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NATERZ
01-09-2008, 02:42 PM
Found this while at work today. According to slashdot.org, you can download a high definition copy of "Batman Begins" in four minutes

Aiming to open the broadband services door wide for capacity-constrained cablecos, Cisco Systems Inc. is demonstrating a DOCSIS 3.0 modem that would let operators support downlink speeds of 160mbps and uplinks of 120mbps.

This would provide cablecos a powerful weapon in which to battle rival telcos, such as Verizon and SureWest Communications, who are deploying – and aggressively marketing – 20mbps symmetric Internet access pipes as part of their triple-play bundles.

Cisco said the product would be available sometime this spring.

Prominent industry watchers, such as Jeff Heynen at Infonetics Research, have said that high-speed Internet services have helped telcos like Verizon eat into the customer bases of cabelcos.

While the sorely needed bandwidth boost is welcomed by cable giants, it would not completely address the demand for symmetric high-speed links coveted by delay-intolerant online gamers and those engaging in media sharing (pictures, music, etc.) in their homes.

Non-profit cable industry R&D unit CableLabs has been working hard to evolve the DOCSIS spec and drive equipment vendor creation of modems that embody the advanced, channel-bonding technology. Comcast in particular has taken steps, detailed at last year’s Cable Show, to accelerate this process. http://www.xchangemag.com/articles/542/telcos_push_symmetric_broadband_access.html

The cable kingpin committed last month to deploying the advanced modems in 20 percent of homes passed by the end of 2008.

With at least one unit available for demo and general availability in a few months, it remains to be seen just how quickly and efficiently cable operators deploy the units in the field and the broadband services that they introduce to use the extra bandwidth provided by the boxes.

Beyond the need for faster Internet speeds, DOCSIS 3.0 is designed to leverage cablecos’ network investments in an era where the likes of AT&T and Verizon alone have spent billions to deploy the primarily fiber infrastructure they’re using to push video-driven triple-play services to the home.

Wall Street has reacted negatively to cableco spending on capital expenditures beyond original forecasts. Such was the case early last month when Comcast revised spending up $300 million for 2007. While cableco stocks had been down for months, Comcast’s hit a new low the following day.

The new cable modem and other products debuted at the Consumer Electronic Show, were created by Cisco’s Scientific Atlanta company, one Cisco paid more than $6 billion for as part of its expansion in the broadband services equipment market.

“Web surfers want faster access to everything, especially video content,” said John Sweeney, director of product strategy and management for Scientific Atlanta, in prepared comments. “To help cable operators deliver more content over their existing networks, our DOCSIS 3.0-compliant channel-bonding technology uses multiple channels to deliver more packets simultaneously, providing high-speed data rates up to four times as fast as than existing DOCSIS 2.0 modems.”

Cisco said the DPC-3000 DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonded Cable Modem is designed to meet the CableLabs DOCSIS 3.0 specs, which features support of four bonded downstream channels and four bonded upstream channels.

The vendor said the cable modem is designed to be backward-compatible for use as a single-channel cable modem with DOCSIS and Euro-DOCSIS 1.1/1.0 and 2.0 networks.

The Cisco DPC3000 Channel Bonded Modem is expected to be commercially available in the spring, which could very well make it the first such device available from a major networking player. However, CableLabs has been hard at work evaluating other units, leading experts to expect several follow-on announcements for anxious cablecos.

http://www.xchangemag.com/hotnews/81h7142235.html

Azeron
01-09-2008, 04:09 PM
It's a nice idea, but without some serious upgrading the net's infrastructure won't be able to support a lot of people using connections like this. It would love to have it though, guaranteed host on any game ftw! :D

NATERZ
01-09-2008, 04:37 PM
First thing I thought of when reading this was host advantage on Gears of War:D

v0lum3
01-09-2008, 04:39 PM
First thing I thought of when reading this was host advantage on Gears of War:D

... why would you want to play GOW... Client Side Hit Detection FTW!

NATERZ
01-09-2008, 06:14 PM
Something about being able to headshot an opponent with a shotty from all the way across the map. Host advantage is bad enough but with speeds like that would be uber crazy

v0lum3
01-09-2008, 06:23 PM
Something about being able to headshot an opponent with a shotty from all the way across the map. Host advantage is bad enough but with speeds like that would be uber crazy

umm... higher host speeds = LESS host advantage...

NATERZ
01-09-2008, 06:29 PM
I really don't think so. In Gears when the host makes the game then the game runs on their speed. I can see what you mean. I believe that it can work either way. Because I have played to where the host's connection was terrible and therefore it made me lag hardcore but I have also played to where the host had a really fast connection and even though I wasn't lagging, he was still able to perform actions faster than me.

v0lum3
01-09-2008, 06:46 PM
I have also played to where the host had a really fast connection and even though I wasn't lagging, he was still able to perform actions faster than me.

Which is your connection if theirs is superior. Your box can never outperform your connection no matter how fast the hosts' box is... however a host that results in more speed than you have usually will equal that the host isn't putting any lag into your experience, but that you're causing the majority of the lag.

Think of it this way:

X host can handle 7 users and we're going to attach a mythical number just to represent "speed". The host has 8 upload and download speed... each other player can only use 1 speed up and down... this means that since he has more than enough speed for what their connection can handle, the lag they experience is inherent from their side more than from the host...

Now another host that can only handle 4 speed and has the same users on it will result in everyone experiencing lag from the host.

And yet another host who has a ridiculous speed of 100 up/down with the same users on it will result in virtually no lag resulting from the host. This is what we're looking at here, speeds so high that the host causes no lag... but your connection will still be limited to what it's capable of.

If that makes any sense.

NATERZ
01-09-2008, 07:33 PM
Makes perfect sense. I get what you mean. I think that I was saying the same thing as you were just in a different way.

Good explanation though bro:)

Azeron
01-09-2008, 10:47 PM
<snip>
Close, but not quite true. Multiplayer games these days use predictive models to compensate for lag, trying to make the situation on your screen match the one on the host's screen as much as possible, as well as making sure that everyone appears to be moving smoothly about the map. Now these predictions rely on information which is periodically sent to you by the host, but the host has to send this information to all players and bandwith limits how often it can do this. If the host has more upstream bandwith he is able to send more information more often to the players, reducing the effects of lag. What you're talking about is what happens when the host is lacking in bandwith, but adding more actually has a positive effect too.

im a manatee
01-17-2008, 02:38 AM
Sounds great, but hong kong gets 100mbps symmetrical for around 50 dollars. I can't wait to get an upload above 384K, it's awful for 16 player.

soldat329x
01-22-2008, 08:16 PM
I think DOA4 will cease to lag! I thought the day would never come!!!!!!

graf1k
01-27-2008, 02:20 PM
I'd be happy if you could actually get 10mbps up/10mbps down for a fair price outside of cities with 2M+ population.