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Welcoming the Next-Generation of Home Networks

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Voice&Data Bureau
New Update

The concept of sharing digital content throughout the home whether a TV program, photos, internet video, or music continues to evolve. At the same time, faster broadband speeds and new digital tuning technology give consumers more choices in content along with the ability to download multimedia quicker and on multiple screens. The ever-increasing variety of digital devices and data formats has made seamless connectivity between devices an essential facet of connecting the home. Consumers need to be able to access content from any device in any room without having to know whether they are watching content that is streaming from a hard drive on a PC upstairs, coming over the internet, playing back from a handset, or stored on a set-top box digital video recorder (DVR).

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New deployments will need to support every type of digital device without the need for complex configuration or connection mechanisms. They will also have to support existing services as well as new services such as multi-room DVR capabilities. In addition, any next-generation home network technology must support ubiquitous connectivity throughout the home so that consumers are connected. The underlying home infrastructure needs to be able to transport data quickly and reliably to ensure the delivery of multiple streams of high quality content, ushering in the fully interoperable home networking evolution.

Ubiquitous Coverage with No New Wires

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Most consumers already have a number of networks installed in their homes. For example, a satellite or cable link feeds one or more set-top boxes over coax, a PC connects to other PCs using power line communications (PLC), and Wi-Fi is used to distribute a shared internet connection among several laptops and handsets. While ethernet networks provide very reliable connectivity, CAT5 wiring installation is expensive, so a few try to reuse existing 'wiring' such as coax or powerline or air.

However, no single connectivity technology has 100% coverage in every room in every home in any region. Even till recently, only 11% of homes had CAT5 installed and most of that was not properly terminated and installed for ethernet. In some regions, coax outlets are installed in a variety of rooms, but not universally. While nearly every room in the home has a power outlet, part of a home may be on another PLC phase or susceptible to interference, thus reducing performance and effective bandwidth. Even wireless coverage is not guaranteed, as accessibility is dependent upon home layout, construction, and materials density.

The next-generation home network provides full coverage by building upon and combining the existing infrastructure available throughout the home-ethernet, coax, power line, and wireless resources-and seamlessly bridging between them. For example, while a single technology out of these cannot provide whole-home coverage, a network comprising multiple communications technologies dramatically improves the situation. Each room in the home can be serviced by at least one of these technologies and, in many cases, several of them.

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The use of multiple technologies to create a hybrid network also provides redundant coverage in key rooms in the home. Consider a couple watching a show streaming off the internet. Data can be streamed to the bedroom TV via power line, coax, or wirelessly. If a particular connection begins to become congested (ie, several people in other rooms are watching HD content as well) or interference significantly reduces throughput, streaming can be shifted to another connection. In this way, the reliability of the connection, as well as the quality of the content, can be maintained regardless of changing operating conditions within the home.

Because each connectivity technology is based on different media and protocols, they have what are called 'orthogonal impairment mechanisms'. For example, a noise source that causes interference over the power lines is likely to have little impact on wireless throughput. This means that the probability that all the connections into a room will fail at the same time is lower.

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The use of multiple connectivity technologies can also increase the quality of content that can be delivered throughout the home. Load-sharing techniques can be used to distribute content over multiple channels. The impact is that instead of having 1 channel remaining inactive while another channel operates at high capacity with a greater chance of congestion, 2 channels can load-share data and both operate at low capacity for better reliability and lower latency.

Another advantage of the next-generation home network is universal connectivity. Because the existing infrastructure is being reused, devices consumers own today will be able to connect to the hybrid home network. Bridging capabilities built inside the network will support seamless data transport between the different connectivity technologies and, as a consequence, all the devices attached to it. Thus, consumers will be able to access content from any device without having to know where or how the content is actually stored. In addition, storage devices where content resides, such as network attached storage (NAS), do not need to know whether they are streaming to a PC, TV, or handset.

By leveraging the existing infrastructure and connectivity technologies already deployed in homes, the next-generation home network will be able to provide complete home coverage with redundant capacity without the need to install any new wires. This is particularly important to both service providers, who want to be able to deliver new services throughout the home without expensive truck rolls, as well as consumers, who want connectivity without complexity at the lowest price.

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Unifying the Home Network

Many service providers and equipment manufacturers understand the need for a hybrid network that seamlessly connects all the devices in the home. The difficulty posed by first-generation home networks has been that without a unifying standard to allow consumers to use multiple networks transparently, each device on the network has had to be configured, managed, and operated independently.

The new P1905.1 standard currently under development by IEEE provides the underlying mechanisms for unifying the diverse connectivity technologies that make up the home network. P1905.1 defines a common data and control service access point for hybrid networks based on Wi-Fi, HomePlug, MoCA, and ethernet. Data can arrive and be sent over any interface, regardless of the protocol and media in use.

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P1905.1 brings seamless bridging to the home network by introducing a software layer between layers 2 and 3 that abstracts the particular operating details of each interface in use and aggregates data across the different interfaces. This layer also makes it possible to provide high-level management of the network. For example, users no longer have to enter a different password for every network to which a device may connect-only a simple button press is needed. P1905.1 also specifies harmonized quality of service (QoS) mechanisms, handles device discovery and configuration, and establishes secure connections, among other advanced network management features.

  • Ease of Use: As a consumer-oriented technology, it is critical that network setup and usage be transparent to users. P1905.1 specifies common setup procedures for adding devices to the network, establishing secure links, implementing QoS, and intelligently managing network resources
  • Reliable Service: Common network issues such as congestion or the temporary loss of connection can result in degradation of quality. By implementing path selection mechanisms, devices can use alternative routing to help reduce interruption of service, thereby ensuring a positive user experience and reducing the number of support calls service providers must manage
  • Greater Network Capacity: Hybrid networks provide maximum throughput through the ability to aggregate bandwidth across all their different interfaces
  • Multiple Simultaneous Streams: With applications such as interactive TV where even a single user may be watching multiple streams simultaneously, next-generation networks must have the capacity to handle several HD streams at the same time
  • Congestion Management: P1905.1 enables features such as load sharing and QoS to limit network congestion to maintain network reliability and content quality
  • Complete Interoperability: Next-generation networks must support any existing infrastructure service providers have already installed. P1905.1 is the only specification that supports full backward-interoperability with HomePlug, Wi-Fi, ethernet, and MoCA.
  • Transparent Security: Service providers and content owners want robust security mechanisms in place for protecting content. However, to avoid costly truck rolls and/or support calls, these mechanisms must be simple enough for consumers to perform. P1905.1 devices may be configured with a single button press to avoid the complexity of password entry. P1905.1 also enables consistent password and authentication procedures to support legacy devices.
  • Higher Reliability through Advanced Monitoring and Diagnostics: P1905.1 based networks are able to provide uniform diagnostics. In addition, service providers are able to remotely monitor networks and preemptively address potential impairments before they impact the user experience.
  • Self-install: Avoiding service and installation calls is critical to controlling network deployment and operational costs. The next-generation home network must support simple installation, discovery, and self-configuration. For example, when a user connects a second P1905.1 Wi-Fi access point to the network, regardless of which interface is used, the primary access point will automatically configure the second access point with the network's name and password.
  • Freedom Through Mobility: Support for wireless devices is essential so that users can connect their smartphones, handsets, laptops, and tablets.
  • Universal Connectivity: For complete transparency, users need to be able to connect to the next-generation network from every room in the house without having to be aware over which interface they are communicating. In addition, link handoff must be seamless when moving from 1 room (and interface) to another.
  • Power Efficiency: P1905.1 supports more efficient and greener operation through power management capabilities that balance energy consumption with connection reliability and responsiveness. For example, routing can take into account the most power-friendly path through the network by considering which nodes are already awake and active.

Previous attempts have been made to connect the home using a single connectivity technology. The reality is that none of the available standards can provide reliable, entire home coverage or easily interface with every type of consumer device. To achieve this level of connectivity, a hybrid network topology is recommended. P1905.1 has been designed not to solve hypothetical problems but rather to provide working technology for the real home networking issues that must be addressed so service providers can deploy hybrid networks with confidence. By seamlessly bridging the existing connectivity technologies deployed today, P1905.1 provides the final piece required in connecting the home.

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The IEEE P1905.1 committee is on schedule to complete the draft standard by the end of 2011. Version 1.0 of the draft will provide the foundation of the next-generation home network and will serve as a platform for introducing advanced features and capabilities in the future. P1905.1 has broad industry support and companies like Broadcom are at the heart of delivering the key technologies and standards that will enable consumers to enjoy video, apps, photos, and any other content that they desire in the room of and on the screen of their own choice. For example, Broadcom's Xtendnetâ„¢ technology is an intelligent, decision-making software architecture that enables a hybrid homeplug-coax-Wi-Fi network to dynamically switch streams between the different media.

For service providers, P1905 represents an opportunity to enhance profitability through new premium services that attract new customers and the ability to deliver quality content in a reliable manner. For consumers, P1905 will serve as the bridge between the wired and wireless technologies to connect homes and lead to a connected lifestyle.

Stephen Palm
The author is senior technical
director, Broadcom Corporation
vadmail@cybermedia.co.in

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