A

These log files contain data that has not yet written into the database. It is important to keep active log files until they become redundant. See also redundant logs and removable logs.

The administrative application used to manage and configure broadband network devices.

A process that resides in all managed devices and reports the values of specified variables to management stations.

Message notifying an operator or administrator of a network problem.

Application programming interface. Specification of function-call conventions that defines an interface to a service.

B

Difference between the highest and lowest frequencies available for network signals. The term is also used to describe the rated throughput capacity of a given network medium or protocol.

An integrated solution for data-over-cable service providers to configure and manage broadband modems, and enable and administer subscriber self-registration and activation. BPR is a scalable product capable of supporting millions of devices.

Transmission system that multiplexes multiple independent signals onto one cable. In Telecommunications terminology; any channel having a bandwidth greater than a voice-grade channel (4 kHz). In LAN terminology; a co-axial cable on which analog signaling is used.

See BPR.

GUI-based hypertext client application, such as Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, used to access hypertext documents and other services located on innumerable remote servers throughout the WWW and internet. See also Internet and WWW.

C

Transmission medium of copper wire or optical fiber wrapped in a protective cover.

See CMTS.

Form of replication in which information learned during a previous transaction is used to process later transactions.

Cable modem termination system. A CMTS is a component that exchanges digital signals with cable modems on a cable network. The CMTS is usually located in the cable provider's local office.

See shared secret.

A file containing configuration parameters for the DOCSIS cable modem.

Customer premises equipment. Terminating equipment, such as telephones and modems, supplied and installed at a customer location.

See CPE.

D

See DOCSIS.

Digital Audio-Visual Council. The European Telecommunication Standard (ETS) used as a baseline specification for the provision of the interactive channel for CATV networks.

See DPE.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (RFC 2131). DHCP clients obtain their IP address assignments and other configuration information from DHCP servers.

See DAVIC.

See DSTB.

See DVB.

Data-Over-Cable Systems Interface Specifications. Defines technical specifications for equipment at both subscriber locations and cable operators' headends. Adoption of this specification will accelerate deployment of data-over-cable services and ensure interoperability of equipment throughout system operators' infrastructures.

Device provisioning engine. A device communicating with the DHCP and is the first point of BPR contact for a device to receive its configuration. The DPE caches device information to ensure BPR scalability and handles configuration requests including downloading configuration files to devices.

Digital set-top box. A device that enables a television to become a user interface to the Internet and to receive and decode digital television signals.

See DHCP.

F

Fully qualified domain name. FQDN is the full name of a system, rather than just its hostname. For example, cisco is a hostname and www.cisco.com is an FQDN.

See FQDN.

I

Largest global internetwork, connecting tens of thousands of networks worldwide and having a "culture" that focuses on research and standardization based on real-life use. Many leading-edge network technologies come from the Internet community. The Internet evolved in part from ARPANET.

These are images stored in firmware for a Cisco device. The Cisco device can upload the image to upgrade its functionality. BPR treats this file type like any other binary file.

An IP address is a 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets across the Internet.

M

Media access control. Lower of the two sublayers of the data link layer defined by the IEEE. The MAC sublayer handles access to shared media, such as whether token passing or contention will be used.

Standardized data link layer address that is required for every port or device that connects to a LAN. Other devices in the network use these addresses to locate specific ports in the network and to create and update routing tables and data structures. MAC addresses are 6 bytes long and are controlled by IEEE, Also known as hardware address, MAC-layer address, or physical address. Compare with network address.

See MAC.

See MTA.

Modulator-demodulator. Device that converts digital and analog signals. At the source, a modem converts digital signals to a form suitable for transmission over analog communication facilities. At the destination, the analog signals are returned to their digital form. Modems allow data to be transmitted over voice-grade telephone lines.

Multiple system operator. A company that operates more than one cable TV or broadband system.

Equipment at the customer end of a broadband network.

See MSO.

N

Network address translation. Mechanism for reducing the need for globally unique IP addresses. NAT allows an organization with addresses that are not globally unique to connect to the internet by translating those addresses into globally routeable address space. This is also known as Network Address Translator.

Network layer address referring to a logical, rather than physical, network device. Compare with MAC address.

See NAT.

Person responsible for operation, maintenance, and management of a network. See also network operator.

Person who routinely monitors and controls a network, performing such tasks as reviewing and responding to alarms, monitoring throughput, configuring new circuits, and resolving problems. See also network administrator.

Cisco Network Registrar. A software product that provides IP addresses, configuration parameters, and DNS names to DOCSIS cable modems and PCs, based on network and service policies.

O

See OSI.

See OSS.

Open system interconnection. Network architectural model developed by ISO and ITU-T. The model consists of seven layers, each of which specifies particular network functions such as addressing, flow control, error control, encapsulation, and reliable message transfer. The lowest layer (the physical layer) is closest to the media technology. The lower two layers are implemented in the hardware and software, while the upper five layers are implemented only in software. The highest layer (the application layer) is closest to the user. The OSI reference model is used universally as a method for teaching and understanding network functionality.

Operations support system. Network management system supporting a specific management function, such as alarm surveillance and provisioning, in a carrier network. Many OSSs are large centralized systems running on mainframes or minicomputers.

P

See ping.

Packet internet groper. ICMP echo message and its reply. Often used in IP networks to test the reachability of a network device.

An IP terminology, and upper-layer process that receives information from lower layers. Ports are numbered, and each numbered port is associated with a specific process. For example, SMTP is associated with port 25. A port number is also called a well-known address.

A series of functions that programs can use to make the operating system perform various functions.

Groupings of DPE and Network Registrar, based on either network topology or geography, to improve network performance.

Copying provisioning information to an external datastore in real time. Publishing plug-ins must be developed to write data to a datastore.

Q

Quality of Service. Measure of performance for a transmission system that reflects its transmission quality and service availability.

See QoS.

R

Regional distribution unit. The RDU is the primary server in the BPR provisioning system. It manages generation of device configurations, forwards all API requests, and manages the BPR system.

In internetworking, the duplication of devices, services, or connections so that, in the event of a failure, the redundant devices, services, or connections can perform the work of those that failed.

Log files become redundant once its data has been written into the database. See also active logs and removable logs.

The event of a Cisco router or piece of software rebooting, or the command that causes the router or software to reboot.

Log files become removable after either being backed up, or when the complete database that contains data for this log file has been backed up. See also active logs and redundant logs.

A file that contains the values for parameters required to install the BPR packages. The installer uses the values in the response file instead of prompting for the information.

S

Selection tags associated with Network Registrar scopes. These define the clients and client classes associated with a scope.

A character string used to authenticate communication between two servers or devices.

These files are used as a configuration file for a device. For example, a static configuration file called gold.cm would identify the gold DOCSIS class of service. BPR treats this file type like any other binary file.

T

Standard terminal emulation protocol in the TCP/IP protocol stack. Telnet is used for remote terminal connection, enabling users to log in to remote systems and use resources as if they were connected to a local system. Telnet is defined in RFC 854.

Text files that contain DOCSIS options and values that, when used in conjunction with a DOCSIS class of service, provide dynamic DOCSIS file generation

Trivial File Transfer Protocol. Simplified version of file transfer protocol (FTP) that allows files to be transferred from one computer to another over a network.

See TFTP.

U

Universal Broadband Router (also known as the Cisco 7246 or 7223 router), which is the Cisco router implementation of a DOCSIS CMTS.

Universal resource locator. Standardized addressing scheme for accessing hypertext documents and other services using a browser. See also browser.

V

See VoIP.

Voice over IP. VoIP is the ability to make telephone calls and send faxes over IP-based data networks with a suitable quality of service (QoS) and superior cost/benefit.

W

World Wide Web. Large network of Internet servers providing hypertext and other services to terminals running client applications such as a browser. See also browser.

X

A Gateway Control Protocol used to pass data between networks. This includes that M (for Media) GCP and S (Simple) GCP.