Cisco RF Gateway 10 Software Configuration Guide

QAM Channel

The QAM Channel contains one or multiple video sessions. It can contain both unicast and multicast sessions. However, all unicast video sessions in a QAM channel must be of the same configuration type. Therefore, the video QAM channel can have one of the following:

• Local unicast sessions using user-defined UDP map
• Remote unicast sessions

A QAM channel is specified in the following syntax: qam slot/port.channel.

For example, qam 3/1.2 refers to the second QAM channel in QAM3/1 (that is, the first QAM port of the line card in slot 3.

Figure 1 Cisco RFGW-10 Slot/Port Numbering and QAM Configuration

QAM Partition

With the introduction of the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 line card (with 384 QAM channels), the capacity of a fully-loaded Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM (with 10 line cards) is now 3840 QAM channels and 160 Gbps throughput—an eight-fold increase compared to that of the earlier Cisco DS-48 line cards.

Note Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.0SQ, for Annex B, the Cisco RFGW-10 supports a maximum of 1024 downstream channels per line card, where a maximum of 384 QAMs as pilots and a maximum of 640 QAMs as replicate. For Annex A, the Cisco RFGW-10 supports a maximum of 768 downstream channels per line card, where a maximum of 288 as pilot and 480 as replicate.

Note Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ, for Annex A with 6 MHz offset, the Cisco RFGW-10 supports a maximum of 1024 downstream channels per line card, where a maximum of 384 QAMs as pilots and a maximum of 640 QAMs as replicate.

To sustain the increased capacity, and to use the resources of the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM optimally, effective with Cisco IOS-XE release 3.3.0SQ, a new tool—QAM Partition (QP) is introduced.

Each QP is assigned to a server such as the Edge Resource Manager (ERM) server to manage the resources in that partition.

QP allows servers running different control plane protocols like Edge Resource Management Interface (ERMI) or Generic QAM Interface (GQI) to share the resources of the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM.

Note Only GQI version 2 (GQIv2) is supported.

Each QP can be configured with a protocol to support the associated server.

This section has the following sub-sections:

• Prerequisites for QAM Partition
• Restrictions for QAM Partition
• Information About QAM Partition
• Default QAM Partition
• Configuring QAM Partitions

Prerequisites for QAM Partition

• Support for the Digital Network Control System (DNCS) QAM numbering scheme as (M ports) x (N channels), where all N channels within a port map to the same Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM QAM port.
• Support for the generic QAM model confined within a single Cisco RFGW DS-384 line card.
• Support for resource sharing of the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM chassis over multiple resource managers. The sharing of resources is at the QAM level.
• Allow ERM servers to choose any UDP port for a video session.
• Ensure all QAM channels in the DNCS GQI model are capable of encryption.

Restrictions for QAM Partition

• QP is supported only on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 line card.
• For the GQIv2 QP, QAMs cannot span across multiple line cards.

Information About QAM Partition

QAM Partition (QP) is a feature used to distribute the resources (QAM channels and the input bandwidth) of the high-density Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM to resource management servers, such as the ERM.

Each QP is an independent territory managed by a server or a set of servers (up to 3 servers for GQIv2 and up to 10 servers for ERMI, to manage the QP for backup purposes) responsible for managing all video sessions on the QAM channels in that partition. The ERM server is also responsible for load balancing activities for all the input ports in that partition.

A QP allows static sharing of chassis among multiple ERMs. Since each server controls only the QAM channels and input bandwidth assigned in its own QP, the server does not overstep into resources assigned to other QPs.

A QP also allows dynamic sharing of multiple services that the server supports within that QP. For example, QAM channels and input bandwidth within the QP can be dynamically shared between the different sessions.

Note We recommend you do not share a QP among multiple servers. The only recommended scenario is to have a primary server and several backup servers. In this case, only one server is in charge at any point in time.

A QP contains the following resources:

• A set of QAM channels
• A set of routes through the mid-plane ports with allocated bandwidth

The server is responsible for:

• Session management of the partition
• Load balancing of those sessions

Note The server keeps track of how the input routes are utilized with respect to their allocated bandwidth. The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM rejects any session creation that violates the route bandwidth allocation.

Default QAM Partition

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM creates a hidden default QP that contains all QAM channels that are not included in any user-defined QP. You must manage the QAMs in the default QP locally through the command line interface.

Local video sessions are configured through the command line interface. However, you must configure the video route for the default QAM partition under the load balance group for the line card before configuring the local video sessions.

Note Only user-defined mapping is supported for local video sessions.

Sessions created through the GQI version 2 or ERMI are referred to as remote sessions.

Video QAM Monitoring for Bandwidth Oversubscription

QAM bandwidth oversubscription is determined by measuring the bandwidth usage of a QAM and validating it against the capacity of the QAM. If the bandwidth usage exceeds the capacity for an interval of 30 seconds, the QAM is declared as oversubscribed. Similarly, the oversubscription alarm is turned off if the oversubscribed QAM operates within the capacity for 30 seconds.

QAM bandwidth usage is calculated by aggregating the output bitrate of each video session flowing on the QAM and the carousels (PAT/PMT/ECM/SDT) associated with them. The Bandwidth Used field in the output of the show controllers qam slot/port.channel downstream command and Total Measured Bitrate field in the output of the show cable video session command, reflect the bitrate calculated at the QAM output.

When you enable QAM monitoring for QAM bandwidth oversubscription, all the line cards in the chassis monitor the QAMs associated with them and report any QAM oversubscription activity in the form of console messages. You can also enable a QAM bandwidth oversubscription trap to receive notifications on an NMS (network management system). QAM monitoring is disabled by default.

QAM oversubscription notifications help to identify the overloaded video QAMs and offload them. You can use the history of oversubscription events as a first level information to rule out software issues in problematic scenarios like macro blocking or distorted feeds.

For more information on enabling video QAM monitoring, see Enabling Video QAM Monitoring for Bandwidth Oversubscription.

For more information on enabling video QAM monitoring traps, see Enabling Video QAM Monitoring Trap for Bandwidth Oversubscription.

Load Balancing Group and Video Routes

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.3.0SQ, the term load balancing group (LBG) is used to identify QAM traffic that uses the mid-plane 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports to forward traffic to the QAM carriers. Therefore, when seen from the point-of-view of the Cisco RF Gateway10, there are 20 LBGs—two LBG per Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 line card. Each LBG has a maximum of 10 Gbps bandwidth (usable bandwidth is 9.1 Gbps), which is equivalent to a maximum of 192 QAM carriers for the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 line card.

For a video application, the route configuration is organized as route level and input route for a QAM partition. The bandwidth reserved for all routes cannot exceed the maximum bandwidth on the LBG. LBGs must be used to reserve the bandwidth and set up video routes.

A video server has multiple network paths to reach the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM chassis. The traffic may enter the chassis through one of its multiple ingress ports. Inside the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM chassis, there may be multiple paths between the ingress port and the output QAM channel.

LBG allows the user to map the input route of a QP to an internal mid-plane. For example, a QP with 9.1 Gbps of maximum throughput may use one mid-plane 10GE port exclusively, or it may divide the throughput into two sets of 4.55 Gbps, and send them to the two internal 10GE links. In other words, traffic may be split into multiple routes in different load balancing groups.

Another example is, if a QP has 4 Gbps of throughput and all its QAM channels are in the same line card, and the QP uses four ingress GE ports, then instead of setting up a single route of 4 Gbps, it can use four routes of 1 Gbps. Four IP addresses are used here to help organize the traffic into four GE pipes.

These four routes can be configured in two different load balancing groups with each LBG having 2 Gbps of traffic per mid-plane sending to the line card. The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM and the upstream routers, if any, can be configured such that the traffic maps to the selected ingress port appropriately for each video session.

When a QAM model on the ERM has more than one input port, the server determines the input port to use for a video session. This applies to both unicast and multicast sessions.

For ERMI, the input IP address is used to signal the input port to use for a video session. For GQIv2, the input port ID (gqi-ingress-port) is used instead. Selecting the input port determines the route of the QP, which in turn selects the mid-plane port, and the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM ingress port.

For multicast sessions, input address or input port is used to determine the mid-plane port and subsequently the mid-plane PIM to set up the IGMP join/leave for a given multicast source or group address to the mid-plane.

Scrambling

The RFGW-10 uses scrambling licenses on a per card basis. The following scrambling modes are used in the RFGW-10:

1. PowerKey is capable of using DES or CSA encryption algorithms.

2. DVB uses the CSA encryption algorithm.

3. JCAS Encryption that enables PowerKey and DVB simultaneously on the line card.

4. Privacy Mode Encryption.

The line card must either support the selected encryption method or must not have any encryption configured.

DES and CSA Scrambling Core

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ, PowerKey scrambling supports both DES and CSA encryption algorithms. The cable linecard encryption command is modified to add the csa optional keyword to configure PowerKey with the CSA algorithm.

The following are the important considerations while configuring scrambling encryption:

• The linecards in a redundancy group must either support the same encryption algorithm or the linecards must not have any encryption configured.
• The encryption configured on a linecard cannot be changed if the linecard is a part of a redundancy group. To make any change in the encryption algorithm on a linecard, the linecard slot must be removed from that redundancy group. After the removal, the change is made and the linecard added to an appropriate redundancy group.
• If a line card has any QAM or session configurations, such configurations must be removed before changing the encryption algorithm on that line card.
• When the encryption algorithm is changed, the message prompting the linecard reset is displayed.

Note To upgrade the RFGW-10 chassis which is configured with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.0SQ to Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ or later, the following restriction applies to a redundancy group: The linecards in a redundancy group are configured with different algorithms. For example, linecard 1 is configured with PowerKey-DES, linecard 2 is configured with DVB-CSA and linecard 3 has PowerKey-DES encryption. The linecard 2 must be removed from the redundancy group, before the chassis is upgraded to Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ.

For more details, see the Enforcing PowerKey Scrambling.

DVB Conformance (CSA Extended Control Word)

In DVB-CSA scrambling, the signals is encrypted using the control word generated by the Control Word Generator (CWG). Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ, you could enable the generation of the extended control word. The extended control word provides additional security within the CSA encryption framework.The extended control word generation can be enabled or disabled only on a line card that supports DVB scrambling. Use the dvb-conform command to enable or disable the extended control word generation.

For more information on configuring the DVB Conformance feature, see Configuring DVB Conformance (Optional).

JCAS Encryption (Dual Encrypt)

The Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 linecard is capable of only enforcing one scrambling encryption, either PowerKey or DVB. Effective from Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ, the Java Conditional Access System (JCAS) Encryption feature enables PowerKey and DVB encryption on a single line card. This dual encryption on line cards is implemented using the cable linecard encryption command.

Note The JCAS Encryption feature supports only the CSA encryption algorithm.

For more information on configuring the JCAS Encryption feature, see Configuring JCAS Encryption (Optional).

Privacy Mode Encryption (PME)

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.5.0SQ, PME is supported on the Cisco RFGW-10. PME is the video encryption technology that is used for VOD in the ARRIS (Motorola) headend. It supports encryption in both local and remote modes, enables cable operators to easily encrypt their VOD programs to ensure they can only be viewed by authorized subscribers.

For more information on configuring the PME feature, see Configuring PME (Privacy Mode Encryption).

Video Input

This section describes the video input in detail:

• Video Data Format
• Unicast and Multicast Traffic
• SPTS and MPTS
• CBR and VBR
• Bit Rate Range

Video Data Format

The video data is IP-encapsulated MPEG-2 TSs over UDP/IP.

All input TSs to the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM must be compliant with the MPEG-2 Systems specification (ISO/IEC 13818-1).

A TS contains one or multiple programs (TV channels). A program contains multiple elements such as video, audio, data, ECM, and so on. Each of these are encoded in an elementary stream (ES) and identified by a 13-bit PID. An ES is packetized into 188-byte transport packets (TPs). TPs of all ESs are multiplexed into the transport stream. A TP has a 4-byte header, an optional adaptation field, and payload. The PID field in the TP header indicates from which ES the TP has originated.

Each IP packet can hold up to seven TPs.

Unicast and Multicast Traffic

For unicast traffic, the input session is identified by the destination IP address and the destination UDP ports.

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM supports both Any Source Multicast (ASM) and Source Specific Multicast (SSM). For ASM, the input session is identified by the group IP address. For SSM, the input session is identified by the source and group IP address pair. In both cases, the UDP ports are ignored.

Both ASM and SSM can co-exist but cannot overlap in a group IP address. Hence, for a group IP address, either a single ASM session, or one or more SSM sessions can be used.

Redundant multicast sources are supported. Up to three SSM multicast address pairs can be specified for a video session. However, only multicast traffic from one source is forwarded to the output QAMs. When the current active source fails, another source is chosen automatically.

SPTS and MPTS

A Single Program Transport Stream (SPTS) contains only one program and a Multiple Program Transport Stream (MPTS) contains multiple programs. An SPTS is used in Video on Demand (VoD) or Switched Digital Video (SDV), where each program is individually delivered. An MPTS is used in Broadcast Digital Video (BDV), where a pre-bundled set of programs are delivered as a whole. The advantage of MPTS is that it allows statistical multiplexing between programs to achieve good video quality at an overall constant lower bit rate.

The PID and program numbers in the MPTS and SPTS remuxing are unique. If there is a program number or PID conflict, a warning message is displayed.

For example,

If there is a MPTS program conflict, the following message is displayed:

If there is a MPTS PID conflict, the following message is displayed:

If there is a SPTS PID conflict, the following message is displayed:

LINECARD_MSG_INFO: SLOT 3:LC_INFOMSG_VIDEO_OUT_PID_CONFLICT PID 418, Remapped session 201392137 is blocked.

CBR and VBR

A program or a transport stream can be encoded in Constant Bit Rate (CBR) or Variable Bit Rate (VBR). Programs within an MPTS are encoded in VBR to take advantage of statistical multiplexing, although the overall MPTS is usually encoded in CBR.

In MPEG-2, the encoder periodically inserts samples of its clock into the transport stream. These samples are called Program Clock References (PCRs). The bit rate of a transport stream is calculated using two adjacent PCRs of the same program. For CBR, each PCR pair gives the same bit rate. For VBR, the bit rate can vary, but a piece-wise constant bit rate model is used, where the stream is assumed to be delivered in the constant rate as calculated by each adjacent PCR pair. While forwarding an MPEG session to the QAM, the original delivery model should be maintained, otherwise it might result in buffer overflow or underflow in the decoder.

MPEG-2 also allows transport streams without PCR (PCR PID being 0x1FFF in PMT). This is referred to as stream with unknown bit rate.

Bit Rate Range

The line cards support streams with different bit rates, including:

• Standard Definition (SD) video programs with bit rates ranging from 62.5 kbps to 15 Mbps.
• High Definition (HD) video programs with bit rates ranging from 6 to 20 Mbps.
• Music programs with bit rates ranging from 128 to 384 kbps.

The line card supports up to 30 sessions per QAM channel. Due to the low bit rate nature of the music programs, these programs are expected to be pre-bundled into MPTS streams before being sent to the line card.

Only three high-definition (HD) sessions per QAM channel are supported.

Video Session Mapping

Video session mapping is the mapping between the input sessions and the output sessions of the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM. An input session is identified by a destination IP address and an UDP port for the unicast session, and by a group and source IP address pair for a multicast session. An output session is identified by a QAM ID and a program number.

The following video session mappings are supported:

• Table-based Mapping: Also referred to as the local session configuration. This static mapping is configured using the CLI. Video sessions set up using this method are termed as local sessions.
• Session-based Signaling: This mapping is dynamically signaled by an external server using a control protocol, such as GQIv2 and ERMI. Video sessions set up using this method are termed as remote sessions.

Table-based Mapping

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM supports only user-defined mapping of table-based mapping.

User-defined Mapping

The user-defined mapping is typically used in VoD or Broadcast Digital Video applications. You can specify the mapping using the CLI. This mapping can be used for both unicast and multicast sessions.

Session-based Signaling

Session-based signaling is used in VoD, Broadcast Digital Video (BDV), and SDV applications. The Generic QAM Interface (GQIv2) based video control plane provides video session management through a GQIv2 signaling protocol with Digital Network Control System (DNCS) and Universal Session/Resource Manager (USRM). This mapping is used for both unicast and multicast sessions.

The GQIv2 supports the following:

• Session management: session creation, deletion, and queries
• Packet management: packet insertion, cancellation, and queries
• Edge device maintenance: reset control and discovery encryption capability notification

The ERMI supports the following

• RTSP protocol for session management.
• ERRP protocol to push QAM resources to ERM.

Video Session Types

This section describes the video session types:

• Remapped Session
• Pass-through Session
• Data Piping Session

Remapped Session

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM supports multiplexing multiple SPTSs into an MPTS in a QAM. For muxed sessions, the line card software automatically remaps the PIDs to avoid PID collision at the output. The output PSI are generated to contain the Transport Stream ID (TSID), the output program numbers, and the remapped PID values. For output TP scheduling, clash is resolved when multiple programs try for the same output slot. Unused output slots are filled with NULL packet (PID 0x1FFF).

Oversubscription results in random TP dropping.

Only PIDs referenced by the Program Association Table (PAT), PMT, and the CA descriptors are included at the output for the remapped session. The Ghost PIDs, which are unreferenced PIDs, are dropped.

Pass-through Session

A pass-through session is an MPTS that contains multiple programs pre-bundled before entering the EQAM device. The PAT is snooped and regenerated with the correct TSID. The PMT and other program data are not changed. PID remapping is not performed. Input NULL packets are dropped. Oversubscription results in random TP dropping. All ghost PIDs are preserved in the output.

The following features are supported for pass-through video sessions:

• Multiplexing of pass-through video sessions with other sessions of any type
• CBR clock recovery mode

Note Only one pass-through sessions are supported per QAM channel.

Note The bitrate configuration using bitrate command is recommended for the pass-through session above 40 Mbps bitrate.

Data Piping Session

Data piping sessions are typically streams containing well-known PIDs to be injected into the output QAM channel. They do not contain PSI or PCR. PSI processing and dejittering are not performed on data piping sessions.

The data piping session usage examples are:

• Entitlement Control Message (ECM)/Entitlement Management Message (EMM) streams
• Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP)
• BDV System Information (SI) streams
• Scientific Atlanta (SA) Broadcast File System (BFS) streams
• Emergency alert message (SCTE-18)

Video Processing

This section describes Video processing:

• IP/UDP Depacketization
• Dejittering and Clock Recovery
• PSI Processing
• PID Remapping
• Session Cloning
• PCR Restamping
• Output Multiplexing

IP/UDP Depacketization

The information from the IP and UDP headers is used to identify the session for an IP packet. All MPEG TPs found in the payload are processed.

Dejittering and Clock Recovery

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM removes the packetization and network jitter introduced by the ingress IP network. The dejittering size is configurable from the range of 20 ms to 200 ms.

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM implements clock recovery PLL to synchronize its local clock with that of the video server. This synchronization ensures that the input and output rate match and prevents or reduces the long term drift between the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM and the video server.

Dejittering and clock recovery apply to both the remapped and pass-through sessions.

The dejittering and clock recovery method assumes all video sessions are variable bit rate (VBR) by default. This method also works for sessions that are constant bit rate (CBR) sessions. However, in scenarios where the MPTS input stream contains programs with faulty PCRs, providing the CBR information helps isolate the faulty PCRs. Isolating faulty PCRs prevents them from corrupting the good PCRs within the same input session. The CBR dejittering and clock recovery mode is added in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(50)SQ1 to support isolation of faulty PIDs.

Note Only pass-through video sessions can be specified as CBR. This helps to differentiate the faulty PIDs from the useful PIDs.

Note For session of unknown bit rate, dejittering and clock recovery is not performed. In this case, the output traffic will be bursty.

PSI Processing

MPEG-2 defines a Program Specific Information (PSI) that consists of tables to enable the decoder to locate, descramble, and decode a program. The recognized and supported PSI tables are:

• Program Association Table (PAT): Associates each program number with its PMT PID. Always in PID 0. Carries also the 16-bit Transport Stream ID (TSID).
• Program Map Table (PMT): Specifies the PID and other information for all elementary streams associated with a program.
• Conditional Access (CA) Descriptor: Appears in the PMT and is used to carry information related to the conditional access system. The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM includes the CA PID as part of the program ES.

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM snoops for the input PAT and PMT to obtain program and ES information. This information is obtained using the show commands. For a remapped session, this information is used for PID remapping.

For remapped sessions, the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM regenerates the output PAT, which has the configured TSID and contains programs from all the video sessions in the QAM channel. The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM regenerates the output PMT with the configured program number and remapped output PID values.

For pass-through sessions, the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM regenerates the output PAT, which has the configured TSID. The rest of the PAT, and all the PMTs from the pass-through session is preserved at the output.

The data piping sessions are not expected to have PSI, therefore PSI processing is not done.

Note The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM detects PAT and PMT change by examining their version numbers and the CRC value. The PSI is resnooped when change is detected.

PID Remapping

For remapped sessions, the input PID is identified and remapped to its corresponding output PID value. No PID remapping is applied on pass-through sessions and data piping sessions.

Session Cloning

Session cloning refers to the ability of forwarding an input session to multiple output QAM channels. Only multicast sessions can be cloned. The output QAM channels can be located on the same, or different line cards.

Cloning is available on sessions using user-defined mapping, and session-based signaling. It is applicable to remapped sessions, pass-through sessions, and data piping sessions. For remapped sessions, each output copy can have a different output program number.

Note Unicast sessions cannot be cloned. A unicast session can be mapped to only one output QAM channel.

PCR Restamping

The value of all input PCRs is modified if necessary so that the output MPTS is compliant with the PCR requirements as per the MPEG-2 systems specification.

PCR restamping applies to both the remapped sessions and pass-through sessions. The data piping sessions are not expected to contain PCR, therefore PCR restamping is not applied.

Output Multiplexing

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM multiplexes up to 30 sessions into an output MPTS for each QAM channel. Up to eight pass-through sessions can be multiplexed within a QAM channel.

Note Multiplexing of pass-through video sessions is supported effective with Cisco IOS Release 12.2(50)SQ1. A pass-through session can be multiplexed with other remapped sessions, pass-through sessions, or data piping session into the same QAM channels.

The MPTS session is assumed to have no collision in the PID space and program number space with the other sessions that already exist in the QAM channel, except for PAT PID. The Cisco RFGW-10 performs PID collision checking for all PIDs found in PAT and PMT of the new pass-through session. This does not include ghost PIDs. It also performs program number collision checking, where if a PID or a program number exists in the output QAM channel, the new pass-through session is blocked. This checking is performed whenever a new PAT or PMT is found in the session.

When picking the output PIDs for remapped sessions, the Cisco RFGW-10 avoids PIDs already existing in a QAM channel. Therefore, it is recommended that the pass-through sessions be created first in a QAM channel before the remapped sessions.

Video Session States

A video session is in one of the following states based on its traffic condition: INIT, ACTIVE, BLOCKED, IDLE, or OFF.

A session configured for the first time is in the INIT state. It stays in this state for a brief time. If the traffic starts before the INIT timer expires, it moves to the ACTIVE state, otherwise to the IDLE state.

When the traffic starts, the session remains in the ACTIVE state as long as the traffic continues to flow. When the traffic stops for a time longer than the IDLE timer, it moves to the IDLE state. During the IDLE state, the session’s PAT and PMT is retained as the output. If the traffic resumes in this state, the session moves to the ACTIVE state again with all its previous PSI and remapping information unaltered.

In IDLE state, if traffic does not start or resume before the OFF timer expires, the session transitions to the OFF state. When the traffic resumes, it is treated as a new session.

The figure below shows the traffic state transition.

Figure 2 Traffic State Transition Diagram

A video session is in the BLOCKED state when one of the following occurs:

• The number of programs in a remapped session is more than 1.
• The number of PIDs in a remapped session (including PMT PID) is more than 32.
• The number of programs in a pass-through session is more than 64.
• There is a problem in parsing the input PMT table.

The output of a BLOCKED video session is not inserted at the output QAM channel. The video session is unblocked when the above conditions are resolved.

Video Applications

The Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM supports the following video applications:

• Video on Demand
• Broadcast Digital Video
• Switched Digital Video

Video on Demand

Video on Demand (VoD) sessions are unicast CBR SPTSs. All session mapping techniques can be used. The session type should be a remapped session. VoD supports Trick Mode, which provides functionalities like fast forward, rewind, and pause for an MPEG bit stream.

Broadcast Digital Video

Broadcast Digital Video (BDV) sessions are Multicast MPTSs. Typically, the User-defined Mapping or Session-based Signaling is used. It is cloned to multiple QAM channels due to its broadcast nature. The BDV session should be a pass-through session.

Switched Digital Video

Switched Digital Video (SDV) sessions are typically Multicast SPTSs. The Session-based Signaling is required for the SDV sessions. These are cloned to multiple QAM channels due to its broadcast nature.

Video Stateful Switchover

Video sessions on the Cisco RFGW-10 are either unicast or multicast sessions created manually or remotely using GQIv2 or ERMI. At run time, the video session state information is check pointed from the active Supervisor card to the standby Supervisor card.

Unicast video sessions continue to forward traffic during Supervisor card switchover with about one second outage time.

Multicast video sessions may experience a longer outage time during Supervisor card switchover. The outage time is a few seconds (approximately less than 10 seconds) and depends on the number of multicast sessions and the network topology. This is because the underlying multicast function is not SSO-aware although the video session state is synchronized to the standby Supervisor card.

PowerKEY Encryption License Enforcement

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.3.0SQ, video sessions can be encrypted with the PowerKEY to address security concerns.

PowerKEY is a conditional access system (CAS) that provides a range of services for protection of digital entertainment content, such as linear or broadcast service encryption, session-based encryption for video-on-demand or other on-demand services, and a pay-per-view purchase model including reservation mode and impulse mode.

The encryption capability is enforced by the Cisco software license. When the line card is inserted into the chassis, there is no encryption feature license available. The Cisco Software Licensing (CSL) and platform CSL layer validate the license present in the line card flash partitions.

DVB License Enforcement

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.0SQ, video sessions can be encrypted with DVB. DVB scrambling is performed using the DVB-Common Scrambling Algorithm (CSA).

The encryption capability is enforced by the Cisco software license. When the line card is inserted into the chassis, there is no encryption feature license available. The CSL and platform CSL layer validate the license present in the line card flash partitions.

Privacy Mode Encryption License Enforcement

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.5.0SQ, video sessions can be encrypted with Privacy Mode Encryption (PME).

The encryption capability is enforced by the Cisco software license. When the line card is inserted into the chassis, there is no encryption feature license available. The CSL and platform CSL layer validate the license present in the line card flash partitions.

Enforcing PowerKey Scrambling

Prerequisites

The line card should be installed with the PowerKEY encryption license.

For more information, see How to Install Licenses on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card section in the Software License Activation for Cisco RF Gateway 10 Line Cards guide.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable linecard slot encryption pkey scrambler [des | csa]

4. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Note On the Cisco DS-384 line card, only 192 carriers can be in encrypt mode. Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.0SQ, 256 carriers can be in encrypt mode on the Cisco DS-384 line card.

Displaying Installed License Details

Note DVB licensing is not supported for Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.3.0SQ. However, if a line card is installed with the DVB license, the show commands display the DVB-installed license information.

This is a sample output of the show command that displays the summary of the encryption information in Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.3.0SQ:

This is a sample output of the show command that displays the information about the licenses on a specific slot in Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.3.0SQ:

This is a sample output of the show command that displays the summary of the encryption information in Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.0SQ:

This is a sample output of the show command that displays the information about the licenses on a specific slot in Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.0SQ:

Configuring DVB Scrambling

Complete the following procedures to configure DVB scrambling:

• Enforcing DVB Scrambling (Required)
• Configuring DVB Conformance (Optional)
• Configuring CA Interface (Required)
• Configuring EIS (Required)
• Configuring ECMG (Required)
• Configuring Scrambling for Video and Audio Only (Optional)
• Enabling SCG Checking During Provisioning (Optional)
• Configuring Alarm Start Delay
• Configuring Strong Pairing Enforcement (Optional)
• Configuring Tier-Based Scrambling (Optional)
• Configuring IP Routes (Optional)
• Configuring ARP Entry (Optional)
• Verifying DVB Scrambling Configurations (Optional)

Note You must configure the QAM sessions.

Enforcing DVB Scrambling

Prerequisites

You must install the DVB encryption and downstream licenses on the line card. For more information, see How to Install Licenses on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card section in the Software License Activation for Cisco RF Gateway 10 Line Cards guide.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable linecard slot encryption dvb scrambler csa

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

What To Do Next

Configure Conditional Access (CA) interface. For more information, see Configuring CA Interface.

Configuring DVB Conformance (Optional)

Effective with Cisco IOS-XE Release 3.4.1SQ, use the dvb-conform command in the dvb-conform (config-dvb) mode to enable or disable DVB Conformance (extended control word generation). This configuration is optional.

Prerequisites

The line card should be installed with the DVB encryption license. For more information, see How to Install Licenses on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card section in the Software License Activation for Cisco RF Gateway 10 Line Cards guide.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable linecard slot encryption dvb scrambler csa

4. dvb-conform [false | true]

5. end

DETAILED STEPS

What To Do Next

Configure Conditional Access (CA) interface. For more information, see Configuring CA Interface.

Configuring CA Interface

The Entitlement Control Message Generator (ECMG) proxy of the Cisco RFGW-10 communicates with external ECMG server using the CA interface.

Prerequisites

For communication between CA interface and external ECMG, the internal Gigabit ethernet interface must be configured for primary line card, and secondary line card for line card redundancy.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler linecard slot ca-interface ip_address subnet_mask gateway

4. interface qam slot/port.channel

5. cable mode video local encrypt

6. end

DETAILED STEPS

What To Do Next

Configure Event Information Scheduler (EIS). For more information, see Configuring EIS.

Configuring EIS

EIS contains the schedule information, all the configurations, and CA-specific information required for the complete CA system. EIS proxy must be configured on the Cisco RFGW-10 to communicate with the external EIS client.

Note This configuration is not needed for tier-based scrambling.

Restrictions

You can configure a maximum of 10 EIS per chassis.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler eis eis_id eis_name tcp_port

4. cp-overrule duration

5. overwrite-scg

6. fail-to-clear-duration timeout

7. end

DETAILED STEPS

What To Do Next

Configure Entitlement Control Message Generator (ECMG). For more information, see Configuring ECMG.

Configuring ECMG

ECMG receives control words (CW) in a control word provision message and access criteria and replies with an ECM or an error message. ECMG proxy must be configured on the Cisco RFGW-10 to communicate with the external ECMG server.

Prerequisites

To establish ECMG connection, Gigabit ethernet interface must be configured for primary line card, and secondary line card for line card redundancy.

Restrictions

You can associate a maximum of 3 ECMG proxies per line card.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler linecard slot ecmg ecmg_id { new name ecmg_type ca_system_id ca_subsystem_id | update }

4. auto-channel-id

5. connection connection-id priority ip-address port [ channel-id ]

6. desc-rule rule-id name { do-not-insert | add-priv-data { as-per-eis | at-es-level } data [ ecm-id-list ]}

7. overrule { max-comp-time max-comp-time | min-cp-duration min-cp-duration | trans-start-delay trans-start-delay | trans-stop-delay trans-stop-delay | start-delay start-delay | stop-delay stop-delay | ac-start-delay ac-start-delay | ac-stop-delay ac-stop-delay | rep-period rep-period | max-streams max-streams }

8. end

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring Scrambling for Video and Audio Only

When scrambling is configured using this procedure, elementary streams other than video and audio are not scrambled.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler video-audio-only

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Enabling SCG Checking During Provisioning

When SCG checking at the time of provisioning is enabled, the Simulcrypt Synchroniser (SCS) does not provision the SCG from EIS if the elementary streams or services in the incoming stream do not match the streams or services in SCG provisioning message. When this configuration is disabled, the input transport stream is verified only during scrambling.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler check-scg-at-prov

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring Alarm Start Delay

This configuration is applied only to the upcoming scrambling alarms. If the alarm is cleared within the configured time, then it will not be displayed on the console.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler alarm-start-delay delay-seconds

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring Strong Pairing Enforcement

Strong pairing enforcement is used for the NDS CA setup. When strong pairing enforcement is enabled, the strong pairing enforcement bit is always reset in the control word.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler strong-pairing-enforce

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring Tier-Based Scrambling

Tier-based scrambling allows you to scramble all the sessions on a given line card (encrypted channels) with the same ECM streams. Only one stream is opened with the external ECMG, which reduces the license cost with the CA vendor. The CA vendor billing is based on the number of ECM streams.

Restrictions

Access criteria must be configured for all the ECMG proxies.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler linecard slot tier-based

4. access-criteria ecmg-id access-criteria

5. scrambling [Enable | Disable]

6. end

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring IP Routes

Note We recommend that you configure IP route only to connect to the CA servers residing in a different network. Improper configuration of IP routes can result in flooding of CA interface in the line card, which can affect the scrambling performance.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler linecard slot ip-route dest_ip_address gateway_ip [ subnet_mask ]

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring ARP Entry

ARP entry is configured to reach the external ECMG server when the CA system is outside the network.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler linecard slot arp dest_ip_address mac_address

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Verifying DVB Scrambling Configurations

To verify the DVB scrambling configurations, use the show cable video scrambler command.

Configuring PME (Privacy Mode Encryption)

Enforcing PME

Prerequisites

The line card should be installed with the PME licenses.

For more information, see How to Install Licenses on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card section in the Software License Activation for Cisco RF Gateway 10 Line Cards guide.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable linecard slot encryption pme scrambler des

4. end

DETAILED STEPS

Displaying Installed License Details

To verify the PME license, use show cable license slot command.

This is a sample output of the show command that displays the installed PME license in linecard 3:

Configuring PME

Prerequisites

The line card should be installed with the PME licenses.

For more information, see How to Install Licenses on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card section in the Software License Activation for Cisco RF Gateway 10 Line Cards guide.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video scrambler pme mgmt-ip ip_address

4. cable video scrambler pme vodsid id

5. cable video scrambler pme cem ip_address port

6. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Verifying PME Configuration

To verify the PME configurations, use the show cable video scrambler pme status command.

Configuring JCAS Encryption (Optional)

Prerequisites

The line card should be installed with the PowerKEY and DVB encryption licenses.

For more information, see How to Install Licenses on the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card section in the Software License Activation for Cisco RF Gateway 10 Line Cards guide.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable linecard slot encryption dual-crypt scrambler csa

4. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Displaying Installed License Details

To verify the JCAS encryption status, use show cable license slot command.

This is a sample output of the show command that displays the installed PowerKEY and DVB encryption license in linecard 3:

Reserving the PIDs

This section describes how to reserve the PIDs in a chassis. You need to reserve the PIDs to avoid the PIDs to be included in the remap range.

Note It is a recommendation to reserve the PIDs before you configure the video sessions.

Restrictions

The following are the restrictions to reserve the PIDs:

• You can configure only two PID ranges per chassis.
• The entire range cannot be used to reserve the PID. You can reserve only two PID ranges per chassis with a gap of 2048 PIDs between two configurations.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable video reserved-pid minimum PID range maximum PID range

4. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Examples

The following example shows how to reserve the PID range:

RFGW-10(config)# cable video reserved-pid 455 500

Configuring RF Parameters

This configuration is similar to the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 QAM and RF Parameter configuration. For more information, see the Configuring the Cisco RFGW-10 DS-384 Line Card.

Configuring Global Video Parameters

This section describes how to fine-tune the timeout value of the video data plane. This configuration is optional.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. [no] cable video timeout {init-session ms | idle-session ms | low-bitrate-idle-session ms | off-session sec}

DETAILED STEPS

Examples

The following example shows how to configure an idle session timer and an off session timer:

Configuring QAM Partitions

This section describes how to configure the QAM partition and the QAM specific video parameters:

To configure the QAM partition, complete the following procedures:

• ERMI QAM Partition
• Associating QAM Channels to the ERMI QAM Partition
• GQIv2 QAM Partition
• Associating QAM Channels to the GQIv2 QAM Partition
• NGOD-D6 QAM Partition
• Associating QAM Channels to the NGOD-D6 QAM Partition

To enable traps for changes in QAM partitions and LBG, complete the following procedures:

• Enabling Traps for QAM Addition or Deletion to a QAM Partition
• Enabling Traps for QAM Partition State Change
• Enabling Traps for QAM Route Addition or Deletion to a QAM Partition or LBG

To configure the QAM-Specific video parameters, complete the following procedures:

• Configuring QAM Mode
• Configuring Additional GQIv2 Parameters
• Configuring Additional ERMI Parameters

To display the QAM partition configuration, see Displaying QAM Partition Configuration

ERMI QAM Partition

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable qam-partition partition-id

4. protocol ermi

5. mgmt ip ip_addr

6. server ip ip_addr

7. keepalive retry sec [Optional]

8. errp {component-name comp-name | connect-retry retry-interval | connect-time connect-seconds | hold-time hold-seconds | streaming-zone zone-name}

9. rtsp { connect-retry retry-interval | connect-time connect-seconds | keepalive connection-timeout-interval | session-timeout session-timeout-interval }

10. errp streaming-zone name

11. active

DETAILED STEPS

Example

For more information on these commands, see the Cisco RF Gateway 10 DS-384 Video Command Reference Guide.

Associating QAM Channels to the ERMI QAM Partition

Note QAM mode should be in cable mode video remote.

Prerequisites

Ensure that the QAM mode is configured. For more information see Configuring QAM Mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. interface qam slot/port.channel

4. cable partition partition-id

5. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Example

GQIv2 QAM Partition

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. ip default-gateway ip address

4. ip rpc portmapper

5. cable qam-partition partition-id

6. protocol gqi

7. mgmt ip ip_addr

8. server ip ip_addr

9. mac-address mac_addr

10. keepalive retry sec [Optional]

11. reset interval sec [Optional]

12. active

DETAILED STEPS

Example

Associating QAM Channels to the GQIv2 QAM Partition

Note QAM mode should be in cable mode video remote.

Prerequisites

Ensure that the QAM mode is configured. For more information see Configuring QAM Mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. interface qam slot/port.channel

4. cable partition partition-id { external-channel channel_number }

5. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Example

NGOD-D6 QAM Partition

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable qam-partition partition-id

4. protocol ngod-d6

5. mgmt ip ip_addr

6. server ip_addr

7. d6 {streaming-zone zone-name [optional] | co mponent-name comp-name [optional] | connect-time connect-seconds | hold-time hold-seconds | port port-number | vendor-string string-name | connect-retry retry-interval }

8. active

DETAILED STEPS

Example

Associating QAM Channels to the NGOD-D6 QAM Partition

Note QAM mode should be in cable mode video local/local-encrypt.

Prerequisites

Ensure that the QAM mode is configured. For more information see Configuring QAM Mode.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. interface qam slot/port.channel

4. cable mode video local/local-encrypt

5. cable downstream lqam-group group_ID

6. cable downstream tsid id

7. cable downstream rf-profile rf-profile-id

8. cable downstream frequency frequency

9. no cable downstream rf-shutdown

10. cable qam-group qam-group

11. cable partition partition-id

12. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Example

Enabling Traps for QAM Addition or Deletion to a QAM Partition

You can enable trap notifications when a QAM has been added to or deleted from a QAM Partition.

DETAILED STEPS

Enabling Traps for QAM Partition State Change

You can enable trap notifications when a QAM Partition's state has been changed.

DETAILED STEPS

Enabling Traps for QAM Route Addition or Deletion to a QAM Partition or LBG

You can enable trap notifications when a route has been added to or deleted from a QAM Partition or an LBG.

DETAILED STEPS

Default QAM Partition

Note A default QP is not required to be configured. The default QP contains all QAM carriers that are not being used by the GQIv2 or ERMI.

Each line card requires a video route for all local sessions using the default QP.

A QAM channel can now have sessions from more than one unicast destination IP address, and can receive video traffic from both mid-plane ports.

Configuring QAM Mode

To enable the video service under a QAM channel, you must configure the QAM mode as video. QAM mode can be either local, remote, or remote encrypt video.

Note Remote encrypt is not supported for ERMI.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. interface qam slot/port.channel

4. cable mode video { local | remote } [ encrypt ]

DETAILED STEPS

Example

Configuring Additional GQIv2 Parameters

Note QAM mode should be either remote or remote encrypt to configure GQIv2 parameters.

Note QAM should be associated with the GQIv2 QAM Partition.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. interface qam slot/port.channel

4. cable video encryption-failover-mode {blackout | clear}

5. cable video pre-encrypted-multicast

6. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Example

RFGW-10(config-subif)# cable video encryption-

-mode blackout

Configuring Additional ERMI Parameters

Note QAM mode should be remote to configure QAM group.

Note QAM should be associated with the ERMI QAM Partition.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable service-group name

4. qam-group qam-group-name

5. interface qam slot/port.channel

6. cable qam-group qam-group

7. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Example

Enabling Video QAM Monitoring for Bandwidth Oversubscription

DETAILED STEPS

Enabling Video QAM Monitoring Trap for Bandwidth Oversubscription

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring Video Routes

This section describes how to create policy routes to redirect video traffic to the line cards. A video route maps a set of UDP destination IP to the corresponding load balancing group (that is, the mid-plane link).

Note A multicast session is no longer needed to be joined from both mid-plane ports to reach all QAM channels within a line card.

Restrictions for Video Routes On an LBG

• When using ERMI, input port is referred to as the IP address and while using GQIv2, it is referred to as the input port ID or gqi-ingress-port.
• The gqi-ingress-port must be the same as port number that is configured in the DNCS or USRM.
• Bit rate per route applies to all traffic including unicast, multicast video sessions for that QAM partition.
• Video routes are not statically mapped to a set of QAM carriers on the line card. Input routes have full connectivity between any input port and output QAM carriers.
• The IP address and UDP range in the route must be unique, and must be a valid IP address configured in one of the Cisco RFGW-10 UEQAM interfaces.
• Maximum bandwidth per LBG cannot exceed 10 Gbps (usable bandwidth is 9.1 Gbps).

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. cable route linecard slot load-balance-group id

4. qam-partition { default | partition-id } { ip dest-ip-addr } [ udp low-udp high-udp ] { gqi-ingress-port ingress_port_no }{ bitrate bit-value }

5. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Configuring Multicast Routing for Video

The following procedures are the prerequisites to configure the multicast sessions on RFGW-10.

• Enabling IP Multicast Routing
• Configuring Source Specific Multicast

The following procedures are used to configure multicast load-balancing for video sessions:

• Dynamic Load-Balancing for Multicast Sessions
• Static Load-Balancing for Multicast Sessions

Enabling IP Multicast Routing

Enabling IP multicast routing allows the Cisco IOS software to forward multicast packets.

Complete the following steps to enable IP multicast routing on the router.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal

3. ip multicast-routing

4. exit

DETAILED STEPS

Examples

The following example enables multicast on TenGigabitEthernet interface 5/9:

Configuring Source Specific Multicast

Complete the following steps to configure the Source Specific Multicast (SSM).

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable

2. configure terminal