First joint presentation (AT&T Labs and AT&T Broadband/former TCI) on the mini Fiber Node (mFN) technology. SCTE EXPO 1999

1. Cable Infrastructure Evolution
Xiaolin Lu Oleh Sniezko
AT&T Labs AT&T Broadband
& Internet Services
XL 4/30/99

2. What is this?
A detailed description of the mini Fiber
Node technology and the engineering
implementation
 Presented on SCTE Expo 1999
 At that time an extensive field trial was going on in Salt
Lake City.
XL 4/30/99

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
AL ABIS ABSE
Ted Darcie Tony Werner Mark Dzuban
Alan Gnauck Doug Combs Cameron Gough
Sheryl Woodward Esteban Sandino Marty Davidson
Bhavesh Desai Patrick O’Hare Rob Mcliline
Xiaoxin Qiu Larry Cox
Tim Peters
Quaser, Inc
Bogdan Liminar

4. OUTLINE
 Historical Overview
 Cable Evolution Options
 Six Month Joint Study (9/98 - 3/99)
 Multiplexed Fiber Passive Coax
 Convergence of vision
 Features And Value
 Field Trial And Moving Forward

5. CHALLENGES
HE FN
HE FN
HE
FN
Analog Emerging
TV Services
5 50 500 750 1G
 Bandwidth Capacity: 5-40MHz/1000s HHP upstream
 Transport Integrity: Ingress noise, dynamic range
 103-to-1 Architecture: Upstream MAC
to-

6. SOLUTIONS
Bandwidth  FiberNode
Capacity Network Segmentation
 DWDM Trunk
 New Platform
Transport
Integrity  DOCSIS
 High level
Modem modulation
 Centrally-
Centrally-
103-to-1 mediated MAC
 Simple Protocol
Architecture

7. Fiber Node Segmentation
HE FN
1,200 Homes
 Long cascade coax bus shared by many users (1000s)

8. Fiber Node Segmentation
300 Homes 300 Homes
HE FN
300 Homes 300 Homes
 1,200 HHP/FN with 300 HHP/Bus

9. DISTRIBUTED HEAD-END
HEAD-
HE
FN
Primary Primary
Hub
HE
Ring
FN
HE
 Operation complexity
 Cost of CMTS at lower take rate

10. DWDM TRUNK
SH
FN
Primary Primary
Hub
SH
Ring
FN
SH
 DWDM transport for end-to-end transparency
 Route diversity for service protection
 Consolidate high-end terminals (CMTS)

11. DWDM TRUNK
Primary Hub Secondary Hub
XTR
S
l
1 x 8 DWDM
1 x 8 DWDM
l
l
. .
.
.
. . Fiber Node
RCV
RCV l
1 x 8 DWDM
1 x 8 DWDM
RCV l
RCV
.
. .
.
. .

12. DWDM Reverse
LOCAL HEADEND SECONDARY HUB OPTICAL NODES
8 dB link at 1550 nm
13 dB link at 1310 nm
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
RF Combiner/Splitter Routing Circuitry
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
5 dB link at 1550 nm
7 dB link at 1310 nm

13. Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency
Destacker Destacker Destacker Destacker
1 x 4 DWDM
LOCAL HEADEND
8 dB link at 1550 nm
13 dB link at 1310 nm
1 x 4 DWDM
Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency
SECONDARY HUB
Stacker Stacker Stacker Stacker
DWDM Reverse and FSS
7 dB link at 1310 nm
5 dB link at 1550 nm
OPTICAL NODES

14. DWDM Reverse &TDM
LOCAL HEADEND SECONDARY HUB OPTICAL NODES
A/D A/D
Demultiplexer
Multiplexer
A/D 8 dB link at 1550 nm A/D
A/D 13 dB link at 1310 nm A/D
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
Demultiplexer
Multiplexer
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
1 x 4 DWDM
1 x 4 DWDM
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
Demultiplexer Demultiplexer
Multiplexer
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
Multiplexer
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
A/D A/D
5 dB link at 1550 nm
7 dB link at 1310 nm

15. MODERN HFC NETWORK
SH FN
Primary Primary
Hub
SH
Ring
SH FN
DWDM Transport Segmentation
End-to-end Transparency 4X capacity

16. What If We Succeed?
 Bandwidth exhaustion  Transport integrity
 Take rate and multiple lines
 New services
 User behavior
 Performance
10000
1000
Life cycle cost
Delay (ms)
100
10
v.s.
1
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Front-end cost
Users

17. ARCHITECTURES
Tree-and-Branch
 Broadcast FN
 Cascaded
???
Cell-Based
 Narrowcast RN
 Clustered

18. MOTIVATION
Architecture
Balance
 Broadcast
v.s. Switch
Upstream Nerdy
 Ingress  Huge pipe
 Bandwidth  New services
Terminal
 Cost and
Operation

19. ARCHITECTURE COMPARISON
Existing HFC Initial mFN
Hub FN Hub FN
mFN mFN
Analog video Digital Analog video
5 50 500 750 1G 5 50 500 750 1G
 Fiber to FN with 2-way coax  Fiber to mFN for digital overlay
 5 - 40MHz upstream ( - ingress)  550/750 - 1000MHz 2-way
 20-200KHz/HHP  2MHz/HHP
 Powering challenge  Low-power digital path
 DOCSIS compliant  Simple protocol and terminals
 Plausible evolution to FTTC/H

20. Early Version of an mFN Prototype

21. PROTOCOL COMPARISON
Hub FN Hub FN
mFN mFN
Local
REQ Signaling
REQ
REQ
Data Data Data Data Data Other Services
50 500 1G
DOCSIS Adapted Ethernet
 Centrally (Hub) mediated protocol  Distributed (mFN) mediated protocol
 Large contention domain (600+users)  Small contention domain (50 users)
 Long round trip delay (350+ms)  Small round trip delay (6ms)
 Complex modulation for precious  Simple modulation with abundant
bandwidth bandwidth
 Ideal for introduction & low take-  Opportunities to reduce terminal
rate cost and power consumption

22. DELAY COMPARISON
1000
100
Average delay (ms)
10 mFN-NAD
CM
1
0.1
mFN-NAD Cable modem
0.01
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Number of active users

23. mFN Protocol Performance
6
Average Delay (ms)
5 Low Priority (20)
4
3 Medium Priority (10)
2
1
High Priority (20)
0
100 200 300
Request Packet Rate (Kbps/station)

24. SIX MONTH STUDY
Completed 3/99
Define Network Upgrade Strategy to Balance
Near-
Near-term and Long-term Needs
Long-
ABIS ABSE
Werner Dzuban
 Experience/planning  New services
 Implementation  Requirement
AL
Darcie
 mFN technology
 Idealism (nerdy)

25. SIX MONTH STUDY
 Network design and cost analysis: 600+ miles
 Scenarios:
Current Upgrade mFN RF mFN Digital Baseband Passive Coax
 Key results:
 Incremental cost associated with deep fiber penetration
 Opportunities in:
• Reducing power consumption for 2-way services
• Reducing terminal and operation cost
• Ability to support future demands
 Opportunities for mFN to improve current system
while migrating to new infrastructure
 Multiplexed Fiber Passive Coax

26. Multiplexed Fiber Passive Coax
Hub FN Hub FN
mFN mFN
HUB MuxNode mFN mFN
TV TV
DTV DTV
New IP New IP
DOCSIS DOCSIS
New IP
New IP
 Passive coax between mFN and subscribers
 Reduced power consumption and maintenance
 MuxNode to reduce cost of deep fiber penetration
 Increased bandwidth and flexibility for DOCSIS-based services
 Simultaneously support current (DOCSIS) & future (new IP) systems

27. MIGRATION
Phase 1:
 Establish A New Infrastructure
 Reduce actives and system power consumption
 Create more bandwidth for DOCSIS-based services
 Improve reliability
Phase 2:
 Future Proofing
 More capacity & flexibility (10-100Mbps/50-100 HHP)
 Low-cost, low-power-consumption user terminals
 Provisioning for future opportunities

28. END-TO-
END-TO-END SYSTEM
-- Option #1
PH SH MuxNode mFN
TV XTR
RCV-A
D D
TSD ITU-A W W
XTR
Today RCV-A D
D Filter RCV
M M ITU-A 1:8 Coupler XTRV Modem
RCV-D
New RCV-D DWDM C ITU-D Mux
IP C RCV-D Demux Phase 2
ITU-D DWDM
ITU-A: Analog ITU
ITU-D: Digital ITU
RCV-A: Analog RCV
RCV-D: Digital RCV
 Integrated Platform with Phased Development
 Off-the-shelf for Phase 1 with Phase 2 provisioning

29. END-TO-
END-TO-END SYSTEM
-- Option #2
PH SH MuxNode mFN
TV XTR
RCV-A
D D
TSD ITU-A W W
XTR
Today RCV-A D
D Filter RCV
M M ITU-A 1:8 Coupler XTRV Modem
RCV-D
New RCV-D DWDM C ITU-D Mux
IP C RCV-D Demux Phase 2
ITU-D DWDM
ITU-A: Analog ITU
ITU-D: Digital ITU
RCV-A: Analog RCV
RCV-D: Digital RCV
 Integrated Platform with Phased Development
 Off-the-shelf for Phase 1 with Phase 2 provisioning

30. BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION
PH SH MuxNode mFN Passive
Coax
Analog TSD Analog TSD
TV TV Today TV Today
50 750 50 750
TSD ASK
Today Analog TSD
5 300 TV Today
5 50 550 750 1G
New
622
IP
250
622

31. MUXNODE PLATFORM
1:8
RCV
ITU-A 1:8 XTRV
ASK Dem
ITU-D
Mux
RCV-D Demux
 Multi-dimension (RF, optical, and digital) mux/demux
 Balance between large scale mux & physical constraint

32. mFN PLATFORM
RCV
Standard
Fiber Node D
D
Platform
XTR-A
RCV-D
Phase 2 FSK ASK FSK
HPF
HPF
Add-on Mod Mod Demod HPF
FPGA
HPF
 GaAs high-gain amplifiers for maximum mFN coverage
 Provisioning add-on for phase 2 implementation

33. ADVANTAGES
 Operation Savings
 61% reduction in active components
 Reduced power consumption
 Simplification of maintenance
 Improved Performance
 Reduced ingress noise funneling (10-48MHz operation)
 Increased RF bandwidth
 Improved reliability
 Future Proof
 Flexibility between current track and future opportunities
 Contingency for “surprising” success in broadband growth

34. Evolution and Value
 Current Network: 5.5 actives/mile

35. Evolution and Value
 61% reduction in active components
 21+% improvement in reliability

36. COST AND SAVING
Potential Saving:
250
200
 Mitigates Future Node
Capital Cost/HHP
Splitting
150
 Customer Satisfaction
100  $11/HHP/year Operating
Saving:
50  $5 - 8/HHP Sweep
 $1 - 2/HHP Powering
0  $1/HHP Service call
Current MFPC  $1/HHP Customer call
Fiber Optics mFN Amplifier
Reverse Sw eep Passive  $1/HHP Credit/churn
Pow er Supply Engineering Taxes
 Potential Terminal Cost
 $40/HHP Incremental Cost Reduction

37. FLEXIBILITY
HUB MuxNode mFN mFN
TV TV
DTV DTV
New IP New IP
DOCSIS DOCSIS
New IP
New IP
 Flexible migration to future mFN-based opportunities and beyond
Bandwidth
20MHz/1,200 HP 100MHz/50 HP 1 TeraHz/50 HP
Modem
DOCSIS-Based mFN-Based FTTC/H

38. Field Trial
 Objective:
 Support planned upgrade: bandwidth expansion
 Test technology, verify cost and operation saving
 Trial Scope:
 Area: 520 miles (66,619 HHP) in Salt Lake Metro
 Cost: $4 - 5M incremental capital cost
 Schedule:
 Service launching: October, 1999
 Data collection: January, 2000

39. PROJECT SCOPE
 Design Optimization
 Maximize the number of amplifiers replaced per mFN
 Minimize overall network power consumption
 Define design limiting factors
 Investigate MDU compatibility
 Equipment Development:
 Technology feasibility
 Cost and time to market
 Implementation and Data Collection
 Front-end labor cost
 Baseline and new data (service call, number of failures,
MTTR, etc)
 Change in sweeping and certification due to the new
architecture

40. CURRENT STATUS
 Vendor Selection: 4/29/99
 Trial Area Selection: 4/29/99
 Design Guideline: 5/3/99
 Project Scope Documentation: 5/7/99
 First Unit Delivery: 6/16/99
 Installation: 6/22/99

41. IMPACT
 On current engineering practice (fiber
handling, etc)
 On business strategy and operation, etc
 etc, etc