By Shlomo Rakib, Terayon Communication Systems
Cable operators today are challenged to provide data services to a broad range of users with differing bandwidth and Quality of Service requirements. The nature of a shared cable network requires systems that allow operators to provision and allocate the bandwidth to multiple tiers of users. Only in this way can operators match bandwidth to the needs of both residential and commercial users, and to build a service model that maximizes revenue. To support such a model, the cable operator should deploy a cable modem system that provides adequate bandwidth capacity in both directions, and the ability to provision the bandwidth to support a broad range of user application needs. This paper analyzes the performance of Terayon’s TeraComm system, operating in its UBR (unspecified bit rate) mode, which along with CBR (constant bit rate), represents the system’s two primary MAC layer modes. These test results clearly demonstrate the sophisticated bandwidth management capabilities of the TeraComm system, which support multi-tiered data services. The Terayon system achieves maximum bandwidth utilization and maintains fair allocation of bandwidth among users, maintaining minimum latency for access and data transfer. This capability enables a new generation of data services and broadband applications.