MPLS and VPN Architectures, Volume II

Providing Cable Access to an MPLS VPN

The Data-over-Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is a standard that allows data traffic to be carried over a cable network that is primarily used for delivering television channels. Data is transmitted by using radio frequency (RF) signals over the cable system. Two-way communication is achieved by providing a “downstream” carrier signal from the cable network to the customer and an “upstream” carrier signal from the customer to the cable network. Cable modems are devices at the customer premises that convert a digital data stream to an RF signal (upstream) and RF back to digital data (downstream). At the head end of the cable network, a cable modem termination system (CMTS) performs the corresponding ...