A novel mechanism for providing service differentiation over CATV network

Abstract

With the emersion of new types of applications on the Internet, the need of broadband access is unavoidable. It also makes the differentiation of services provided by the network necessary. One of the most competitive broadband access solutions is Cable TV network since it is a network now in widespread use with enough bandwidth. Among the protocols of digital data-over-cable, Multimedia Cable Network System (MCNS) Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) is the most popular standard nowadays. Based on this standard, we proposed a novel mechanism that can provide service differentiation over cable network. We explain the detail operation and interaction of each part of the system in this paper. Simulation is used to find out the performance on two subjects. First, MAC protocol configurations and parameters are discussed. Second, we compare various scheduling methods for providing service differentiation in the headend. From the results, the proposed mechanism is applicable and the characteristics of key parameters are found.