit a signal at the first frequency to be received at the same time as the test signal at the test frequency; measuring an error rate of the test signal and determining if the measured error rate exceeds a predetermined error rate; measuring a power level of signals on the network when the measured error rate exceeds the predetermined error rate; and determining a power margin in the network based on the measured power level. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer readable medium carrying instructions for a computer to perform a method for determining power margin in a network, the method comprising the steps of:
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selecting a first network element to transmit a first signal at a first frequency f1 and a test network element to transmit a test signal at a test frequency ft; instructing the first network element to transmit a signal at the first frequency to be received at the same time as the test signal at the test frequency; measuring an error rate of the test signal and determining if the measured error rate exceeds a predetermined error rate; measuring a power level of signals on the network when the measured error rate exceeds the predetermined error rate; and determining a power margin in the network based on the measured power level. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification