Cable and DSL

Cable
Cable is a great cost-effective connection for a small office or home office or SOHO. Here are a
few cable network terms:
Headend
This is where all cable signals are received, processed and formatted. The signals
are then transmitted over the distribution network from the headend.
Distribution Network
These are relatively small service areas that usually range in size
from 100 to 2,000 customers. Theyre typically composed of a mixed fiber-coaxial or HFC
architecture with optical fiber substituting for the distribution networks trunk portion. The fiber
forms both the connection from the headend and an optical node that changes light to radio
frequency (RF) signals that are then distributed through a coaxial cable throughout the specific
area being serviced.
DOCSIS (data over cable service interface specification)All cable modems and like devices
have to measure up to this standard.
In cable network we have to share the bandwidth with all the other subscribers.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)

DSL requires a phone line, a DSL modem (often included with service), either an Ethernet card
or a router that has an Ethernet connection. DSL group types fall into two categories based upon
the upstream or downstream speed connections:
Symmetrical DSL
symmetrical.

The speed for both downstream and upstream connections are equal or

Asymmetrical DSL Different transmission speeds occur between two ends of a network
downstream speed is usually faster.
The term xDSL covers a number of DSL variations, such as ADSL, high-bit rate DSL (HDSL),
Rate Adaptive DSL (RADSL), Synchronous DSL (SDSL), ISDN DSL (IDSL) and very-highdata-rate DSL (VDSL).
DSL flavors that dont use the voice frequencies band, like ADSL and VDSL, allow DSL lines to
carry both data and voice signals simultaneously. Others, like SDSL and IDSL, that occupy the
complete frequency range, can only carry data. The speed that DSL service can offer depends on
how far you are from the CO- the closer the better.
ADSL
ADSL supports both voice and data at the same time, but it was created to allot more bandwidth
downstream than upstream because its best for residential subscribers that usually need more
downstream bandwidth for doing things like downloading video, surfing and email checking etc.
ADSL will give you downstream rate from 256 Kbps to 9.3 Mbps, but anything going upstream
is only going to reach around 1 Mbps. POTS provides a channel for analog voice transmission
and can transmit without a problem with ADSL over the same twisted-pair telephone line.

Cabling the Serial Wide Area Network

Serial Transmission
WAN serial connectors use serial transmission, something that take place 1 bit at a time over a
single channel. CISCO routers use a proprietary 60-pin serial connector that you have to get from
Cisco or a provider of Cisco equipment. The type of connector you have on the other end of the
cable depends on your service provider and their particular end-device requirements. There are
several different types of ends:

EIA/TIA-232
EIA/TIA-449
V.35 (used to connect to a CSU/DSU)
EIA-530

Serial links are described in frequency or cycles per second (hertz). The amount of data that can
be carried within these frequencies is called bandwidth. Bandwidth is the amount of data in bits
per second that the serial channel can carry.
Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data Communication Equipment (DCE)
By default router interfaces are data terminal equipment (DTE), and they connect into data
communication equipment (DCE) like a channel service unit/data service unit (CSU/DSU). The
CSU/DSU then plugs into demarcation point and is the service providers last responsibility. The
idea behind a WAN is to be able to connect two DTE networks through a DCE network. The
DCE network includes the CSU/DSU, through the providers wiring and switches, all the way to
the CSU/DSU at the other end. The networks DCE device (CSU/DSU) provides clocking to the
DTE-connected interface (the routers serial interface). The DCE network provides clocking to
the router; this is the CSU/DSU. If you have a nonproduction network and youre using a WAN
crossover type of cable and do not have a CSU/DSU, then you need to provide clocking on the
DCE end of the cable by using the clock rate command.