Pre-Conference Event

Monday, Nov. 14
10:00 am-4:30 pm

The one-day pre-conference Capacity Management Symposium introduced technicians, engineers and managers/directors involved in planning, optimizing and running the cable network in the face of ever-increasing application and service gandwidth needs to the applied science of HFC network capacity planning and management. The introductory session was followed by deep dives into the mechanics of capacity planning and management, including tools and approaches from MSOs and vendors as applied to cable case studies. Attendees were presented the latest thinking in traffic modeling and growth, improve their ability to perform comprehensive capacity planning and management tasks, and be able to apply network capacity considerations to individual service optimization.

More than 200 engineering and operations professionals—double the anticipated number—registered for the pre-conference Capacity Management Symposium.

In addition to the live event at the Georgia World Congress Center, the conference was presented in real time on the SCTE website with access to streaming audio of the keynote remarks and seven technical presentations.

Schedule
	10:00–10:15 am	Welcome and Overview of Program Daniel Howard, Senior Vice President, Engineering and CTO, SCTE
	10:15–10:45 am	Technology Drivers and Traffic Models for Capacity Management Designed to set the tone for the Capacity Management Symposium, this presentation will explore the advanced technology drivers and multiple performance considerations that can impact design of packet-based networks. The session will outline self-similarity of traffic and other emerging Internet traffic modeling approaches, especially as they relate to increasing video traffic of all types. In addition, participants will discuss how a variety of factors must be evaluated in any network capacity plan. Among the considerations are: basics of capacity vs. network availability/QoS; delay vs. load analysis; challenges in using average packet size for network modeling/planning; and network reliability requirements characterization vs. service type. John T. Chapman, Cisco Fellow & CTP of Cable Access, Cisco Systems, Inc.
	10:45–11:30 am	Network Architecture vs. Capacity Planning and Operations With the need to accommodate new services within the context of cable’s existing infrastructure investment, this session will discuss various architectural approaches that should be considered during the network capacity planning process. The presentation will take a comprehensive view of the specific options that exist for network segmentation, including: homes per node; nodes per transmitter; nodes per return receiver; miles of coax plant per node, transmitter or receiver; and other factors. The discussion also will help participants to evaluate the combined impact of segmentation and headend configurations on performance, monitoring, maintenance, and capacity of the network. Mike Emmendorfer, Senior Director, Solution Architecture and Strategy, ARRIS
	11:30–11:45 am	Break
	11:45 am–12:30 pm	Managing Capacity over HFC Networks While this session will address a wide variety of DOCSIS® topics, the emphasis will be on DOCSIS® 3.0 operation with bonded channels, IP video, and the implication on network segmentation in regard to capacity planning. Stressing the need to accommodate IP-based apps for video on tablets and smartphones, the presentation will explore the importance of modeling exponential growth and peak utilization of traffic flows, with a focus on adaptive bit rate options and capacity vs. latency and contention over DOCSIS®. The session also will dive deeply into such issues as how DOCSIS® configurations for upstream and downstream impact performance and capacity and how the imbalance of forward and reverse spectrum impacts IP services provided by a typical MSO today and in the future. John Downey, Consulting Network Engineer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
	12:30–1:15 pm	Lunch (provided)
	1:15–2:00 pm	Capacity Issues for Video Signaling Now and Tomorrow While the delivery of highest-quality video services remains a key differentiator for cable, engineers are increasingly being challenged by new consumer expectations and the need to drive monetization of those opportunities. This session will examine how the growth of video to encompass linear, on-demand, switched digital, nPVR, over-the-top, and games is placing new demands on networks, and how the industry can expect further impact from the continued rollout of EBIF and other interactive services, as well as interactive and dynamically addressable advertising. The presentation will review network requirements for the array of current and anticipated services and will identify capacity issues and potential solutions. Other key discussion items will include blocking probability and the capacity/reliability requirements of different auxiliary communication channels such as Aloha, DSG, and others. Steven Davi, Senior Vice President, Advanced Technologies, SeaChange International, Inc.
	2:00–2:45 pm	Operation Analysis Tools for Network Operations With the increased roles and expectations of cable system networks has come a greater need for service reliability and performance. This presentation will explore the tools that currently are available to help the cable workforce to automatically and proactively monitor, maintain, and optimize networks, as well as solutions that will be available to ensure continued high service standards for consumers in the future. The session will focus on a variety of areas, including DOCSIS®–specific tools and technologies for network optimization and DOCSIS®–specific parameters and configurations that can be used to monitor the network health and capacity utilization, as well as HFC and IP network traffic monitoring and troubleshooting tools. Additional discussion will include the efficient use of spectrum vs. the reliability and operational issues that accompany tight maintenance of the HFC network. Harindranath Nair, Senior Staff Software Architect, ARRIS
	2:45–3:00 pm	Break
	3:00–3:45 pm	Looking to the Future: Planning for NextGen Services The ability of today’s networks to accommodate the growing array of business and residential services now and in the future requires a comprehensive look at each service and the demands that it places on the HFC spectrum. The session will address the anticipated evolution of current and anticipated services, both individually and in context of the entire cable service lineup, and examine potential impact on availability of spectrum and performance. The discussion will include implications of high-revenue business services on spectrum planning and management. Also explored will be capacity planning and management techniques and tools that allow engineers the flexibility and the rapid deployment opportunities they need to launch new services in a rapidly changing communications landscape. Dr. Robert L. Howald, Fellow of the Technical Staff, CTO Office, Motorola Mobility, Inc.
	3:45–4:15 pm	Thinking Nationally and Globally This session will allow participants to see how the trends, technologies, and tools discussed throughout the day for cable networks relate to the national and global scenes for capacity management. Traffic trends by user, device, and application for domestic and select international markets will be presented, including those for different access technologies. A comparison and contrast of regulation and technical methodology for capacity planning vs. capacity control in other markets and access technologies also will be presented. In addition, the specific challenges that adaptive protocols make to capacity planning will be discussed, in line with the trend away from data rate alone being a predictor of achieved quality. Since video with adaptive codecs can now expand or contract to the available data rate and this can happen on a grand scale, it means that the user experience is now modulated and the dynamics potentially could impact the entire network. Hence, participants also will be given key success factors to keep in mind in managing and scaling these dynamic national and global networks. Don Bowman, Founder and CTO, Sandvine
	4:15–4:30 pm	Wrap-Up Daniel Howard, Senior Vice President, Engineering and CTO, SCTE