Method and apparatus for assigning communication nodes to CMTS cards
First Claim
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1. A method of connecting a plurality of nodes to a plurality of cards in a communication system, the method comprising:
- providing service to customers through cables connected to said nodes;
determining using a computer a minimum number of said cards for controlling service connections to said nodes by contemporaneously evaluating the whole communication system for infrastructural arrangement inclusive of all cards and all nodes;
modeling minimum margins for said cards using an optimization model that includes linear relationships among customer distribution data and a set of constraint conditions for said cards; and
mathematically solving the model using linear, integer, and binary programming techniques, to determine a solution, whereby the number of customers served by each said card is similar for a simultaneous assignment of all of said nodes to all of said cards, wherein the number of said nodes being assigned to said cards are distributed to allocate traffic as evenly as possible, wherein said optimization model is represented bymax [x*z]wherex[i, c] is an assignment variable which equals 1 when a specific said node “
i”
is assigned to said card “
c”
or 0 otherwise;
v[c]≧
0, indicating the leftover capacity for households or margin present in said card c;
w is a weight of 1 when the search reaches an optimal solution and remains 0 when it is searching for a feasible solution;
Σ
x[i, c]=1;
for all “
i”
when every said node must be assigned to one of said cards;
Σ
x[i, c]≦
SMAX;
for all “
c”
so that said card can serve at most SMAX said nodes;
Σ
x[i, c]*H[i]+y[c]=HMAX;
for all “
c”
such that said card can serve at most HMAX households;
y[c]≧
z;
for all “
c”
such that all of said cards must have at least a margin or unused capacity of z households; and
z≧
YMAX such that the minimum margin must be at least YMAX.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for assigning nodes to CMTS cards in a communication system. In order to avoid bottlenecks and to efficiently use resources of the cards in a hybrid fiber-coax architecture, the nodes are assigned to the cards using linear programming techniques so as to distribute the traffic load and minimize the unused capacity of each card. The number of households, nodes and cards are determined and used to establish a model which is then implemented using linear programming techniques to determine an optimal solution.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of connecting a plurality of nodes to a plurality of cards in a communication system, the method comprising:
-
providing service to customers through cables connected to said nodes; determining using a computer a minimum number of said cards for controlling service connections to said nodes by contemporaneously evaluating the whole communication system for infrastructural arrangement inclusive of all cards and all nodes; modeling minimum margins for said cards using an optimization model that includes linear relationships among customer distribution data and a set of constraint conditions for said cards; and mathematically solving the model using linear, integer, and binary programming techniques, to determine a solution, whereby the number of customers served by each said card is similar for a simultaneous assignment of all of said nodes to all of said cards, wherein the number of said nodes being assigned to said cards are distributed to allocate traffic as evenly as possible, wherein said optimization model is represented by max [x*z] where x[i, c] is an assignment variable which equals 1 when a specific said node “
i”
is assigned to said card “
c”
or 0 otherwise;v[c]≧
0, indicating the leftover capacity for households or margin present in said card c;w is a weight of 1 when the search reaches an optimal solution and remains 0 when it is searching for a feasible solution; Σ
x[i, c]=1;
for all “
i”
when every said node must be assigned to one of said cards;Σ
x[i, c]≦
SMAX;
for all “
c”
so that said card can serve at most SMAX said nodes;Σ
x[i, c]*H[i]+y[c]=HMAX;
for all “
c”
such that said card can serve at most HMAX households;y[c]≧
z;
for all “
c”
such that all of said cards must have at least a margin or unused capacity of z households; andz≧
YMAX such that the minimum margin must be at least YMAX. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A communication apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of interface boxes for providing a plurality of respective customers with service from at least one service provider; a plurality of coaxial cables connected to said boxes; a plurality of nodes connected to said coaxial cables; a plurality of fiber optic cables connected to said nodes; and a plurality of cards connected to said fiber optic cables, all of said nodes being assigned to all of said cards in an all-inclusive contemporaneous evaluation so as to allocate traffic as evenly as possible among said cards; a comprehensive model created by simultaneously evaluating the minimum margins for all said cards using the linear relationships among customer distribution data and a set of constraint conditions for said cards; a model solving optimization program for mathematically solving the model using linear, integer, and binary programming techniques, to determine an infrastructural assignment arrangement of all said cards and all said nodes, wherein the number of said nodes being assigned to said cards are distributed to allocate traffic as evenly as possible, wherein said optimization program is represented by; max [x*z] where x[i, c] is an assignment variable which equals 1 when a specific said node “
i”
is assigned to said card “
c”
or 0 otherwise;y[c]≧
0, indicating the leftover capacity for households or margin present in said card c;w is a weight of 1 when the search reaches an optimal solution and remains 0 when it is searching for a feasible solution; Σ
x[i, c]=1;
for all “
i”
when every said node must be assigned to one of said cards;Σ
x[i, c]≦
SMAX;
for all “
c”
so that each said card can serve at most SMAX said nodes;Σ
x[i, c]*H[i]+y[c]=HMAX;
for all “
c”
such that each said card can serve at most HMAX households;y[c]≧
z;
for all “
c”
such that all said cards must have at least a margin or unused capacity of z households; andz≧
YMAX such that the minimum margin must be at least YMAX. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification