Re: [Plug] cable modems and IP masquerading

[Andrew Libby <alibby@voicenet.com>]

Speaking from the perspective of supporting
CMs, I'd say do your homework before you sign up. 
Cable RF plants differ greatly from system to system
and company to company.  Once Company/ System may be set up
just swell, great throughput, low latency, etc.  Another
may not have the infrastructure to have a well tuned two
way cable plant, so your service may suffer greatly. Some things
to keep in mind, or ask:

% Penetration:  This is the percentage of customers who have CMs
  compared to total cable customers in your system.  Ensure they 
  are telling you the rating for your system.  If the penetration
  rate is too high (say higher then 15%) you might run into crowding issues
  and your throughput will suffer.


Bandwidth Limitation: Does the provider limit the throughput of
  the modem?  Most modems are capable of a downstream of 30Mbps, 
  but they only let through 512K - 1.5 M.   Know what rate
  the modem is throttled down to.

DOCSIS:  Ensure that the modems are DOCSIS.  This is a modem standard,
  check out www.docsis.com,(I believe that's the sight).  These
  modems generally behave better under stressful RF conditions 
  thus ensuring that you have better connectivity.  DOCSIS is the 
  wave of the future, and soon, you'll be able to purchase DOCSIS
  CM's in CompUSA and BestBuy (and other stores), bring 'em home, 
  and plug in.  The dream is that it will be that easy.

I hope this information is helpful.  

Andy



On Sun, Jun 06, 1999 at 09:49:16PM -0400, Michael Love wrote:
> speaking of ISPs...
> does anyone have any experience with local cable modem service providers?
> cable modem speed combined with IP masquerading would lower my costs and
> increase my bandwidth.
> 
> michael love
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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