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August 25, 2006
Symmetricom Intros DOCSIS Timing Interface Server for Cable Services
By Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Associate Editor
In a report earlier this week, technology industry analysis firm looked at CableLabs’ August 7 approval of the preliminary DOCSIS 3.0 specification for sending data over cable, and predicted that penetration of DOCSIS equipment in North American will reach almost 60 percent by 2011.
In the report, ABI analyst Michael Arden noted that DOCSIS 3.0 enables carriers to provide interactive IP video services to subscribers. He also predicted that the release of the new standard “will allow vendors to start developing compatible equipment.”
That prediction already seems to bearing fruit, if today’s announcement from Symmetricom—a provider of time and frequency solutions—is any indication.
The company launched its new TimeCreator 1000, which Symmetricom claims is the first DOCSIS timing interface (DTI) server.
“TimeCreator 1000 is a network time synchronization system specifically designed for cable television communications networks,” Symmetricom explained in a press release. It “enables the most reliable and precise time and frequency network synchronization necessary to support new broadband cable services.”
More specifically, the company noted that “TimeCreator 1000 is a fundamental part of a cable operators headend or hub network deploying M-CMTS, DOCSIS 3.0 or Business Services over DOCSIS.”
The company explained further that: “TimeCreator’s integrated DOCSIS Timing Interface Server capabilities ensures that the M-CMTS core, Edge QAM and upstream are synchronized to nanosecond levels to support the existing DOCSIS requirements for frequency and timestamps that existed in traditional CMTS.”
Symmetricom’s new product is certified by CableLabs, the nonprofit research consortium that defines and manages the DOCSIS standard.
CableLabs began testing TimeCreator in June, and now has verified that the server complies with the DTI specification, making it interoperable with other network devices.
Michelle Kuska, vice president of broadband access at CableLabs, acknowledged Symmetricom’s participation in the organization’s drafting process for the Modular Cable Modem Termination System specification.
“The qualification of their TimeCreator 1000 DOCSIS Timing Interface Server demonstrates their strong support of the Cable industry’s initiatives,” Kuska said of Symmetricom’s efforts, in a statement.
In a statement, Symmetricom senior vice president of marketing, Gurdip Jande, said that TimeCreator addresses the needs of cable operators, who “are in a market battle to innovate their service platform for future success and are rapidly looking to satisfy consumer demand for video services, voice and high-speed, high-bandwidth networks.”
TimeCreator includes optional GPS traceability, redundant clock cards, redundant power supplies and an NTP Server option.
Other noteworthy features of the solution include:
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1RU chassis that provides flexibility in 10 DTI connections and two dual-mode ports
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Expandable to support more than 100 DTI clients, with GPS and NTP output options
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Reliability in full redundant clock cards and power supplies
Mae Kowalke previously wrote for Cleveland Magazine in Ohio and The Burlington Free Press in Vermont. To see more of her articles, please visit Mae Kowalke’s columnist page.
(source: http://ipcommunications.tmcnet.com/hot-topics/video/articles/2375-symmetricom-intros-docsis-timing-interface-server-cable-services.htm)
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