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W HITE P APER Digital Set-Top Box Solutions Set-Top Box Deployment Solutions Interactive cable has finally come of age. Because of new technologies and standards, cable operators have their first opportunity in more than a decade to substantially increase and improve their services to subscribers. Cisco Systems, Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, together with fellow technology providers from Cisco’s New World Ecosystem, has developed an end-to-end solution for deploying a host of services—including interactive television, cable modem, and voice applications—over your existing cable infrastructure and equipment. Interactive cable and set-top solutions promise a wealth of new business opportunities to cable operators seeking to expand their program offerings in order to remain competitive in today’s multiservice market. A Complete End-to-End Solution The Cisco end-to-end solution comprises a number of advanced technologies and protocols for merging video, Web-based content, and telephony. The set-top box, incorporating advanced cable modem technology, represents the key piece of equipment for integrating and displaying this enhanced program content on the subscriber’s TV. With an interactive cable/set-top solution, an impressive breadth of carrier-class data, voice, and video applications can now come together to form a seamless, interactive whole. Unlimited Programming Opportunities Consider the programming opportunities this technology opens up to cable operators and subscribers. Imagine, for instance, watching a live television broadcast of a political debate and interactively comparing statements made by each candidate with Web-based speeches or quotes made in the past. Or picture the possibility of reading a Web-based news article on, a World Cup soccer match, and then viewing high-quality broadcast video footage on demand to illustrate the text story. Of course, your end-to-end interactive system also opens a world of opportunities for advertising and e-commerce. Consider the opportunity for subscribers to purchase travel services interactively while watching a travel adventure show or to order a set of golf clubs during a broadcast of the PGA Championship. Cable operators will also be able to collect information regarding services and programs accessed by subscribers and use it to create niche programming and targeted advertising. Low-cost videoconferencing, software distribution, and long-distance telephone are examples of other services made possible by the new technologies. As you can see, the ability to integrate Internet data, video content, and voice applications makes your programming possibilities virtually limitless. For cable operators seeking to differentiate their offerings from other service providers and to increase their revenue potential, the end-to-end interactive cable/set-top system proposed by Cisco and its New World Ecosystem offers a comprehensive, cost-effective solution. By integrating Cisco set-top technology with your existing infrastructure, you can quickly transform the promise of interactive TV into a concrete reality for your customers. Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 1 of 8 New Technologies and Standards Make Interactive Cable a Reality A convergence of events in the last three years has enabled Cisco and its ecosystem to develop an end-to-end, scalable, interactive cable/set-top solution. These factors promise to make interactive cable services a thriving new business for cable operators in many regions around the world. • First, the emergence of two-way hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) cable infrastructure has enabled cable operators to build two-way capable cable networks. These networks allow cable operators not only to transmit video, Internet Packet data and voice signals to subscriber homes, but also to receive data from subscriber homes as well. • To take advantage of these emerging two-way cable networks, enhanced multimedia program content must be readily available and easy to create. With the rise of the Internet in recent years, this enhanced content now exists in abundance. Standard content development languages, such as HTML and Java, along with skilled developers to use them, make it easy for cable operators to acquire and create non-proprietary text, image, and video content. • Converting and displaying rich multimedia content on subscriber TV sets requires intelligent client devices or multimedia set-top boxes equipped with computer processors, memory, and software. With the steady decline in processor and memory costs, electronics manufacturers have developed affordable set-top boxes capable of converting, integrating, and displaying Internet data, voice content, and Motion Picture Experts Group [MPEG] video on subscriber TVs. • The advent of the Internet has engendered powerful, yet cost-effective cable data routers capable of delivering IP data reliably over Hybrid Fiber Coax [HFC] cable networks. • Finally, the creation of standards has ensured interoperability of equipment from various vendors. The North American cable industry created the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) to ensure compatibility of equipment involved in transmitting two-way Internet data, voice, and video over HFC cable lines. The European cable industry created the competing Digital Video Broadcast (DVB)/Digital Audio-Video Council (DAVIC) standard for the same purpose. Standards Ensure Success Of the many developments giving rise to interactive cable solutions, the emergence of DOCSIS and DVB/DAVIC for delivering interactive data over cable lines are perhaps the most pivotal. These standards have made it possible for disparate equipment from various vendors to come together to form a complete, cohesive system. Previous attempts to bring interactive cable technology to the market failed in large part due to an absence of accepted standards. And cable companies were not willing to continue to invest in proprietary technology that would prove incompatible with existing and future equipment from different vendors. The emergence of DOCSIS and DVB/DAVIC has solved this problem. By ensuring that new interactive cable equipment will be interoperable and compatible with existing equipment, these standards have eliminated the risk to cable operators of ending up with a proprietary, dead-end system. Standardized equipment also lowers development costs of these technologies, with the savings passed on to customers. In addition to vendor and equipment compatibility, compliance with these standards delivers a host of other advantages to both vendors and their customers. These include high bandwidth over a two-way channel, excellent quality-of-service (QoS) standards, scalability for cost-effective growth, the ability to leverage retail distribution channels, and future innovation for cable operators and subscribers. The DOCSIS standard specifies modulation schemes and protocols for exchanging bidirectional data over cable. Originally developed by CableLabs (a North American cable industry consortium) as an Internet cable platform, DOCSIS has since evolved to encompass video and a host of telephony applications. DOCSIS has been endorsed by major cable operators in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, and is now supported by more than 25 vendors. DVB/DAVIC has also defined methods for sending data to set-top boxes and has made its way into several set-top box standard specifications. DVB/DAVIC has recently begun to develop solutions for cable modems via the Euromodem initiative and is also defining features to better address voice over IP [VoIP] within this standard. Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 2 of 8 The Advantage of Two Standards Together, DOCSIS and DVB/DAVIC offer a combination of features that present cable operators with a wide range of potential applications, from simply sending Electronic Program Guide (EPG) or pay-per-view (PPV) requests to fully interactive applications such as Web browsing, e-mail, interactive advertising, e-commerce, and others. Today, only Cisco allows cable operators to reap the benefits of both standards. The company is among the first cable modem technology equipment vendors to be DOCSIS-certified by CableLabs. The Cisco uBR 72xx series, for example, was the first CMTS to receive CableLabs DOCSIS qualification. Cisco also develops and markets DVB/DAVIC-based solutions. As the sole provider of solutions based on both standards, Cisco enables cable operators to build a single network that supports both low-cost interactive set-top boxes complying with the DVB/DAVIC standard and more sophisticated, fully interactive set-top boxes governed by the DOCSIS standard. This unique capability gives our customers the flexibility to deploy the set-top box equipment best-suited for the application at hand. Cisco and its New World Ecosystem will continue to work with standards-setting bodies to ensure that customers can continue to choose the standard-based equipment that best meets their needs. An End-to-End System That Builds on Your Existing Cable and Network Infrastructure The end-to-end system developed by Cisco and its ecosystem allows cable operators to deliver high-quality enhanced services while reducing implementation costs. With this comprehensive interactive cable/set-top solution, for example, cable operators can send all types of data—Internet data, voice signals, and video—over a single, packet-based infrastructure. Equally important, the interactive cable/set-top solution leverages the cable operator’s existing network infrastructure, further reducing total cost of ownership. The interactive cable/set-top solution developed by Cisco and its ecosystem builds upon existing equipment within four standard cable company subsystems, creating a practical solution for delivering interactive program content to subscriber homes. The four subsystems of the end-to-end interactive cable/set-top solution are the high-speed fiber network known as the backbone; the headend, which combines regional and national program content; the hub, a remote center integrating regional programming with local content before sending the combined material to the network; and the set-top box, which merges video, Internet data, and voice signals and displays them on the subscriber’s TV. An example of a cable headend architecture is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 Set-Top Box Architecture Interactive Content/ Services Content Management Personalization Personalization MPEG2 Content Sources Digital Video Interactive Services Systems Web Content/ Web Services Internet Digital Multiplexing, Scrambling and Modulation Conditional Access, SI Management and SMS Systems Cable Operator Network Network and Service Management Systems Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 3 of 8 HFC HFC Infrastructure Systems Cisco GSR 12000, Cisco ISR 3303, etc. CMTS/INA Cisco uBR 72xx Customer Premise Equipment STB, Cable Modems, Other IP Based Appliances Backbone Equipment The backbone plays a key role in deploying enhanced cable services to subscribers. It is a high-speed, digital network that carries Internet data, voice, and video between cable company facilities. Cable operators are well positioned to build a converged IP network because of the extensive regional fiber network already in place. This fiber backbone is made of OC-3 (156 Mbps) to OC-192 (2488 Mbps) Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) rings. These fiber rings scale to accommodate increasing volumes of data traveling over the backbone. The backbone network also incorporates regional MPEG video systems as well as various back-office systems, and connects to other networks, including the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), to other cable system backbones, and to the public Internet interconnection points used by other Internet service providers (ISPs). In augmenting existing backbone infrastructure for interactive cable service, cable operators can leverage new tools that allow IP packets to be efficiently and reliably transmitted over fiber. Cisco 12000 Gigabit Switch Router One of those tools is the Cisco 12000 gigabit switch router (GSR). A central component in the backbone system, the Cisco 12000 GSR enables an IP layer directly over the optical infrastructure. Instead of connecting to time-division multiplexing (TDM) equipment, the high-speed Cisco 12000 GSR, featuring optical internetworking, can be connected directly to fiber and other optical transmission systems. The optical internetworking capabilities of the Cisco 12000 GSR reduce hardware costs by eliminating the need for separate TDM units. In addition, the 12000 GSR offers Cisco dynamic packet transport (DPT) technology, which enables IP traffic to be carried directly on a local fiber ring, resulting in better bandwidth utilization for IP traffic. As a DPT component, the 12000 GSR combines bandwidth-efficient and services-rich IP routing with bandwidth-rich architecture, self-healing capabilities, and other advantages of fiber rings. These features provide cable operators with fundamental cost and functionality advantages over existing solutions. While the 12000 GSR provides transparent support for SONET fiber rings with features such as SONET/SDH overhead processing and Layer 2 management capabilities, the Cisco 12000 GSR also supports complete DPT fiber rings, providing further flexibility and cost-savings. To simplify and expedite deployment, the 12000 GSR, like all DPT components, offers plug-and-play installation and integrated network management capabilities that minimize the time and expense associated with installing, provisioning, configuring, and managing this backbone equipment. Headend Equipment The headend system brings regional, national, and international program content into the cable network and converts it for use by the backbone. This content includes satellite video, off-the-air video, Internet data, and PSTN voice. As in the backbone system, Cisco 12000 GSR high-speed routers perform a vital role in the headend system. They route interactive traffic between the backbone and Ethernet in the headend internal network. Signaling protocols provide the intelligence needed to route this traffic in an optimal manner, automatically building and maintaining the routing tables to direct traffic and signal failures for rerouting in the network. Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) operates between the cable operator’s regional network and external networks, providing routing information exchange between different networks. The Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol is used internally in the regional networks. Cisco IOS ® Software Cisco IOS software incorporates the intelligence to unite a wide range of disparate interactive cable network components, simplifying the integration of new and existing standards-based equipment. A broad and cohesive internetwork operating system, Cisco IOS software offers a scalable migration path for data, voice, and video integration, unmatched security, protocols, and network management features. It also supports every major networking protocol and media type to provide end-to-end connectivity across the entire Cisco interactive cable TV system. Moreover, the sophisticated Cisco IOS operating system lets cable operators use all of the advanced Cisco software features, including QoS, weighted fair queuing (WFQ), and IP multicast. The software enables consistent manageable service and policies across all Cisco networking products. These software features also give cable operators the ability to add new customer-billable features whenever required, ensuring faster time to market and greater revenue. Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 4 of 8 The headend system also incorporates a series of interactive application, user data, and system management servers developed by Cisco New World Ecosystem members. These servers enable cable operators to deliver cost-effective, branded, centrally managed services through set-top boxes. Software applications can include TV mail, TV phone, and Web browsing. The user data servers store user account and access information. They support multiple users for each set-top box, and support (HTTP) cookies, local user data, preferences, and properties. These servers also manage subscription-based services and create billing events. The system management server provides centralized configuration management. Hub Equipment The hub is an interchange and distribution center located between the headend system and the HFC cable infrastructure. Each hub contains the cable modem termination system (CMTS) or Interactive Network Adapter (INA), which converts Internet, voice, and content from the backbone format—IP over optical—into radio frequency (RF) signals. These signals are then modulated for transmission over HFC and demodulated by the set-top box/cable modem or cable access router in the subscriber’s home. Cisco uBR 72xx Universal Broadband Router The Cisco uBR 72xx universal broadband router (uBR)—a key component typically deployed within the hub architecture—functions as the CMTS, performing backbone-to-cable modem conversion duties in the end-to-end set-top system. The uBR combines the functionality of the industry-leading Cisco 72xx Internet router and a headend CMTS in one integrated, cost-effective, and scalable platform. It supports IP routing with a wide variety of protocols and any combination of Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, serial, High-Speed Serial Interface (HSSI), and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) media. To ensure optimal performance, Cisco has designed and tested the multifunction Cisco uBR as a complete system. Deploying the Cisco uBR 72xx in the hub architecture ensures integrated routing, interoperability, security, quality of service, high-performance bandwidth management—in short, all the features guaranteed by Cisco IOS software. Transcoding Servers Since the hub also combines regional and local video content, the hub architecture includes a series of partner-supplied servers that transcode HTML, images, and audio, allowing client application servers residing on the subscriber’s set-top box to easily access rich Internet media. The transcoding servers act as an HTTP/HTTP Secure (HTTPS) gateway to obtain Web pages for the client application software. Each server provides high bandwidth interaction sessions and supports a broad variety of standard interfaces, including HTTP/S to both unsecure and secure external Web sites for electronic commerce, interactive advertisement, etc. To enable scalability, the Cisco ecosystem hub-based servers work with the Cisco LocalDirector to balance user traffic loads and provide fail-over across multiple servers. Multicast Servers The hub system architecture also includes a series of servers provided by Cisco ecosystem members. These servers perform data carouseling for in-band MPEG-1 broadcast delivery of enhanced TV content, popular Web-site data, and TV information. The multicast servers also include push and pull models for updating carouseled content. For Web content that is broadcast to all subscribers, they store and forward carouseled content at predefined times and performs program identifier (PID) multiplexing and time stamping to create a standard MPEG-2 multiprogram transport stream. Interactive Set-Top Box You’re already familiar with the set-top box, a home device that sits atop the subscriber’s TV. You may even remember previous versions of this component developed several years ago. But keep in mind that set-top box technology has evolved dramatically in the last few years. Today’s set-top boxes are remarkably more sophisticated than those available just two years ago. A typical set-top box, for example, may incorporate a cable modem, two tuners, a CPU, and enough memory to run special versions of Web browsers and other software. It may also house other client software tools, such as TV mail and TV chat applications, whose server complements reside in the headend system. These components enable the set-top box to perform its primary function: integrating Web content, voice, and video, and displaying it on the subscriber’s TV screen. As such, the set-top box is the key component allowing cable operators to deliver cost-effective, branded, centrally managed services to their customers. Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 5 of 8 Figure 2 Cable Headend Architecture Analog A/V A/V VBI/Teletext Data A/V Digital A/V QAM Demod MPEG Hardware CPU Flash Data Comm 2-way QAM QPSK DOCSIS/DVB/DAVIC Modem Data Video Compositer Coax Cable RF Tuner Bridge Set-Top Box Television DRAM One of the set-top tuners handles MPEG-2 video, audio, broadcast control data, and broadcast service data. The other provides IP connectivity. Typically, a standard-based cable modem has its own IP address. Devices connected to the modem—a PC, for example—also have their own IP addresses. As a result, integrating a cable modem within a set-top box requires IP addresses to be assigned to the data portion of the set-top box. This arrangement enables interactive applications running within the set-top box to use the addressing scheme to send information back and forth over the network. The advantage of assigning IP addresses within set-top boxes in the same manner as the cable modem is that it normalizes IP assignments, allowing a cable operator to use one system to manage the IP assignments throughout the network. An example of a STB architecture is shown in Figure 2. Provisioning Getting subscribers online quickly is important when implementing interactive cable services. When deployed in the Cisco interactive TV solution, the Cisco Subscriber Registration Center (CSRC) simplifies a host of provisioning procedures, a requirement for getting subscribers online quickly. Located at the headend data center, CSRC is a complete solution for data, voice, and video service provisioning for broadband networks. CSRC will handle provisioning through the set-top box and can scale to millions of users without significant retooling. The system typically includes four components: Cisco User Registrar (UR) for subscriber provisioning and administration, Cisco Modem Registrar (MR) for cable modem management, Cisco Network Registrar for Domain Name Server (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) services, and Cisco Access Registrar (AR) for broadband telco-return and dial-up roaming. Together, these components offer subscriber self-provisioning capabilities, carrier-grade reliability, complete application programming interfaces (APIs) for business system integration, and exceptional security, preventing unauthorized access by nonsubscribers. CSRC self-provisioning capabilities mean that control of service registration, activation, and selection are put in subscribers’ hands, virtually eliminating back-office manual processes. CSRC enables subscribers to self-select new services, while the cable operator automatically gathers information about the subscriber’s PC and cable modem. Because the process is fully automated, CSRC enables cable operators to take advantage of established retail outlets and on-line e-commerce for acquiring and servicing new subscribers. With CSRC a subscriber can purchase a standard-based modem at a retail store and self-activate it at home. Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 6 of 8 Fewer Steps, Lower Costs While CSRC may not eliminate the need for an initial truck roll, it greatly reduces the time the field technician spends installing the data equipment. Indeed, the advantages of self-provisioning to both cable operators and subscribers include reduced truck rolls to the neighborhood and house, fewer service technicians needed for an install, fewer calls to the cable operator customer service representative, and less human intervention, which reduces the chance of user errors. Automatic configuration begins when the cable modem in the set-top is detected and the CSRC DHCP server establishes IP connectivity along with the basic IP configuration. As part of this initialization, the DHCP server transmits to the client set-top, binding information for other resources, such as Time of Day (ToD) servers and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) servers. When using this initial configuration, the cable modem uses TFTP to download its default configuration associated with that set-top vendor, subnet, and CMTS. When minimally configured, the set-top will register with the Cisco uBR 72xx and create an associated object in the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory. The subscriber can now access the User Registrar Web User Interface (UI) to select one or more of the service packages offered by the cable operator. Continuing Evolution As set-top boxes gain new capabilities, wireless ports and new connectivity ports will be added. These ports will enable set-top boxes to not only act as “TV” devices, but also to serve increasingly as residential gateways, where the set-top box acts as a bridge or router to other devices such as PCs. Finally, as set-top box solution standards continue to evolve, other IP-based services, such as voice over IP, will be run on this standard architecture. Conclusion Interactive cable service is no longer merely a news story touting the future of cable programming. New standards and technologies have finally brought interactive programming squarely into today’s cable services market. Cisco Systems, together with its New World Ecosystem, has leveraged these standards and technologies to build a cost-effective, scalable, interoperable solution for cable operators wishing to expand and differentiate their services. Combining its leadership and expertise in Internet networking equipment with application technology from its ecosystem has enabled Cisco to offer a complete end-to-end interactive cable solution. Using this comprehensive solution, cable operators can now merge Web data, voice, and video—the reality of interactive cable programming—and deliver it to subscriber set-top boxes. Proven in a spectrum of demanding Internet installations, the Cisco 12000 GSR and Cisco uBR 72xx routers provide the firepower needed to drive high volumes of data over a packet-based infrastructure. The GSR 12000 delivers efficient high-bandwidth routing of video and data traffic. The Cisco uBR 72xx offers standard-based CMTS integrated routing and conversion functions for two-way interactivity. With Cisco IOS software, these components integrate with application software and existing cable network components to create a seamless, interoperable system. By building on cable operators’ existing network infrastructure, the solution offered by Cisco and its New World Ecosystem decreases implementation time and reduces total cost of ownership. The system also offers complete interoperability, scalability, high-performance, and reliability. These advantages make the interactive cable/set-top solution from Cisco well worth considering for cable operators wanting a rich, cost-effective solution for deploying interactive services to cable subscribers. For more information about Cisco digital cable solutions, visit our Web site at: www.cisco.com/cable. Public Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Page 7 of 8 Corporate Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA http://www.cisco.com Tel: 408 526-4000 800 553-NETS (6387) Fax: 408 526-4100 European Headquarters Cisco Systems Europe s.a.r.l. Parc Evolic, Batiment L1/L2 16 Avenue du Quebec Villebon, BP 706 91961 Courtaboeuf Cedex France http://www-europe.cisco.com Tel: 33 1 69 18 61 00 Fax: 33 1 69 28 83 26 Americas Headquarters Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA http://www.cisco.com Tel: 408 526-7660 Fax: 408 527-0883 Asia Headquarters Nihon Cisco Systems K.K. Fuji Building, 9th Floor 3-2-3 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100 Japan http://www.cisco.com Tel: 81 3 5219 6250 Fax: 81 3 5219 6001 Cisco Systems has more than 200 offices in the following countries. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the Cisco Connection Online Web site at http://www.cisco.com/offices. Argentina • Australia • Austria • Belgium • Brazil • Canada • Chile • China • Colombia • Costa Rica • Croatia • Czech Republic • Denmark • Dubai, UAE Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hong Kong • Hungary • India • Indonesia • Ireland • Israel • Italy • Japan • Korea • Luxembourg • Malaysia Mexico • The Netherlands • New Zealand • Norway • Peru • Philippines • Poland • Portugal • Puerto Rico • Romania • Russia • Saudi Arabia • Singapore Slovakia • Slovenia • South Africa • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Taiwan • Thailand • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom • United States • Venezuela Copyright © 1999 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any of its resellers. (9909R) 10/99 LW