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US-12627587-B2 - Network management for band splits

US12627587B2US 12627587 B2US12627587 B2US 12627587B2US-12627587-B2

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for deploying upstream bandwidth upgrade of devices per home basis. The impact of the upstream bandwidth upgrade on the devices may be pre-estimated based on remotely monitoring and/or analyzing performance data of the devices collected during transmissions of test signals (e.g., a burst of upstream transmissions) in real-time from the devices operating under different modes of operations. The burst of upstream transmissions using a small bandwidth (e.g., 1.6 MHz) may be limited to a short duration of time (e.g., 5 seconds) so that on-going services provided by the devices are not substantially interrupted. The upstream bandwidth of the devices, based on the pre-estimated impact, may be upgraded, left unaltered, or downgraded.

Inventors

  • Robert Thompson
  • Robert Howald
  • Lei Zhou

Assignees

  • COMCAST CABLE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20240808

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A method comprising: sending, by a computing device and while a first device is operating in a first portion of a bandwidth, an instruction to the first device to transmit one or more upstream signals corresponding to a second portion of the bandwidth different from the first portion; receiving an indication that a second device detected a change in a downstream signal quality associated with the one or more upstream signals; and instructing the first device to operate in the first portion of the bandwidth.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the change in the downstream signal quality comprises an increase, in an interference level associated with one or more downstream signals, above a threshold level.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the change in the downstream signal quality comprises a decrease, in a signal-to-noise ratio associated with one or more downstream signals, below a threshold ratio.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is located upstream of a gateway associated with the first device.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: sending, while the first device is operating in the first portion of the bandwidth, a second instruction to the first device to transmit one or more additional upstream signals corresponding to a third portion of the bandwidth different from the first portion and the second portion; and instructing, based on an indication that a downstream signal quality associated with the one or more additional upstream signals satisfies a threshold quality, the first device to operate in the third portion of the bandwidth.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, prior to the instructing the first device to operate in the first portion of the bandwidth, performance data associated with a speed test performed by the first device and using the second portion of the bandwidth.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second portion of the bandwidth comprises: at least 42 megahertz (MHz) and up to 85 MHz; or at least 42 MHz and up to 204 MHz.
  8. 8 . A system comprising: a first device; and a computing device comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to: send, while the first device is operating in a first portion of a bandwidth, an instruction to the first device to transmit one or more upstream signals corresponding to a second portion of the bandwidth different from the first portion; receive an indication that a second device detected a change in a downstream signal quality associated with the one or more upstream signals; and instruct the first device to operate in the first portion of the bandwidth.
  9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the change in the downstream signal quality comprises an increase, in an interference level associated with one or more downstream signals, above a threshold level.
  10. 10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the change in the downstream signal quality comprises a decrease, in a signal-to-noise ratio associated with one or more downstream signals, below a threshold ratio.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the computing device is located upstream of a gateway associated with the first device.
  12. 12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computing device to: send, while the first device is operating in the first portion of the bandwidth, a second instruction to the first device to transmit one or more additional upstream signals corresponding to a third portion of the bandwidth different from the first portion and the second portion; and instruct, based on an indication that a downstream signal quality associated with the one or more additional upstream signals satisfies a threshold quality, the first device to operate in the third portion of the bandwidth.
  13. 13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computing device to: receive, prior to the instructing the first device to operate in the first portion of the bandwidth, performance data associated with a speed test performed by the first device and using the second portion of the bandwidth.
  14. 14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the second portion of the bandwidth comprises: at least 42 megahertz (MHz) and up to 85 MHz; or at least 42 MHz and up to 204 MHz.
  15. 15 . One or more non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause: sending, by a computing device and while a first device is operating in a first portion of a bandwidth, an instruction to the first device to transmit one or more upstream signals corresponding to a second portion of the bandwidth different from the first portion; receiving an indication that a second device detected a change in a downstream signal quality associated with the one or more upstream signals; and instructing the first device to operate in the first portion of the bandwidth.
  16. 16 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the change in the downstream signal quality comprises an increase, in an interference level associated with one or more downstream signals, above a threshold level.
  17. 17 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the change in the downstream signal quality comprises a decrease, in a signal-to-noise ratio associated with one or more downstream signals, below a threshold ratio.
  18. 18 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the computing device is located upstream of a gateway associated with the first device.
  19. 19 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause: sending, while the first device is operating in the first portion of the bandwidth, a second instruction to the first device to transmit one or more additional upstream signals corresponding to a third portion of the bandwidth different from the first portion and the second portion; and instructing, based on an indication that a downstream signal quality associated with the one or more additional upstream signals satisfies a threshold quality, the first device to operate in the third portion of the bandwidth.
  20. 20 . The one or more non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause: receiving, prior to the instructing the first device to operate in the first portion of the bandwidth, performance data associated with a speed test performed by the first device and using the second portion of the bandwidth.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/245,658, filed on Sep. 17, 2021. The above-referenced application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND Interactivity-intense applications, including gaming, video sharing, and teleconferencing have become increasingly popular, resulting in higher demand for upstream bandwidth over a cable network. Expanding range of the upstream bandwidth to meet the higher demand may face a number of challenges: imperfect isolation of the upstream bandwidth from downstream bandwidth may cause signal leakages and interferences. Further, operations to expand the range may involve installations of hardware equipment as well as trouble-shooting in customer premises. Such operations are costly and may interrupt services to customers. There is a need for inexpensive and non-interruptive ways to deploy expanded ranges of the upstream bandwidth. SUMMARY The following summary presents a simplified summary of certain features. The summary is not an extensive overview and is not intended to identify key or critical elements. Systems, apparatuses, and methods are described for upgrading upstream bandwidth of devices, on a per home basis, without disrupting on-going services provided via the devices. The upstream bandwidth may be increased and/or upgraded after determining that the devices will not be negatively impacted (e.g., by signal interference and/or noise) by such increase and/or upgrade, or after determining that such impact is within acceptable limits. To determine impact, the performance of the devices at user premises may be remotely monitored and/or analyzed in real-time, for example, using a remote controlling and monitoring tool. The performance of the devices may be estimated and/or predicted based on monitoring and/or analyzing test signals (e.g., bursts of upstream transmissions) from the devices, which may operate under different modes of operation (e.g., low-band split mode, mid-band split mode, high-band split mode, etc.). The bursts of upstream transmissions (e.g., orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) upstream transmissions) may be limited to a short duration of time (e.g., 5 seconds) and a small bandwidth (e.g., 1.6 MHz) to minimize and/or prevent affecting transmissions associated with the on-going services provided by a device. The upstream bandwidth of the devices, based on the estimated performance, may be increased, left unaltered, or decreased. Also or alternatively, troubleshooting may be performed to address issues (e.g., partial service issue or blocked channel issue, etc.) associated with the upgrading upstream bandwidth. Various sources (e.g., incorrect plant maps, incomplete amplifier cascade upgrade, incorrect outside plant or multi dwelling unit raiser amplifiers, in-line equalizers, drop amplifiers, etc.) causing the issues may be identified, for example, with aid of the remote controlling and monitoring tool. These and other features and advantages are described in greater detail below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some features are shown by way of example, and not by limitation, in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like numerals reference similar elements. FIG. 1 shows an example communication network. FIG. 2 shows hardware elements of a computing device. FIG. 3 shows an example of coexistence of mid-split cable modem (MS-CM) and pre-data-over-cable service interface specifications (DOCSIS) customer premises equipment (CPE). FIG. 4 shows an example of a remote feature control (RFC) and remote health monitor (RHM) procedure for mid-split deployment. FIG. 5 shows an example of an orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) upstream data profile (OUDP) test request and an OUDP test response. FIG. 6 shows an example of simultaneous mid-split CPE (MS-CPE) OUDP burst and standard-split CPE (SS-CPE) simple network management protocol (SNMP) data collection. FIG. 7 shows an example of a spectral view of MS-CPE OUDP burst, SS-CPE out-of-band (OOB), and low frequency downstream signals. FIG. 8 shows an example of 30 MHz MS-CPE, SS-CPE receive window overlap. FIG. 9 shows an example of an in-home health assessment tool (iHAT) being the engine of a mid-split upstream spectrum launch (MUSL) framework. FIG. 10 shows an example of a simplified mid-split activation-cutover through to activation. FIG. 11 shows an example of a high-level iHAT architecture. FIG. 12 shows an example of an OUDP full band capture (FBC) orchestration workflow. FIG. 13 shows an example of a data collection & device interface platform (Genome) architecture. FIG. 14 shows an example of Genome application program interface (API)-network query language (NQL) architecture. FIG. 15 shows an example of a simple network management protocol (SNMP) v3 user-based security model (USM) key architecture. FIG. 16 shows an example of a mid-split screen capture with 4 singl