From the Author
This book describes in depth the PacketCable(TM) version 1.0 architecture, as well some additional items such as the mechanisms used to support lawfully-authorized wiretaps and the SIP-based Distributed Call Signaling messaging that may be used as an alternative to Network-based Call Signaling.
The book details all aspects of the PacketCable network, including descriptions of the devices and messaging that enable Cable TV companies to deliver toll-quality telephony over DOCSIS 1.1-based IP systems. Special emphasis is placed on the Dynamic Quality of Service (DQoS) system, since QoS is such an important part of any system designed to function in real time over a shared access network. In addition, the book includes a full discussion of the security mechanisms used throughout the network.
From the Back Cover
PacketCable promises to be one of the most important developments in networking technology to date. The PacketCable™ network, a project managed by the Cable Television Laboratories consortium, is expected to be deployed by all major American cable companies as well as many overseas cable operators. The large-scale PacketCable network enables high-speed simultaneous transmission of digital computer data and telephone voice signals over cable modems and facilitates the widespread deployment of video and voice Internet applications, such as video conferencing, by utilizing cables that are already in place through cable T.V. Developed through the cooperative efforts of numerous cable television operators and telephony and networking vendors, the specifications enable cable modems to compete aggressively with twisted-pair telephony and DSL technology.
Written for anyone with a stake in this up-and-coming field, Digital Telephony Over Cable serves as a companion guide for implementors and managers alike. It provides an accessible overview of more than a thousand pages of technical specifications with in-depth explanations of the most salient features, and offers extensive background on many of the underlying technologies that make digital telephony over cable possible. You will learn how all of these specifications come together to create a complete, functional telephony network running over a shared access medium.
Readers will find in-depth coverage of important topics such as:
- PacketCable architecture
- PacketCable devices
- Security issues, including cryptography, key management, ciphers, and X.509 certificates
- Quality of service issues, focusing on DOCSIS and DQoS
- DOCSIS and MAC specifications for cable modem communication over shared coax
- Network-based call signaling, featuring MGCP and NCS
- Distributed call signaling, featuring SIP
- Network management, covering SNMP, billing, and electronic surveillance
- Internetworking with PSTN
The book concludes with a look into the future of cable modem telephony, including possible changes to current specifications, ownership issues for the MTA, and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology.
0201728273B04062001
