CN107925670B

CN107925670B - Channel adjusting method, corresponding device and system

Info

Publication number: CN107925670B
Application number: CN201580082039.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 雷丛华; 罗俊; 范嘉旗
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-11-27
Filing date: 2015-11-27
Publication date: 2020-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2035-11-27
Also published as: WO2017088182A1; CN107925670A

Abstract

The invention discloses a channel adjusting method, a corresponding device and a corresponding system, which are used for solving the problem that service communication between a CMTS and a CM needs to be interrupted when the CMTS adjusts a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) order in the prior art. The method comprises the following steps: when determining that the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, a CMTS (Cable Modem) sends a first signal frame containing indication information to a CM, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of QADM to the first order at a second appointed time; the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order at a first appointed time before the second appointed time, wherein a difference value between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between a starting time when the CMTS carries out QAM on a second signal frame and a starting time when the CM carries out QADM on the second signal frame.

Description

Channel adjusting method, corresponding device and system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a channel adjustment method, a corresponding apparatus, and a system.

Background

With the advance of the convergence of three networks, a unidirectional Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) network is built into a bidirectional network capable of carrying multiple services such as video, voice, broadband and the like, and can support the transmission of Internet Protocol (IP) data packets between a computer network and a cable television network and between a cable television front end (or an optical node of the HFC) and a user.

In the HFC network, a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) is a local device, and may be deployed at the front end of a Cable television network, or may be deployed at an optical node in a bidirectional HFC network, and plays a role of a gateway between a data network and the HFC network. A Cable Modem (CM) is a terminal device, which is located between an HFC network and a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). The CPE comprises a Personal Computer (PC), Integrated Access Device (IAD), a workstation, a network Computer and the like.

The communication process between the CMTS and the CM is: the CMTS cuts the service data of the upper layer into a fixed frame format, such as a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) -2 frame, after channel coding of a physical layer (PHY), the frame is transmitted to a CM of a user through a cable network after Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), and the CM of the user is restored into an MPEG-2 frame through Quadrature Amplitude Demodulation (QADM) and channel decoding.

However, when the CMTS adjusts the order of QAM, the CM needs to interrupt the reception of service data, perform the following adjustment of the order of QADM for QAM, and re-synchronize the clock, before communication with the CMTS can be resumed.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a channel adjusting method, a corresponding device and a corresponding system, which are used for solving the problem that service communication between a CMTS and a CM needs to be interrupted when the CMTS adjusts a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) order in the prior art.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment method, including:

when determining that the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, a cable modem termination system CMTS sends a first signal frame containing indication information to a cable modem CM, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order at a first appointed time before the second appointed time, wherein a difference value between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between a starting time when the CMTS carries out QAM on a second signal frame and a starting time when the CM carries out QADM on the second signal frame.

In the implementation mode, because the signal frames can be correctly demodulated in the process of adjusting the order of the CMTS and the CM, the service between the CMTS and the CM is not interrupted, thereby avoiding service blocking and improving the system efficiency.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, by the CMTS, that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order includes:

the CMTS obtaining channel quality parameters of a channel between the CMTS and the CM; the channel quality parameters include, but are not limited to: receiving power, bit error rate, signal-to-noise ratio and time delay;

and the CMTS determines that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order according to the channel quality parameter.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the determining, by the CMTS, that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order according to the channel quality parameter includes:

when the channel quality parameter is lower than a first threshold, the CMTS determines that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to be smaller than the first order; or

When the channel quality parameter is higher than a second threshold, the CMTS determines that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted up to the first order.

The implementation mode can balance and consider the channel quality and the communication efficiency between the CMTS and the CM, so that the communication between the CMTS and the CM is in a better state.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment method, including:

a CM receives a first signal frame which is sent by a CMTS and contains indication information, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the CM adjusts the order of QADM (quality assurance management) used for receiving the signal frame to a first order at a second appointed time;

the CM adjusts the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment method, including:

when determining that the QAM order of a main channel needs to be adjusted, a CMTS copies service data of the main channel to a standby channel;

the CMTS sends a first switching instruction to a CM, wherein the first switching instruction is used for instructing the CM to receive the service data through the standby channel;

the CMTS adjusting the QAM order of the primary channel and determining that the CM has synchronously adjusted the order of QADM for data transmitted by the primary channel;

the CMTS copying the traffic data on the backup channel to the primary channel;

the CMTS sends a second switch command to the CM, the second switch command being used to instruct the CM to receive the service data via the primary channel.

In the implementation manner, when the CMTS and the CM interrupt service transmission on the main channel due to adjustment of the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation of the main channel, the transmission of service data can be continued through the standby channel, so that the service between the CMTS and the CM is not interrupted, and after the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation of the main channel is synchronized, the service transmission through the main channel is resumed, so that the order adjustment of the quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation of the uninterrupted service is realized, service blocking is avoided, and system efficiency is improved.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, after the CMTS sends the second switching instruction to the CM, the method further includes:

the CMTS releases the backup channel to conserve system resources.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment method, including:

a CM receives a first switching instruction sent by a CMTS, wherein the first switching instruction is used for instructing the CM to receive service data through the standby channel;

the CM responds to the first switching instruction and receives the service data through the standby channel;

when the CM detects that the QAM order of a main channel of the CMTS is adjusted, the order of QADM (quality assurance monitor) is synchronously adjusted on data sent by the main channel;

the CM receives a second switching command sent by the CMTS, wherein the second switching command is used for instructing the CM to receive the service data through the main channel;

and the CM responds to the second switching instruction and receives the service data through the main channel.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus, including:

a sending module, configured to send a first signal frame including indication information to a CM when it is determined that an order of a QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, where the indication information is used to indicate the CM to adjust the order of the QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

an adjusting module, configured to adjust the order of the QAM to the first order at a first scheduled time before the second scheduled time, where a difference between the second scheduled time and the first scheduled time is a time interval between a start time of the QAM performed on a second signal frame by the channel adjusting apparatus and a start time of the QADM performed on the second signal frame by the CM.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the apparatus further includes:

a determining module, configured to obtain a channel quality parameter of a channel between the CM and the ue; and determining that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order according to the channel quality parameter.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the determining module is specifically configured to:

when the channel quality parameter is lower than a first threshold value, determining that the order of the QAM needs to be reduced to the first order; or

And when the channel quality parameter is higher than a second threshold value, determining that the order of the QAM needs to be increased to the first order.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first signal frame sent by a CMTS and including indication information, where the indication information is used to instruct the channel adjusting apparatus to adjust an order used for performing QADM on the received signal frame to a first order at a second predetermined time;

an adjusting module, configured to adjust the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus, including:

the system comprises a copying module, a transmitting module and a receiving module, wherein the copying module is used for copying the service data of a main channel to a standby channel when the QAM order of the main channel needs to be adjusted;

a sending module, configured to send a first switching instruction to a CM, where the first switching instruction is used to instruct the CM to receive the service data through the backup channel;

the adjusting module is used for adjusting the QAM order of the main channel and determining that the CM has synchronously adjusted the order of QADM (quality assurance monitor) performed on the data sent by the main channel;

the replication module is further to: copying the traffic data on the backup channel to the primary channel;

the sending module is further configured to: and sending a second switching instruction to the CM, wherein the second switching instruction is used for indicating the CM to receive the service data through the main channel.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the seventh aspect, the apparatus further includes:

a releasing module, configured to release the backup channel after the sending module sends the second switching instruction to the CM.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first switching instruction sent by a CMTS, where the first switching instruction is used to instruct the channel adjustment device to receive service data through the backup channel;

the switching module is used for responding to the first switching instruction and receiving the service data through the standby channel;

the synchronization module is used for synchronously adjusting the order of QADM (quality assurance data) for data sent by a main channel when the QAM order adjustment of the main channel of the CMTS is detected;

the receiving module is further configured to: receiving a second switching command sent by the CMTS, where the second switching command is used to instruct the channel-adjusting device to receive the service data through the primary channel;

the switching module is further configured to: and responding to the second switching instruction, and receiving the service data through the main channel.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment device, including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CM;

a memory to store instructions;

a processor, coupled to the transceiver and the memory, respectively, for executing the instructions stored in the memory to perform the following steps when executing the instructions:

when the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, the transceiver is instructed to send a first signal frame containing indication information to the CM, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

adjusting the order of the QAM to the first order at a first appointed time prior to the second appointed time;

the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between a start time of the channel adjusting device performing QAM on a second signal frame and a start time of the CM performing QADM on the second signal frame.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the processor is configured to: determining that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, comprising:

obtaining a channel quality parameter of a channel between the CM and the base station;

and determining that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order according to the channel quality parameter.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect, the processor is configured to: determining, according to the channel quality parameter, that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, including:

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment device, including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CMTS;

a memory to store instructions;

instructing the transceiver to receive a first signal frame sent by the CMTS and containing indication information for instructing the channel-adjusting device to adjust an order used for QADM of the received signal frame to a first order at a second predetermined time;

adjusting the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjustment device, including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CM;

a memory to store instructions;

when determining that the QAM order of a main channel needs to be adjusted, copying the service data of the main channel to a standby channel;

instructing the transceiver to send a first handover instruction to the CM, where the first handover instruction is used to instruct the CM to receive the service data through the backup channel;

adjusting the QAM order of the main channel, and determining that the CM has synchronously adjusted the order of QADM for the data sent by the main channel;

copying the traffic data on the backup channel to the primary channel;

and instructing the transceiver to send a second switching instruction to the CM, wherein the second switching instruction is used for instructing the CM to receive the service data through the main channel.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the eleventh aspect, the processor is configured to: after instructing the transceiver to send a second handover instruction to the CM, the transceiver is further configured to:

releasing the backup channel.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus, including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CMTS;

a memory to store instructions;

instructing the transceiver to receive a first switch command sent by the CMTS, the first switch command instructing the channel-adjusting device to receive traffic data via the backup channel;

receiving the service data through the standby channel in response to the first switching instruction;

when the QAM order adjustment of a main channel of the CMTS is detected, the order of QADM (quality assurance data management) on data sent by the main channel is synchronously adjusted;

instructing the transceiver to receive a second switching command sent by the CMTS, where the second switching command is used to instruct the channel-adjusting device to receive the service data through the primary channel;

and responding to the second switching instruction, and receiving the service data through the main channel.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel tuning system, including a CMTS and a CM;

wherein the CMTS is to: when the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order is determined, a first signal frame containing indication information is sent to the CM, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

the CM is configured to: receiving the first signal frame;

the CMTS is further configured to: adjusting the order of the QAM to the first order at a first appointed time prior to the second appointed time;

the CM is further configured to: adjusting the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time;

the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between a start time when the CMTS performs QAM on a second signal frame and a start time when the CM performs QADM on the second signal frame.

With reference to the thirteenth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the thirteenth aspect, the CMTS is further configured to:

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the thirteenth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the thirteenth aspect, the CMTS is configured to: determining, according to the channel quality parameter, that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, including:

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a channel tuning system, including a CMTS and a CM;

wherein the CMTS is to: when determining that the QAM order of a main channel needs to be adjusted, copying the service data of the main channel to a standby channel; sending a first switching instruction to the CM, wherein the first switching instruction is used for indicating the CM to receive the service data through the standby channel;

the CM is configured to: receiving the first switching instruction, responding to the second switching instruction, and receiving the service data through the main channel;

the CMTS is further configured to: adjusting the QAM order of the main channel;

the CM is further configured to: when the QAM order adjustment of a main channel of the CMTS is detected, the order of QADM (quality assurance data management) on data sent by the main channel is synchronously adjusted;

the CMTS is further configured to: determining that the CM has synchronously adjusted the order of QADM on data transmitted by the primary channel; copying the traffic data on the backup channel to the primary channel; sending a second switching instruction to the CM, wherein the second switching instruction is used for indicating the CM to receive the service data through the main channel;

the CM is further configured to: and receiving the second switching instruction, responding to the second switching instruction, and receiving the service data through the main channel.

With reference to the fourteenth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourteenth aspect, the CMTS is configured to: after sending the second switching instruction to the CM, the method is further configured to: releasing the backup channel.

In some possible implementations, the first appointed time is a starting time when the CMTS performs QAM on a kth FEC frame after the first signal frame; wherein k is a positive integer.

In some possible implementations, the second appointed time is a starting time when the CM performs QADM on a kth FEC frame after the first signal frame; wherein k is a positive integer.

In some possible implementations, the first signal frame is a service frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the service frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive exercise.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a CMTS sending a signaling frame to a CM in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a channel adjustment method in embodiment 1 of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an FEC encoder generating an FEC frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a frame structure of a first signal frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a channel adjustment method in embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIGS. 7a to 7g are schematic diagrams illustrating channel adjustment performed by a CMTS and a CM in embodiment 2 of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a channel adjustment apparatus in embodiment 3 of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a channel adjustment apparatus according to embodiment 4 of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a channel adjustment apparatus according to embodiment 5 of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a structure of a channel adjustment apparatus according to embodiment 6 of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a channel adjusting apparatus in embodiment 7 of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention, the following first describes a related communication system.

Figure 1 illustrates the networking relationship of a CMTS and CMs in an HFC network, wherein the CMTS, as a local side device, communicates with a plurality of CMs.

FIG. 2 shows a process of sending data to a CM by a CMTS, when receiving service data to be sent to the CM, the CMTS cuts the service data into MPEG-2 frames, and then sends the MPEG-2 frames to a PHY layer for channel coding. Specifically, in the PHY layer, an MPEG-2 frame is FEC-encoded by a Forward Error Correction (FEC) encoder, then Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) is performed on the FEC-encoded signal frame to increase the utilization rate of a channel, and then the signal frame is up-converted (not shown in fig. 2) and sent to a CM. For CM, the received data is the inverse of the above process, i.e., down-converting the received signal frame, then quadrature amplitude demodulating QADM, and then forward error correction FEC decoding. It should be noted that the signal frames transmitted between the CMTS and the CM are not limited to MPEG-2 frames, and the following description of the embodiments of the present invention will use MPEG-2 frames as an example to describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

In practice, the CMTS may adjust the order of the QAM, and the CM needs to follow the order of the QADM to demodulate the signal correctly. However, in the prior art, during the CM follow-up adjustment QADM, the traffic transmission between the CMTS and the CM needs to be interrupted, which causes traffic congestion and reduces system efficiency.

In order to solve the above problem, embodiments of the present invention provide a channel adjustment method and a corresponding apparatus. The technical solutions of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings and the specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the specific features in the embodiments and the embodiments of the present invention are not intended to limit the technical solutions of the present invention, but may be combined with each other without conflict.

Example 1

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 1, where the flow includes the following steps:

step 101: when determining that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, the CMTS sends a first signal frame containing indication information to the CM, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of the QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

step 102: the CM receives a first signal frame;

step 103: the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to a first order at a first appointed time;

step 104: the CM adjusts the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time; the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between the starting time of the CMTS performing QAM on the second signal frame and the starting time of the CM performing QADM on the second signal frame.

Specifically, after determining and adjusting the order of quadrature amplitude modulation QAM performed on the transmitted signal frame, the CMTS transmits a first signal frame carrying the indication information to the CM, after receiving the first signal frame, the CM adjusts the order of the QADM performed on the received signal frame to the first order at a second appointed time appointed by the indication information, and the CMTS adjusts the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation QAM to the first order at the first appointed time corresponding to the second appointed time.

The difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between a start time when the CMTS performs QAM on the second signal frame and a start time when the CM performs QADM on the second signal frame, and the second signal frame may be any signal frame. In other words, if the CMTS starts quadrature amplitude modulation QAM on a signal frame at a first appointed time (for adjusting the order of QAM to a first order), the CM needs to adjust the order of quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM to the first order when starting quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM on the signal frame.

In the above technical solution, for the signal frame modulated before the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order, the CM performs the QADM on the signal frame by using the original order, and for the signal frame modulated after the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order, the CM performs the QADM on the signal frame by using the first order, so that the signal frame can be correctly demodulated in the process of adjusting the order by the CMTS and the CM, the service between the CMTS and the CM is not interrupted, the service blocking is avoided, and the system efficiency is improved.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the second scheduled time and the first scheduled time include, but are not limited to, the following implementation manners:

in the mode 1, the first appointed time is the starting time when the CMTS performs Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) on the kth FEC frame after the first signal frame; the second appointed time is the starting time when the CM carries out Quadrature Amplitude Demodulation (QADM) on the kth FEC frame after the first signal frame; wherein k is a positive integer.

Specifically, the FEC coding technique adds redundant error correction codes into the transmission code sequence (such as MPEG-2 frame), and under certain conditions, the FEC coding technique can automatically correct transmission errors through decoding, thereby reducing the Bit error rate (BER for short) of the received signal. Referring to FIG. 4, after the CMTS forward error correction FEC encodes MPEG-2, a plurality of consecutive MPEG-2 frames form a forward error correction FEC frame, and in practice, 8 consecutive MPEG-2 frames may be a FEC frame. As can be seen from the above description, an FEC frame does not refer to a signal frame entity, but refers to a plurality of MPEG-2 frames in succession after FEC encoding. In the embodiment of the present invention, the start time of quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation on one FEC frame refers to the start time of quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation on the first MPEG-2 frame of the FEC frame.

Defining a first appointed time as a starting time of the CMTS for carrying out Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) on a k-th FEC frame positioned after a first signal frame; defining the second appointed time as the starting time of the CM performing quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM on the kth FEC frame after the first signal frame can achieve the following effects: for a signal frame before a kth FEC frame, carrying out Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) by adopting an original order, and carrying out Quadrature Amplitude Demodulation (QADM) by adopting the original order; and for the k FEC frame and the following signal frames, the first order is used for quadrature amplitude modulation QAM, and the first order is used for quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM. That is, all signal frames can be demodulated normally before and after the order adjustment of the qam/demod, and the transmission of the traffic data does not need to be interrupted.

Moreover, the CMTS and the CM adjust the QAM order at the boundary of the FEC frame, so that the MPEG-2 frame in one FEC frame can be modulated/demodulated in the same mode without error codes, and lossless switching between the CMTS and the CM is realized.

In a mode 2, the first appointed time is the starting time when the CMTS sends the kth FEC frame after the first signal frame; the second agreed time is the starting time when the CM receives the k-th FEC frame after the first signal frame. Here, the start time of receiving (transmitting) one FEC frame refers to the start time of receiving (transmitting) the first MPEG-2 frame of the FEC frame.

Mode 3, the first appointed time is t₁The second appointed time is t₂，t₂Later than t₁And t is₂-t₁＝t₀，t₀The time consuming from QAM by CMTS to QADM by CM for one signal frame.

In practice, t is due to the temporal gap between adjacent MPEG-2 frames₂-t₁Is allowed to be at t₀There are deviations from the left and right, and the embodiments of the present invention will not be described in detail.

In mode 4, the first appointed time is the starting time when the CMTS performs QAM on the first signal frame, and the second appointed time is the starting time when the CM performs QADM on the first signal frame.

That is, the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to a first order, adds the indication information to the first signal frame (i.e., the first signal frame) after the order adjustment, and after receiving the first signal frame, the CM adjusts the order of the QADM to the first order according to the indication information included in the first signal frame, and performs the QADM on the first signal frame by using the first order.

In the above-mentioned method 4, step 103 occurs earlier than step 101, that is, the CMTS performs step 103 first, adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order, then performs the QAM on the first signal frame by using the adjusted first order, and then performs step 101, and sends the modulated (and post-processing such as up-conversion) first signal frame to the CM.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the CMTS determines that it is necessary to adjust the order of QAM for a signal frame sent to the CM to a first order, including but not limited to the following implementation manners:

firstly, the self-adaptive mode: the CMTS obtains a channel quality parameter of a channel between the CMS and the CMS, and determines that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order according to the channel quality parameter.

Specifically, the CMTS determines channel quality parameters of a channel with the CM based on data returned by the CM, where the channel quality parameters include, but are not limited to: received power, bit error rate BER, Signal Noise Ratio (SNR), delay, etc. The CMTS determines whether and how to adjust the order of the QAM based on the obtained channel quality parameters.

For example, when the channel quality parameter is below a first threshold, the CMTS determines that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted down to improve the quality of communication with the CM.

For another example, when the channel quality parameter is higher than the second threshold, the CMTS determines that the order of the QAM needs to be increased to increase the bandwidth with the CM and improve the communication efficiency.

When the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation QAM needs to be adjusted up or down, the CMTS can adjust the QAM order step by step to enable the channel quality and the communication efficiency to be gradually balanced, and can also directly determine the optimal order according to a preset algorithm and directly adjust the quadrature amplitude modulation QAM order to the determined optimal order, so that the balance of the channel quality and the communication efficiency is rapidly achieved.

The adaptive method can balance and consider the channel quality and the communication efficiency between the CMTS and the CM, so that the communication between the CMTS and the CM is in a better state.

Secondly, the active adjustment mode of the CMTS: the CMTS may determine, based on the indication of the user, or based on the indication of an upper layer application, or based on a global equalization of communications among multiple CMs, that an order of quadrature amplitude modulation, QAM, needs to be adjusted for a signal frame transmitted by a first CM.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present invention, an implementation manner of the first signal frame carrying the indication information includes, but is not limited to, the following manners:

in mode 1, the first signal frame is a service frame, and the indication information is contained in a reserved field of the service frame.

Specifically, the first signal frame may be a service frame containing service data, and the indication information is contained in a reserved field in the service frame, where the reserved field may be a reserved field in the control field.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first signal frame may be an MPEG-2 frame. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a frame structure of MPEG-2 frames, each MPEG-2 frame including 4 MPEG-2 packets, each MPEG-2 packet including a control field and a payload. Further, the control field in turn comprises the following sub-fields: sync byte, transport error, indicator, payload start indicator, transport priority, Packet Identifier (PID), transport scrambling control, adaptation field control, continuity counter. In one possible implementation, the PID is a reserved bit, and the indication information may be included in the PID. In practical cases, the indication information may also be included in other reserved bits or reserved fields of the first signal frame, which is not exemplified here. For the meaning of each subfield of the control field, please refer to the prior art, and the embodiments of the present invention are not described in detail.

In mode 2, the first signal frame is a null frame, that is, a signal frame that does not include service data, and the indication information may be included in one or more designated fields of the null frame, may also be included in any one or more designated fields, or may be included in any field of the null frame, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, the indication information includes, but is not limited to, the following implementation manners:

first, the indication information includes: order adjustment indication, target order.

For example, a value of 0 for the order adjustment indication indicates that the order is not to be adjusted, and a value of 1 for the order adjustment indication indicates that the order needs to be adjusted. The target order indicates to what value the CM needs to adjust the quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM order. In this manner, the CMTS and CM agree in advance according to the protocol: when the order is to be adjusted, specifically when the adjustment is made, the CMTS adjusts the QAM order at the first predetermined time and the CM adjusts the QADM order at the second predetermined time as described above.

Secondly, the indication information includes: order adjustment indication, target order, CM adjustment time.

Specifically, the indication information further includes information indicating when the CM is adjusting the order of the quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM, such as t₂。

Thirdly, the indication information comprises: the target order.

Specifically, unlike this, the indication information does not include the order adjustment indication. The third method can include two methods:

in the mode a, the CMTS adds the target order to the signal frame only when the CM needs to be instructed to adjust the order of the quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM, and after the CM detects the signal frame (i.e., the first signal frame) including the target order, the target order is analyzed to be an instruction instructing itself to adjust the order of the quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM to the target order at a predetermined time, that is, the target order itself has both the meaning of the order value and the meaning of the order adjustment instruction.

In the mode B, the CMTS adds a target order of the QADM for quadrature amplitude demodulation to each signal frame, after the CM receives the signal frame, the CM judges whether the target order contained in the signal frame is equal to the current order, if the target order is not equal to the current order, the order of the QADM needs to be adjusted to the target order, and the QADM is performed to the signal frame by adopting the adjusted target order.

Fourthly, the indication information comprises: target order, CM adjustment time.

Specifically, based on the third, the indication information further includes information indicating when the CM is adjusting the order of the quadrature amplitude demodulation QADM, as mentioned above, t₂。

Fifthly, the indication information comprises: and (4) an order adjustment indication.

Specifically, the indication information does not include the target order, but includes information indicating the CM number of up-adjustment or down-adjustment. For example, the lack of a value for the order adjustment indication indicates that the CM does not adjust the QADM order; when the order adjustment indication value is 0, indicating that the CM adjusts the QADM order down by one grade; an order adjustment indicator with a value of 1 indicates that the CM is instructed to adjust the QADM order up by one level.

The channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 1 is described in detail below by way of specific examples.

Firstly, the CMTS calculates a channel quality parameter of a channel according to a signal frame returned by the CM, and determines whether the channel quality parameter is lower than a minimum threshold, and if so, the CMTS indicates that the communication quality of the current channel is poor.

The CMTS then plans to adjust down the order of the QAM used to quadrature amplitude modulate the transmitted signal frames and adds an indication to the CM that the CMTS will adjust the order of QAM down to the first order in the signal frames currently being transmitted to the CM. The CM receives the signal frame and acquires the indication information from the signal frame.

Then, the CMTS adjusts the QAM order to the first order before quadrature amplitude modulation starts for the first MPEG-2 frame of the first FEC frame following the signal frame containing the indication information. The MPEG-2 frame is then sent to the CM.

When the CM receives the MPEG-2 frame, it determines that it is the first MPEG-2 frame of the first FEC frame after the signal frame containing the indication information, and adjusts the QADM order to the first order before QADM is performed on it.

By the method, the quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation order of uninterrupted service transmission is adjusted, service blockage is avoided, and system efficiency is improved.

Example 2

The present invention provides a channel adjustment method through embodiment 2, referring to fig. 6, the method includes the following steps:

step 201: when determining to adjust the QAM order of the main channel, the CMTS copies the service data of the main channel to the standby channel;

step 202: the CMTS sends a first switching instruction to the CM, wherein the first switching instruction is used for instructing the CM to receive service data through the standby channel;

step 203: the CM receives a first switching instruction sent by the CMTS and responds to the first switching instruction to receive service data through a standby channel;

step 204: the CMTS adjusts the QAM order of the main channel;

step 205: when the CM detects the QAM order adjustment of the main channel of the CMTS, the order of QADM is synchronously adjusted on the data sent by the main channel;

step 206: the CMTS determines that the CM performs QADM order synchronization adjustment on data sent by a main channel, and copies service data on a standby channel to the main channel;

step 207: the CMTS sends a second switch command to the CM, the second switch command instructing the CM to receive traffic data via the primary channel.

Step 208: the CM receives a second switch command from the CMTS and receives traffic data via the primary channel in response to the second switch command.

Specifically, in step 201, the CMTS determines that the QAM order of the primary channel needs to be adjusted, which is implemented as described in the foregoing embodiment 1 and will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present invention, to avoid service interruption caused by QAM order adjustment of the primary channel, the CMTS copies the service data of the primary channel to the backup channel before switching, and instructs the CM to receive the service data through the backup channel. The CM may switch to the standby channel when detecting that the service data on the standby channel is the same as the service data on the main channel, or may switch to the standby channel immediately after receiving the first switching instruction.

Then, the CMTS adjusts the QAM order of the primary channel, and the CM detects the QAM order adjustment of the primary channel, and then adjusts the QADM order of the primary channel, which is implemented in the same manner as the prior art, in which the order of the quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation is adjusted by the interrupted traffic between the CMTS and the CM, and therefore, the details thereof are not described herein.

And then, the CMTS determines the QADM order of the synchronous adjustment main channel at the CM side, copies the service data on the standby channel to the main channel, restores to send the service data to the CM through the main channel and instructs the CM to receive the service data through the main channel.

In the above technical solution, when the CMTS and the CM interrupt service transmission on the main channel due to adjustment of the order of the qam/demod of the main channel, it is able to continue service data transmission through the backup channel, thereby ensuring uninterrupted service between the CMTS and the CM, and after the order of the qam/demod of the main channel is synchronized, resuming service transmission through the main channel, thereby implementing the order adjustment of the qam/demod of the uninterrupted service, avoiding service blocking, and improving system efficiency.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present invention, in step 207: after the CMTS sends the second switch command to the CM, with continued reference to fig. 6, the method further comprises:

step 209: the CMTS releases the backup channel.

Specifically, after the CMTS recovers the service transmission on the primary channel, the spare channel is released, thereby saving system resources.

Fig. 7a to 7g are schematic diagrams of a channel tuning method according to embodiment 2, wherein fig. 7a shows that the CMTS copies primary channel traffic to a backup channel; FIG. 7b shows the CM switching the traffic receive channel to the backup channel as instructed by the CMTS; fig. 7c shows the adjustment of the qam/demod order for the interrupted traffic on the primary channel; FIG. 7d shows the quadrature amplitude modulation/demodulation order synchronization success on the main channel; FIG. 7e shows a CMTS resuming transmission of traffic data on a primary channel; FIG. 7f shows the CM switching the traffic receive channel to the primary channel as instructed by the CMTS; figure 7g shows the CMTS releasing the spare channel.

Example 3

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1, the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus 300 through embodiment 3, and referring to fig. 8, the channel adjusting apparatus 300 includes:

a sending module 301, configured to send a first signal frame including indication information to the CM when it is determined that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, where the indication information is used to indicate the CM to adjust the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time;

an adjusting module 302, configured to adjust the order of the QAM to the first order at a first scheduled time before a second scheduled time, where a difference between the second scheduled time and the first scheduled time is a time interval between a start time of the channel adjusting apparatus performing QAM on the second signal frame and a start time of the CM performing QADM on the second signal frame. Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the first appointed time is a start time of QAM performed on a kth FEC frame after the first signal frame by the channel adjustment device;

the second appointed time is the initial time when the CM performs QADM on the kth FEC frame after the first signal frame; wherein k is a positive integer.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, with continuing reference to fig. 8, the apparatus 300 further includes a determining module 303, configured to:

and determining that the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order according to the channel quality parameter.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the determining module 303 is specifically configured to:

when the channel quality parameter is lower than a first threshold value, determining that the order of QAM needs to be reduced to a first order; or

When the channel quality parameter is higher than the second threshold, it is determined that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted up to the first order.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the first signal frame is a service frame, and the indication information is contained in a reserved field of the service frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

The channel adjustment apparatus 300 in embodiment 3 and the channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 1 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that those skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjustment apparatus 300 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 4

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1, the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus 400 through embodiment 4, referring to fig. 9, the channel adjusting apparatus 400 including:

a receiving module 401, configured to receive a first signal frame sent by the CMTS and containing indication information, where the indication information is used to instruct the channel adjusting apparatus to adjust an order used for performing QADM on the received signal frame to a first order at a second predetermined time;

an adjusting module 402 for adjusting the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the appointed time is a starting time when the channel adjustment device receives a kth FEC frame after the first signal frame, where k is a positive integer.

The channel adjustment apparatus 400 in embodiment 4 and the channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 1 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that those skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjustment apparatus 400 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 5

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 2, the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus 500 through embodiment 5, referring to fig. 10, the channel adjusting apparatus 500 including:

a copying module 501, configured to copy service data of a main channel to a backup channel when it is determined that a QAM order of the main channel needs to be adjusted;

a sending module 502, configured to send a first switching instruction to the CM, where the first switching instruction is used to instruct the CM to receive service data through a backup channel;

an adjusting module 503, configured to adjust the QAM order of the main channel, and determine that the CM has adjusted the order of the QADM performed on the data sent by the main channel;

the copy module 501 is further configured to: copying the service data on the standby channel to the main channel;

the sending module 502 is further configured to: and sending a second switching instruction to the CM, wherein the second switching instruction is used for indicating the CM to receive the service data through the main channel.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, with reference to fig. 9, the channel adjusting apparatus 500 further includes:

a releasing module 504, configured to release the backup channel after the sending module sends the second switching instruction to the CM.

The channel adjustment apparatus 500 in embodiment 5 and the channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 2 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that those skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjustment apparatus 500 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 6

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 2, the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus 600 through embodiment 6, referring to fig. 11, the channel adjusting apparatus 600 includes:

a receiving module 601, configured to receive a first switching instruction sent by a CMTS, where the first switching instruction is used to instruct a CM to receive service data through a backup channel;

a switching module 602, configured to receive service data through a backup channel in response to a first switching instruction;

a synchronization module 603, configured to, when detecting that the QAM order of the primary channel of the CMTS is adjusted, synchronously adjust the order of the QADM performed on the data sent by the primary channel;

the receiving module 601 is further configured to: receiving a second switching instruction sent by the CMTS, wherein the second switching instruction is used for instructing the channel adjusting device to receive service data through the main channel;

the switching module 602 is further configured to: and receiving the service data through the main channel in response to the second switching instruction.

The channel adjustment apparatus 600 in embodiment 6 and the channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 2 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that those skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjustment apparatus 600 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 7

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1, the present invention provides a channel adjusting apparatus 700 through embodiment 7, referring to fig. 12, the channel adjusting apparatus 700 including: a bus 701, and a processor 702, a memory 703, and a transceiver 704, each connected to the bus 701.

Wherein the transceiver 704 is configured for data transmission with the CM.

The memory 703 is used to store instructions.

The processor 702 is configured to execute the memory-stored instructions to perform the following steps when executing the instructions:

when the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order is determined, the transceiver is instructed to send a first signal frame containing indication information to the CM, and the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

adjusting the order of QAM to the first order at a first appointed time before the second appointed time;

the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between the starting time of the channel adjusting device for performing QAM on the second signal frame and the starting time of the CM for performing QADM on the second signal frame.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the first appointed time is a start time when the CMTS performs QAM on a kth FEC frame after the first signal frame;

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the processor 702 is configured to: determining that the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, comprising:

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the processor 702 is configured to: determining to adjust an order of QAM to a first order according to a channel quality parameter, comprising:

when the channel quality parameter is lower than a first threshold value, determining to reduce the order of QAM to a first order; or

When the channel quality parameter is higher than the second threshold, it is determined to increase the order of the QAM to the first order.

The channel adjusting apparatus 700 in embodiment 7 and the channel adjusting method provided in embodiment 1 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that those skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjusting apparatus 700 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 8

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1, the present invention provides, by embodiment 8, a channel adjustment apparatus, including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CMTS;

a memory to store instructions;

a processor, coupled to the transceiver and the memory, respectively, for executing the instructions stored in the memory, so as to perform the following steps when executing the instructions:

instructing the transceiver to receive a first signal frame sent by the CMTS and containing indication information for instructing the CM to adjust an order used for QADM of the received signal frame to a first order at a second predetermined time;

the order of the QADM is adjusted to the first order at the second appointed time.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the appointed time is a start time when the CM receives a kth FEC frame after the first signal frame, where k is a positive integer.

The channel adjusting device in embodiment 8 and the channel adjusting method provided in embodiment 1 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that a person skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjusting device in embodiment 8 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 9

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1, the present invention provides, by embodiment 9, a channel adjustment device including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CM;

a memory to store instructions;

when determining that the QAM order of the main channel needs to be adjusted, copying the service data of the main channel to a standby channel;

instructing the transceiver to send a first switching instruction to the CM, wherein the first switching instruction is used for instructing the CM to receive service data through a standby channel;

copying the service data on the standby channel to the main channel;

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present invention, the processor is configured to: after instructing the transceiver to send the second handover instruction to the CM, the transceiver is further configured to:

the backup channel is released.

The channel adjusting device in embodiment 9 and the channel adjusting method provided in embodiment 2 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that a person skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjusting device in embodiment 9 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 10

Based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1, the present invention provides, by embodiment 10, a channel adjustment apparatus including:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CMTS;

a memory to store instructions;

instructing the transceiver to receive a first switching instruction sent by the CMTS, wherein the first switching instruction is used for instructing the channel adjusting device to receive service data through a standby channel;

receiving service data through a standby channel in response to the first switching instruction;

when the QAM order adjustment of a main channel of the CMTS is detected, the order of QADM (quality assurance data) on data sent by the main channel is synchronously adjusted;

instructing the transceiver to receive a second switching instruction sent by the CMTS, where the second switching instruction is used to instruct the channel adjusting device to receive service data through the primary channel;

and receiving the service data through the main channel in response to the second switching instruction.

The channel adjusting device in embodiment 10 and the channel adjusting method provided in embodiment 2 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that a person skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjusting device in embodiment 10 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 11

The present invention provides a channel tuning system according to embodiment 11, which includes a CMTS and a CM, based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 1.

Wherein the CMTS is configured to: when the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order is determined, a first signal frame containing indication information is sent to the CM, and the indication information is used for indicating the CM to adjust the order of QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

the CM is used for: receiving a first signal frame;

the CMTS is further configured to: adjusting the order of QAM to a first order at a first appointed time;

the CM is also configured to: adjusting the order of the QADM to the first order at a second appointed time;

the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is a time interval between the starting time of the CMTS performing QAM on the second signal frame and the starting time of the CM performing QADM on the second signal frame.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the CMTS is configured to: determining that the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order, comprising:

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the CMTS is configured to: determining that the order of QAM needs to be adjusted to a first order according to the channel quality parameter, comprising:

The channel adjustment system in embodiment 11 and the channel adjustment method provided in embodiment 1 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that a person skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjustment system in embodiment 11 according to the foregoing description, and for the sake of brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

Example 12

The present invention provides a channel tuning system including a CMTS and a CM according to embodiment 12 based on the same inventive concept as embodiment 2.

Wherein the CMTS is configured to: when determining that the QAM order of the main channel needs to be adjusted, copying the service data of the main channel to a standby channel; sending a first switching instruction to the CM, wherein the first switching instruction is used for indicating the CM to receive service data through a standby channel;

the CM is used for: receiving a first switching instruction, responding to a second switching instruction, and receiving service data through a main channel;

the CMTS is further configured to: adjusting the QAM order of the main channel;

the CM is also configured to: when the QAM order adjustment of a main channel of the CMTS is detected, the order of QADM (quality assurance data) on data sent by the main channel is synchronously adjusted;

the CMTS is further configured to: determining that the CM has synchronously adjusted the order of QADM on the data transmitted by the primary channel; copying the service data on the standby channel to the main channel; sending a second switching instruction to the CM, wherein the second switching instruction is used for indicating the CM to receive service data through a main channel;

the CM is also configured to: and receiving a second switching instruction, responding to the second switching instruction, and receiving the service data through the main channel.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the present invention, the CMTS is configured to: after sending the second switching instruction to the CM, the method is further configured to: the backup channel is released.

The channel adjusting apparatus in embodiment 12 and the channel adjusting method provided in embodiment 2 are based on two aspects of the same inventive concept, and the implementation process of the method has been described in detail in the foregoing, so that a person skilled in the art can clearly understand the structure and implementation process of the channel adjusting system in embodiment 12 according to the foregoing description, and for brevity of the description, details are not repeated here.

The processor may be a single processing element or may be a general term for a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the present invention, such as: one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors; DSP for short), or one or more Field Programmable gate arrays (FPGA for short).

The memory may be a storage device or a combination of a plurality of storage elements, and is used for storing executable program codes, parameters, data, and the like required by the operation of the residential access network equipment or the terminal. The Memory may include a Random-Access Memory (RAM) or a non-volatile Memory (NVM), such as a magnetic disk Memory or a Flash Memory.

The bus may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended ISA (enhanced Industry Standard Architecture) bus, or the like. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one line is shown, but this does not represent only one bus or one type of bus.

One or more technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following technical effects or advantages:

in the embodiment of the invention, for the signal frames modulated before the CMTS adjusts the QAM order to the first order, the CM performs the QADM on the signal frames by adopting the original order, and for the signal frames modulated after the CMTS adjusts the QAM order to the first order, the CM performs the QADM on the signal frames by adopting the first order, so that the signal frames can be correctly demodulated in the process of adjusting the orders of the CMTS and the CM, the service between the CMTS and the CM cannot be interrupted, the service blocking is avoided, and the system efficiency is improved.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for channel adjustment, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first appointed time is the initial time when the CMTS carries out QAM on the kth FEC frame after the first signal frame;

the second appointed time is the starting time of QADM (quality of service) of the Kth FEC frame after the first signal frame by the CM; wherein k is a positive integer.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the CMTS determining that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, comprises:

the CMTS obtaining channel quality parameters of a channel between the CMTS and the CM;

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the CMTS determining from the channel quality parameter that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order comprises:

5. The method of claim 1, 2 or 4, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

7. A method for channel adjustment, comprising:

the CM adjusting the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time;

wherein the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order at a first scheduled time prior to the second scheduled time; the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is as follows: a time interval between a start time of QAM application by the CMTS to a second signal frame and a start time of QADM application by the CM to the second signal frame.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the second agreed time is a starting time at which the CM receives a k-th FEC frame after the first signal frame, k being a positive integer.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

10. A channel adjustment apparatus, comprising:

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the first appointed time is the initial time of QAM performed on the k-th FEC frame after the first signal frame by the channel adjusting device;

12. The apparatus of claim 10 or 11, further comprising:

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the determination module is specifically configured to:

14. The apparatus of claim 10, 11 or 13, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

16. A channel adjustment apparatus, comprising:

an adjusting module, configured to adjust the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time;

wherein the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order at a first scheduled time prior to the second scheduled time; the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is as follows: a time interval between a start time of QAM application by the CMTS to a second signal frame and a start time of QADM application by the adjusting module to the second signal frame.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second agreed time is a starting time when the channel-adjustment apparatus receives a k-th FEC frame after the first signal frame, k being a positive integer.

18. A channel adjustment device, comprising:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CM;

a memory to store instructions;

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the first appointed time is the initial time of the channel adjusting equipment for carrying out QAM on the kth FEC frame behind the first signal frame;

20. The apparatus of claim 18 or 19, wherein the processor is to: determining that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, comprising:

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the processor is to: determining, according to the channel quality parameter, that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, including:

22. The apparatus of claim 18, 19 or 21, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the first signal frame is a traffic frame, and the indication information is included in a reserved field of the traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

24. A channel adjustment device, comprising:

a transceiver for data transmission with the CMTS;

a memory to store instructions;

adjusting the order of the QADM to the first order at the second appointed time;

wherein the CMTS adjusts the order of the QAM to the first order at a first scheduled time prior to the second scheduled time; the difference between the second appointed time and the first appointed time is as follows: a time interval between a start time of QAM application by said CMTS to a second signal frame and a start time of QADM application by said processor to said second signal frame.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the second agreed time is a starting time when the channel adjustment apparatus receives a k-th FEC frame after the first signal frame, k being a positive integer.

26. A channel tuning system comprising a CMTS and a CM;

the CM is configured to: receiving the first signal frame;

27. The system of claim 26, wherein:

28. The system of claim 26 or 27, wherein the CMTS is further configured to:

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the CMTS is to: determining, according to the channel quality parameter, that the order of the QAM needs to be adjusted to the first order, including:

30. The system according to claim 26, 27 or 29, wherein said first signal frame is a traffic frame, said indication information being contained in a reserved field of said traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein said first signal frame is a traffic frame, and said indication information is included in a reserved field of said traffic frame; or, the first signal frame is a null frame.