WO2003001338A2 - Systeme, procede et produit de programme informatique pour l'attenuation de bruit impulsif dans un systeme de communications - Google Patents

Systeme, procede et produit de programme informatique pour l'attenuation de bruit impulsif dans un systeme de communications Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2003001338A2
WO2003001338A2 PCT/US2002/020015 US0220015W WO03001338A2 WO 2003001338 A2 WO2003001338 A2 WO 2003001338A2 US 0220015 W US0220015 W US 0220015W WO 03001338 A2 WO03001338 A2 WO 03001338A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
packets
information segments
fec
parity segment
information
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2002/020015
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2003001338A3 (fr
Inventor
Bruce J. Currivan
Thomas J. Kolze
Daniel H. Howard
Tom Quigley
Nambi Seshadri
Thomas L. Johnson
Scott Cummings
Jay Harrell
Fred Bunn
Joel Danzig
Stephen Hughey
Original Assignee
Broadcom Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US10/175,330 external-priority patent/US7631242B2/en
Priority claimed from US10/175,346 external-priority patent/US7089478B2/en
Application filed by Broadcom Corporation filed Critical Broadcom Corporation
Priority to EP02780886A priority Critical patent/EP1410527A4/fr
Publication of WO2003001338A2 publication Critical patent/WO2003001338A2/fr
Publication of WO2003001338A3 publication Critical patent/WO2003001338A3/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L1/00—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received
    • H04L1/004—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by using forward error control
    • H04L1/0056—Systems characterized by the type of code used
    • H04L1/0064—Concatenated codes
    • H04L1/0065—Serial concatenated codes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L1/00—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received
    • H04L1/08—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L1/00—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received
    • H04L1/12—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by using return channel
    • H04L1/16—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by using return channel in which the return channel carries supervisory signals, e.g. repetition request signals
    • H04L1/18—Automatic repetition systems, e.g. Van Duuren systems
    • H04L1/1812—Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L1/00—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received
    • H04L1/12—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by using return channel
    • H04L1/16—Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by using return channel in which the return channel carries supervisory signals, e.g. repetition request signals
    • H04L1/18—Automatic repetition systems, e.g. Van Duuren systems
    • H04L1/1867—Arrangements specially adapted for the transmitter end
    • H04L1/1874—Buffer management
    • H04L1/1877—Buffer management for semi-reliable protocols, e.g. for less sensitive applications like streaming video

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the field of communications systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to communication systems in which electronic information is transmitted in packets.
  • Communications systems may be subj ect to intermittent, random bursts of noise, often referred to as burst noise or impulse noise.
  • This burst noise can result in the introduction of errors into the electronic information transmitted over the communications system.
  • burst noise can cause packets to become corrupted.
  • Packet errors must be detected in order for a communications system to operate reliably. Where packet errors are detected but cannot be corrected, bad packets must be dropped and re-transmitted, resulting in a net loss of transmission speed and network bandwidth. If the dropped packets include voice information, the result may be a loss in overall quality of service (QOS).
  • QOS overall quality of service
  • FEC Forward Error Correction
  • interleaving in order to control errors in transmitted data resulting from burst noise.
  • FEC involves the addition of extra information to data before it is transmitted, which is then used by the receiver to detect errors and correct the data when necessary.
  • the receiver can detect and correct fewer than a predetermined number of errors per packet.
  • FEC methods include block codes, cyclic codes, Reed-Solomon codes, and convolutional codes.
  • Interleaving involves rearranging data to be transmitted according to a mapping and then returning the data to its original order at the receiver. Interleaving serves to spread the effects of burst noise over multiple packets, thereby decreasing the average number of errors per packet. This, in turn, enhances the ability of FEC to detect and correct errors.
  • the upstream physical (PHY) layer utilizes a combination of Reed-Solomon coding and interleaving to control errors.
  • DOCSIS Data Over Cable System Interface Specification
  • These methods allow an upstream receiver to correct errors resulting from burst noise of a certain duration and frequency of occurrence.
  • burst noise is so severe that more errors are introduced into a packet than these combined methods can detect and correct. In these instances, packets will be lost. Therefore, what is needed is a technique for detecting and correcting packet errors in cases where burst noise is more severe than can be handled by conventional PHY technology.
  • a transmitting device applies a layer of coding, which may be termed an "outer code," to one or more packets prior to transmitting the packets over a communication channel.
  • the outer coding of the packets enables a receiving device to restore packets corrupted by burst noise in instances where the packet errors could not otherwise be corrected by conventional PHY layer Forward Error Correction (FEC) and interleaving techniques.
  • FEC PHY layer Forward Error Correction
  • a severe impairment on the communication channel can cause an entire burst of data to be lost.
  • One way to combat the impairment is to increase the robustness of an individual burst; for example, the amount of parity information in the burst may be substantially increased.
  • this approach will negatively impact the data transmission efficiency of the communications system.
  • the impairment is severe enough, the burst may be lost regardless of the increased level of error correction.
  • the outer coding techniques of the present invention increase robustness through the transmission of additional bursts (e.g., block-encoded parity packets, repeated packets, or re-transmitted packets), such that burst data may be recovered even in the instance where an entire burst has been lost due to an impairment on the communication channel.
  • additional bursts e.g., block-encoded parity packets, repeated packets, or re-transmitted packets
  • a first aspect of a burst communication system operates to ensure successful transmission of individual bursts of data over the communication channel, while a second aspect assembles data bursts into a stream of data for processing by a higher-level application.
  • Embodiments of the present invention may be advantageously implemented in conjunction with this second aspect to perform outer encoding and decoding.
  • the first aspect corresponds to the PHY layer
  • the second aspect corresponds to the MAC layer. Accordingly, the outer coding and decoding of packets may occur at the
  • the MAC layer of the transmitting and receiving devices which resides just above the PHY layer.
  • the PHY layer of a receiving device may be unable to correct packets which are in error due to burst noise.
  • these packets are further processed by an outer code at the MAC layer in order to correct the bad packets.
  • the outer code comprises a block code, such as an (8, 4) Hamming code or an XOR code.
  • a transmitting device applies the block code to one or more packets to generate a plurality of information segments and parity segments, each of which is then transmitted separately over a communication channel to a receiving device.
  • a receiving device receives and collects the information and parity segments and decodes them in accordance with the same block code in order to restore any segments that were lost during transmission.
  • the outer code is a repetition code in which the same packet is transmitted two or more times from a transmitting device to a receiving device. Provided at least one of the repeated packets survives transmission, the receiving device can recover the original packet.
  • a retransmission technique is used to mitigate the effects of burst noise on the communication channel. In accordance with this technique, a receiving device instructs a transmitting device to retransmit a packet which has been lost due to noise on the communication channel.
  • Methods for implementing this technique include sending data acknowledgment messages (ACKs) from the receiving device to the transmitting device every time a packet is received successfully, or by sending data non- acknowledgment messages (N ACKs) from the receiving device to the transmitting device when a bad packet is received.
  • ACKs data acknowledgment messages
  • N ACKs data non- acknowledgment messages
  • an FEC block reconstruction technique is used by a receiving device to restore transmitted packets that have been corrupted by burst noise.
  • This technique takes advantage of the fact that packets are often transmitted as a plurality of FEC blocks.
  • a receiving device receives some but not all of the FEC blocks of a transmitted packet. The receiving device then replaces the bad FEC blocks with good FEC blocks from a repeated packet transmission, if repetition outer coding is used, or by requesting retransmission of the bad FEC blocks or the entire original packet from a transmitting device, if a retransmission technique is used.
  • a combination of repetition coding, retransmission, and FEC block reconstruction may also be used.
  • Embodiments of the present invention provide a means for greatly improving the robustness of a communications system afflicted with occasional, or bursty, extreme impairment levels.
  • a particular advantage of the techniques provided herein is that they may be overlaid, in some cases, onto existing communication systems in the field with only minor upgrade or modification required.
  • embodiments of the present invention may be implemented primarily as a software application running in, or in conjunction with, existing communication devices, such as existing cable modem or cable modem termination system (CMTS) hardware.
  • CMTS cable modem or cable modem termination system
  • Embodiments of the present invention may also provide for additional robustness above the PHY layer without having to rely on failure mechanisms from higher layers in the network protocol stack, and with a minimum impact on
  • Embodiments of the present invention can provide robustness in cases where ARQ is not feasible, such as voice applications.
  • embodiments of the present invention can optimize the conventional PHY layer for a more normal, non-extreme impairment level.
  • Embodiments of the present invention thus provide superior utilization of a communication channel as compared to a modified, traditional PHY-layer-only solution, which must somehow overcome severe impairments by itself.
  • techniques in accordance with the present invention can be combined with other techniques, such as packet header suppression (PHS) techniques, to beneficially result in increased robustness and efficiency.
  • PHS packet header suppression
  • FIG. 1 is a high level block diagram of a cable modem system in which embodiments of the present invention may operate.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an example cable modem termination system (CMTS) in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • CMTS cable modem termination system
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example cable modem in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using outer block coding in a transmitting device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using outer block coding in a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates the use of a Hamming code technique for performing outer block encoding in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates the addition of identification bits to a plurality of related information and parity segments in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using repetition coding in a transmitting device in accordance with embodiments of present the invention.
  • FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using repetition coding in a receiving device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 depicts a flowchart of an alternate method for mitigating noise using repetition coding in a transmitting device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 11 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using retransmission techniques in a transmitting device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 12 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using retransmission techniques in a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 13 depicts a flowchart of an alternate method for mitigating burst noise using retransmission techniques in a transmitting device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 14 depicts a flowchart of an alternate method for mitigating burst noise using retransmission techniques in a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 15 illustrates the use of a Hamming code technique for performing outer block encoding on FEC blocks in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 16 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using repetition and FEC block reconstruction techniques in a transmitting device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 17 depicts a flowchart of a method for mitigating burst noise using repetition and FEC block reconstruction techniques in a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing all or part of a method for mitigating burst noise in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of an example cable modem system
  • the example cable modem system 100 enables voice communications, video and data services based on a bi-directional transfer of packet-based traffic, such as Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, between a cable system headend 102 and a plurality of cable modems 108a- 108n over a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) cable network 106.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • HFC hybrid fiber-coaxial
  • the cable headend 102 is comprised of at least one cable modem termination system (CMTS) 104.
  • CMTS 104 is the portion of the cable headend 102 that manages the upstream and downstream transfer of data between the cable headend 102 and the cable modems 108a- 108n, which are located at the customer premises.
  • the CMTS 104 broadcasts information downstream to the cable modems 108a-108n as a continuous transmitted signal in accordance with a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique. Additionally, the CMTS 104 receives data from the cable modems 108a-108n over a plurality of shared upstream channels.
  • TDM time division multiplexing
  • Data from the cable modems 108a-l 08n may be transmitted upstream in accordance with a time domain multiple access (TDMA) technique or a synchronous code division multiple access (S-CDMA) technique.
  • TDMA time domain multiple access
  • S-CDMA synchronous code division multiple access
  • each cable modem 108a- 108n may only send information upstream as short burst signals during a transmission opportunity allocated to it by the CMTS 104. As shown in FIG.
  • the CMTS 104 further serves as an interface between the HFC network 106 and a packet-switched network 112, transferring IP packets received from the cable modems 108a-l 08n to the packet-switched network 112 and transferring IP packets received from the packet-switched network 112 to the cable modems 108a-108n when appropriate.
  • the packet-switched network 112 may include, for example, the Internet.
  • the cable headend 102 may also include one or more Internet routers to facilitate the connection between the CMTS 104 and the packet-switched network 112, as well as one or more servers for performing necessary network management tasks.
  • the HFC network 106 provides a point-to-multipoint topology for the high-speed, reliable, and secure transport of data between the cable headend 102 and the cable modems 108a-108n at the customer premises.
  • the HFC network 106 may include coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, or a combination of coaxial cable and fiberoptic cable linked via one or more fiber nodes.
  • Each of the cable modems 108a- 108n operates as an interface between the HFC network 106 and at least one attached user device.
  • the cable modems 108a- 108n convert downstream signals received over the HFC network 106 into IP data packets for receipt by an attached user device.
  • the cablemodems 108a-108n convertIP data packets received from the attached user device into upstream burst signals suitable for transfer over the HFC network 106.
  • each cable modem 108a-108n is shown supporting only a single user device for clarity.
  • each cable modem 108a-108n is capable of supporting a plurality of user devices for communication over the cable modem system 100.
  • User devices may include personal computers, data terminal equipment, telephony devices, broadband media players, network-controlled appliances, or any other device capable of transmitting or receiving data over a packet-switched network.
  • cable modems 108a-108n and CMTS 104 represent DOCSIS-compliant cable modem equipment.
  • cable modems 108a-108n and CMTS 104 communicate in accordance with protocols and formats set forth in the DOCSIS specification.
  • DOCSIS Data Over Cable System Interface Specification
  • CableLabs published by CableLabs that define industry standards for cable headend and cable modem equipment.
  • DOCSIS sets forth requirements and objectives for various aspects of cable modem systems including operations support systems, management, data interfaces, as well as network layer, data link layer, and physical layer transport for data over cable systems.
  • CMTS Example Cable Modem Termination System
  • FIG. 2 depicts a schematic block diagram of an implementation of the CMTS 104 of cable modem system 100, which is presented by way of example, and is not intended to limit the present invention.
  • the CMTS 104 is configured to receive and transmit signals to and from the HFC network 106, a portion of which is represented by the optical fiber 202 of FIG. 2. Accordingly, the CMTS 104 will be described in terms of a receiver portion and a transmitter portion.
  • the receiver portion includes an optical-to-coax stage 204, an RF input 206, a splitter 214, and a plurality of burst receivers 216.
  • Reception begins with the receipt of upstream burst signals originating from one or more cable modems by the optical-to-coax stage 204 via the optical fiber 202.
  • the optical-to-coax stage 204 routes the received burst signals to the radio frequency (RF) input 206 via coaxial cable 208.
  • RF radio frequency
  • These upstream burst signals have spectral characteristics within the frequency range of roughly 5-42 MHz.
  • the received signals are provided by the RF input 206 to the splitter 214 of the CMTS 104, which separates the RF input signals into N separate channels.
  • Each of the N separate channels is then provided to a separate burst receiver 216 which operates to demodulate the received signals on each channel in accordance with a particular demodulation technique to recover the underlying information signals.
  • the demodulation technique may comprise, without limitation, a Quadrature Phase Shift Key (QPSK) technique, an 8-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) technique, a 16-QAM technique, a 32-QAM technique, or a 64-QAM technique.
  • QPSK Quadrature Phase Shift Key
  • QAM 8-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
  • Each burst receiver 216 also converts the underlying information signals from an analog form to digital form. This digital data is subsequently provided to the headend media access control (MAC) 218.
  • MAC media access control
  • the headend MAC 218 operates to process the digital data in accordance with the DOCSIS specification.
  • the functions of the headend MAC 218 may be implemented in hardware or in software. In the example implementation of FIG.2, the functions of the headend MAC 218 are implemented both in hardware and software.
  • Software functions of the headend MAC 218 may be stored in either the random access memory (RAM) 220 or the read-only memory (ROM) 218 and executed by the CPU 222.
  • the headend MAC is in electrical communication with these elements via a backplane interface 220 and a shared communications medium 232.
  • the shared communications medium 232 may comprise a computer bus or a multiple access data network.
  • the headend MAC 218 is also in electrical communication with the Ethernet interface 224 via both the backplane interface 220 and the shared communications medium 232. When appropriate, Ethernet packets recovered by the headend MAC 218 are transferred to the Ethernet interface 224 for delivery to the packet-switched network 112 via a router.
  • the transmitter portion of the CMTS 104 includes a downstream modulator 226, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter 228, an amplifier 230, an intermediate frequency (IF) output 212, a radio frequency (RF) upconverter 210 and the optical-to-coax stage 204.
  • Transmission begins with the generation of a digital broadcast signal by the headend MAC 218.
  • the digital broadcast signal may include data originally received from the packet-switched network 112 via the Ethernet interface 224.
  • the headend MAC 218 outputs the digital broadcast signal to the downstream modulator 226 which converts it into an analog form and modulates it onto a carrier signal in accordance with, for example, a 64-QAM or
  • the modulated carrier signal output by the downstream modulator 226 is input to the SAW filter 228 which passes only spectral components of the signal that are within a desired bandwidth.
  • the filtered signal is then output to an amplifier 230 which amplifies it and outputs it to the IF output 212.
  • the RF upconverter 210 routes the signal to the RF upconverter 210, which upconverts the signal.
  • the upconverted signal has spectral characteristics in the frequency range of approximately 54-860 MHz.
  • the upconverted signal is then output to the optical- to-coax stage 204 over the coaxial cable 208.
  • the optical-to-coax stage 204 broadcasts the signal via the optical fiber 202 of the HFC network 106.
  • FIG. 3 depicts a schematic block diagram of an implementation of the cable modem 108a of cable modem system 100, which is presented by way of example, and is not intended to limit the present invention.
  • the cable modem
  • 108a is configured to receive and transmit signals to and from the HFC network
  • the cable modem 108a will be described in terms of a receiver portion and a transmitter portion.
  • the receiver portion includes a diplex filter 302, an RF tuner 304, a SAW filter 306, an amplifier 308, and a downstream receiver 310.
  • Reception begins with the receipt of a downstream signal originating from the CMTS 104 by the diplex filter 302.
  • the diplex filter 302 operates to isolate the downstream signal and route it to the RF tuner 304.
  • the downstream signal has spectral characteristics in the frequency range of roughly 54-860 MHz.
  • the RF tuner 304 downconverts the signal and outputs it to the SAW filter 306, which passes only spectral components of the downconverted signal that are within a desired bandwidth.
  • the filtered signal is output to the amplifier 308 which amplifies it and passes it to the downstream receiver 310.
  • Automatic gain controls are provided from the downstream receiver 310 to the RF tuner 304.
  • the downstream receiver 310 demodulates the amplified signal in accordance with, for example, either a 64-QAM or 256-QAM technique to recover the underlying information signal.
  • the downstream receiver 310 also converts the underlying information signal from an analog form to digital form. This digital data is subsequently provided to the media access control (MAC) 314.
  • MAC media access control
  • the MAC 314 processes the digital data, which may include, for example,
  • Ethernet packets for transfer to an attached user device.
  • the MAC 314 may be implemented in hardware or in software. In the example implementation of FIG.3 , the functions of the MAC 314 are implemented in both hardware and software. Software functions of the MAC 314 may be stored in either the RAM 322 or the ROM 324 and executed by the CPU 320. The MAC 314 is in electrical communication with these elements via a shared communications medium 316.
  • the shared communications medium may comprise, for example, a computer bus or a multiple access data network.
  • the MAC 314 is also in electrical communication with the Ethernet interface 318 via the shared communications medium 316. When appropriate, Ethernet packets recovered by the MAC 314 are transferred to the Ethernet interface 318 for transfer to an attached user device.
  • the transmitter portion of the cable modem 108 includes an upstream burst modulator 326, a low pass filter 328, a power amplifier 330, and the diplex filter 302.
  • Transmission begins with the reception of a data packet by the MAC 314.
  • the data packet may include data originally received from an attached user device via the Ethernet interface 318. Alternatively, the data packet may be generated by the MAC 314 as part of the cable modem network management and upkeep.
  • the MAC 314 formats the data packet in compliance with the protocols set forth in the DOCSIS specification.
  • the MAC 314 outputs the data packet to the upstream burst modulator 326 which converts it into analog form and modulates it onto a carrier signal in accordance with a particular modulation technique.
  • the modulation technique may comprise, without limitation, a Quadrature Phase Shift Key (QPSK) technique, an 8-Quadrature Amplitude
  • QAM Quadrature Sense Multiple Access
  • 16-QAM 16-QAM
  • 32-QAM 32-QAM
  • 64-QAM 64-QAM
  • the upstream burst modulator 326 outputs the modulated carrier signal to the low pass filter 328 which passes signals with spectral characteristics in a desired bandwidth within the frequency range of approximately 5-42 MHz.
  • the filtered signals are then introduced to the power amplifier 330 which amplifies the signal and provides it to the diplex filter 302.
  • the gain in the power amplifier 330 is regulated by the burst modulator 326.
  • the diplex filter 302 isolates the amplified signal and transmits it upstream over the HFC network 106 during a scheduled burst opportunity.
  • FIGs. 4 and 5 depict flowcharts 400 and 500 of methods for mitigating burst noise using outer block coding in a transmitting device and a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • These flowcharts will be described in reference to an embodiment in which the transmitting device is the cable modem 108a described above in reference to FIG. 3, and the receiving device is the CMTS 104 described above in reference to FIG. 2.
  • the invention is not so limited.
  • the transmitting device may be a CMTS and the receiving device may be a cable modem.
  • other transmitting and receiving devices may be used.
  • the method of flowchart 400 begins at step 402, in which the cable modem 108a receives one or more packets of information for transmission over an upstream channel to the CMTS 104.
  • the packets may include voice, data and/or other information.
  • the packets may comprise part of a continuous streaf packets carrying voice information.
  • the packets arrive at the cable modem 108a via the Ethernet interface 318.
  • the packets are generated within the cable modem 108a as part of the cable modem network management and upkeep.
  • the one or more packets received at step 402 are collected and reorganized into groups of k information segments.
  • this step may comprise simply collecting Vpackets and identifying each packet as one of k information segments.
  • this step may comprise fragmenting a single packet into k parts, and identifying each part as one of k information segments.
  • an outer block code is applied to the k information segments to generate parity segments.
  • step 406 entails arranging the k segments as a series of columns and then performing row- wise parity checks on the rows of the matrix formed by the arrangement of the k columns.
  • the arrangement of the k information segments into rows and columns is actually a conceptual step and may not comprise a literal process.
  • the outer block code applied in step 406 may be any of the many block codes available in the literature, such as an (n, k) binary code, and in particular may be an (n, k) Hamming code.
  • each row includes a single bit from each of the k segments and parity check equations are used to compute n-k additional parity bits for each row.
  • These n-k parity bits are arranged to form an additional n-k columns, or parity segments.
  • the parity checks for each row provide a row of bits for the newly created n-k parity segments. If there are m bits in each of the original k segments, then there will be m parity check rows processed, and the newly created n-k parity segments will each have m bits.
  • Step 408 is an optional processing step in which identification bits are added to each of the k information segments and n-k parity segments.
  • the identification bits may be used to uniquely identify information segments and parity check segments as originating from the same set of n encoded segments.
  • the identification bits may also be used as a counter that establishes the order in which the information segments and parity check segments were originally encoded.
  • the identification bits may be repeated or otherwise placed in each column with redundancy to increase their robustness beyond the normal data bits in each segment.
  • each of the above steps 404 through 408 is performed by the MAC 314 of the cable modem 108a.
  • each of the k information segments and n-k parity check segments is adapted for transmission over the physical (PHY) layer of a cable modem system.
  • this step includes prepending a MAC header to each segment, optionally performing FEC encoding on the MAC header and the payload, and then prepending a preamble for subsequent burst transmission.
  • each segment becomes the payload of a separate upstream burst.
  • This step may also include interleaving of the upstream burst.
  • the prepending of a MAC header to each segment is performed by the MAC 314 of the cable modem 108a, while FEC encoding, prepending of a preamble, and interleaving is performed by PHY layer logic (not shown in FIG. 3) that resides between the MAC 314 and the upstream burst modulator 326 in the cable modem 108a.
  • the cable modem 108a separately transmits each burst generated in step 410 over an upstream communication channel of the cable modem system to the CMTS 104.
  • the cable modem 108a must request a transmission opportunity from the CMTS for each burst it wishes to transmit over the upstream channel.
  • Burst transmission includes the conversion of each burst into analog form and modulation onto a carrier signal by the upstream burst modulator 326 of the cable modem 108a for transmission during an appropriate time slot.
  • the method of flowchart 500 begins at step 502, in which the CMTS 104 receives the upstream bursts transmitted from the cable modem 108a during step
  • a segment is recovered from each upstream burst.
  • This step includes demodulation of each burst and conversion to digital form by the burst receiver 216 of CMTS 104.
  • This step may also include de- interleaving and FEC decoding of the burst data by PHY layer logic within the CMTS that resides between the burst receiver 216 and the headend MAC 218 (not shown in FIG. 2).
  • bad segments are identified, or marked, as a result of the processing of step 504.
  • the marking of a bad segment may be referred to as erasure.
  • a bad segment may be marked based on the receipt of a bad burst preamble.
  • a bad segment may be marked as a result of FEC decoding of the burst payload. In the latter case, a bad segment will be marked if more errors are detected in a segment than can be corrected by the FEC technique being used.
  • RS Reed-Solomon
  • a parity check code may also be used. In either case, FEC has a high probability of detecting an error, even when it cannot correct the error.
  • the recovered segments are passed to the headend MAC 218 of the CMTS 104 where related information segments and parity segments are collected for application of outer block code decoding.
  • the n information segments and parity segments that were originally encoded together must be regrouped in the order in which they were encoded.
  • these segments may not necessarily be received by the CMTS 104 in the back-to-back sequence in which they were encoded, due to interspersed transmissions from other cable modems or even from other service flows generated by the same cable modem 108a.
  • the MAC 218 utilizes identification bits included in each segment in order to collect related information and parity segments.
  • identification bits may be added to each segment to uniquely identify segments that originate from the same set of n encoded segments.
  • the identification bits may also provide a counter that establishes the order in which the information segments and parity segments were originally encoded.
  • the MAC 218 may group segments by tracking the grant of upstream bursts to the cable modem 108a, which are relayed in a standard DOCSIS MAP message. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the ait, a combination of these techniques, and alternative techniques, may also be used to group the segments.
  • the headend MAC 218 decodes the n related information and parity segments collected in step 508 in accordance with the outer block code originally used to encode them in step 406 of flowchart 400, discussed above in reference to FIG. 4.
  • the outer block decoding step 510 includes arranging the n information and parity segments as n columns, wherein any segments marked as erased in step 506 are placed as erased columns for decoding purposes. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art, the arrangement of the segments into columns is actually a conceptual step and may not comprise a literal process. Each row of the matrix formed by the columnar arrangement of the n segments is then decoded to recover bits from erased segments which appear in each row.
  • Decoding of the columns in this manner will also permit error detection and correction of a limited number of individual bit errors in segments that have not been erased, wherein the number of bit errors that may be corrected is determined by the outer block code being used and the number of erased segments.
  • the decoding step 510 the original £ information segments are recovered.
  • the headend MAC 218 reorganizes the k information segments as necessary into one or more packets, reversing the process performed at step 402 of flowchart 400. For example, if each of the k information segments represent fragmented portions of a long packet, then the k segments will be concatenated together to reconstitute the long packet. Alternately, in the case where each of the k information segments represents a single packet, no reorganization is performed. The recovered packets are then available for further processing by the headend MAC 218, which may, for example, forward the packets to a packet-switched network via the Ethernet interface 224.
  • a queue of four m length data packets is collected at the cable modem for upstream transmission and organized as four information segments, s, through s 4 , respectively, in accordance with steps 402 and 404 of flowchart 400.
  • the four information segments are arranged as a series of columns 602.
  • parity equations for an (8, 4) Hamming code are then applied to each row of four information bits created by the arrangement of columns 602 to calculate four parity bits for each row.
  • parity check equations are applied to the row of four information bits S j dj, s 2 d j , s 3 d l3 and s 4 dide to generate the four parity bits s 5 d ]5 s 6 d penetrate s 7 d, and s 8 d j .
  • Each resulting row of information and parity bits 606a through 606m represents a separate (8, 4) Hamming codeword.
  • identification bits may be added to each segment Sj-Sg to uniquely identify the segments as originating from the same set of encoded segments and/or to establish the order in which the segments were originally encoded.
  • FIG.7 illustrates the prepending of sequential identification bits 706 to the information segments s x through s 4 and the parity segments s 5 through s g , which results in extended information segments 702 and parity segments 704. These identification bits identify the encoding order of each of the segments. Although not shown in FIG. 7, a unique identification number identifying the set of packets may also be added to each segment. Note that the rows created by the addition of the identification bits 706 do not represent (8, 4)
  • Each of the segments s r s 8 is then adapted for transmission over the PHY layer of a cable modem system in accordance with step 410 of flowchart 400. As discussed above, this includes prepending a MAC header to each segment, optionally performing FEC encoding on the MAC header and the payload, and then prepending a preamble for subsequent burst transmission. Where FEC is performed, it may be used to encode the identification bits as well as the data included in each segment. Each segment is then transmitted upstream in one of eight separate bursts of upstream transmission using the DOCSIS PHY, in accordance with step 412 of the flowchart 400.
  • the eight upstream bursts are received by the CMTS, which recovers the eight segments s,-s 8 through the demodulation and optional de-interleaving and FEC decoding of the bursts. Due to an impairment in the upstream channel, one or more of these segments are marked as erased pursuant to step 506 of flowchart 500.
  • the CMTS then uses the prepended identification bits 706 in each segment to re-assemble the segments s, - s 8 in the column arrangement depicted in FIG. 7. Any erased segments in the matrix are identified at this stage.
  • the CMTS then decodes each row of the assembled matrix using the same (8, 4) Hamming code scheme implemented in the cable modem to recover lost information segments. Because an (8, 4) Hamming code has been used, as long as (a) three or fewer segments are erased, or (b) at most one segment is erased and at most one bit error occurs in any row of the remaining seven columns, then the original information segments can be recovered. In 54 out of 70 cases, four of the eight segments can be erased and the original four information segments can still be restored.
  • the encoding and decoding steps of flowchart 400 and flowchart 500 are performed in accordance with an exclusive OR (XOR) code.
  • the XOR code is essentially a (6, 4) code scheme that is applied to four information segments.
  • the XOR code may be applied to four information segments that result from the division of a single packet.
  • Application of the XOR code to four information segments results in the generation of two parity segments.
  • the first parity segment is the result of performing an exclusive OR operation on the data in the first and fourth information segments and the second parity segment is the result of performing an exclusive OR operation on the data in the second and third information segments .
  • any single information segment can be recovered and in 9 out of 15 cases, two missing information segments can be recovered.
  • the information segments organized in step 404 of flowchart 400 need not be of the same length.
  • a plurality of packets of different lengths may be directly processed as information segments.
  • the four information segments, Sj through s 4 are each of a different length.
  • the three shorter information segments are extended with fill zero data bits prior to row Hamming encoding.
  • the four parity columns which are created will have the length of the longest of the four original information segments.
  • the fill zeroes may then be stripped off the four information segments after identification bits have been added so that the original information segments are transmitted upstream without the now-unnecessary extending fill bits.
  • the maximum data length of the subset of eight segments successfully making it upstream is used for constructing the matrix for Hamming decoding. Extending fill bits once again are added to the three shortest information segments (or those shorter information segments which survive upstream transmission). In this fashion, the techniques of flowcharts 400 and 500 may be extended to different length information segments.
  • the identification bits subsequently added to each segment, including the four parity segments, in step 408, include a value describing the total number of information segments in the set (one to four in this embodiment). Then, these additional filler columns may be optionally deleted or removed prior to adaptation for the PHY layer at step 410 to maintain upstream efficiency.
  • matrix assembly includes examining the total number of information segments described in the identification bits of each successfully received segment. If the majority of the segments indicate that N information segments were encoded, and N is less than 4, then 4-N filler columns of zero data are assembled beginning with column 4- N+l and ending at column 4. Decoding then proceeds as if a full eight segments had been received.
  • FIGs. 8 and 9 depict flowcharts 800 and 900 of methods for mitigating burst noise using repetition coding in a transmitting device and a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention. These flowcharts will be described in reference to an embodiment in which the transmitting device is the cable modem 108a described above in reference to FIG. 3, and the receiving device is the CMTS 104 described above in reference to FIG. 2. However, the invention is not so limited.
  • the transmitting device may be a CMTS and the receiving device may be a cable modem.
  • the method of flowchart 800 begins at step 802, in which the cable modem 108a receives a packet of information for transmission over an upstream channel to the CMTS 104.
  • the packet may include voice, data and/or other information.
  • the packet may comprise part of a continuous stream of packets carrying voice information.
  • the packet arrives at the cable modem 108a via the Ethernet interface 318.
  • the packet is generated within the cable modem 108a as part of the cable modem network management and upkeep.
  • the packet received at step 802 is copied, or repeated, to generate a total of N packets, where N is an integer of 1 or more.
  • step 804 is performed by the MAC 314 of the cable modem 108a.
  • the original packet received in step 802 and the repeated packets generated in step 804 are each adapted for transmission over the physical (PHY) layer of a cable modem system.
  • this step includes prepending a MAC header to each packet, optionally performing FEC encoding on the MAC header and the payload, and then prepending a preamble for subsequent burst transmission. As a result, each packet becomes the payload of a separate upstream burst.
  • This step may also include interleaving of the upstream burst.
  • the prepending of a MAC header to each segment is performed by the MAC 314 of the cable modem 108a, while FEC encoding, prepending of a preamble, and interleaving is performed by PHY layer logic (not shown in FIG. 3) that resides between the MAC 314 and the upstream burst modulator 326 in the cable modem 108a.
  • the cable modem 108a separately transmits each burst generated in step 806 over an upstream communication channel of a cable modem system to the CMTS 104.
  • Burst transmission includes the conversion of each burst into analog form and modulation onto a carrier signal by the upstream burst modulator 326 of the cable modem 108a for transmission during an appropriate time slot.
  • the cable modem 108a In accordance with a DOCSIS cable modem system, to ensure that repeated packets have allocated minislots (i.e., grants) for upstream transmission, either the cable modem 108a must request additional minislots from the CMTS 104, or the CMTS must automatically make the necessary additional grants at some point later in time for repeated packets.
  • the time delay between grants for a given repeated packet may be constant, or random, based on efficiently filling the available DOCSIS MAP space. Alternatively, the time delay may be based on avoiding periodic impulse noise. For example, in a case of repetition coding where N-3, the spacing between the first and second grant may be different from the spacing between the second and third grant.
  • the method of flowchart 900 begins at step 902, in which the CMTS 104 receives the upstream bursts transmitted from the cable modem 108a during step 808 of flowchart 800.
  • a packet is recovered from each upstream burst.
  • This step includes demodulation of each burst and conversion to digital form by the burst receiver 216 of CMTS 104.
  • This step may also include de- interleaving and FEC decoding of the burst data by PHY layer logic within the CMTS that resides between the burst receiver 216 and the headend MAC 218 (not shown in FIG. 2).
  • bad packets are identified, or marked, as a result of the processing of step 904.
  • the marking of a bad packet may be referred to as erasure.
  • a bad packet may be marked based on the receipt of a bad burst preamble.
  • a bad packet may be marked as a result of FEC decoding of the burst payload. In the latter case, a bad packet will be marked if more errors are detected in a packet than can be corrected by the FEC technique being used.
  • RS Reed-Solomon
  • FEC has a high probability of detecting an error, even when it cannot correct the error.
  • the recovered packets are passed to the headend MAC 218 of the CMTS 104, which compares successfully received adjacent packets from a given cable modem service flow and eliminates duplicates, if any, based on the assumption that that they are simply repetitions.
  • the headend MAC 218 will able to recover the original packet.
  • step 1002 includes receiving a packet for transmission over a communication channel
  • step 1004 includes adapting the packet for the PHY layer, resulting in the generation of a burst
  • step 1006 includes copying, or repeating the burst, to generate a total of N bursts, where N is an integer of 1 or more.
  • the original and repeated bursts are then separately transmitted over the communication channel at step 1008.
  • FIGs. 11 and 12 depict flowcharts 1100 and 1200 of a method for mitigating burst noise using retransmission techniques in a transmitting device and a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention. These flowcharts will be described in reference to an embodiment in which the transmitting device is the cable modem 108a described above in reference to FIG. 3 , and the receiving device is the CMTS 104 described above in reference to FIG.
  • the transmitting device may be a CMTS and the receiving device may be a cable modem.
  • the receiving device may be a cable modem.
  • other transmitting and receiving devices may be used.
  • the cable modem 108a transmits a packet over an upstream channel to the CMTS 104 at step 1102.
  • the cable modem 108a waits for a predetermined amount of time to receive an acknowledge (ACK) message over a downstream channel from the CMTS 104 that indicates that the packet transmitted in step 1102 was received successfully (in other words, it was received and not determined to be a bad packet by the CMTS 104). If an ACK message is received within the predetermined amount of time ⁇ then the transmission of the packet is complete, as indicated at step 1106.
  • ACK acknowledge
  • the cable modem 108a retransmits the packet, which is indicated by the arrow returning to step 1102 from step 1104 in flowchart 1100.
  • the MAC 314 of the cable modem 108b is responsible for determining whether or not to retransmit a packet.
  • the cable modem 108a continues to retransmit a packet until such time as an appropriate ACK message is received from the CMTS 104.
  • the cable modem 108a retransmits a packet only a fixed number of times before abandoning transmission of the packet. In such an embodiment, one or more retransmission may be attempted.
  • the method of flowchart 1200 begins at step 1202, in which the CMTS 104 receives the packet transmitted by the cable modem 108a in step 1102 of flowchart 1100. At step 1204, the CMTS 104 determines if the packet is bad.
  • the CMTS 104 identifies the packet as bad when it includes errors that cannot be corrected by FEC or if it has a bad burst preamble. If the packet is bad, then the CMTS 104 discards the packet as shown at step 1206. However, if the packet is not bad then the CMTS 104 sends an ACK message to the cable modem 108a indicating that the packet was received successfully, and continues to process the packet as shown at step 1208.
  • a retransmission technique is implemented that utilizes non-acknowledgment messages (NACKs) rather than ACKs for determining when to retransmit a packet.
  • NACKs non-acknowledgment messages
  • This alternate embodiment is illustrated in flowcharts 1300 and 1400 of FIGs. 13 and 14, respectively.
  • the cable modem 108a transmits a packet over an upstream channel to the CMTS 104 at step 1302.
  • the cable modem 108a waits for a predetermined amount of time to receive a NACK message from the CMTS 104 over a downstream channel that indicates that the packet transmitted in step 1302 has not been received successfully. If a NACK message is not received within the predetermined amount of time, then the transmission of the packet is complete, as indicated at step 1306. However, if a NACK message is received within the predetermined amount of time, then the cable modem 108a retransmits the packet, which is indicated by the arrow returning to step 1302 from step 1304 in flowchart 1300. The packet may be continually retransmitted until such time as a NACK message is not received, or may be retransmitted only a fixed number of times.
  • the method of flowchart 1400 begins at step 1402, in which the CMTS 104 receives the packet transmitted by the cable modem 108a in step 1302 of flowchart 1300.
  • the CMTS 104 determines if the packet is bad. For example, in an embodiment, the CMTS 104 identifies the packet as bad when it includes errors that cannot be corrected by FEC or if it has a bad burst preamble. If the packet is bad, then the CMTS 104 discards the packet and sends a NACK message to the cable modem 108a indicating that the packet was not received successfully as shown at step 1406. However, if the packet is not bad then the CMTS 104 continues to process the packet as shown at step 1408.
  • Embodiments of the present invention may take advantage of the fact that packets are often transmitted as two or more FEC encoded blocks, or "FEC blocks.”
  • FEC blocks For example, in a DOCSIS cable modem system, a cable modem may encode a packet using Reed Solomon (RS) techniques to produce two or more FEC blocks, each of which form part of the same upstream burst.
  • RS Reed Solomon
  • burst noise on the upstream channel may interfere with some, but not all, of the FEC blocks. Consequently, the CMTS may recover some of the FEC blocks, while erasing others.
  • the ability of the CMTS to recover at least a portion of a plurality of FEC blocks in a burst permits the CMTS to restore lost information in a manner that is more efficient than if the entire packet were erased.
  • the CMTS may recover one or more of the FEC blocks of a packet that has been impacted by burst noise can enhance the effectiveness of the outer block coding technique described above in reference to FIGs. 4 and 5.
  • the outer block code is the (8, 4) Hamming block code described above, which permits four information segments to be recovered by the CMTS provided that no more than three of the eight transmitted segments (four information segments plus four parity segments) are erased.
  • each of the information and parity segments in this example has been FEC encoded to generate a first FEC block followed by a second FEC block.
  • parity segment s 5 has been FEC encoded to generate FEC blocks s 5 f] and s 5 f 2
  • parity segment s 6 has been FEC encoded to generate FEC blocks s 6 f[ and s 6 f 2
  • parity segment s 7 has been FEC encoded to generate FEC blocks s 7 fj and s 7 f 2
  • parity segment s 8 has been FEC encoded to generate FEC block s 8 fi and s 8 f 2 .
  • the first FEC block in each information segment may be recovered, and as long as no more than three of the eight second FEC blocks in each segment are bad, then the second FEC block in each information segment may be recovered.
  • the first FEC blocks Sjfj through s 4 fj in each information segment Si through s 4 may be recovered.
  • step 410 of flowchart 400 would necessarily include FEC encoding each information and parity segment to generate two or more FEC blocks per segment.
  • each segment is divided into two or more FEC blocks prior to transmission over the upstream channel.
  • step 506 would comprise identifying bad FEC blocks within each segment, rather than simply identifying bad segments
  • step 510 would comprise performing outer block code decoding to replace bad FEC blocks within each segment, rather than to replace bad segments.
  • the FEC block or the segment containing the bad FEC block, can be re-requested from the cable modem.
  • a repetition technique as described below, may be utilized to ensure successful transmission of the FEC block.
  • FIGs. 16 and 17 depict flowcharts 1600 and 1700 of methods for mitigating burst noise using repetition and FEC block reconstruction techniques in a transmitting device and a receiving device in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
  • These flowcharts will be described in reference to an embodiment in which the transmitting device is the cable modem 108a described above in reference to FIG.3, and the receiving device is the CMTS 104 described above in reference to FIG. 2.
  • the invention is not so limited.
  • the transmitting device may be a CMTS and the receiving device may be a cable modem.
  • other transmitting and receiving devices may be used.
  • the method of flowchart 1600 begins at step 1602, in which the cable modem 108a receives a packet of information for transmission over an upstream channel to the CMTS 104.
  • the packet received at step 1602 is copied, or repeated, to generate a total of N packets, where N is an integer of 1 or more.
  • the original packet received in step 1602 and the repeated packets generated in step 1604 are each FEC encoded into 2 or more FEC blocks.
  • this step comprises applying a Reed-Solomon algorithm to each packet to generate 2 or more FEC blocks per packet.
  • each packet is further adapted for transmission over the physical (PHY) layer of a cable modem system.
  • PHY physical
  • a preamble may be prepended to the FEC blocks for subsequent burst transmission.
  • each packet becomes the payload of a separate upstream burst.
  • the cable modem 108a separately transmits each burst generated in steps 1606 and 1608 over an upstream communication channel of a cable modem system to the CMTS 104.
  • the CMTS 104 receives the upstream bursts transmitted from the cable modem 108a during step 1610 of flowchart 1600.
  • a packet is recovered from each upstream burst.
  • This step includes FEC decoding of the burst data.
  • the bad FEC blocks associated with each packet are identified.
  • the recovered packets are passed to the headend MAC 218 of the CMTS 104, which attempts to identify at least one complete packet that has been received successfully from the N packets transmitted from the cable modem 108a. If no complete packets have been received successfully, then the headend MAC 218 will attempt to reconstruct the original packet from successfully received FEC blocks from each of the N packets transmitted from the cable modem 108a. Provided that the burst noise or other impairment on the communication channel affected different FEC blocks of each repeated packet, the MAC 218 will be able to reconstruct the complete packet from the good FEC blocks of each packet. In an embodiment, the headend MAC 218 keeps track of good FEC blocks by building a list of successfully received FEC blocks from each packet.
  • the CMTS receives a packet from the cable modem and identifies bad FEC blocks within each packet. The CMTS then sends a request to the cable modem to retransmit only those FEC blocks that were in error, while storing the good FEC blocks. When the CMTS subsequently receives the retransmitted FEC blocks from the cable modem, it reconstructs the complete packet and forwards it for further processing. If the retransmitted FEC blocks are still in error, the CMTS may send a second retransmission request, either in the same manner as before, or perhaps modifying some of the signaling parameters so that the FEC blocks may be retransmitted using a different channel or time slot relative to the interference.
  • a protocol is required for the CMTS to request the retransmission of bad FEC blocks.
  • this protocol may be implemented using the DOCSIS protocol with extensions for data ACKs and/or NACKs, a separate protocol using an out-of-band channel, or an Ethernet protocol whereby the CMTS sends the retransmission request to the cable modem as an Ethernet packet.
  • Another method of retransmitting FEC blocks that were erased is to use the REQ/DAT structure of DOCSIS for retransmitting individual FEC blocks. Several REQ/DAT packets may need to be sent in order to retransmit all FEC blocks that were originally erased.
  • the CMTS if it receives a packet with one or more bad FEC blocks, it transmits data ACKs and/or NACKs to request that the cable modem retransmit the entire original packet.
  • the CMTS saves the FEC blocks that were successfully received from each attempt and reconstructs the original packet when all FEC blocks have been correctly received.
  • ACKs/NACKs are used to implement FEC block reconstruction.
  • packets are initially transmitted from the cable modem to the CMTS using repetition coding as described herein. If the CMTS determines that the same FEC block in each of N repeated packets is bad, then the CMTS transmits data ACKSs and/or NACKs to the cable modem to request that the FEC block be selectively retransmitted and possibly repeated as well to increase robustness and minimize latency.
  • the initial packet can be sent once, and if it is received by the CMTS with bad FEC blocks, those FEC blocks can be retransmitted and repetition coded to improve the chance that the erased FEC blocks will survive transmission the second time.
  • the outer coding techniques described above may have an adverse effect on network capacity. Indeed, where the outer coding technique is a repetition code, sending a single packet several times reduces the overall capacity of the network by the same amount as the repetition factor. For example, sending a packet two times will consume twice as much capacity as sending it a single time, reducing network capacity to 50%.
  • One way to mitigate this reduction in capacity is to utilize packet header suppression technology in conj unction with such outer coding techniques to reduce the size of each packet.
  • Broadcom's PropaneTM header suppression technology may be used to offset the bandwidth- consuming effect of repetition coding.
  • PropaneTM is an advanced transport technology for DOCSIS-based cable modem systems that is available from Broadcom Corporation of Irvine, California.
  • a transmitting device preferably encodes a packet to be transmitted by the PropaneTM coding process prior to the application of outer coding (e.g., outer block coding or repetition coding).
  • outer coding e.g., outer block coding or repetition coding
  • the outer code decoding process preferably reassembles the packet and corrects errors as needed prior to decoding of the packet by the PropaneTM process, which results in the full-size original packet.
  • packet header suppression may be applied by the transmitting device after application of outer coding and by the receiving device prior to outer code decoding.
  • the techniques set forth above may be advantageously applied to downstream transmissions from a CMTS to a cable modem, even where these transmissions are continuous as in a DOCSIS cable modem system. While the DOCSIS downstream implements FEC and interleaving in the PHY layer to combat burst noise, additional burst noise mitigation can be gained by implementing methods in accordance with the present invention on the downstream link.
  • outer coding may be applied to one or more packets with different cable modem or service flow destinations, which will serve to increase the robustness of the downstream link in the presence of severe impairments.
  • the downstream PHY will be unaffected by the addition of the higher level outer coding, except that it may now be required to carry more traffic as bursts carrying parity segments or repeated packets are transmitted. This increased traffic may be offset, however, by the fact that fewer re-transmissions may be required in the downstream due to the resultant mitigation of burst errors. 7. Transmission Scheduling
  • outer encoded packets e.g., block-encoded information and parity segments or repetition-coded packets
  • outer encoded packets are transmitted in separate bursts, as opposed to bundling of outer encoded packets.
  • the separation of these outer encoded packets in their transmission through the channel is critical in any medium where the success or failure of an entire burst transmission (or portion of transmission in a continuous emission) may occur.
  • An example is a burst transmission system where preamble, post-amble, or other synclironization symbols or methods are disbursed around or within the information waveform, and wherein an impairment level within the channel sometimes cause the burst to not be properly or adequately synchronized and adjusted at the receiver, so that much of the information in the burst is not recoverable at the receiver.
  • Another example is a transitory impairment, which may impact the medium so severely that an entire burst is lost or severely corrupted if coincident with the rise in the impairment (or in a continuous transmission, the impairment causes an outage for a significant duration of time). Examples of such impairments include but are not limited to the many types of fading experienced and described in wireless communications, and in the burst noise environment described herein in reference to cable modem systems.
  • each information segment is separated into columns and that each row created thereby is covered with parity checks, creating new parity segments. It is also critical that each of these segments be transmitted separately (such as separate bursts in a bursted scheme, or perhaps separated in time in a continuous scheme), and received, assembled and processed as individual columns at the receiver, and then, after recovering the individual columns wherever possible, applying row parity to fill in lost and/or severely corrupted columns, a row at a time.
  • the above-described techniques or methods may be implemented as software routines that are executed, in part, by the MAC of a cable modem and/or the headend MAC of a CMTS.
  • the headend MAC 218 performs necessary method steps by executing software functions with the assistance of the CPU 222.
  • These software functions may be stored in either RAM 220 or ROM 218.
  • the MAC 314 performs necessary method steps by executing software functions with the assistance of the CPU 320. These software functions may be stored in either RAM 322 or ROM 324.
  • methods of the present invention need not be limited to these embodiments.
  • the methods of the present invention may be embodied in software routines which are executed on computer systems, such as a computer system 1800 as shown in FIG. 18.
  • Various embodiments are described in terms of this exemplary computer system 1800. After reading this description, it will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement the invention using other computer systems and/or computer architectures.
  • the computer system 1800 includes one or more processors, such as processor 1804.
  • the processor 1804 is connected to a communication infrastructure 1806.
  • the computer system 1800 also includes a main memory 1808, preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 1810.
  • the secondary memory 1810 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 1812 and/or a removable storage drive 1814, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc.
  • the removable storage drive 1814 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 1816 in a well-known manner.
  • Removable storage unit 1816 represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to by removable storage drive 1814.
  • the removable storage unit 1816 includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.
  • secondary memory 1810 may include other similar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system 1800.
  • Such means may include, for example, a removable storage unit 1822 and an interface 1820. Examples ofsuchmay include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 1822 and interfaces 1820 which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 1822 to computer system 1800.
  • Computer system 1800 may also include a communications interface 1824.
  • Communications interface 1824 allows software and data to be transferred between computer system 1800 and external devices.
  • Examples of communications interface 1824 may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, a wireless LAN (local area network) interface, etc.
  • Software and data transferred via communications interface 1824 are in the form of signals 1828 which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 1824. These signals 1828 are provided to communications interface 1824 via a communications path (i.e., channel) 1826.
  • This channel 1826 carries signals 1828 and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, a wireless link, and other communications channels.
  • computer program product refers to removable storage units 1816, 1822, and signals 1828. These computer program products are means for providing software to computer system 1800.
  • the invention is directed to such computer program products.
  • Computer programs also called computer control logic
  • Computer programs are stored in main memory 1808, and/or secondary memory 1810 and/or in computer program products. Computer programs may also be received via communications interface 1824. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 1800 to perform the features of the present invention as discussed herein.
  • the computer programs when executed, enable the processor 1804 to perform the features of the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system 1800.
  • the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system 1800 using hard drive 182, removable storage drive 1814, interface 1820 or communications interface 1824.
  • the control logic (software), when executed by the processor 1804, causes the processor 1804 to perform the functions of the invention as described herein.
  • the invention is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of hardware state machine(s) so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).
  • the invention is implemented using a combination of both hardware and software.

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  • Error Detection And Correction (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un système, un procédé et un produit de programme informatique permettant l'atténuation de bruit impulsif sur des paquets transmis dans un système de communications. Un dispositif de transmission applique un code externe, qui peut comprendre, par exemple, un code bloc, un code porte OU exclusif (XOR), ou un code de répétition, à un ou des paquets préalablement à l'adaptation des paquets pour la transmission sur la couche physique (PHY) du système de communications, dans lequel la couche d'adaptation PHY peut comprendre un codage de correction aval des erreurs (FEC) des paquets individuels. Les paquets à code externe sont ensuite transmis séparément sur le canal du système de communications. Un dispositif de réception reçoit les paquets à code externe, effectue une démodulation du niveau de la couche d'adaptation PHY et un décodage facultatif de correction aval des erreurs (FEC), et applique un décodage de code externe aux paquets à code externe afin de reconstituer les paquets qui ont été effacés en cours de transmission dû au bruit impulsif ou autre altérations sur le canal.
PCT/US2002/020015 2001-06-22 2002-06-24 Systeme, procede et produit de programme informatique pour l'attenuation de bruit impulsif dans un systeme de communications WO2003001338A2 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP02780886A EP1410527A4 (fr) 2001-06-22 2002-06-24 Systeme, procede et produit de programme informatique pour l'attenuation de bruit impulsif dans un systeme de communications

Applications Claiming Priority (8)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US29976801P 2001-06-22 2001-06-22
US60/299,768 2001-06-22
US30810101P 2001-07-30 2001-07-30
US60/308,101 2001-07-30
US10/175,330 2002-06-20
US10/175,330 US7631242B2 (en) 2001-06-22 2002-06-20 System, method and computer program product for mitigating burst noise in a communications system
US10/175,346 2002-06-20
US10/175,346 US7089478B2 (en) 2001-06-22 2002-06-20 FEC block reconstruction system, method and computer program product for mitigating burst noise in a communications system

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WO2003001338A2 true WO2003001338A2 (fr) 2003-01-03
WO2003001338A3 WO2003001338A3 (fr) 2003-05-22

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WO2006030329A1 (fr) * 2004-09-15 2006-03-23 Nokia Corporation Transmission par rafales dans un reseau de diffusion numerique
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US8209586B2 (en) 2004-09-15 2012-06-26 Nokia Corporation Burst transmission in a digital broadcasting network
US7840828B2 (en) 2006-04-25 2010-11-23 Dibcom Method and device for power management according to priority parameters contains in data packets

Also Published As

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WO2003001338A3 (fr) 2003-05-22
EP1410527A4 (fr) 2010-04-21
EP1410527A2 (fr) 2004-04-21

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