CMTS PLANT TOPOLOGY FAULT MANAGEMENT

• US 20100254283A1
• Filed: 04/02/2009
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ARRIS International plc (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hanks, William T.
• Granted Patent: US 9,203,638 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2861 Point-to-multipoint connection from the data network to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/287 Remote access server, e.g. BRAS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64723 Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64746 Control signals issued by the network directed to the server or the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/10 Adaptations for transmission by electrical cable H04N7/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/22 Adaptations for optical transmission

Abstract

A cable television plant may include fiber nodes, cable modems, a management information base (MIB), and a cable modem termination system (CMTS). The CMTS may include logic to apply information from the MIB to determine the suitability of resources assigned to the fiber nodes from particular MAC domains for providing data communications.

Claims

1. A cable modem termination system comprising:

logic to verify that a media access control (MAC) domain is suitable for providing service to cable modems which are connected to a fiber node.

2. The cable modem termination system of claim 1, wherein the logic to verify that a MAC domain is suitable for providing service to a fiber node further comprises:

logic to identify at least one primary capable active and functioning downstream channel coupling the MAC domain to the fiber node.

3. The cable modem termination system of claim 1, wherein the logic to verify that a MAC domain is suitable for providing service to a fiber node further comprises:

logic to identify at least one active and functioning logical upstream channel coupling the MAC domain to the fiber node.

4. The cable modem termination system of claim 3, wherein the logic to verify that a MAC domain is suitable for providing service to a fiber node further comprises:

logic to verify that access supervision information for the upstream channel is carried on an active downstream channel.

5. The cable modem termination system of claim 1, further comprising:

logic to act to prevent a state change notification avalanche from cable modems coupled to the fiber node when the MAC domain is not verified as suitable.

6. The cable modem termination system of claim 1, further comprising:

logic to generate, from a DOCSIS MIB, a suitability metric for a particular cable modem architecture to a particular MAC domain and/or fiber node.

7. A cable television plant comprising fiber nodes, cable modems, a management information base (MIB), and a cable modem termination system (CMTS), the CMTS comprising logic to apply information from the MIB to determine a suitability for providing data communications of resources assigned to the fiber nodes from particular MAC domains.

8. The cable television plant of claim 7, the CMTS further comprising:

logic to identify at least one primary capable active and functioning downstream channel coupling a particular MAC domain to a particular fiber node.

9. The cable television plant of claim 8, the CMTS further comprising:

logic to identify at least one active and functioning upstream channel coupling the particular MAC domain to the particular fiber node.

10. The cable television plant of claim 9, the CMTS further comprising:

logic to verify that access supervision information for the upstream channel is carried on the active downstream channel.

11. The cable television plant of claim 7, the CMTS further comprising:

logic to act to prevent a state change notification avalanche from cable modems coupled to a particular fiber node when a MAC domain changes to an unsuitable state.

12. The cable television plant of claim 7, the CMTS further comprising:

logic to generate, from the DOCSIS MIB, a suitability metric for a particular cable modem architecture to a particular MAC domain and/or fiber node.