Volpe Firm | Get You Tech On

75 ohm in coaxial cable

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:15:14 +0000

Why did the cable industry choose 75-ohm coaxial cable — and not 50 ohms? The answer is rooted in physics, engineering tradeoffs, and decisions made decades ago that still define every HFC network running DOCSIS today. Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac break down one of the most fundamental design choices in cable network history: why

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SCTE EXPO 2025 Recap

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:56:30 +0000

Watch a brief recap of SCTE Tech Expo, John Downey and Brady Volpe break down the latest DOCSIS 4 innovations, Low Latency L4S for gamers, and the role of AI from Harmonic and OpenVault in transforming networks. Gamers will be thrilled to hear how L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable throughput) is shaping the

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AI Accelerating DOCSIS Troubleshooting for Cable Operators

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 16:38:11 +0000

Getting Smart with AI and PNM: The Operator’s New Edge Let’s not sugarcoat it—HFC networks, for all their engineered resilience, are still full of difficult-to-uncover problems. Under the surface, impairments like amplitude variation, ingress, and corrosion sneak in or often explode in. These impairments negatively impact throughput and cause avoidable truck rolls. Lately, though,

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Turning My vCMTS into a PON OLT – Live Fiber Demo with multi-Gbps ONU Speed Test!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 15:52:54 +0000

Hey everyone—welcome back! You usually see me talking coax, DOCSIS, MER… but today we’re flipping the script: it’s fiber time. Join Brady Volpe and Andrii Vladyka, Vice President, Growth and Technologies at Harmonic, for a LIVE fiber lab demo like no other! In this session, we’re turning a virtual CMTS (vCMTS) into a PON

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PTPless vCMTS

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:25:10 +0000

Unlock the next evolution in cable networks with PTP-less vCMTS (virtual CMTS) and DAA (Distributed Access Architecture)! In this in-depth session, Brady Volpe (The Volpe Firm / OpenVault) sits down with Harmonic’s Andrii Valadka and Adam Levy—one of the primary inventors behind PTP-less technology—to break down how this innovation simplifies timing requirements, reduces costs,

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THE CABLE CLIMB Mike Collins

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 14:39:33 +0000

Join Brady Volpe on The Cable Climb as he interviews Mike Collins, Product Manager at VeEX, Inc., about his 40-year journey in the broadband industry. From his early days as a cable technician in the 1980s to developing cutting-edge test equipment for DOCSIS 3.1 and 4.0 networks, Mike shares invaluable career lessons and insider

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Echo Cavity in Cable Plant

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 14:19:35 +0000

The “Fun-house Mirrors” of a Cable Plant What’s an echo cavity, really? Clap your hands and you hear one echo if the sound hits one wall and bounces back. Now clap between two mirrors facing each other— the sound keeps ping-ponging. In a cable network, the signal (instead of sound) bounces between two bad spots

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More Speed, More Reliability, More Capacity – How AI and Sustainability Are Reshaping the Future of Broadband

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:37:48 +0000

As broadband demand surges and sustainability targets tighten, the pressure is mounting on network operators and infrastructure providers to deliver more — more speed, more reliability, more capacity — with less waste and fewer emissions. In a world where a single outage can halt work, learning, or even emergency care, ensuring always-on service and consistent

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SC-QAM

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 15:49:57 +0000

Join Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac as they take a technician-level look. Educate cable broadband technicians and engineers on how to effectively use a QAM analyzer to diagnose and resolve issues with SC-QAM (Single Carrier Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) channels in the HFC plant or CMTS environment. If you’re a cable tech, broadband engineer, or just

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ANGACOM 2025 Recap: Fiber Domination, Low Latency DOCSIS, and Charter-Cox Merger Insights

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:07:01 +0000

Brady Volpe and DOCSIS expert John Downey recap the latest from ANGA COM 2025 in Germany. 🇩🇪 We discuss: • Why Europe is going 90% fiber and the impact on HFC • The powerful low latency DOCSIS demo from Harmonic and what it means for streaming and gaming • Charter’s acquisition of Cox and what

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AI: for 10G Reliability

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 28 May 2025 21:23:14 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a lab curiosity for cable operators—it’s quietly rewriting the rules of DOCSIS operations. Following is an overview of my take on where artificial intelligence is delivering value today and how it will reshape high-speed data service as DOCSIS 3.1 and 4.0 roll-outs continue across North America and beyond,

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THE CABLE CLIMB: Billy Williams

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 28 May 2025 20:15:38 +0000

How do you grow from climbing poles as an HFC line tech to designing next-gen DOCSIS and managed-Wi-Fi networks? In this episode of The Cable Climb, host Brady Volpe sits down with Billy Williams, Design Engineer – DOCSIS & Video Systems at Comporium, to trace a 25-year journey that proves field grit and continuous

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Reddits Top DOCSIS Troubleshooting Questions Answered

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 15 May 2025 18:10:16 +0000

We went deep into r/CableTechs, pulled the most‑asked DOCSIS questions, and tackled them on air—now you can watch the full replay! I’m Brady Volpe, joined by cable legend John Downey, breaking down everything from upstream ingress hunts and OFDM migraines to T3/T4 storms and mid‑split mysteries. 🔍 What you’ll learn Why RxMER bounces and how

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THE CABLE CLIMB: Andy Parrot

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 20:37:44 +0000

What does it take to climb from summer installer to President & CEO? In this episode of The Cable Climb, host Brady Volpe sits down with Andy Parrott, President & CEO of Vyve Broadband to unpack the hard-won lessons, setbacks, and milestones that powered his 30-year rise through the broadband ranks. Episode Highlights •

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DOCSIS 3.1 OFDM Field Measurements

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:01:21 +0000

Join Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac as they take a technician-level look into DOCSIS 3.1 downstream OFDM field measurements. Learn what to measure, how to measure it, and what those measurements really mean — from subcarrier spacing to RxMER and everything in between. If you’re a cable tech, broadband engineer, or just a DOCSIS

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THE CABLE CLIMB: Mike ODell

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 14:37:35 +0000

The Cable Climb with Mike O’Dell: From technician to engineer in cable industry! Join host Brady Volpe as he interviews Mike O’Dell, a Distinguished Engineer at Comcast, to uncover how he started out in hands-on cable tech roles and climbed his way to the top. Learn what motivated Mike, the pivotal moments in his

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THE CABLE CLIMB: Ron Hranac

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:00:34 +0000

THE CABLE CLIMB with Ron Hranac: From the Bucket Truck to the Boardroom! Join host Brady Volpe as he interviews Ron Hranac—an industry veteran who climbed the ladder (literally!) from bucket trucks to boardrooms. In this inspiring episode, Ron shares how he built his career in the cable broadband industry, revealing practical tips and

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Mastering Cable Upstream RF Troubleshooting for DOCSIS Pros

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 17:22:53 +0000

SCTE 294 2024r1 EXPLAINED: Mastering Cable Upstream RF Troubleshooting for DOCSIS Pros In this episode, we take a deep dive into SCTE 294 2024r1, one of the most important industry references for cable professionals. Discover how to optimize your upstream RF spectrum by mastering topics like unity gain, sub-split vs. mid-split vs. high-split architectures, and

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THE CABLE CLIMB: From the Bucket Truck to the Boardroom!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 21:14:55 +0000

THE CABLE CLIMB: From the Bucket Truck to the Boardroom! Well where ever you want to be! Join us for "The Cable Climb"—a brand-new series featuring cable & broadband professionals who started from the ground up! From ladders and bucket trucks to leadership and innovation, these industry pros share their journeys, career tips, and

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DOCSIS 3.1 Performance and Impairment Priority

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 15:02:00 +0000

In today’s evolving broadband landscape, DOCSIS technology continues to adapt to the demands of modern networks. During a recent podcast of Get Your Tech On, we explored how innovations like the profile management application (PMA) are shaping the way we think about impairments, plant efficiency, and network performance. My conversation with industry experts John

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RF network AMA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 14:38:36 +0000

Join us for our livestream event part 2, Tips, Tricks and what not to do in your RF network. Ask Ron Anything! (RF related) In this episode, AMA Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac in this episode Ron and Brady will answer your burning RF questions. --- Ron's Bio: Ron Hranac, a 50 year veteran

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Precision Impairment Location with OFDM & OFDMA Channel Estimation

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 16:06:40 +0000

Proactive Network Maintenance: Precision Impairment Location with OFDM & OFDMA Channel Estimation Are you ready to revolutionize your network maintenance approach? In this video, we explore how advanced OFDM and OFDMA channel estimation techniques are driving precision impairment location, setting a new standard in Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM). What You’ll Learn: • Precision Fault

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Qualifying Network Performance and Impairment Priority

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 20:31:26 +0000

Great episode with a ton of questions. Watch or listen as Brady Volpe, Mike O'Dell and John Downey go in-depth Qualifying Network Performance and Impairment Priority. Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and CPO at OpenVault, and Mike O'Dell, Distinguished Engineer at Comcast, John Downey, DOCSIS Senior Industry Consultant In today’s broadband landscape,

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Tips, Tricks and what not to do in your RF network

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 18:55:58 +0000

Join us for our next livestream event, Tips, Tricks and what not to do in your RF network. Ask Ron Anything! (RF related) In this episode, AMA Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac in this episode Ron and Brady will answer your burning RF questions. --- Ron's Bio: Ron Hranac, a 50 year veteran of

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Unleash Ultra-Fast Internet: Low Latency DOCSIS Explained

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 14:51:39 +0000

We had a very busy episode with a lot of watcher questions. Watch or listen as Brady Volpe and John Downey go in-depth into the latest research on low-latency DOCSIS technology presented in "Latency Outcomes Across Access Network Architectures" at SCTE TechExpo! We'll be breaking down the key findings of 'Latency Measurement - Baselines',

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DOCSIS 3.1 Supercharges RF Impairment Detection Like Never Before

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 21:00:14 +0000

As hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks have expanded to deliver more robust broadband services, ensuring network reliability and performance has become a top priority for cable operators. DOCSIS® has long been the foundational technology enabling efficient and high-speed data transmission over HFC networks. With each new iteration, DOCSIS has introduced technological improvements that enhance its capabilities,

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Understanding Unity Gain

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 21:10:05 +0000

Join us for our next livestream event, understanding unity gain is an important concept that applies to the forward and reverse paths of most cable networks. Without it, network performance can be degraded. In this episode, Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac will walk you through the principles and practices of unity gain, what it

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How HFC Networks Keep Up with Today’s Broadband Demands: Amplifiers, Coax, and More!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:36:46 +0000

Brady Volpe and John Downey dive into the SCTE TechExpo24 paper, “HFC - The Gift That Keeps on Giving?” by Dr. L. Alberto Campos and CableLabs. Get ready for an exciting breakdown of the current state of HFC networks and architectures—this is one episode you won’t want to miss! We’re kicking things off with

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DOCSIS 3.1 & 4.0 Demos, AI Insights, and vCMTS Innovations from SCTE TechExpo24

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:36:10 +0000

Welcome to another legendary episode of Get Your Tech On! Join Brady Volpe and John Downey as they break down all the hottest trends and innovations from SCTE TechExpo24. This episode dives into what’s new with DOCSIS 3.1, DOCSIS 4.0, and real-world demos showcasing 9.8 Gbps down and 3.7 Gbps up. We also explore

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Embracing Proactive Network Maintenance with AI

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 15:20:30 +0000

The Future of DOCSIS Networks In an industry known for its reactive problem-solving prowess, shifting to a proactive approach in proactive network maintenance (PNM) could be transformative. Instead of constant firefighting, what if we could prevent those fires from starting in the first place? Proactive network maintenance is the key to this paradigm shift, leveraging

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Upcoming Tech in Our 100th Episode and DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 14:11:32 +0000

Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Sr. Industry Consultant, this livestream will focuses on cable / broadband hot topics that will be featured at SCTE Cable Expo 2024. PNM Live and Your network is talking to you - Listen! https://volpefirm.com/blog-2/ Links / Upcoming

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Very big and very small numbers

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 15:02:10 +0000

RF with Ron and Brady - This topic is a little different than previous presentations, but is important considering the widespread use of very big and very small numbers in cable. Ours is a world of numbers, and in cable we tend to use a lot of really big and really small numbers. In reality,

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Broadband Insights

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 18:38:24 +0000

Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Sr. Industry Consultant, this livestream will focuses on cable / broadband hot topics such as: 👉 Reddit Rants and Raves: We'll dive into recent user feedback on Starlink and Google Fiber, straight from Reddit. 👉 CommScope's Big

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Coaxial Cable Impedance, Attenuation and Beyond

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:40:50 +0000

Some people say coax but Ron likes coaxial cable. Coaxial cable has been a key component in our networks dating back to the industry's early days. As such, it's easy to take coax for granted without really understanding just what it is. Here's your chance to learn more about coaxial cable, along with a high-level

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The Error Era: Rethinking Codeword Calculation with OFDM and SC-QAM

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 17:43:07 +0000

In our DOCSIS networks, accurately calculating uncorrectable codeword errors is essential for monitoring and maintaining network integrity. These errors, which cannot be corrected by the system’s error-correction algorithms, are known as uncorrectable codewords. The frequency and occurrence of uncorrectable codeword errors can signal physical or network impairments that adversely affect a subscriber’s quality of experience

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Upgrading Your HFC Plant For The Next 5 Years

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 07 May 2024 19:46:48 +0000

Upgrading Your HFC Plant For The Next 5 Years - the how, the why and the when - listen to uur latest episode of Get Your Tech On! Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Sr. Industry Consultant, this livestream focuses on the technical

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Pillars of Network Maintenance

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 06 May 2024 19:38:53 +0000

Join network maintenance experts Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and CPO OpenVault, and Mike O'Dell, Distinguished Engineer at Comcast, as they reveal the 5 critical pillars of network maintenance. In this insightful livestream, you'll discover: 👉 Proactive strategies to prevent HFC network problems 👉 Effective plant maintenance techniques to minimize downtime 👉 Best practices for

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The half-wave dipole antenna

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 26 Apr 2024 14:36:40 +0000

The simple half-wave dipole antenna has played a role in the RF side of the cable industry for decades. Many are familiar with its use for signal leakage measurements. The half-wave dipole antenna also forms the basis for other types of antennas, such as Yagi-Uda and log periodic dipole array antennas used at many headends

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DOCSIS 3.1 understanding capacity calculator

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:05:53 +0000

Embark on an enlightening journey with our latest episode of Get Your Tech On! Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, DOCSIS Industry Technical Expert, this livestream is a treasure trove for cable and telecom enthusiasts. In this captivating episode, we unravel the complexities of

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Myth of capacitance effect

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 14:32:44 +0000

Ready to level up your RF knowledge in the world of HFC plants? Our next episode is a must-watch just for you! Get pumped as our host extraordinaire, Brady Volpe, teams up with the renowned Ron Hranac for a knowledge-packed session. The presentation will cover the widespread myth of a so-called capacitance effect supposedly being

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DOCSIS 3.1 Deep Dive: OFDM vs. SC-QAM, Upstream Bonding, and Troubleshooting Tips

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 18:51:58 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 extended with an eye on DOCSIS 4.0 :: Watch Brady Volpe – the founder of The Volpe Firm and the Chief Product Officer at OpenVault. By his side, the legendary John "Data Dynamo" Downey, a CMTS Guru whose knowledge of cable systems bends the very fabric of the internet. Together, they're diving deep

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OFDM Capacity in DOCSIS 3.1 and 4.0

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:08:28 +0000

Estimating OFDM Capacity in DOCSIS 3.1 / 4.0 A Simplified Approach I am often asked how one estimates the data capacity on a OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) channel in DOCSIS 3.1 networks. The question is easy, the answer is not. In this article I provide the background behind estimating OFDM data channel capacity, at

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What is Signal Leakage Field Strength? Back to Basics in HFC

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 16:51:06 +0000

What is signal leakage field strength? Are you keen to expand your knowledge on RF leakage within HFC plants? Our upcoming episode is tailored just for you! We're excited to have our host Brady Volpe and our well know guest Ron Hranac lead an insightful session on Signal Leakage Field Strength. Ron is set to

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DOCSIS 3.1 Deep Dive: OFDM vs. SC-QAM, Upstream Bonding, and Troubleshooting Tips

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 21:44:01 +0000

Join us in this insightful episode of Get Your Tech On, where we delve deep into the intricacies of DOCSIS 3.1. Hosted by Brady Volpe, founder of VolpeFirm and Chief Product Officer at OpenVault, and featuring John Downey, Industry Technical Expert on DOCSIS, this livestream is a must-watch for anyone in the cable and telecommunications

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Beneath the Surface: Exploring Skin Effect and Depth in Coaxial Cables

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 16:48:57 +0000

Beneath the Surface: Exploring Skin Effect and Depth in Coaxial Cables Welcome to another enlightening episode in our series where we dig deep into the technical phenomena that shape our understanding of cable systems. I'm Brady Volpe, and I'm thrilled to have Ron Hranac back with us, a seasoned expert whose insights into the cable

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The Reactive Power of DOCSIS PNM Tools

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 20:28:58 +0000

In the demanding realm of DOCSIS networks, being proactive has become a necessity, not a luxury. To ensure efficient operation of these networks, cable operators must embrace proactive network maintenance (PNM) tools. These resources not only offer the ability to anticipate and address network issues before they significantly affect service delivery, thus creating a more

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PMA-PNM Connection in DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:02:22 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 modems have ushered in a new era of high-speed connectivity. However, ensuring their consistent performance, especially in the face of network impairments, demands a robust strategy. This is where the synergy of the profile management application (PMA) and proactive network maintenance (PNM) becomes invaluable. The twin pillars of optimal network performance 1. The

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What is RF?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 13:01:14 +0000

What is RF? Join us as we venture into the world of "What is RF" RF (Radio Frequency) . I'm Brady Volpe, and alongside the incomparable Ron Hranac, we're set to guide you on this next phase of our signal journey. Diving into the Details: In the context of Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial (HFC) networks, RF (Radio

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DOCSIS 4 or stay with Docsis 3.1?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:37:39 +0000

Step right into the electrifying next episode of "Get Your Tech On"! Get ready for a turbocharged livestream where we're diving headfirst into the magical world of DOCSIS 4.0 wizardry and the latest updates. Our fearless host, Brady Volpe, the tech maestro behind The Volpe Firm and now also Chief Product Sorcerer at OpenVault, is

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Navigating the Ingress Labyrinth: Management, Mitigation, and Mastery (Part 2)

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 19:43:32 +0000

Navigating the Ingress Labyrinth: Management, Mitigation, and Mastery (Part 2) on Youtube Join us as we venture further into the world of Ingress in this sequel to our illuminating episode. With the foundations of Ingress laid out in Part 1, this segment dives into the art and science of managing this elusive phenomenon. I'm Brady

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Into the Ingress Abyss: Understanding Leaks, Causes, and Consequences

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 21:06:37 +0000

Into the Ingress Abyss: Understanding Leaks, Causes, and Consequences (Part 1) Join us for another enlightening episode as we delve deep into the world of Ingress. I'm Brady Volpe, accompanied by the knowledgeable Ron Hranac, here to guide you through the complexities and curiosities of signal disruptions. What's on the agenda? Terminology Demystified: Get fluent

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Managing DOCSIS 3.1 Channel Bonding: Ensuring Optimal Performance

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 20:50:41 +0000

Welcome to another thrilling episode of "Get Your Tech On"! In this highly informative livestream, we delve into the realm of managing DOCSIS 3.1 channel bonding to ensure optimal performance in your HFC network. Join host Brady Volpe, founder of The Volpe Firm and Chief Product Officer of OpenVault, as he teams up with the

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Distortion, Signal Leakage, Codewords and more – Did you know?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 17:05:32 +0000

Distortion, Signal Leakage, Codewords and more - Did you know? Part Two picks off from our last episode of "Did You Know? DOCSIS: Back to Basics and Clearing Misconceptions," part of our enlightening Back to Basics series. I'm Brady Volpe, your host and guide for this journey into the intriguing world of DOCSIS. In this

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SNR (RxMER) and DOCSIS 3.1 Modems

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 20:27:19 +0000

Welcome to another engaging episode of Get Your Tech On, titled "Your Questions, Our Answers: SNR (RxMER) and DOCSIS 3.1 Modems." In this episode, we delve into listener queries about DOCSIS technology, focusing on Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), RxMER, and the details of DOCSIS 3.1 modems. Our host, Brady Volpe, founder of NimbleThis and The Volpe

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Did You Know? DOCSIS: Back to Basics and Clearing Misconceptions

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 14:36:33 +0000

Welcome to "Did You Know? DOCSIS: Back to Basics and Clearing Misconceptions," part of our enlightening Back to Basics series. I'm Brady Volpe, your host and guide for this journey into the intriguing world of DOCSIS. In this episode, I'm joined by the esteemed Ron Hranac, who will be our guest presenter. Together, Ron and

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UTSC

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 24 May 2023 13:58:47 +0000

Welcome, Brady Volpe and John Downey will dive into the world of UTSC (Upstream Triggered Spectrum Capture) for return path monitoring in a DAA world, how cable operators can harness these game-changing technologies. Join us as we discuss the latest updates on UTSC and PNM. Whether you're a cable operator looking to stay ahead of

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Introduction to Carrier-to-Noise: Learning the Basics

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 22 May 2023 19:21:13 +0000

Join cable industry veteran Ron Hranac and host Brady Volpe in this must-watch video on "Introduction to Carrier-to-Noise: Learning the Basics." This video is a comprehensive guide to understanding Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) and how it works in real-world applications. We'll cover everything from Thermal Noise to Noise Figure to Practical CNR measurements and much more.

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DOCSIS 3.1 has a lot of potential

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 22 May 2023 13:06:15 +0000

The cable industry hopes to deliver Internet so fast even your dog can't catch it As the demand for high-speed Internet races faster than a cheetah on roller skates, the cable industry faces the daunting task of keeping up with this need while also enhancing its service quality. In this article we'll look at the

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Putting the Decibel to Work

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 14:26:00 +0000

Welcome back, tech enthusiasts! I'm your host Brady Volpe, founder of Nimble This and the Volpe Firm, and I'm thrilled to be here with another exciting episode of "Get Your Tech On." Today, we have a very special guest with us, Ron Hranac, who will be the main presenter on our topic, "Putting the Decibel

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Cable Operators’ Mastering the DOCSIS 3.1 to 4.0 Transition for Next-Level Networks!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 20:19:00 +0000

Welcome to the future of lightning-fast internet connectivity! In this video, Brady Volpe and John Downey will dive into the exciting world of DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0, showcasing how cable operators can harness these game-changing technologies to provide unparalleled speeds and robust networks for their customers. We'll explore the key differences between the two

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Signal Level

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 02:01:49 +0000

Signal Level 101: Learning the Basics with Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac Welcome to our YouTube show where we are joined by two renowned experts, Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac, as we explore the fascinating world of signal level, current and voltage, and power! I am your host, Brady Volpe, and together with Ron Hranac,

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Did You Know? Balancing Amplifiers and Other Critical Broadband Concepts

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 14:16:57 +0000

Welcome to the latest episode of "Did You Know" with Brady Volpe and special guest John Downey of Cisco. In this episode, we'll be discussing "Did you know? Balancing Amplifiers and Other Critical Broadband Concepts" some of the most important topics related to balancing amplifiers, cable & fiber, signals & spectrum analyzers, downstream signal levels,

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Why should PNM be on your mind?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:29:46 +0000

Why should PNM be on your mind? Discover the power of PNM in this informative panel discussion with industry leaders Brady Volpe, Jason Rupe of CableLabs, and Larry Wolcott of Comcast. Learn why PNM should be top of mind for anyone in the tech industry and the numerous benefits it offers. Tune in now and

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Are Staples in Coax Cable Impacting My DOCSIS speed?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 22:34:13 +0000

I recently posted a YouTube short (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/n5ucjCb-iGA). ) about how staples in coaxial cable can cause micro-reflections and interfere with subscriber modems. The video was well-received, and I received a lot of feedback, including real-world experiences and questions about the implications of these issues. Let’s take a closer look at this subject. Staples in

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vCMTS Operations with Intel

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 16:00:15 +0000

In this must-watch video, join Brady Volpe and Thuy Nguyen from tech giant Intel as they dive deep into the fascinating world of virtual CMTS (vCMTS) operations. They'll be discussing the critical aspects of vCMTS operations in a cable operator network and sharing their wealth of knowledge and expertise. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable

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What is a dB?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 21:50:59 +0000

What is a dB? RF and Cable Basics :: Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac discuss RF and cable basics in a new series designed to help those who are interested in understanding RF and Cable TV technology a little better. In this first episode we cover what is a decibel (dB). This is a fundamental

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OUDP Leakage Detection

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 17:57:38 +0000

Brady Volpe, John Downey, Jason Miller (Cisco) and Flavio Marcon (Effigis) discuss how OFDM Upstream Data Profile (OUDP) test burst in cable modems are used in the measurement of cable leakage tests in high-split cable plant. • What is leakage testing and why do we need it? • How is leakage testing done today •

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OFDMA Capacity Estimation

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 18:04:54 +0000

OFDMA Capacity Estimation, pre-eq, LTE & 5G Ingress and more! Your questions answered Brady Volpe and John Downey discuss OFDMA Capacity Estimation, pre-eq, LTE & 5G Ingress and more! In this episode we cover incoming questions from our listeners covering a wide variety of topics. Be sure to join and ask your own questions in

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The DOCSIS Virtual CMTSs

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 21:01:36 +0000

At this year’s SCTE Cable-Tec Expo I had the opportunity to present a topic on the “Top-5 Things You Should Know About Operating a Virtual CMTS.” While there are more than five things one should know about vCMTSs, the general overview is a virtual CMTS (vCMTS) is nearly identical in performance to a legacy CMTS

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What is Possible with a DOCSIS 3.1 Modem Today

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 15:36:06 +0000

Brady Volpe and John Downey discuss what you can expect to get out of DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem today. How many modems can transmit in a 6.4 MHz OFDMA channel? How much life is in the DOCSIS 3.1 modem for your network. Also a SCTE EXPO overview and wrap. What is Possible with a

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DOCSIS 4.0, FDX and more from SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2022 Show floor

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 14:40:43 +0000

Catch Brady and John live on the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo show floor discussing the latest technologies they saw during the show including DOCSIS 3.1, DOCSIS 4.0, FDX amplifiers and even a discussion about Pi modems - what is that? Watch to find out.

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DOCSIS Softwarization in a DAA and Virtualized Network

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 18:52:26 +0000

As technology continues to evolve, DOCSIS Softwarization in a DAA and virtualized network is a necessity. What does this mean exactly? Join Brady Volpe with special guest Tadeusz Ciesielski, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Falcon V Systems as they discuss the evolving technology hurdles cable operators face as DOCSIS hardware becomes increasingly more DOCSIS

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Got a DBC to Change Your Cable Modem’s OUDP IUC? I thought so.

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 18:31:24 +0000

What is a cable modem’s OUDP? What’s an IUC? What’s a DBC? If you already know these initialisms that is awesome. If you don’t, that is fine too. DOCSIS 3.1 introduced OFDMA for more efficient upstream data transfer. In this article, I’ll cover how an impairment will cause the CMTS to change a single CM’s

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Understanding Cable Network RF Return Path Signal Levels and Balancing

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 16:43:19 +0000

Brady Volpe and John Downey discuss the theory of operation of return path signal levels in the return path. Why does the transmit power increase, rather than decrease like the downstream? How do two way splitters impact upstream and downstream signal levels? Why is the return always higher than the value the of tap

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Full Band Capture Troubleshooting by Impairment Type

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 15:25:11 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey (of Cisco) discuss portions of the document "Understanding Cable Network RF Spectrum Displays". This document, created by CableLabs and SCTE Working Group 7 (WG7) is a masterpiece of understanding full band capture (FBC) and the impairments found with FBC. We have

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OFDMA — It’s Trending

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:14:00 +0000

OFDMA — It’s Trending What’s trending in cable? It’s OFDMA or orthogonal frequency division multiple access. OFDMA is the upstream counterpart to OFDM, which stands for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. Both are part of the DOCSIS 3.1 specification and are intended to increase speed over the DOCSIS network far beyond what can be achieved using

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Technology Questions Answered SNR, OFDMA and more

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 12:46:42 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey (of Cisco) answer viewers questions about upstream SNR / Diplex filters / OFDMA / ICFR Want to know what might be interesting and useful to you? Join in on the discussion and ask questions in the chat in another power hour

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Cable Next Gen Highlights, DOCSIS 3.1, DOCSIS 4.0 Roadmap

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 15:13:54 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey (of Cisco) talk the latest technologies and trends in the Cable industry, especially around DOCSIS 3.1 and 4.0. We will be focused on key topics from Light Readings Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies. Want to know what might be interesting and useful

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Upstream Transmit Power with OFDMA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 17:40:47 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey (of Cisco) discuss Upstream Transmit Power with OFDMA and elaborate why a cable modem’s transmit power is extremely important. It not only determines if the cable modem will be able to come online and register with the CMTS (cable modem termination

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DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem Transmit Power

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 20:24:00 +0000

A cable modem’s transmit power is extremely important. It not only determines if the cable modem will be able to come online and register with the CMTS (cable modem termination system) but obtaining the optimal transmit power will make or break the subscriber’s quality of experience (QoE). A DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem’s transmit power introduces

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House amps, Cable Modems with filter issues

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 14:43:26 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey (of Cisco) elaborate on how to use PNM tools to identify house amps, Cable Modems with filter issues, etc. So houses can be identified with incompatible filters for intended UpStream spectrum deployments. Want to know what might be interesting and

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Why RxMER?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 21:42:11 +0000

The DOCSIS 3.1 PHY specification includes several PNM parameters and tests. One of the most useful downstream tests for OFDM is called receive modulation error ratio (RxMER) per subcarrier. RxMER per subcarrier provides an MER measurement for each subcarrier in the OFDM (downstream) or OFDMA (upstream) channel. This means if an OFDM channel has 7600

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PTP Clocks

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 15:25:45 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, discusses PTP clocks with subject matter experts Jim Olsen from Microchip and Rob Jodrie from Syncworks. This discussion includes a very high level break down of PTP profiles and why you should care? The evolution of PTP, Boundary clocks, best practices and things

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SCTE EXPO 2021 Wrap-up

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 22:46:10 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey of Cisco discuss the best of SCTE EXPO 2021 The discussion is on all things DOCSIS. Tips, suggestions and recommendations. Another power hour of cable. The best of SCTE EXPO 2021: SCTE EXPO 2021 wrap up Exceptional show, watch

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Interpreting Full Band Capture and RxMER

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 14:44:50 +0000

In this episode Brady Volpe of Nimble This and The Volpe Firm, and John Downey of Cisco discuss interpreting Full Band Capture (FBC) and RxMER which is the MER of the subcarriers in the OFDM channel. Cable is a technology business and we seem to always come up with new terms and new things

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DOCSIS is Green

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 14:04:48 +0000

DOCSIS is Green (full length). Shorter and cleaner version is seen in Broadband Library DOCSIS Going Green. The simplest solution is almost always the best. Through technological advancements we can do more with less. There are important discussions happening about green initiatives in our industry. Usually on the consumer electronics side. According to the NCTA “Cable operators,

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Cisco vCMTS

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 14:48:59 +0000

Cisco vCMTS? Brady Volpe founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This, John Downey and Jason Miller Technical Marketing Engineer of Cisco discuss Cisco's virtual CMTS (vCMTS). The topic came up during ANGACOMs 2021 presentation. I didn't know Cisco even had a vCMTS, did you? Well, let's find out what they are doing and if they

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DOCSIS Primary Channel Impaired Downstream Troubleshooting

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 19:37:32 +0000

In this episode Brady and John discuss what happens to an impaired DOCSIS Primary channel & ANGA COM highlights. When an impaired DOCSIS Primary channel occurs, do to one ore more impairment, how does it impact other DOCSIS channels? Primary being a type of "management" SC-QAM channel. Does it make a difference? We also

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Machine Learning and PNM

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 13:55:46 +0000

Machine Learning and PNM Yes, it’s real and yes, it’s deployed and working! The day has arrived, Skynet is here! [1]. Fortunately, no to Skynet and in more good news our machines are in the cable plant and they are learning. They have been deployed into the cable world and they are finding the nasty

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Recommendations to resolving DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems crashing with OFDMA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:46:08 +0000

Recommendations to resolving DOCSIS 3.1 cable modems crashing with OFDMA Place OFDMA channels above 42 MHz: For those fortunate with 5-65 MHz or 5-85 MHz return paths, keeping four 6.4 MHz SC-QAM signals below 42 MHz and then loading one OFDMA channel above 42 MHz is ideal. Your SC-QAM channels should be fully optimized with dynamic

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Cable Modems Crashing with OFDMA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:39:35 +0000

Why are the DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modems Crashing with OFDMA This too shall pass. Yes, we’ve seen this before: OFDMA + DBC = BSoD Yes, you have experienced it. Either as a subscriber or technician. The cable modem is on but there is no data flowing through it. Reboot the modem and it works again.

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Dynamic Range Window OFDMA Troubleshooting

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 15:47:03 +0000

Dynamic Range Window (DRW) and OFDMA Upstream Troubleshooting. Tips, suggestions and recommendations. Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco. More and more operators are introducing OFDMA into their networks and experiencing a learning curve with its introduction and Dynamic Range Window issues. Find out ways

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The Road to DOCSIS 4.0

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 16:47:32 +0000

The Road to DOCSIS 4.0. Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco and special guest Jeff Finkelstein Executive Director of Advanced Technology of COX Communications. How to go from sub-split, to targeted mid-split or high-split, then finally to ultra-high-split and 1.8 GHz. Ask any questions you

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Easy Transmission Line Theory

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 15:25:56 +0000

A Lesson on Transmission Line Theory Transmission line theory can be intimidating, because of the complex mathematics involved. But I’m not going there. Transmission line theory is further complicated by modeling, say, coaxial cable (a transmission line) as a distributed circuit model, comprising series inductance, shunt capacitance, series resistance, and shunt conductance. But I’m not

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OFDMA Troubleshooting

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:04:32 +0000

OFDMA Upstream Troubleshooting. Tips, suggestions and recommendations. Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco. More and more operators are introducing OFDMA into their networks and experiencing a learning curve with its introduction. Find out ways to overcome these issues and ask any questions you may

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NanoVNA testing Taps, Coax, passives and more part two

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 20:12:14 +0000

Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco, show real world examples of testing Coax, Taps and other passives. The discussion is on all things DOCSIS. NanoVNA (Vector Network Analyzer) testing: General intro Test equipment RF basics Test One Diplex filter explained active equipment has a diplex

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NanoVNA testing Taps, Coax, passives and more part one

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 15:00:21 +0000

Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco, show real world examples of testing Coax, Taps and other passives. The discussion is on all things DOCSIS. NanoVNA (Vector Network Analyzer) testing: General intro Test equipment Test for bad cable, passives and amps Test return loss, insertion

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NanoVNA Calibration to 75 Ohm for CATV

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 15:02:11 +0000

NanoVNA Calibration for CATV 75 Ohm This article focuses on calibration of the NanoVNA to a 75 ohm environment. There's a lot of talk about the NanoVNA with calibration, the NanoVNA come's standard with 50 ohm SMA connectors on it, but for CATV broadband networks we must calibrate to a 75 ohm standard and not

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OFDMA 204 MHz Upstream

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 20:01:03 +0000

Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco, explore 204 MHz in OFDMA deeper with a brief overview of the differences between OFDMA and OFDM. Also with a discussion on LEO satellites Starlink by SpaceX and answer more questions from our listeners. The discussion is on all

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Solarwinds

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 13:36:50 +0000

Watch our brief overview of Solarwinds security threat

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Virtualization a Deeper Dive Special Series Part Three

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 21:41:13 +0000

Follow part 3 of this series on cloud native virtualization of DOCSIS and broadband networks? Brady Volpe and Asaf Matatyaou, Vice President, Solutions and Product Management, Cable Edge Business at Harmonic, explore this topic as it is becoming a big focus in the way we deploy and manage our networks through cloud native virtualization.

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OFDM and OFDMA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 14:51:16 +0000

OFDM and OFDMA The value added and what it means to my network By now you have heard or have been exposed to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). It was the innovative technology introduced in Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) 3.1 to increase the efficiency by which DOCSIS networks can transmit data in the downstream.

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Plant Powering

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 14:23:33 +0000

This is episode 68 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Listen in on the conversation with Brady Volpe as he explores what is system powering. How system power is impacted in the age of Remote-PHY (DAA) and more.

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SCTE EXPO Highlights – What Rocked

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 15:30:57 +0000

This is episode 67 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Join in the conversation with Brady Volpe as he explores the many ways cable operators can benefit from PNM and services. With John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at

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PNM services and benefits to Cable Operators

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 15:41:24 +0000

This is episode 66 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Join in the conversation with Brady Volpe as he explores the many ways cable operators can benefit from PNM and services. With John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at

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Gain Distortion and Hybrids

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 14:44:10 +0000

This is episode 65 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us today is John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome back John. With special guests Bob Simmers - Sr. Marketing Manager, CATV & Broadband Access Products Qorvo and

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Rocking PNM

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 13:30:43 +0000

Hi everyone, we are going to give an update on rocking Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) and full band capture (FBC). New and exciting features in PNM that every cable operator needs. This is episode 64 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm

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Let’s Use Our Coax Smarter Pandemic

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 14:26:33 +0000

Let’s Use Our Coax Smarter It’s there and you already paid for it I often hear from subscribers and they ask me about why their network connection is so terrible. When they contact me, they are very frustrated and angry and are confident their cable operator is doing this on purpose. I always stress to

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Virtualization a Deeper Dive Special Series Part Two

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 12:02:17 +0000

Follow part 2 of this series on cloud native virtualization of DOCSIS and broadband networks? Brady Volpe and Asaf Matatyaou, Vice President, Solutions and Product Management, Cable Edge Business at Harmonic, explore this topic as it is becoming a big focus in the way we deploy and manage our networks through cloud native virtualization.

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Networks need to evolve to support demand

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 17:12:51 +0000

Hi everyone, we are going to give an update on network demand -- Specifically, how broadband DOCSIS networks need to adapt to changing societal needs due to COVID-19 This is episode 63 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This.

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Virtualization a Deeper Dive Special Series

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 31 Jul 2020 14:00:14 +0000

What is cloud native virtualization and what does cloud native virtualization mean to DOCSIS and broadband networks? This is a special series of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This and today we have a special guest Asaf Matatyaou, Asaf

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DOCSIS 4.0 frequency split and extended spectrum

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 14:00:16 +0000

DOCSIS 4.0 is the next DOCSIS standard important topics, such as the optimal frequency split and extended spectrum. This is episode 62 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. We have two guests with us today, John Downey, CMTS

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How to fix your Coax and Internet

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 17:29:38 +0000

How to fix your coax and internet. I have previously discussed that coax cable is really fragile. To some this can sound crazy because we hang coax cable in the air, burry it in the ground and run it through walls. It gets driven over by cars and walked on by people. So why do

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DOCSIS 3.1 and WiFi 6 – How fast can you go?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 06:00:10 +0000

This is episode 61 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. We have two guests with us today, John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. If you like what you are watching please do hit the subscribe

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Troubleshooting Your Cable Modem

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 14:20:41 +0000

Troubleshooting Your Cable Modem is possible. Did you know your cable modem has a hidden user interface? Do you know all of the data in that hidden interface can help you make your home Internet more reliable and even faster? I’m going to walk you through logging into the cable modem interface and detail what that gibberish

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DOCSIS 3.1 Upstream OFDMA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 14:30:37 +0000

Hi Everyone, we are going to give an update on the DOCSIS 3.1 Upstream OFDMA - lessons learned and more This is episode 60 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. We have two guests with us today, John

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Do T3 Timeouts Impact My Service?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 20:20:15 +0000

I see T3 timeouts in my cable modem's log - does this impact my data speeds? The answer is yes, the T3 timeouts could be an indicator that your data speeds and overall service performance is degraded and there is something you may even be able to do about it. To fully understand T3 timeouts

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Supporting Subscribers During a Pandemic

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 26 May 2020 14:15:12 +0000

Imagine a time when subscribers want your service very badly because they are trapped in their homes, but there is a catch — they don’t want you to enter their homes to install the service or fix problems. Oh wait, we have been there, done that. COVID-19. No one saw the global pandemic coming and

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Plant Balancing in Distributed Access Architecture- Part Two

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 14 May 2020 18:09:10 +0000

Plant Balancing in a Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) Part Two This is episode 59 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. John Downey is with me today. John is CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. Recap from

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Plant Balancing in Distributed Access Architecture

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 06 May 2020 15:00:10 +0000

Today we are going to discuss Plant Balancing in a Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) Hello Everyone. This is episode 58 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. John Downey is with me today. John is CMTS Technical Leader at

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Capacity Challenges Created by COVID-19

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 11:15:18 +0000

Hello Everyone. This is episode 57 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. John Downey is with me today. John is CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. Today we are going to discuss Capacity Challenges Created by COVID

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DOCSIS 3.1 Channel Bonding

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 10:30:51 +0000

Hello Everyone. This is episode 56 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. John Downey is with me today. John is CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. Today we are going to discuss DOCSIS 3.1 Channel Bonding

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DOCSIS 4.0

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 13:48:25 +0000

Evolve or Die: Can DOCSIS 4.0 Compete with Fiber? The Telecommunications Act of 1996 forever changed the cable industry. It allowed cable and telecom to directly compete with each other. Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) was already in development which enabled the cable industry to provide high speed data and later voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP). It has been

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Misunderstood RF Measurements

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 18:26:55 +0000

Hello Everyone. This is episode 55 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. John Downey is with me and also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, and Ron Hranac also of Cisco Systems, welcome John and Ron. Today we

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Cable Haunt: Exploiting DOCSIS Modems

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 22:50:34 +0000

*Updated* (see patch for Cable Haunt at end of post) Cable Haunt is the fancy name given for a vulnerability recently disclosed by a group of researchers at Lyrebirds in Denmark exploiting DOCSIS modems. Cable Haunt affects cable modems using the Broadcom chipset specifically having the built-in spectrum analyzer many of us in the

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DOCSIS Evolution

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 14:33:00 +0000

Where we were and where we are going Hello Everyone. This is episode 54 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. John Downey is with me and also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. Today we are going

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DAA Pros and Cons

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 14:49:00 +0000

Distributed Access Architecture Pros and Cons for cable operators Hello Everyone. This is episode 53 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, in the flesh. John is also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems,

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How Telecoms are Leveraging 5G to Attract Gamers

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 15:10:00 +0000

Low latency DOCSIS and gaming — a billion dollar industry we cannot ignore In the last issue of Broadband Library, I wrote an in-depth article on low latency DOCSIS (LLD). The big focus for LLD was on gaming and the rise of Esports (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esports). If you recall, Esports is a billion dollar industry with 454 million viewers

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CMTS Status Event List

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 17:26:02 +0000

CMTS Status Event List definitions for Cable and Broadband Technicians. Learn about the CMTS event list and how it can help you understand CMTS status lists Secondary Channel MDD timeout QAM/FEC lock failure Sequence out of range MDD recovery QAM/FEC lock recovery T4 timeout T3 re-tries exceeded Successful ranging after T3 re-tries exceeded CM operating

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Technology Trends In Cable

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 18:04:11 +0000

Low Latency DOCSIS, RF is sexy again, 5G, 10G, Coherent Optics and more Hello Everyone. This is episode 52 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, in the flesh. John is also CMTS Technical

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DOCSIS Cable Connector Basics

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 14:34:04 +0000

Craft issues in coax can create havoc later on... Happy Friday Everyone. Today is September 20th and this is episode 51 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, who will strike a pose at this

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High Latency is “Killing” you

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:30:19 +0000

Why is Low Latency DOCSIS Relevant to Gameplay and Why You Should Care Gaming is a billion-dollar industry with billions of players, and they use broadband to get there. I’ve spent a lot of time discussing the importance of low latency DOCSIS over the last couple of years on my podcast and YouTube channel. Let’s

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DOCSIS 3.1 Upstream

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 14:30:52 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is July 12th and this is episode 50 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey. John is also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. Todays show overview: FDX /

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T3 & T4 Timeouts Cable Modem Registration – Back to Basics

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 14:09:43 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is July 12th and this is episode 49 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, who recently carried a CBR-8 on his back, up Mount Kilimanjaro to ensure broadband service. John

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Low Latency and Virtualization

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 16:24:59 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is June 14th and this is episode 48 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey. John is also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John. AQM (active que management) Mini

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FDX More Options for Operators

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 28 May 2019 15:11:54 +0000

The full duplex (FDX) DOCSIS extension to the DOCSIS 3.1 specification has been finalized in Annex J of that spec. What does this mean? A major goal of FDX DOCSIS is the ability to deliver symmetrical data speeds up to 10 Gbps in hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks. How does it work? I covered some of

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DOCSIS 3.1 and FDX

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 16 May 2019 13:45:36 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is May 10 and this is episode 47 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us today is: John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco. Today’s topic is a discussion on DOCSIS 3.1 and FDX.

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PNM Round Table with Brady Volpe, Comcast, CableLabs, Cisco

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 14:30:53 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is March 15 and this is episode 46 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us today is: John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco. Larry Wolcott PNM Round Table with special guests Larry Wolcott

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What Can DOCSIS PNM Do For Me?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 14:17:17 +0000

It's a Question You Might Ask Yourself Proactive network maintenance (PNM) has been steadily growing in acceptance and popularity over the past several years with adoption amongst cable operators from Tier 1 such as Comcast all the way to the smallest Tier 4 operators — both in the U.S. and internationally — as a tool

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R-PHY / DAA Round Table follow up with Brady Volpe, Arris, Cisco and Harmonic

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 15:02:08 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is February 15 and this is episode 45 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us today is John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco, Asaf Matatyaou Vice President of Solutions and Product Management, for Cable

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Broadband Tech Talk Friday

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 14:05:54 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is January 18 and this is episode 44 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, the Ant Man of Cable. John is also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John.

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Demystifying OOB and R-PHY

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 14:25:48 +0000

Benefits and Limitations, Choose your R-PHY Wisely In this article we dive into Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) remote PHY (R-PHY) testing challenges and how these can be overcome using out-of-band (OOB) channel communications. Test and Measurement Challenges with R-PHY Let’s understand the fundamental challenges with testing in an R-PHY world. Today’s radio frequency (RF)

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R-PHY and Orchestration with ARRIS, CISCO and Brady Volpe

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:42:45 +0000

Happy Friday Everyone. Today is September 28th and this is episode 42 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, the Van Dam of Cable. John is also CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, welcome John.

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Optimizing the DOCSIS Upstream

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 12:37:20 +0000

Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) version 3.1 offers a host of exciting possibilities and realities for cable operators. I have covered many of these topics in previous articles but the one thing that cannot be overlooked is the basics. It doesn’t matter how great these new technologies are if you do not pay attention to

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UpStream levels for DOCSIS 3.0, DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 13:00:12 +0000

UpStream levels for DOCSIS 3.0, DOCSIS 3.1, Attenuations at Higher Frequencies, especially 204 MHz, FDX and how RPDs come into play Happy Friday Everyone. Today is July 20th and this is episode 41 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This.

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ANGACOM | FDX, R-PHY and Big Data

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 12:52:41 +0000

ANGACOM - FDX, R-PHY and Big Data Happy Friday Everyone. Today is June 22th and this is episode 40 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, whose motto is - “Let’s Pump You Up”. John

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It’s All About FEC

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 12:21:05 +0000

We have all heard the stories of how well DOCSIS 3.1 is working. Perhaps your system has been involved in one of these stories too. One thing is true, DOCSIS 3.1 is working really well — even better than we had anticipated. Here is why DOCSIS 3.1 is working really well — it is all

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10 GiG Over Coax

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Sun, 20 May 2018 06:00:46 +0000

10 GiG Over Coax Happy Friday Everyone. Today is May 18th and this is episode 39 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, “The American Van Damm of Cable”. John is also CMTS Technical Leader

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MAC-PHY! When to MAC-PHY vs R-PHY

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 17 May 2018 18:00:41 +0000

MAC-PHY! When to MAC-PHY vs R-PHY Happy Friday Everyone. Today is May 11th and this is episode 38 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This a technology fan in cable. With us is, John Downey, “the prognosticator”. John is also

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Spectrum Analysis Everywhere

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 14:50:06 +0000

Spectrum Analysis Everywhere Happy Friday Everyone. March 23th and this is episode 37 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This, a technology fan in cable. With us is, John Downey, “the man who built his new homes foundation with ubr8's

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Full Duplex DOCSIS

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 14:04:40 +0000

Putting the symmetry in DOCSIS and enabling increased bandwidth and speed. Why does symmetry matter you ask, especially in broadband? Well you have symmetry in fiber. Big deal, right? Yes, now FDX allows for coax to do something that it could never do before, have symmetry just like fiber. So FDX continues the alphabet soup

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Cable Access SDN Orchestration

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 19:00:13 +0000

Cable Access SDN Orchestration Happy Friday Everyone. Today is February 16th and this is episode 36 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This a technology fan in cable. With us is, John Downey, “the prognosticator”. John is also CMTS Technical

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There’s an app for that…

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 18:11:22 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 has gone from concept to silicon. Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) is emerging as a staple in the industry, and we are seeing the cable rapidly evolving into an app-driven industry. It’s an exciting time to be in cable! In my last article I mentioned how ‘everything is becoming an app’. This has been

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R-PHY or Remote PHY – Doesn’t Matter How you Say It. The Hype is Real

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 07:00:35 +0000

R-PHY or Remote PHY - Doesn't Matter How you Say It. The Hype is Real Happy Friday Everyone. Today is January 19th and this is episode 35 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This a Geek in cable. With us

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PNM Further Enhances Troubleshooting in the New Age of Test Equipment in Broadband Cable

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 19:08:00 +0000

PNM Further Enhances Troubleshooting in the New Age of Test Equipment in Broadband Cable Happy Monday Everyone. Today is December 18th and this is episode 34 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This a true cable Geek. With us is,

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Remote-PHY and Full Duplex DOCSIS

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 15:28:26 +0000

Show Me The Money! Remote-PHY and Full Duplex DOCSIS Doesn’t the cable industry just love initialisms and acronyms? Just as you thought you were getting your mind around DOCSIS 3.1 the industry continues to move forward and drop a bunch more terms like remote-PHY (R-PHY) and full duplex (FDX) DOCSIS. I like soup, but we

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What about IP Video IPTV and DOCSIS?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 14:12:55 +0000

What about IP Video IPTV and DOCSIS? Happy Friday Everyone. Today is November 10th and this is episode 33 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS, today our topic is What about IP Video IPTV and DOCSIS?" Join the conversation about how this technology is used in cable plants and the fact

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New Tech in Cable and SCTE EXPO 2017 Recap

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 13:19:47 +0000

New Tech in Cable TV and Broadband plus SCTE EXPO 2017 Recap Happy Monday Everyone. Today is October 23rd and this is episode 32 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, the man who brought

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Virtual CCAP in the “hic et nunc”

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 12:54:36 +0000

Virtual CCAP in the "hic et nunc" No that isn't Klingon Happy Friday Everyone. Today is September 29 and this is episode 31 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS with a focus on Virtual CCAP today. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is,

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Proactive Network Maintenance and Signal Leakage Tools

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 15:49:50 +0000

A Field Study on Proactive Network Maintenance and Signal Leakage Tools The objective of the field study was to determine if a direct correlation exists specifically between Nimble This PNM drop, in home / near home data and leakage. More specifically: What percentage of the time can Nimble This PNM data be used to proactively

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Virtual CMTS-CCAP

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 31 Aug 2017 13:02:53 +0000

To Boldly Go Where Cable Has Not Gone Before – Virtual CMTS-CCAP By Brady Volpe - As published in Broadband Library Star Trek brought us ideas like cell phones, tablets, Bluetooth, MRIs and MP3s and more My name is not Morpheus and I’m not asking you to choose between a blue or red pill here,

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DOCSIS CMTS Suggestions, Best Practices and Recommendations Part 3

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 15:45:32 +0000

DOCSIS CMTS Suggestions, Best Practices and Recommendations Part 3 Happy Friday Everyone. Today is July 21 and this is episode 30 of Get Your Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is, John Downey, the iron man of cable. John is

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Virtual CCAP – Technology Recap R-PHY, FDX, IPTV and NDF/NDR

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 13:01:46 +0000

Technology recap R-PHY, FDX, Virtual CCAP, IPTV, NDF/NDR and more Episode 29 “Technology recap R-PHY, FDX, Virtual CCAP, IPTV, NDF/NDR and more" ANGACOM 2017 was very exciting this year with a lot of exciting products and interesting ideas. Remote-PHY, FDX technologies where featured as was a virtual CCAP solution. IPTV was also heavily featured, a new German company

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Unmanaged DOCSIS WiFi – The Last 100 Maddening Feet

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 11:59:30 +0000

Yeah Baby - Unmanaged DOCSIS WiFi - The Last 100 Maddening Feet One Billion dollars plus is spent yearly on residential unmanaged DOCSIS WiFi accounts, according to CableLabs. You heard me right and I’m not quoting Austin Powers here. How is this possible? Okay, let’s review: Subscriber’s unmanaged WiFi networks are causing a ton

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Remote PHY – What is All the Hype?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 17 May 2017 12:36:00 +0000

Remote PHY - What is All The Hype? Remote PHY - What's All The Hype? - Today is May 12 and this is episode 28 of Get You Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is the man who is world famous

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DOCSIS CMTS Best Practices Recommendations Part 2

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 13:00:49 +0000

DOCSIS CMTS Best Practices and Recommendations Part 2 Episode 27 DOCSIS CMTS Best Practices Recommendations - Today is April 14 and this is episode 27 of Get You Tech On, our show on All Things DOCSIS. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is the a man who is world

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Future Field Operations Technologies Cable

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:51:41 +0000

Future Field Operations Technologies Cable What’s Coming in Field and Operations Technology with Comcast and Cisco Episode 26 of our show on All Things DOCSIS. Hosted by Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Today we have a fantastic episode for you on Future Field Operations Technologies but first let me introduce

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DOCSIS 3.1 – CCAP and Cable Modems the New Rock Stars in Test

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 14:23:23 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 - BOOM - Drop the Mic. CCAP and Cable Modems the New Rock Stars in Test We have always known that DOCSIS rocks but it is just so much cooler than we all thought. In the Winter edition of Broadband Library, I talked about how DOCSIS® 3.1 were beating expectations and performing exceptionally

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DOCSIS CMTS Suggestions, Best Practices and Recommendations

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:30:22 +0000

DOCSIS CMTS Suggestions, Best Practices and Recommendations Episode 25 Today is Friday January 27th and this is episode 25 of Get You Tech On - the cable industry’s #1 DOCSIS podcast. I'm Brady Volpe, Founder of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This. With us is the a man who is world famous in certain parts of

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DOCSIS 3.1 Beating Expectations, Working and Ready for Service Now

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 16:18:36 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Beating Expectations, Working and Ready for Service Now At this years SCTE Cable Tec Expo, several large MSOs, such as Comcast, made statements that DOCSIS 3.1 is working and it is working with great results. Only the downstream OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) portion is currently supported in DOCSIS 3.1 CMTSs. Upstream OFDMA

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DOCSIS 3.1 Downstream and Upstream

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 12:30:33 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Downstream and Upstream Testing and Throughput Episode 24 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm, this video / podcast has a focus on the DOCSIS 3.1 downstream and upstream with a practical review of the latest advancements in DOCSIS 3.1 and practical applications in production systems. Guests include John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at

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Capacity Planning Webinar

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 16:19:38 +0000

Capacity Planning Webinar Questions Starting now! Join Incognito, @volpefirm and @Midcontinent for a roundtable discussion on cable capacity planning Upcoming events can be seen under Broadband Events. Previous events can be seen under the video tab or blog search podcast. If you are watching this on youtube please hit the subscribe button and let us

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DOCSIS 3.1 Breakfast Panel

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 14:18:39 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Breakfast Panel DOCSIS 3.1 remains a topic of keen interest in the cable industry. The technology offers a route to multi-gigabit services without having to resort to expensive fiber-to-the-home buildouts. Early DOCSIS 3.1 deployments have begun, and they can be expected to expand as compliant equipment - particularly customer premises gear - becomes

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Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) with Larry Wolcott, Leader at Comcast’s Next Gen Technology Group

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 12:00:11 +0000

Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) with Larry Wolcott, Leader at Comcast’s Next Gen Operations Technology Group Episode 23 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm, this podcast will focus on Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) and the next generation in technology in 2016 and a peak of what is to come in 2017. Guest John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at

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How DOCSIS Revolutionized the Cable Industry

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 12:00:21 +0000

How DOCSIS Revolutionized the Cable Industry The cable industry is constantly facing competitive threats from companies like Google and Verizon who up the data speed game with fiber optic cable. They compete by offering higher and higher data speeds at lower and lower prices. But before we get into that, let’s look back at the

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Comcast Larry Wolcott Get’s His Tech On PNM 3.0 – Advances 2016 & Expectations 2017

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 12:06:45 +0000

Comcast Larry Wolcott Discusses PNM This video and podcast with host Brady Volpe and guests Larry Wolcott and John Downey feature Comcast Larry Wolcott Discusses PNM and Advances in Technology 2016 Advances in PNM Technology What to expect in 2017 Find out the exciting new industry happenings when it comes to PNM (Proactive Network Maintenance).

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Top Reasons Cable Modems are not Getting Expected Speed and CMTS Monitoring

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:05:06 +0000

Cable Modems not Getting Speed - Top Reasons Cable Modems are not Getting Expected Speed and CMTS Monitoring Episode 22 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm, Nimble This and Guest John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems. Today’s show we will cover cable modems not getting speed and monitoring your CMTS for proper

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DOCSIS 3.1 In Your Plant Now

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:00:12 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 In Your Plant Now In last month's article we focused on demystifying OFDM in DOCSIS 3.1. If you did not read the article please do, because we are going to now build on what we learned last time in the Broadband Library DOCSIS Online article titled “OFDM, completely new in DOCSIS 3.1”. You

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DOCSIS 3.1 and PNM SCTE North Country

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 13:46:00 +0000

If you live in Minnesota and are a member of the SCTE North Country, Brady Volpe will be speaking on DOCSIS 3.1 and PNM at 10 am in Minneapolis for their vendor days. http://www.sctenorthcountry.com Upcoming events can be seen under Broadband Events. Previous events can be seen under the blog. If you are watching this

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DOCSIS 3.1 Clearing Up Misconceptions

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 26 May 2016 14:54:19 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Clearing Up Misconceptions with DOCSIS 3.1 Spectrum Allocation Episode 21 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This, with guest John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems. Today’s show we will cover DOCSIS 3.1 spectrum allocation, applications and deployment in existing cable plants. No changes in the existing plants are necessary!

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RF Measurements in the Cable Plant

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 12:00:28 +0000

RF Measurements in the Cable Plant - Learn more about RF Episode 20 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Guest John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems and special guest, Ron Hranac Technical Leader at Cisco Systems. Today’s show we will cover a number of topics including RF measurements and fundamentals. The discussion starts with

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OFDM, Completely New in DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 11:51:10 +0000

OFDM, Completely New in DOCSIS 3.1 CableLabs has just issued the first DOCSIS 3.1 certifications to five cable modem vendors. These vendors were Askey, Castlenet, Netgear, Technicolor and Ubee Interactive. Cable operators are implementing DOCSIS 3.1 trials and very soon. production systems. Frequently I receive questions about DOCSIS 3.1 such as “is it backwards compatible

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Operator Perspective of Technology Advancements in Cable

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 13:00:07 +0000

Operator Perspective of Technology Advancements in Cable and other interesting facts Episode 19 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This Guest John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems and special guest, Jeff Finkelstein Executive Director of Network Strategy at Cox Communication. Today’s show we will cover a number of topics including

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May the Force be with Operational Challenges, Industry Trends, DOCSIS 3.1 and Star Wars

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:59:12 +0000

May the Force be with Operational Challenges, Industry Trends, DOCSIS 3.1 and Star Wars Episode 18 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Guest John Downey, CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco Systems. Today we are going to focus on your questions and provide our answers. If we don’t have answers we promise to

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Doubling Down on DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 12:29:09 +0000

Doubling Down on DOCSIS 3.1 DOCSIS 3.1 and PNM were hot topics at Cable Tec Expo in New Orleans and in most major publications and articles for 2015. Comcast is the largest driver of DOCSIS 3.1, but my recommendations are that whether you are a tier 1, tier 2 or even tier 3 cable operator

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Operational Challenges – DOCSIS CMTS Challenges to Operators

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 14:10:15 +0000

Operational Challenges in Cable - CMTS Challenges to Operators Episode 17 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This. Guest John Downey and Steve William TWC Director, Access Network Planning, Design & Operations. Steve is also a huge supporter of the SCTE, having served as on a number of SCTE chapter and National board

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GETTING PROACTIVE ABOUT NETWORK MAINTENANCE

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 14:56:21 +0000

GETTING PROACTIVE ABOUT NETWORK MAINTENANCE Proactive network maintenance (PNM) is more abstract than reacting to a crisis, and therefore, cable operators must have operational practices in place to ensure that once PNM tools are purchased they are used successfully, their benefits are tracked, and the organization is achieving the expected ROI. "Cable operators have been

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DOCSIS 3.1, PNM – SCTE CABLE TECH EXPO REVIEW 2015

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 22 Oct 2015 13:10:56 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1, PNM - SCTE CABLE TECH EXPO REVIEW 2015 Episode 16 is hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with guest John Downey of CISCO systems. Discussion Highlights today we have news, updates from the Cable Tec Expo last week in New Orleans. And we want to bring our listeners the highlights

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CableLabs interop DOCSIS 3.1 Channel Bonding

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 13:27:42 +0000

CableLabs Interop, DOCSIS 3.1 Channel Bonding Episode 15 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This, with Guest John Downey. Today we have news, updates from the CableLabs interop in Colorado, Max transmit power with 8 upstream DOCSIS 3.1 channel bonding, more on T3 timeout, partial mode oh my, T1 timeouts, my recommendations on ad

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Hacked – Are You Sure You’re Secure?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 12:54:11 +0000

Hacked - Are you sure you're secure? Security has the been a hot topic lately. As I’m writing this article I think about all of the recent events that we hear about impacting our daily lives such as: Hacks of OPM databases compromised 22.1 million people Experts warn 2015 could be 'Year of the Healthcare Hack

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SCTE Central Florida DOCSIS 3.1 PNM Presentation

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 17:15:26 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 & Proactive Network Maintenance – New Technologies & Tools Special Guest Speaker - Tech Sessions Brady Volpe - DOCSIS 3.1 and PNM Speaking at 10 am and 1 pm VENDOR SHOW – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 3705 Spectrum Blvd., Tampa, FL 33612 - Tech Sessions and SCTE Certification Testing Available

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SCTE DOCSIS Proactive Network Maintenance – See Us

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 18:57:44 +0000

SCTE DOCSIS Proactive Network Maintenance: Getting Ahead Of The Game Wednesday, October 14, 10:45-11:45 am. This workshop will provide useful information for craft technicians as they try to troubleshoot current networks and to prepare for DOCSIS® 3.1 networks of the future. This session will describe the many features that can be used within the DOCSIS

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BTR Tech Breakfast DOCSIS 3.1 Revisited

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:30:00 +0000

BTR Tech Breakfast Encore! DOCSIS 3.1 Revisited See Brady on the BTR panel Part of the SCTE Media Breakfast Program Date: Thursday, October 15 Time: 8:00-9:00 am Location: New Orleans Convention Center Room: 271-273 The new DOCSIS 3.1 spec will bring with it a host of advantages for the cable operator in both speed and

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WPA exploits as well as WiFi security flaws

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:03:18 +0000

WPA exploits, WiFi security flaws and WEP Hacking Episode 14 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm with guest John Downey. Today we have news, updates from the Proactive Network Maintenance meeting at CableLabs F2F in Colorado last week, SCTE Expo is less than two months away and your questions, our answers. In the NEWS

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DOCSIS – Change is Coming and it is Good

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 10:48:35 +0000

DOCSIS - Change is Coming and it is Good Everyone is talking about it. Everyone in cable will be impacted by it. You may not realize it but DOCSIS 3.1 will change the cable industry — whether cable operator, vendor or consumer. Even if you don’t plan to upgrade to DOCSIS 3.1 you will be

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DOCSIS Online

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 13:49:30 +0000

DOCSIS Reboot… Everybody is talking about DOCSIS 3.1 and the technology surrounding it. In the coming months I will cover both the emerging technology of DOCSIS and how it impacts our careers, our subscribers and our industry with a focus on DOCSIS 3.1. This is an opportunity to discuss both the technical aspects of the DOCSIS

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ANGACOM, DOCSIS 3.1, PNM, Wifi and Next Generation TV review

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 15:52:09 +0000

Next Generation TV, ANGACOM, DOCSIS 3.1, PNM and review Episode 13 Hosted by Brady Volpe was joined by John Downey discussing Next Generation TV, smart TV, OFDM, WiFi issues in the home and how they impact the cable operator, operational changes requires to be proactive and not reactive in the cable plant, DOCSIS 3.1 & other cable topics from

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INTX The Internet & Television Expo Review – Episode 12

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 11 May 2015 05:00:48 +0000

INTX The Internet & Television Expo Review Episode 12 hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with guest John Downey with discussion highlights on INTX The Internet and Television Expo plus many other topics including PNM (Proactive Network Maintenance), DOCSIS 3.1 and answering several questions from followers. We do our best to bring

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DOCSIS Internet Security – internet security and recommended best practices Episode 11

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 11:03:41 +0000

DOCSIS Internet Security Episode 11 Brady Volpe was joined by John Downey, Dan Hegglin and Brian Wilson discussing the challenges cable operators face with DOCSIS internet security and recommended best practices they can follow to secure their networks from DDoS, DoS, DNS, High Value Targets and many more. More about Dan Hegglin of Cisco and Brain Wilson of Alcatel-Lucent

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Downstream Full Band Capture and CableLabs Winter Conferance- Episode 10

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 10:24:54 +0000

Brady and John cover the CableLabs Winter Conference, the press release from Broadcom and upstream expansion to 85 MHz and beyond.If you have not heard about Broadcom's press release on upstream analysis capability in the cable modem you will defiantly want to check out this video.

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Full Band Capture a Spectrum Analyzer in DOCSIS Cable Modem Episode 9

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 10:15:06 +0000

DOCSIS 3.0 Full Band Capture and So Much More Episode 9 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with guest John Downey of Cisco. Brady and John cover the benefits of the latest technology available (full band capture) in DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems such as: Full band capture offering spectrum analyzer functionality in

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DOCSIS Load Balancing Continued Episode 8

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 11:56:20 +0000

DOCSIS Load Balancing Continued, DOCSIS 3.1 and other questions answered Episode 8 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with guest John Downey of Cisco. Brady and John cover what DOCSIS load balancing is all about, best practices for load balancing, and common challenges faced with DOCSIS load balancing. The guys also

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Load Balancing DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 12:31:39 +0000

Load Balancing, DOCSIS 3.1 and Power Calculations Episode 7 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with guest John Downey of Cisco. Discussion Highlights included DOCSIS 3.1, Load Balancing, Proactive Network Maintenance - PNM and Power Calculations. We do our best to bring our audience great technical content every month. You can watch us live on

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SCTE EXPO 2014 Technology Review Episode 6

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 16:22:00 +0000

SCTE EXPO 2014 Technology Review Episode 6 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with Guest John Downey of Cisco. With a review of SCTE EXPO. The discussion is on all things DOCSIS. Tips, suggestions and recommendations. Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at

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Prepping the Plant for DOCSIS 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 18:03:24 +0000

"BTR Tech Breakfast Prepping the Plant for DOCSIS 3.1" "Part of the SCTE Media Breakfast Program Wednesday, September 24 at 7:00am Location: Colorado Convention Center Attendance is FREE, but registration is required. Email jonim@pennwell.com to reserve your spot! Click here for more details on this breakfast presentation Moderated by: Ron Hranac - Contributing Writer, BTR Technical Leader for Cisco

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Hot Technology Topics SCTE EXPO 2014

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 13:10:30 +0000

Recap Overview of Trending Technology Topics SCTE EXPO 2014 Fri, September 26, 2:00 PM Can't make it to SCTE EXPO this year? Or you were just to busy to make all the rounds. Find out what you may have missed. John and Brady will discuss the latest and greatest from SCTE EXPO 2014. From new

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DOCSIS 3.1 Backwards Compatible – Episode 5

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 12:28:46 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Backwards Compatible so it can Co-Exist with Legacy DOCSIS Episode 5 Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm and Nimble This with Guest John Downey of Cisco. DOCSIS 3.1 backwards compatible is good news. Other discussion highlights: Remote PHY Different bandwidths in DOCSIS 3.1 Difference between DFB, FP and digital returns Legacy DOCSIS and

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Leverage TR-069 protocol to boost customer satisfaction

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:09:56 +0000

TR-069 Are you struggling to gain network visibility inside the subscriber home? Want to know more about leveraging TR-069 standards to remotely manage subscriber QoE? Join Brady Volpe for an exclusive webinar with Incognito Software Product Marketing Manager, Bob Petrovic, and learn how you can tackle these challenges with remote CPE management. This 45-minute webinar will

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DOCSIS 3.0 Upstream and Downstream Channel Bonding

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 10:36:34 +0000

DOCSIS 3.0 Upstream and Downstream Bonding have many advantages Hosted by Brady Volpe of the Volpe Firm with guest John Downey of Cisco. DOCSIS 3.0 Upstream and Downstream Bonding have many Advantages. For example: DOCSIS Upstream and Downstream Pro's and Con's: DOCSIS Cable Modem service flows Partial service DOCSIS Downstream resilience Why Downstream goes bad

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DOCSIS Channel Bonding Episode 3

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:14:03 +0000

DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonding – Your Questions Answered Episode 3 Hosted by Brady Volpe of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This with Guest John Downey of Cisco. Brady and John will discuss the many advantages and disadvantages of DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding. When everything is operating properly, we have great advantages for modem speed and operation at the expense

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DOCSIS Pre-Equalization Part Two Episode 2

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 11:47:03 +0000

DOCSIS Pre-Equalization (Pre-Eq) and Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) Part 2 Episode 2 Hosted by Brady Volpe of The Volpe Firm with guest John Downey of Cisco. Episode 2 we will cover how DOCSIS pre-equalization data can be used to identify upstream impairments through Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) and why this is valuable to a cable operator. Benefits of

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DOCSIS Pre-Equalization

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 17:43:49 +0000

The Benefits of DOCSIS Pre-Equalization and Proactive Network Maintenance Part I Episode 1 Hosted by Brady Volpe of The Volpe Firm with guest of John Downey of Cisco. Part one covers the benefits and limitations of DOCSIS Pre-Equalization and critical features in the CMTS and how they impact Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM). The discussion is on all things

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DOCSIS 3.1 Roadmap :: Past, Present and How we Get to 3.1

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 16:24:46 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Roadmap Past, Present and How we Get to 3.1 Jul 16, 2014, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST - Southern California (SoCal) SCTE Chapter Meeting If you are a member of the Southern California SCTE Chapter be sure to catch Brady's presentation on DOCSIS 3.1 today.

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Software vs Hardware Solutions in Cable Industry

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 10:17:14 +0000

Why Software Solutions (SaaS) Should be Getting a Closer Look The cable industry is traditionally a hardware solution focused industry. In a nut shell, there are AMPs, coax and RF signals. Eventually we migrated into hardware and mixed software solutions with SNMP and the emergence of DOCSIS. Today more then ever the cable industry is seeing a larger

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DOCSIS 3.1 SYMPOSIUM AT SCTE CABLE-TEC EXPO

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 18:46:27 +0000

Pre-Conference Symposium Monday, Sept. 22, in conjunction with SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2014 FROM SCTE: "Scheduled from 9:00 AM until 4:30 PM at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, the symposium is a joint presentation of SCTE and CableLabs. The event will feature four sessions each on wireless and DOCSIS 3.1. The current schedule of sessions comprises:

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DOCSIS 3.1 Checklist

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:55:31 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 July 10, 2014 • 12:00 p.m. ET; 9:00 a.m. PT While full-scale DOCSIS 3.1 implementations may not occur for another two years, cable operators are currently preparing their networks. In this free, live, Google Hangout, which is sponsored by VeEX, and hosted by CED, attendees will learn about how cable operators and vendors

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DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonding – Episode 3

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 15:51:52 +0000

DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonding - Your Questions Answered Brady Volpe and John Downey will discuss the many advantages and disadvantages of DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding. When everything is operating properly, we have great advantages for modem speed and operation at the expense of allocating more spectrum for more DOCSIS 3.0 channels. When things are not going

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DOCSIS Channel Bonding – Your Questions Answered Friday June 20th

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:00:43 +0000

DOCSIS Channel Bonding - Your Questions Answered Presented by Brady Volpe of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This and with guest John Downey. DOCSIS Channel Bonding with a focus on Upstream (US), Downstream (DS), Partial mode, BW allocation, and SG sizing. About John - John has over 20 years in the data/telecommunications/networking industry with a 4

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ANGACOM 2014 Always Worth a Technology Look

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 13:05:31 +0000

ANGACOM 2014 in this year was an exciting and well organized convention of international cable operators. The weather was fantastic, which is really worth mentioning. The technology in cable is always progressing and this year DOCSIS 3.1 and proactive technologies took center stage. For those of you not familiar, the ANGACOM Cable Show is Europe’s

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Reduce Ingress and Egress – Simple is Genius

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 23 May 2014 09:03:51 +0000

It's a smart idea that doesn't cost a lot more than a regular splitter and also helps reduce ingress. It's called BarrIER technology by Teleste. BarrIER® technology is an innovative solution for reducing ingress/egress that addresses the complete in-home interconnect domain and solves the problem of maintaining adequate C/N levels. Using BarrIER® will reduce the need for manual maintenance work, greatly reduce operational costs, and incrementally increase service reliability and enhance network performance".

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ANGACOM 2014 DOCSIS 3.1 Technology Panel

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 20 May 2014 20:21:23 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1: Challenges to make DOCSIS 3.1 operational in HFC Networks ANGACOM Moderator: Brady Volpe - President and CTO, The Volpe Firm 11.45 - 13.00 Technology Panel ROOM B Access Network Dimensioning in DOCSIS 3.1 Dr. L. Alberto Campos - Principal Architect Advanced Technology Group, Cable Television Laboratories Impact of DOCSIS 3.1 on HFC Network

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DOCSIS Experts – Ask Pre-Eq and PNM questions May 2nd

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 01 May 2014 13:30:54 +0000

DOCSIS Pre-Eq and PNM :: (Part 2) As a follow up to Part one (which can be viewed here) Part two we will cover how pre-equalization data can be used to identify upstream impairments through Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) and why this is valuable to a cable operator. Join us page to ensure that you

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DOCSIS Pre-Eq and PNM – Part Two

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:00:08 +0000

The Benefits of DOCSIS Pre-Eq and PNM :: (Part 2) Presented by John Downey of Cisco and Brady Volpe of The Volpe Firm and Nimble This as a follow up to Part one (which can be viewed here) Part two we will cover how pre-equalization data can be used to identify upstream impairments through Proactive Network

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The Future of Test Equipment

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:54:39 +0000

The Future of Test Equipment and the Role of Proactive Network Maintenance At a recent convention, I had the opportunity to listen to Daniel Howard, CTO of the SCTE, speak about how Comcast is using, Rohde & Schwarz in conjunction with their PNM (Proactive Network Maintenance) Scout Flux system. This highlights that although PNM is

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DOCSIS 3.1 Challenges to make DOCSIS 3.1 Operational in HFC Networks

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 13:09:28 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 : Challenges to make DOCSIS 3.1 Operational in HFC Networks ANGACOM 2014 May 21, 2014 - Technology Panel 11:45am - 1:00pm - Room B Come See Brady Volpe at ANGACOM Moderator: Brady Volpe - President and CTO, The Volpe Firm Access Network Dimensioning in DOCSIS 3.1 Dr. L. Alberto Campos - Principal Architect Advanced Technology Group,

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DOCSIS 3.1 Webinar Today

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 12:01:32 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1 Webinar "With some of the DOCSIS 3.1 specifications being published by CableLabs late last year, it's time to start planning for the operational changes at the plant level for deployments, and discuss what type of monitoring tools will be needed. In this live, 60-minute webcast, which is sponsored by VeEX, and hosted by CED, attendees will learn about

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DOCSIS 3.1 Live Webcast

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 16:16:15 +0000

"With some of the DOCSIS 3.1 specifications being published by CableLabs late last year, it's time to start planning for the operational changes at the plant level for deployments, and discuss what type of monitoring tools will be needed. In this live, 60-minute webcast, which is sponsored by VeEX, and hosted by CED, attendees will learn about

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NCTC WEC February 17-18th

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 21:39:03 +0000

NCTC WEC 2014 February 17 -18th Tampa, Florida We will be attending NCTC WEC. If you are interested in finding out more about Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) or in discussing a technical topic with us. Get in touch. We will also have some of our popular DOCSIS 3.0 posters with us. We will only give

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DOCSIS Pre-Equalization Video

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 14:30:52 +0000

DOCSIS Pre-Equalization Video This DOCSIS pre-equalization video will cover some important items. DOCSIS Pre-Equalization is something that every cable provider should know about. With a simple line of code on the CMTS, you can achieve an immediate and significant improvement in your upstream signal levels. Pretty important stuff, so we’ve tapped Brady Volpe, one of

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PNM and HFC Readiness for DOCSIS 3.1 – CCTA 2014

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 14:30:55 +0000

Daniel Howard, CTO of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) presented at this years CCTA on "HFC Readiness for DOCSIS 3.1". Daniel had a presentation that couldn't be beet and held the attention of the audience. Key topics he covered were the rapid growth of Internet traffic, cable operator's desire to extend the life of coax cable at least another 20 years, PNM and the realization that 4096-QAM is a reality in the cable plant.

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CED – Proactive Network Maintenance

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:36:45 +0000

Proactive Network Maintenance ZCorum debuts DOCSIS upstream tester ZCorum has introduced a new tool that analyzes DOCSIS pre-equalization data, which cable operators can use to identify upstream impairments. The company’s Pre-Equalization Analyzer uses technology from Nimble This to analyze the pre-equalization data from cable modems. Nimble This is a collaboration of software developers with The

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Nimble This supported by the Volpe Firm team up with ZCorum

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 15:23:19 +0000

Nimble This supported by the Volpe Firm team up with ZCorum to offer a new way for cable operators to find and address network and in-home issues before they impact subscribers. San Juan, PR January 27, 2014 — At the CCTA show today, ZCorum, a leading provider of managed broadband services and diagnostics software, and Nimble This, the

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DOCSIS 3.1: Modulation Options and Impacts – Part Two

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 21:29:43 +0000

What’s Next for DOCSIS 3.1 Modulation Options and Impacts DOCSIS 3.1 modulation - Many wonder how today’s networks will support high order modulations such as 4096-QAM. There are two technologies in the DOCSIS 3.1 standard that will enable this without requiring changes to existing outside plant. The first is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). This

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PNM – Proactive Network Maintenance – SCTE EXPO 2013 – Fresh Tech

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:00:34 +0000

PNM - Proactive Network Maintenance CableLabs Booth - SCTE EXPO 2013 - Fresh Tech The PNM demonstration in the CableLabs booth was very popular at this years SCTE EXPO as was Armstrong and Comcast. Both very impressive. Comcast's demonstration of their PNM Scout Flux solution by the SCTE Pavilion was most impressive. It won the

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Next Gen Spectrum Analyzer – SCTE EXPO 2013 – Fresh Tech

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 14:00:38 +0000

Next Gen Spectrum Analyzer SCTE EXPO 2013 - Fresh Tech At this years SCTE EXPO equipment and software venders were showing they knew they need to keep an eye to the future. Already featured (Rohde & Schwarz, VeEX, Cisco and Nimble-This) JDSU showed a nifty next gen spectrum analyzer. Now it's not available to ship

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PNM Presentation – SCTE EXPO 2013

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 14:00:49 +0000

Proactive Network Operations - SCTE EXPO 2013 Presentation aka Proactive Network Maintenance "PNM" DOCSIS Pre-Equalization: Vastly Powerful, Often Undervalued If you are interested in pre-equalization analysis (PNM) and the significant benefits these applications have for cable operators you can watch the presentation which was given by Brady Volpe at SCTE EXPO 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. It will also include

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DOCSIS Burst Demod – SCTE EXPO 2013 – Fresh Tech

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:00:21 +0000

DOCSIS Burst Demod SCTE EXPO 2013 - Fresh Tech There were some new and exciting things at this years SCTE. There was a good drum line at the opening event but also there were new products and innovative ideas (Cisco and PNM). In test equipment this year at the SCTE EXPO Rohde and Schwarz, JDSU and

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Cisco’s New CMTS and Nodes – SCTE EXPO 2013 – Fresh Tech

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 14:00:16 +0000

Cisco's New CMTS and Nodes SCTE EXPO 2013 - Fresh Tech Feeling special having been invited into the "whisper suit" at CISCO's booth to get a first look at Cisco's new CMTS and Node. No one was permitted to take photo's so my description will have to be enough. Cisco has gotten completely out of

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First-Gen DOCSIS 3.1 Test Solution – SCTE EXPO 2013 – Fresh Tech

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 14:00:22 +0000

Rohde & Schwarz Demonstrated a First-Gen DOCSIS 3.1 Test Solution Fresh Tech - SCTE Cable-Tec EXPO 2013 Rohde and Schwarz had a popular demo at this years SCTE EXPO and not only was it popular it was innovative since it was the only DOCSIS 3.1 demo on the show floor. Using off-the-shelf equipment R&S demonstrated

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Cable App for iPad and Android – Cable-Tec EXPO 2013 – Fresh Tech

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 13:44:55 +0000

Cable App for iPad and Android SCTE Cable-Tec EXPO 2013 At this years SCTE EXPO I again walked the show floor looking for innovative and cool technology that equipment vendors were showing. This years Expo had some great new products, one I'll be highlighting in this article, which is a cable app for iPad and

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DOCSIS Modulation Options and Impacts – Part One

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 21:11:31 +0000

What’s Next for DOCSIS Modulation Options and Impacts This paper is the second in a series titled “What’s Next for DOCSIS:” (Young, 2012), and outlines the anticipated DOCSIS near, medium, and long term next generation (NG) network specifications; identifies and presents high spectral efficiency (SE) modulation options capable of enabling DOCSIS 3.1/NG network specification compliance;

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DOCSIS Pre-Equalization

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 16:51:19 +0000

DOCSIS Pre-Equalization This paper will first provide a brief primer on DOCSIS to establish a baseline for the document. Next the paper will examine what is DOCSIS pre-equalization. How DOCSIS pre-equalization works and how DOCSIS pre-equalization can be extended. In the greater context of the paper, the reader must consider the implications of the extensions

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Solving Problems DOCSIS PNM

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 20:15:11 +0000

Solving Problems with DOCSIS PNM Solving problems with DOCSIS PNM in the outside plant is one of the most exciting aspects of PNM. If this if the first time your reading on my PNM articles, check out my first and second articles on the PNM application. This is some really cool tech to come to the cable

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DOCSIS codeword errors – NCTC member exclusive Webinar

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 20:56:19 +0000

Join us on Thursday, October 10 at 3pm central time for this MUST SEE Webinar on Codeword Errors Codeword Errors - What are they? Why do you care? DOCSIS codeword errors is terminology that you may or may not be familiar with. But no matter which camp you're in it is important to know that monitoring

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DOCSIS PNM DEMO SCTE EXPO 2013 CableLabs Booth #1969

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 13:00:10 +0000

DOCSIS PNM DEMO SCTE EXPO 2013 - CableLabs Booth #1969 Come See a DEMO of the exciting DOCSIS PNM Technology at this years SCTE Cable Tech Expo in the CableLabs Booth #1969. Brady Volpe will be giving demonstrations. To find out more about PNM you can also attend one of two PNM presentations or watch

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Smart DOCSIS CMTS Upgrade

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 13:00:24 +0000

Making a DOCSIS CMTS Upgrade? Make sure you have done your homework. With all of the publicity focussed on DOCSIS on DOCSIS 3.1 many cable operators still have existing networks that are running DOCSIS 2.0 or even DOCSIS 1.1. Many conversations arise around what is the best path forward on making a smart DOCSIS CMTS

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DOCSIS 3.1: Begin Preparing Now

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:45:51 +0000

DOCSIS 3.1: Begin Preparing Now Posted on September 11, 2013 by Carl Weinschenk-BTR Experts believe that DOCSIS 3.1 is few years off. The specification has not yet been finalized. After that, test and early customer premise equipment (CPE) and corresponding CMTS and CCAP line cards will be sprinkled through systems. The bottom line is that it will be

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What is DOCSIS PNM?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 13:03:41 +0000

What is DOCSIS PNM and How Does it Work? Recently I wrote about DOCSIS PNM technology and a company working on is called Nimble This. In this article I want to highlight a mechanism behind how DOCSIS PNM works. DOCSIS Pre-Equalization DOCSIS PNM begins with a relatively well known DOCSIS feature called DOCSIS pre-equalization. I've

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DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Registration with T3 & T4 Timeouts Poster

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 13:00:54 +0000

Our Popular "DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Registration with DOCSIS T3 T4 Timeout Poster" is Back. DOCSIS T3 T4 timeout poster is 23 x 35 inches and a must have for your headend. That's approximately two feet by three feet. It's a nice size to hang up in your headend or in your office. It's extremely

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Troubleshooting Cable Networks

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 13:00:13 +0000

CED Presents an Educational Webcast Troubleshooting Cable Networks - Understanding Ingress Impairments Brady Volpe will be a panelist on: "The two-way nature of cable networks is being increasingly exploited for innovative new features and services, including interactive TV applications, video conferencing, data back up, and wireless backhaul (all in addition to high speed data, VoIP,

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DOCSIS PNM – Something Really Interesting!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 13:00:47 +0000

DOCSIS PNM - Get Excited! Awhile back I wrote an article about DOCSIS Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM). Not only did I find this technology fascinating I decided to really get involved with PNM. I will also be speaking at SCTE EXPO on the topic of PNM this year. Topic: DOCSIS Pre-Equalization: Vastly Powerful, Often Undervalued For

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A Briefer History of CableTV

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 13:00:00 +0000

A Briefer History of CableTV For those in the know... A briefer history of CableTV provides an abridged version of how we got to where we are now and CableTVs impact on modern-day test equipment. Looking at the history of CableTV, its beginnings were very humble with many taking credit for its first invention. Let

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DOCSIS Channel Emulator – Impairments Made Easy

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 13:00:55 +0000

DOCSIS Channel Emulator - Impairments Made Easy by Averna While at ANGACOM this year I came across Averna's DOCSIS Channel Emulator (DCE). It's an interesting product that can be put to good use in an MSO lab, vendor lab or anyone needing to create real-world impairments that impact DOCSIS. Intrigued by the product, I followed

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ANGACOM Review

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 13:00:09 +0000

ANGACOM 2013 Review Here is a quick review of the ANGACOM Cable Show, Europe’s leading Business Platform for Broadband Operators and Content Providers for over 10 years. Exhibition and congress topics include Next Generation Networks, DOCSIS, HDTV, Smart TV, VoD, PNM, IPTV & Connected Home. This year Brady Volpe had two topics he presented at ANGACOM. We already posted one presentation

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DOCSIS & Testing Best Practices in an All Digital Network

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 13:00:38 +0000

DOCSIS & Testing Best Practices in an All Digital Network ANGACOM - 2013 Missed ANGACOM 2013? Don't worry, you can still see the presentation on DOCSIS & Testing Best Practices in an All Digital Network along with the speaker notes for each slide. This was only a 15 minute presentation, so time was limited on

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Brady Volpe Presenting at ANGACOM June 4th – June 6th

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 30 May 2013 14:16:19 +0000

Come See Brady Volpe present at ANGACOM 2013 Topics: You can also see Brady present on - DOCSIS & Testing Best Practice in an All Digital Plant - Tuesday, June 4, 2013, 12.00 to 1.15 p.m. Pre-equalization analysis (PNM) and the benefits this analysis has for cable operators is the topic Brady Volpe will present on at ANGACOM.de in

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Pre-equalization analysis PNM presentation at ANGACOM

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 28 May 2013 20:44:58 +0000

Pre-equalization analysis (PNM) and the benefits this analysis has for cable operators is the topic Brady Volpe will present on at ANGACOM.de in Cologne Germany next week at the - ANGACOM International Breakfast by SCTE , June 5th, 2013. It will include the activity surrounding the CableLabs initiative on PNM. You can also see Brady present on - DOCSIS

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DOCSIS Reed-Solomon Codewords

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:01:38 +0000

How many bytes can a Reed-Solomon codeword bite? In my previous article on DOCSIS Codeword Errors, reader "Sandy" asked how many Reed-Solomon codewords would be required to transport a 1518 byte length of data? This is a very good question and one that I had never considered until I first faced when designing DOCSIS data-layer

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EPON | A Brief Primer

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:00:25 +0000

EPON Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) is an actual Ethernet network over optical cable following the IEEE 802.3av standard for 1 Gbps (supporting up to 10 Gbps). There are two (2) functional components of an EPON network, an Optical Line Terminator (OLT) and an Optical Network Unit (ONU). The OLT is analogous to a CMTS

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OpenDNS | Security at the Network Level

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:16:13 +0000

With a lot of adult content and other nefarious sites all over cyber space, it is paramount to protect your family from as appropriate. This can be done by filtering content coming into your computer. There are fundamentally two ways to successfully block adult and other malicious contents from gaining entry into your computer and

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DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Registration, T3 & T4 Timeouts

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:00:46 +0000

Several of you have have contacted us because you missed us at our first two speaking engagements and didn't get a poster. The good news is we are still here till Friday and have one speaking engagement left. The poster is 23 x 35 inches. That's approximately two feet by three feet. It's a nice

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Cable Modem Registration, T3 & T4 Timeouts Poster

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:50:04 +0000

Would you like a copy of our Cable Modem Registration with T3 and T4 Timeouts Poster? The poster is 23 x 35 inches. That's approximately two feet by three feet. It's a nice size to hang up in your headend or in your office. We have a limited quantity of posters that we will be

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Capacity Planning | Build It & They Will Fill It

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:01:54 +0000

Capacity Planning - Helps Make Future Capital Expenditure Decisions Capacity Planning in the good old days, was an issue that impacted neighborhoods with web hogs in the them. Peak usage hours were dreaded, teenagers downloading music were seen as a scourge, and web surfers were just plan old annoying. What did these people think the internet was for? How

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Cable Modem Registration | A Second Look

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:47:23 +0000

DOCSIS Cable Modems Registration Process Even the most interesting man in the world enjoy's the DOCSIS cable modem registration process, so it is worth a second look. It is one of the most popular topics because it covers a wide range of how DOCSIS works, from physical layer to Internet protocol (IP) layer. It is

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DOCSIS Return | Dirty Fiber Optic Connectors

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 07:14:16 +0000

An often overlooked, but easy to resolve RF impairment are loose and/or dirty fiber optic connectors. This issue often manifests itself as an increased noise floor when viewed on a spectrum analyzer. The key to determining the difference between regular ingress and fiber connector noise is that the noise created by a loose or dirty

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See Us | SCTE EXPO Workshop DOCSIS and EPON

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:30:12 +0000

EPON, EPoC, DPoE, RFoG, DOCSIS®-Beyond the Alphabet Soup Operators’ services are migrating from traditional to IP delivery, which is driving a need for an evolution in the access network. Technology changes to the access network are a multi-year deployment cycle, so operators are investigating and trialing different technologies for next generation delivery. This session will

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DOCSIS Codeword Errors | What you should know

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 07:06:21 +0000

Calculating... Calculating... DOCSIS Codeword Errors - You will likely see them DOCSIS correctable codeword errors and uncorrectable codeword errors are available as a metric in most cable operator monitoring tools and Operations Support Systems (OSS). The monitoring tools and OSS generally provide data and dashboards for users to monitor overall network health and then identify

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See Us | SCTE EXPO 2012 Symposium

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:00:24 +0000

DIGITAL HOME SYMPOSIUM The Digital Home: Preparing for the Future Conference Event—registration required Space is limited! Tuesday, Oct. 16 10:00 am-5:00 pm The one-day pre-conference Digital Home Symposium will focus on the need to drive an optimized experience within the customer premises. The symposium will offer expert presentations and in-depth discussions on the latest technologies,

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DOCSIS Security Illegal Wiretapping and Eavesdropping

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:00:57 +0000

Wiretapping has Evolved Before electronic eavesdropping there was just wiretapping. When you think of wiretapping you may think of a guy in a box truck or apartment eating donuts with pizza listening in on endlessly boring phone conversations waiting to hear that one "Eureka" moment of important information. The movie Casino comes to mind too.

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DOCSIS Security | Mac Address Cloning

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 14:00:21 +0000

Theft of Service via Cloning DOCSIS Security - If only cloning your favorite pet was as easy as cloning a MAC address on a cable modem. There are dozens of websites out there giving subscribers or hackers step by step instructions on how to clone a MAC address. Each cable modem, regardless of brand, is uniquely

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DOCSIS Security | Uncapping Cable Modems

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:57:21 +0000

So what is uncapping cable modems? Uncapping cable modems refers to activities performed to alter a DOCSIS cable modems settings. Plain and simple someone is messing with the cable modem's configuration file to get what they want. So what do they want? Greater bandwidth (the need for speed), wanting more than one public IP, or any other

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DOCSIS Network Security B– Panelist fo Panelist for Theft of Service

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:48:51 +0000

Upstream Challenge * Register Here Wednesday, August 15, 2012 • 11:00 a.m. ET; 8:00 a.m. PT • Duration: 1 Hour The CED is presenting an Educational Webinar on the ever increasing traffic on the upstream. Brady Volpe, as an impartial industry expert, will be discussing the impact of advanced DOCSIS and testing of next generation test

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DOCSIS Network Security B– Panelist fo Panelist for Theft of Servicet of Service

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:52:22 +0000

DOCSIS Network Security - It Matters! My next few posts will focus on the security issues associated with DOCSIS networks including, but not limited to theft of service, uncapping modems, illegal wire-tapping by unauthorized citizens, viewing of operating internal network infrastructure and more. These security issues are an increasing threat as the number of DOCSIS

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Tech Review | HbbTV, Linux & a Cool Box

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:01:14 +0000

While checking out the booths at ANGA we came across a company by the name of Vu+. What caught my eye was Linux written in big letters on the side of the booth. Anything Linux will usually get me to walk into a booth. We met with two associates one from Vu+, Victor Heo and one from Marusys,

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Tech Review | DEVISER S7000 TV Analyzer

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:51:17 +0000

Deviser's S7000 TV Analyzer - Many features, small package! This year at ANGA Cable show I came across a new product by DEVISER called the S7000 TV Analyzer (DEVISER OEM's their spectrum analyzer to a US based test equipment manufacturer so they have been in the business for a while and they know what they

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Tech Review | AND… what? Don’t let a name fool you

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:48:16 +0000

AND Mapping Solutions - With so much more! While at ANGA this year I was told about AND (Advanced Network Design) from a fellow convention goer. He seemed really impressed with the company and it's product. Honestly, I've never gotten excited over a mapping tool. This is not normally something that I pay a

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Subscribers get lower data rates than provisioned?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:00:18 +0000

Why do my DOCSIS subscribers and their Cable Modems get lower speeds than what my DOCSIS config file says they should get? This is a common question that I am asked and it has more than one answer. All too often the RF plant is the first to blame for low DOCSIS cable modem speeds,

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Tech Review | ByteBlower from Excentis

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 20:43:23 +0000

The ByteBlower :: Blowing Bits and Bytes - Cool Tech The team at Excentis, located in Ghent, Belgium, have really outdone themselves with an incredibly cool packet generator which was on display at the Anga Cable 2012 show. This is their second generation on the product, called the ByteBlower 2100. It builds on the previous model, the

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Anga Cable 2012 – Tech Reviews

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:43:19 +0000

Anga Cable 2012 Full of Cool Tech If you missed this years Anga Cable 2012, fear not we attended and interviewed the new, innovative and coolest of the cool technology on the floor. In the coming weeks we will be covering a number of the top pics from the show including some sweet test equipment,

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SCTE DOCSIS 3.0 Presentation Blacksburg, VA

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:30:18 +0000

DOCSIS 3.0 Troubleshooting, SCTE Blacksburg, VA View more presentations from The Volpe Firm, Inc.

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Why is QAM Getting Me Down?

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:29:33 +0000

64-QAM lower than Analog video on the downstream? 64-QAM lower than 16-QAM on the upstream? Why is a 6.4 MHz channel lower than a 3.2 MHz DOCSIS channel? Someone said there is math for all of this, but man QAM is getting me down! These questions come up in every lecture I give on DOCSIS.

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Update: bradyvolpe.com is now The Volpe Firm blog

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:51:27 +0000

If you did not catch the post on bradyvolpe.com you have now been automatically redirected to the new site on The Volpe Firm blog. As part of my company managing one big site is a lot easier than managing two separate sites. For you as the reader there is also an upside; you'll still get the same

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ANGA Cable Trade Show

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:37:26 +0000

Want your product featured in Fresh Tech? For SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2011 cool products we reviewed several products. I tried to stop and/or look at every booth but might have missed a product so if you feel your product should be featured please get in touch with me and let me know why your product deserves a

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See Us – May 15th in Blacksburg, Virginia

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:28:42 +0000

See Brady Volpe at the Great Valleys Meeting Group May 15th, in Blacksburg, VA to discuss DOCSIS 3.0 Troubleshooting, Implementation and Planning. Great Valleys Meeting Group is a SCTE Chapter - serving Central, Southwest Virginia and Edinburg. Our meeting location will be the Holiday Inn in Blacksburg. The Holiday Inn in Blacksburg is offering an SCTE discount. When you

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Free DOCSIS Config File Editor – Awesome

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:49:06 +0000

Thanks to Excentis, a leading and solid provider of highly specialized testing, consultancy and training services for access network technologies(cable, xDSL, wireless, etc) and related services (e.g. VoIP and iDTV), we can all have a free DOCSIS Config File Editor.

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Impact of Impulse Noise on Adaptive Pre-Equalization Part II

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:09:39 +0000

In part I of this article I discussed adaptive pre-equalization in DOCSIS cable modems and how it can compensate for many upstream impairments such as frequency response, group delay and micro-reflections. I also left off with a cliff-hanger, which is also the title of the article; impulse noise has an impact on adaptive pre-equalization, but how and what is it? I'll cover both what impulse noise is and why and how it impacts adaptive pre-equalization.

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Impact of Impulse Noise on Adaptive Pre-Equalization

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:08:25 +0000

For those of you who have attended my seminars you are familiar with adaptive pre-equalization in cable modems (if not I'll explain it in detail momentarily). Also, if you have done any amount of RF plant troubleshooting you are certainly familiar with Impulse noise (again, I'll cover this too). But if you are like me, I never knew that the two topics were co-related.

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DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Registration

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:51:14 +0000

This article will discuss the channel bonding process and ultimately the DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem registration process. In order to be able to understand this article, I will make many references to my prior article on Cable Modem Registration which focused on DOCSIS 1.x and 2.0 cable modems.

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SCTE Music City Chapter DOCSIS 3.0 Training

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:42:01 +0000

If you have missed our previous DOCSIS 3.0 seminars in the Southeast, make sure to catch this one next week in Nashville! John Downey of Cisco and I will be covering the critical DOCSIS 3.0 bonded downstream and upstream implementation and troubleshooting need-to-know issues.

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See Us – February 22nd in Nashville, TN

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:54:53 +0000

See Brady Volpe and John Downey - Consulting Network Engineer, Cisco Systems at the SCTE Music City Chapter, February 22nd, in Nashville, TN to discuss DOCSIS 3.0 Troubleshooting, Implementation and Planning.

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Advanced Troubleshooting in a DOCSIS 3.0 Plant

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:36:13 +0000

If you missed the SCTE Cable-Tec 2011, I am making available my presentation and white paper on Advanced Troubleshooting in a DOCSIS 3.0 Plant. Each speaker had only 20 minutes to cover topics that could easily last hours, so the presentations are understandably brief. Below you will find my presentation in "Slideshare" for online viewing as well as a fully downloadable PowerPoint version. The PowerPoint version also has reader notes attached at the bottom of each slide which you may find useful. In addition, the animations work a little better in the downloadable version.

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SCTE Chapter Presentations

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:59:39 +0000

The following presentation was delivered to the SCTE Piedmont Chapter on January 18th. DOCSIS 3.0 Piedmont SCTE Chapter January 18th View more presentations from volpefirm.

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We are back! SCTE Piedmont Chapter in NC

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:40:45 +0000

Don't Miss out on the Encore Presentation!
Come see John Downey and I in another day-long DOCSIS 3.0 Troubleshooting, Implementation, and Planning presentation. We will be covering a wide variety of DOCSIS 3.0 topics, answering as many questions as you can ask, and providing you with an entertaining presentation - no one calls us boring!

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See Us – January 18th in Raleigh NC

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:14:01 +0000

See Brady Volpe and John Downey at the SCTE Piedmont Chapter, January 18th, in Raleigh NC to discuss DOCSIS 3.0 Troubleshooting, Implementation and Planning

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DOCSIS 3.0 Impaired Service

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:05:38 +0000

"Impaired Service" in which case one or more bonded upstream channels are impacted by upstream RF impairments while other bonded channels are not. Since subscriber data is striped (that is broken into pieces and spread across each upstream channel and then re-assembled by the CMTS), some of the data will be lost or have errors while other data will not. Subscribers will most likely notice an impaired condition as upstream data rates slow down due to TCP/IP transmissions and/or VoIP, gaming, teleconferencing and other real-time applications will be noticeably impacted.

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DOCSIS 3.0 Partial Service

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:23:32 +0000

Partial Service is a new term encountered in the DOCSIS 3.0 MULPI specification and realized in field deployments of DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems using upstream bonding. This was a topic that I touched on in this years SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, but will explore in greater detail in this article. Partial service can be considered a feature because the cable modem will stay online even when one or more upstream transmit channels goes offline.

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Fresh Tech | Intraway Secures DOCSIS

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:15:28 +0000

I first heard of Intraway's products through a LinkedIn request to talk about DOCSIS security from Intraway's CEO, Leandro Rzezak. This immediately peaked my interest becuase today our DOCSIS networks are inherently insecure and many are unaware of this. What do I mean by insecure? No, not crying and sniffling in a corner. They are open to theft of service, illegal intercept of the data transmitted, illegal wiretapping of phone calls, etc. Even with Baseline Privacy Interface Specification (BPI+) DOCSIS is quite hackable as evidenced on a number of well known hacking sites. The cool factor in the Fraud & Network Usage Control module offered by Intraway is that they have developed effective algorithms which sit on-top of the most used provisioning systems, Cisco's CNR and Incognito's BCC.

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Fresh Tech | DOCSIS Protocol Analyzer – Can’t stop a good idea!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:57:10 +0000

When I first heard rumor that a knew company had a DOCSIS protocol analyzer floating around I had to see it! With full disclosure, many of you know that after 10 years in RF and fiber-optic transport equipment, I spent a few years designing, marketing and selling DOCSIS protocol analyzers. More specifically I focused on making them available to cable operators because I knew they could detect really difficult to isolate problems. Averna know owns the technology from my Sigtek days, so it is nice to see a new competitor in the space. What's more is that its nice to see this competitor at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo who is interested in cable operator's issues.

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Fresh Tech | Leakage Detection with Brains!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:11:29 +0000

I admit that while I help my clients better understand the sources and negative impacts of RF ingress on DOCSIS in a cable plant, I have never found leakage/ingress detection itself particularly high-tech. That was until Daniel Babeux of VGI Solutions gave me a demo of their CPAT Flex Platform. The live demo was straightforward which made it so convincing and intriguing. It consisted of a truck-mount magnetic antenna that connected into a little green box (the brains behind the operation), and a piece of coax cable seemingly chewed upon by a squirrel. The latter connected back into the CATV plant. The awesome part of the demonstration was seeing the location of the antenna appear on Google maps at the Georgia Convention Center in Atlanta, GA. Next when the damaged coax was replaced, the leakage point on the map disappeared along with magnitude of the leakage entering the plant.

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Fresh Tech | Awesome Spectrum Analyzer at a Cool Price!

brady.volpe@volpefirm.com (Brady Volpe) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:54:40 +0000

What first caught my eye by Televes H45 Spectrum Analyzer was the HDMI port feeding a flatscreen television. How cool is that? I also noticed the small unit was displaying a QAM "haystack" along with its power, MER, BER, and the demodulated picture just beside the measurements. The picture was on a high resolution display, not the low quality displays I've seen in the past, so tiling or macro-blocking would be apparent to the user. See the picture below:

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