text:
Thursday, March 15, 2001 - 1:30 p.m. EST
Quigley: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have two announcements this afternoon.
The Department of Defense will recognize National Women's History Month during a ceremony today at 2:00 in the Pentagon auditorium, Room 5A1070. The acting under secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Mr. Charles Cragin, will host the program, and the guest speaker will be the adjutant general for the state of Vermont, Major General Martha Rainville. The theme for National Women's History Month 2001 is "Celebrating Women of Courage and Vision."
Second, Secretary Rumsfeld will host a welcoming ceremony for the new deputy secretary of Defense, Dr. Paul Wolfowitz, at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon at the Upper River Parade Field. In the event of inclement weather, that ceremony will be held in, again, the Pentagon auditorium, Room 5A1070. [The press advisory for this event is on the Web at http://www.defenselink.mil/advisories/2001/p03152001_p048-01.html ]
And with that, I'll take your questions.
Q: Craig, how long is the investigation expected to last in Kuwait? And what exactly is the purview of that board?
Quigley: Well, the first one is a tough one to answer. I believe that General Franks has asked General DeLong, who is leading the investigation board, to complete his work by the 16th of April. So he has set right to it. He arrived on the ground in Kuwait at about 1:30 in the afternoon Kuwait time today; that's about 5:30 this morning our time. And I believe that they are going to set to work right away, tomorrow, and are going to go to the range, to the Udairi Range, and to the Harry S. Truman. And his travels will take him wherever he needs to go in the days ahead to complete his work.
So that's -- I can't put a "less than" time frame on it for you, but General Franks has asked the completion date to be not later than the 16th of April.
Q: What's the purview of the board again? What are they going to look into?
Quigley: They are an investigation board to look into the causes of the accident -- put at its most succinct. Separate from, now, the safety investigations that the services will need to do. But General DeLong, as part of his efforts today, and in the early days -- I'll put it that way -- of his efforts on the ground there in Kuwait, will make sure that the safety investigations are deconflicted from his own team's work so that both objectives are met.
As you know, Charlie, a safety investigation's purpose is a little different than what General DeLong's is here, where his is trying to ascertain the cause of the accident and what lessons learned can we gain from this so as to, hopefully, preclude this from happening again, whereas the safety investigation is -- takes a look at specific safety issues and not so much hardware or things of that sort.
Q: By "seeking cause of the accident", you mean establishing blame in the process.
Quigley: Well, if human error is a factor, if communications standards are a factor, if equipment failure is a factor, all those are certainly fair game and will, indeed, be looked at, yes.
Q: Following a briefing this morning with -- a classified briefing with the Readiness subcommittee, Congressman Curt Weldon issued a statement that sort of attributed the accident to a lack of readiness and military training. He said, "We are witnessing the unfortunate results of eight years of neglect of our military." Does the Pentagon see this as a lack of readiness, a lack of training, or faulty equipment issue?
Quigley: I don't think we can say that yet at this point. That certainly would not be our position yet. We're going into this, General DeLong is going into this with a completely open mind and a very broad charter as to try to learn all the details that he can that would shed light on how this tragic accident occurred. So I -- at this point I would say we would certainly not be a position to say such a cause, any cause would be the reason for the accident yet.
Q: And would General DeLong then be in a position to make recommendations to General Franks, presumably about if there are lessons to be learned or if there is blame to be cast --
Quigley: Yes.
Q: -- if the possibility, even, of disciplinary action should come up, that would all be in the nature of recommendations that General DeLong would make as a result of this?
Quigley: Yes, sir. He would have findings, he would have recommendations on the way ahead, or corrective actions that might need to be taken for follow-on procedures, whatever he thinks is the appropriate way to go. His charter is very broad. Yes. It's conceivable that there could be follow-on actions, possibly legal actions, resulting from the completion of General DeLong's work and the submission of his report.
Q: What's the flying status of the wing -- or the squadron at this point, and Zimmerman?
Quigley: I don't know the flying status of the squadron. The wing flew today, John. I don't know the squadron status.
Q: No bombs have been been dropped since the accident on the range? Is that correct?
Quigley: Correct.
Q: And Zimmerman's status?
Quigley: Well, I should -- well, let me take that back, too. If other nations have used the range for training, I don't know that. But no U.S. forces have used the range for training since the accident.
Quigley: Let me take that, too, and I'll check with the Navy. [Update: Cmdr. Zimmerman is in a non-flying status while the investigation is in progress.]
Q: And flying today, you mean they flew Southern Watch?
Quigley: The wing flew today; correct.
Q: Can you give us some guidance on the composition of this investigative board, who else is on it or what -- how many members from each branch of the services are on it?
Quigley: Headed by General DeLong, who is a Marine. Lieutenant General DeLong is a Marine. He has one member each from the Army and the Air Force -- correction -- one member each from the Air Force and the Navy, two, I believe, from the Army; and both the Kuwaitis and New Zealand has accepted our invitation to contribute advisory members and observers to the panel. There may be some additional administrative support personnel that are assigned as well -- I suspect that's the case -- as well as some provision of transportation assistance on the ground in Kuwait.
Q: All these others from the Army, Air Force and Navy, have they been assigned yet? Can you give us names?
Quigley: I don't know if CentCom has yet received the names of those individuals. I don't know.
Q: Are they to be --
Quigley: I know I'm right with the numbers, but I don't know if they've been assigned.
Q: Are they to be flag or general officers?
Quigley: I don't believe. I think they will be junior to General DeLong. And I don't think they'll be flag or general officers. What they will bring would be particular areas of expertise to the overall composition of the investigation board.
Q: Along those lines, the safety investigation, can you clarify, I guess, who would be -- what service is leading that and who's going to be a part of that investigation?
Quigley: Each service would do their own.
Q: Will the report be public or is this classified findings at the end?
Quigley: Well, classified findings would remain classified, but I think ultimately those unclassified parts would certainly be releasable, yes.
Q: What do you know about movement of remains and injured?
Quigley: All of the remains and the injured are now at Landstuhl in Germany. I have the happy occurrence of just before I came out the condition of the three injured has been upgraded from stable to good.
And movement of the injured -- follow-on movement, I should say, of the injured from Landstuhl will of course be determined by their condition in the days ahead. But we're encouraged by the movement to the good column.
The preparation of remains for transfer back to the United States is not yet accomplished. I don't have a good timeframe on that, John, but all of them are in Landstuhl or Frankfurt and being prepared to be returned to the states. We'll work very closely with the families, of course, in the days ahead, on their desires in that regard as well.
[A photo of the arrival of the remains in Germany is on the Web at http://www.defenselink.mil/photos/Mar2001/010315-F-2454T-501.html ]
Q: When they are well enough to travel, will the injured be taken back to assist in the investigation? I mean, obviously their testimony could be very valuable.
Quigley: I don't think there's any intention to return them. I don't see their recovery being far enough along in the near term to warrant movement of the injured back to Kuwait. If their medical condition is such that they can contribute by their words, then we would certainly accommodate their medical needs and go to them. But I don't know of any interest in moving them back to Kuwait for that.
Q: On a different subject --
Quigley: Can I hold you on that thought one second? Any other questions on -- yes, ma'am.
Q: Where will Crusing be interviewed then?
Quigley: Where?
Q: Yeah.
Quigley: I don't know if General DeLong has that level of detail worked out yet.
Q: Well, obviously it's one of the top priorities since he was the forward air controller.
Quigley: He will go to wherever he needs to get the information in order to come to the conclusion of the accident investigation board. If that includes going to Germany, then that's okay.
Pat, go ahead, sorry.
Q: Is Secretary Rumsfeld or Secretary Wolfowitz looking into the Army's -- there is a dispute between defense contractors for the Army's new lightweight assault vehicle. Are they holding it up as part of the review, or do they plan to look into that dispute at all?
Quigley: I think it's really two separate issues. I mean, the one is a dispute by one of the contractors -- contractor teams that did not get the award of the contract. So that's on the one side.
Now, the role of such a vehicle in the Army of the future is certainly fair game to be reviewed, along with all other acquisition programs that are part of the ongoing review. So I need to put those in two different piles, I think.
Q: Do you know if the GAO has resolved that?
Quigley: I do not believe they have. I do not believe they have.
Q: And, so the secretaries are looking at that as part of their review?
Quigley: For the --
Q: Decision on the lightweight assault vehicle?
Quigley: Well, I would just put that in the same category as all other acquisition programs. When you come up with a strategy of what the American military is to do into the early part of the 21st century, then you move to the sorts of equipment that you need to carry out that strategy in the world, and all systems are fair game for review and will be part of the review.
Q: As long as we're on the Army, can we talk about the meeting between Wolfowitz and Shinseki today? Do you have any readout on --
Quigley: No, I'm not going to get into a discussion of how Dr. Wolfowitz is carrying out his tasking from the secretary.
Q: Another subject. On the Balkans, are there any plans to increase the number of troops in Kosovo in response to the fighting along the border and inside of Macedonia, or any other, you know, response to that? And then, as a separate issue, apparently there are plans to withdraw some troops from Bosnia, and I was wondering if you could explain what that's all about and whether there is a larger plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Bosnia, or at least reduce them down to 80 percent, within the next two years?
Quigley: Three issues, and all distinct from each other, but let me take them one at a time; first one first. For the second day, the activities in what NATO refers to as Sector Charlie East, along the border between FYROM and Kosovo, the FRY military units have been patrolling in that sector for, like I say, the second day, without remarkable incident.
There was one injury yesterday, but it was related to a FRY soldier who had attempted to defuse, I believe, a land mine, and an accident of some sort occurred and he was injured. But certainly nothing in the way of a confrontation with armed Albanian extremists. So that's in that regard.
As far as force levels along that part of the Kosovo-FYROM border, it's certainly something that's being watched very carefully, Jim.
I don't know of a request by KFOR at this point, at least, to supreme headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, the SACEUR, then the NATO channels, to increase force levels. There is some capability for that right there on hand in Kosovo, with NATO's quick reaction force, that can be moved quite quickly, by design, for a localized beefing up of forces. But I know of no request. And it would, of course, be done through NATO channels, from KFOR to SACEUR to the NATO nations, for increased force levels, at least at this point.
It's a very tense situation. They're watching it very closely every day. But so far I'm not aware of any requests for more forces.
Q: Any request from Macedonia?
Quigley: Well, NATO's charter stops at the border of -- between FYROM and Kosovo. And so that is where the participating NATO nations -- their charter of activity ends, is at the border, there.
But again, we're hoping that by the reduction of the ground safety zone over time, as well as the introduction of FRY military units, with proper controls, into Sector Charlie East will lessen some of the movement of both criminals and extreme elements up through that portion of the ground safety zone and up into Serbia proper. And so far -- like we said, this is the second day -- so far, there have been no incidents. So that's that one.
Second is the pending reduction of excess requirements in the U.S. forces in Bosnia, in SFOR, in the Stabilization Force. As part of the long-term strategy, as you know, NATO takes a look at the force level requirements in the Balkans every six months. The most recent one was done in December, and as a part of that process, the United States had informed the NATO allies that it was removing what it considered excess equipment, and people to operate that equipment, from the forces that it had contributed to that area.
The drawdown to that -- to rid the excess equipment -- we're talking now -- we're talking Apache helicopters, talking heavy armor, a reduction in the heavy armor, some of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and, of course, the people to maintain them and to operate that equipment that the United States saw as above and beyond its needs in carrying out its mission in the larger NATO SFOR context.
There's been absolutely no reduction in our ability to carry out the mission assigned to U.S. forces as a part of SFOR, but it's really a product of success in that particular part of the Balkans. As conditions have warranted, you see these forces, which were kept there, and with their capabilities -- the Apache helicopters, the armor and what have you -- as something of an insurance policy. But with the conditions as we see them today, and as agreed to by the other NATO allies in that part -- in SFOR, these excess requirements are being drawn down.
We're doing that as a part of the overall change out of SFOR. Units of a turnover between SFOR rotation number eight and number nine have now started to take place. I believe a change of command takes place in early April, I believe. So you'll see a spike for a while in overall numbers as the relief units come in and those units being relieved then eventually leave.
But the way we're going to do this is for the Apaches, for example, as they flow out, they will simply not be replaced, and some elements of the armor will not be replaced, some elements of the Bradleys will not be replaced. So it's part of the overall rotation, but unlike past rotations, you're not replacing the force with a comparable level.
Q: What are the numbers?
Q: Yeah, what are the numbers?
Quigley: You're going down when the -- when the change-out is all done, you're going to be down to a level of around 3,500.
Q: And there are now 47 --
Quigley: Well, right now they're very much in flux. I think it's 4,300 or 4,400 today. But that number is going to rise as the forces do a change-out here in the weeks ahead. But when that is settled out, you're going to be left with a force of around 3,500.
Q: Are any other NATO nations similarly reducing their contributions?
Quigley: I don't know if any of the others think that they have excess requirements there, Pam. I'm not sure.
Q: Can you explain -- it seems kind of weird that, you know, we say this all happens with the advice and consent of all the NATO members and we all agree, but it sounds like the U.S. kind of walked in and said "We're reducing our force here," and they said "Okay." It doesn't sound like it was a --
Quigley: That's just not an accurate description of the process.
Q: The way you presented it, it doesn't sound to me like it was a general NATO belief that, ah, we have a little bit more than we need. And so, you know, United States, why don't you pull it out? It seemed like the U.S. came in and said it.
Quigley: All of the NATO nations take a look at the overall force requirements for both SFOR and KFOR every six months.
Q: But this was generated in the U.S., this idea.
Quigley: Yes. And discussed in the context of the six- month reviews, the last one that was completed in December.
Q: Do you mean to say that the decision was made in December by the United States to do the reduction?
Quigley: The six-month review was completed in December. And then, as the NATO nations went back to their governments and discussed the way ahead, this was then worked through military committee, the defense ministers of the various nations, and this is the process by which NATO works on an every-six-month basis to determine the appropriate level of forces both in SFOR and KFOR.
Q: How big is --
Q: Just to make the December-January thing clear, it was not done -- the decision was not made by the previous U.S. administration. It --
Quigley: I believe it was. Made in December, yes.
Q: How big is SFOR now?
Quigley: I believe the U.S. contribution -- I don't know. Let me get the overall --
Q: You don't know how big SFOR is.
Quigley: No, I don't know the total number.
Q: I'd like to know. I'd like you to take how big SFOR is now and how big SFOR will be after this U.S. drawdown.
Quigley: Okay.
Q: Is this the first stop of a two-year drawdown that would bring the --
Quigley: That's the third part -- that's the third part, Jim. So, anyway, let's -- that's the circumstances with this drawdown of excess -- excess to our requirement there in SFOR.
Now, the other part is, again, it's different, but it's not different in the process. For a long time the NATO nations have been discussing, what is the long-term way ahead, both for SFOR and KFOR? As agreed to for a long time now, it's not so much calendar-driven as it is event-driven, and I just mentioned, the reduction of what we would consider excess equipment and people requirements is an outgrowth of what we consider a successful -- a movement towards success in Bosnia.
So you always take a look at that every six months, and you determine what you think your appropriate force level is for that six- month window, and move ahead.
There are no final decisions that have been made by United States as we prepare to enter that next round of six-month review. The next one is in May, I believe, and so some of the advance work for that would begin in April. Is there advance work being done here within the U.S. government as to what our position will be? Yes. But there's been no final decisions as to how we're going to approach the next six-month review in May, with a number total or a time line or anything like that.
Q: It's completed -- sorry.
Q: Will that look out two years, the next six-month review? Or will it look out six months?
Quigley: I don't think it has a time line attached to it at all. I think the preparation is to go for the May six-month review, to try to take a snapshot of conditions on the ground, and to tailor your force to accommodate what you see in those conditions on the ground.
Q: Are you saying that May is the end of the six-month period?
Quigley: May is the end of the next six-month period, right,
Q: And a point at which a decision should be made on the review that has been conducted over the six months leading up to May?
Quigley: No. The last one in December, next one in May, and six months after that.
Q: Can you say, in the context of this work that's being done, whether the United States is considering the option of moving to a so- called "deterrent force," where local police take over a lot of the responsibilities that SFOR now has, and that would therefore permit much lower U.S. troop levels?
Quigley: I wouldn't put it as something that the U.S. is looking at. I mean, the idea of a deterrent force has been discussed in NATO -- within NATO for some time. Now, whether or not that's the way ahead eventually will be determined by that same process.
Q: Do you have any information on the net loss of numbers of -- like Apache helicopters and Bradley fighting vehicles?
Quigley: We tend to not be very definitive on specific types of systems that are in place so as to not completely show our hand. But, rather, I prefer to put it that we'll reduce the number of heavy -- of Abrams tanks, reduce the number of Bradleys, above the level that we feel is still prudent to retain there in SFOR.
Q: And choppers, you said all of the Apaches are coming out, right?
Quigley: All of the Apaches. They will be the first, as a matter of fact, to move.
Q: How many are they, since they're all coming out?
Quigley: I think it's 16.
Q: Coming out?
Charlie, you asked -- or Jim, I don't remember -- numbers overall. SFOR is approximately 20,000, and of that total, U.S. is approximately 4,400.
Q: But you say --
Quigley: Then we're going to go down to about 3,500, after the removal of the excess equipment and people.
Q: On the numbers, I checked --
Quigley: And I don't know if there would be an overall -- Pam, you asked this one earlier -- I don't know it there'd be an overall -- is it 20,000 minus 3,500, approximately, and does that give you the number of the balance of SFOR? I don't know that. That you'd have to ask NATO.
Q: But you don't know if other NATO forces are coming out also?
Quigley: I do not.
Q: I checked earlier, and the number I was told then was 4,700, and if you bring it down to 3,500, you're talking about a quarter of the force.
Quigley: I don't think the 4,700 is right. I think it's 4,400.
Now, if the SFOR rotation has started, Jim, it is possible you could see a higher number than 4,400 today or tomorrow or next week as those forces move in and move out. But the steady state for the U.S. contribution now is 4,400, moving to 3,500.
Q: Is the reduction in complete in April? Is that right?
Quigley: It's going to take -- yeah, I believe it is in April, but I don't have a date in April, Pam. I think it's towards the mid- to the latter part of April.
Q: Another subject?
Quigley: Anything else on the Balkans?
Q: Real quick --
Quigley: Yeah?
Q: It will begin now, or it's already started?
Quigley: It has begun. It has begun, but just, in the last couple of days.
Q: New subject?
Quigley: And that would -- just for those of you who want to do the math, that will result in, if -- we will still have approximately 19 percent of the forces on the ground in SFOR.
Yes? Go ahead.
Q: On Tuesday I had asked you if you had any information about the report that the secretary was due to submit to the president by March 9th on the training that the Navy was going to -- training requirements through 2003, in light of a Vieques agreement. Do you have anything --
Quigley: I don't know as -- if the report has moved yet from DoD. I know Navy has given the report to DoD in the last couple of days, but I don't know if it's moved on to the president yet.
Q: Okay. Yesterday the governor of Puerto Rico addressed the Puerto Rican legislature, and she talked very briefly about her conversations with the secretary. And she said that the secretary was agreeing to put an end to all training while the vibro-acoustic study was being conducted -- the health study. Is that true, that all training is suspending until the health study results are in?
Quigley: No, I don't think that's the intention.
Q: And according to the directives that at least are still in place, the land transfer is supposed to occur by May 1st, as well as the $40 million in appropriations were supposed to take place in the event that there was training in Vieques. The former secretary of the Navy had said that everything was held in abeyance. Is that land transfer going to occur on May 1st?
Quigley: That's still a work in progress. I can't tell you the answer on the 15th of March.
Q: On another new subject?
Quigley: Sure.
Q: Can you tell us if the department is taking any steps or what steps it is taking to make sure that service members don't bring foot-and-mouth back to the United States?
Quigley: It's largely being done -- I mean, we're very much aware in the military of the requirements that the Food and Drug Administration, the Customs Service, and what have you are putting in place, and we're taking our cue from them, Dale. And many times lots of military members, as they move back and forth to the United States, come through commercial airports as they travel anyway.
But if you come back to a military base, an Air Force base, a naval air station, something like that, again, you follow those same Customs rules, the FDA rules. You have the Customs officer come on the plane and what have you. And those same rules are being put in place at the military airheads within the continental United States.
Q: How about overseas? How about within Germany? I mean, are these troops that get on planes in Germany to fly here, are they stepping in baths?
Quigley: Yeah, exactly. It depends on if they are landing at a commercial airport, Charlie, and have the facilities there, or if it's a naval air station or an Air Force base or something here in the United States. The procedure is put in place by the FDA and the Customs Service. We are following their lead as to what's required and then working with them to make sure that those sorts of preventive steps are carried out for military members when they return to the United States also.
Q: So all military members and families that come into the country, whether they land at commercial bases or whether they land at military bases, are being cleansed, whatever, to make sure that --
Quigley: Well, no, I don't think it's everyone, because I don't think that's what the FDA and Customs is calling for. It depends on -- you fill out the little questionnaire as to where you have been, and if you have been on a farm or someplace like that, those are the folks that are specifically having their shoes and whatnot disinfected. But if you have not been on a farm and you've been only to a city, let's say, and not in an agricultural setting, those are not the folks, is my understanding, that are having to clean their shoes and disinfect them. But if you have been in one of those circumstances, the same rule applies to military folks as to non- military travelers.
Q: The Service Members' Legal Defense Network has issued their annual report saying that some instances of harassment of gay and lesbians in the service has actually declined, but they are extremely critical of the administration or the Defense Department for not moving ahead with its anti-harassment policies.
Can you help clear up where -- where are the policies, first of all? And has Secretary Rumsfeld endorsed a need for an anti-harassment policy in the Defense Department?
Quigley: Well, I think it's not so much the policy as it is the issuance of a directive, John, that would clearly spell that out.
Each of the services -- service chiefs, I believe -- has put out a communication some months ago -- I want to say in the summer of 2000 -- to their respective services, clearly enunciating their policy on harassment. And it should be very clear to everyone who serves in uniform or out that harassment is simply not tolerated in any branch of the armed forces of the United States.
Now, there was a recommendation to put out a DoD-wide directive that would be sort of an omnibus directive in that regard. That has not yet been done. It's going to be looked at as part of the overall incoming administration's efforts in that regard, but I can't predict where that will come out.
Q: So you cannot predict, for example, that Secretary Rumsfeld supports a strong anti-harassment policy against gay people in the --
Quigley: I think he's very much against a climate of harassment in any way, shape or form. Whether he chooses to express that via the publication of a directive, that I don't know.
Q: I have a question. There was a report today that a new Chinese missile base has been detected, I guess, you know, close to -- pointing towards Taiwan. Can you comment on that?
Quigley: Well, I can't get too far into this because of the strictures of classification and intelligence reports. But I don't think it's any secret that China is modernizing it's military. That includes increasing the size of its missile force. It's something we monitor very carefully. It's certainly within their rights to do that.
We would hope that the modernization efforts they have underway are not destabilizing to the region. That would be something that would be an adverse result of their modernization effort in that region. But it's certainly an element -- their modernization is an element of our thinking. It's part of the overall Taiwan Relations Act. And, as you know, we are committed to the legitimate defense needs of Taiwan. So it's all part of a very complicated mix that we try to watch very carefully.
Q: You can't comment on whether there's evidence of a new missile base?
Quigley: No sir, I can't. I'm sorry.
Staff: Thank you.


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The best advice I can give? Just start. Start somewhere. I make a habit to concentrate on buying certain items every month. From there, I try to pick up three extras of what I run out of every week. (Need a new toothbrush? Buy three extra. Toilet paper? Three extra. Canned peaches? Three extra. Dog food? Ha. At $20 a bag, I only have one extra. It's okay. Just do what you can. For your budget, that may mean an extra can of soup, fruit, and box of mac and cheese every grocery run. Ultimately, know that, more than anything, our faith (spiritually) and our ability to adapt (physically and mentally) is what will ultimately see us through whatever this life throws at us.
If you have resources or tips of your own, please feel free to leave them in the comments. Questions, too. Criticism of preparedness and the desire to provide for yourself and your family in uncertain times? Move on and do something productive and meaningful with your time. This likely isn't a forum for you. -Brin


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2013-02-27 - On March 29th AVANTASIA will release their new album "The Mystery Of Time". Now the band presents the first track called "INVOKE THE MACHINE". Besides mastermind TOBIAS SAMMET, the track features PRETTY MAIDS vocalist RONNIE ATKINS as a guest singer.
You can watch the edit version of the track as a lyric video here: http://youtu.be/WfQEclxbQrs
Tobias Sammet comments: "I have been a huge PRETTY MAIDS fan since I was a teenager. I already asked Ronnie to be on the Metal Opera in 1999, but he was busy back then. Last year I saw PRETTY MAIDS live, and they were a steam train on stage, unbelievable. After the show we met and Ronnie was a great guy. Finally after 13 years, I am really proud to have him on the new Avantasia album. And his kick-ass performance leaves no doubt: It was a great decision to ask him!"
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NUCLEAR BLAST – Bands honored at METAL ...
2013-09-17 01:00 - At this year's edition of the annual METAL HAMMER AWARDS, that took place this past Friday, September 13 in Berlin four Nuclear Blast Bands succeeded in the following ... Détails
BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL to be live streamed vi...
2013-08-08 00:00 - If you can't get along to the award-winning BLOODSTOCK FESTIVAL this weekend for whatever reason, don't fret, because you can catch many of the main stage band sets on the ... Détails
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2013-04-18 03:00 - This year, Metal Hammer Germany will award their annual Metal Hammer Awards for the fifth time on Friday, September 13, at the "Kesselhaus" in Berlin, Germany, with live pe... Détails
AVANTASIA - Enter the united world charts!
2013-04-16 01:00 - Just after we received the information that the new album THE MYSTERY OF TIME has also entered the Swiss album Top 10 charts at #5 we can proudly announce that it has also ... Détails
AVANTASIA: Hit the german charts at #2!
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AVANTASIA - full album stream available!
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US Lebanon ICT Forum
The U.S. Embassy in Beirut and the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) - with the support of the National U.S. Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Union of Arab ICT Associations - held the first annual "U.S. – Lebanon ICT Forum" in Beirut on October 14-15, 2010 at BIEL.
October 14-15, 2010 - BIEL
>>> More>>> Pictures
Lebanon Business & Investment Summit 2010
Euroconvention – in association with the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce in Lebanon (AmCham) and the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), organized the "Lebanon Business and Investment Summit 2010" on the September 27-28 at the Movenpick Hotel.
September 27-28, 2010 - Movenpick Hotel
Farewell Lunch in honor of H.E. Ambassador Michele Sison
The American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce hosted a farewell lunch at Le Maillon Restaurant on August 2, 2010, to bid farewell to Her Excellency Michel Sison, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, who will be leaving Lebanon after having served at the United States Embassy in Beirut for two years since February 2008, and as ambassador since August 2008.
August 10, 2010 - Le Maillon Restaurant
>>> More>>> Pictures
Lunch in honor of US Secretary of Transportation Mr. Ray Lahood
AmCham Lebanon organized a roundtable lunch on July 3 at Le Maillon restaurant in honor of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood, the only Arab-American member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet.
July 3, 2010 - Le Maillon Restaurant
'Lebanon Business Roundtable: Can the country afford not to reform?'
Economist Conferences, which is part of The Economist Group, hosted a business roundtable with the support of AmCham Lebanon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut on June 15 to discuss how Lebanon can take advantage of its home-grown talent and once again become a regional hub.
June 15, 2010 - Four Seasons Hotel
MENA Power 2010
AmCham Lebanon and AmCham MENA were official supporters of the MENA POWER 2010: A Middle East and North Africa Technology and Projects Forum, sponsored by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The forum took place at the Conrad Cairo Hotel in Cairo on May 24-26 in cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service and U.S. State Department.
May 24-26, 2010 - Cairo
>>> More
AmCham partners with CSR Lebanon in First Awareness Seminar on CSR
The American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce partnered with CSR Lebanon to organize the first awareness conference on corporate social responsibility (CSR), entitled, CSR: An Investment or a Cost?, under the patronage of H.E. Governor of the Central Bank Riad Salame. The conference took place on May 18 at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel and aimed to raise awareness on the importance of building a CSR strategy and to highlight the meaning and benefits of CSR in companies.
May 18, 2010 - Phoenicia Hotel
AmCham Delegation to the US / Lebanon Capital Market Day
The American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, BNY Mellon, and Auerbach Grayson were delighted to host, in collaboration with The Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA), the second Lebanon Capital Market day in New York on April 27th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where the Lebanese flag was proudly displayed on the Park Avenue entrance next to the flag of the United States.
April 27th, 2010 - New York & Washington
Lunch Debate with H.E. Minister Fady Abboud
The American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Lebanon) held a lunch debate in Honor of the Lebanese Minister of Tourism, H.E. Fadi Abboud, Monday March 15, 2010, at the Four Seasons Hotel. The event was attended by the US Ambassador to Lebanon H.E. Michel Sison, Presidents of Lebanese Economic Organizations as well as AmCham members.
March 15th, 2010 - Four Seasons Hotel
>>> More>>> Pictures
Taste of America
The U.S. Commercial Service of the US embassy in Beirut and AmCham Lebanon organized a first-of-its-kind American food exhibition in Lebanon, at CITYMALL on March 13-14, 2010.
March 13-14, 2010 - City Mall


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First of all, let me say what a super performance Germany gave last night. They tactically outclassed Portugal from the get go and thoroughly deserved their win. Anyway, enough of yesterday, now for today's big clash. Before yesterday, I'd have … Continue reading
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The Mexican winger Giovani Dos Santos has completed his £5million move to White Hart Lane from Barcelona this afternoon. Dos Santos has signed a 5 year contract and joins up with his team mates for pre-season training on July 7th. … Continue reading


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Unlocking the Key to Deep Sleep
By Sarah Fenske
Making the Ferguson Commission Matter
By Danny Wicentowski
My Fake Boyfriend Became a Real-Life Crush
By Lindsay Toler
Rep. Jeffrey Pogue Bill Would Ban Unisex Bathrooms
By Danny Wicentowski
Darren Wilson Gives Speech to Nonprofit
By Danny Wicentowski
Angel Stewart and Other Victims of Violence Ask for Mercy
By Jessica Lussenhop
Obama Praises St. Louis' LaunchCode
By Lindsay Toler
By Lindsay Toler
The question of how the two civil lawsuits filed by Goeggel and by the government will proceed is an issue before Judge Hamilton.
Because Dowd's office didn't name Barnes-Jewish and SLU in its civil complaint, it has taken the position that Goeggel can pursue his claims against them separately. However, prosecutors say Goeggel can't assert any separate claims against Abbott and Dougherty.
Barnes-Jewish and SLU, for their part, contend that they didn't participate in any of the fraud allegedly committed by Abbott, so Goeggel doesn't have a case against them. Goeggel's attorneys argue they and the government are pursuing different types of fraud.
In the larger scheme of things, Medicare fraud by ambulance companies is a pittance. The Medicare program paid $210 billion in benefits during the last federal fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, 1998. Of that amount, about $176.1 billion was paid on fee-for-service claims; the rest, about $33 billion, was paid to managed-care companies.
On the basis of a statistical sampling, looking at about 600 beneficiaries with 5,540 claims, the inspector general estimates about $12.6 billion was paid improperly or about 7.1 percent of the total fee-for-service payments. How much of those payments were fraudulent, the feds can't say, acknowledging that in many cases, the billing and coding errors may have been inadvertent. Most Medicare dollars flow to hospitals, physicians and home-health agencies and no surprise here that's where most of the billing errors were found.
Improper payments to ambulance companies and other transportation providers made up a tiny fraction of the total overpayments, a mere 0.69 percent of the total overpayments, or about $86 million. Medicare payments for transportation services totaled about $1.65 billion in fiscal year '98.
"In the scheme of things, is it considered to be one of the most vulnerable benefits of the program? We've not identified it as such," says Ben St. John, a spokesman for the inspector general. "Home-health agencies, durable medical equipment, hospice some of the other areas where much, much more money is spent have been identified as vulnerable benefits in the programs."
According to examples of fraud alleged in the government's lawsuit against Abbott, the average false claim cost Medicare about $152. The government doesn't say how many false claims Abbott may have submitted or how much money Abbott may have collected.
Sprung, however, estimates the total exceeds $5 million from 1992-98, up until the time subpoenas were executed. With treble damages, and thousands of claims at $5,000-$10,000 a pop, the case could theoretically yield penalties topping $100 million, though no one expects any settlement to reach that level.
Indeed, one of the largest Medicare cases brought against an ambulance company resulted in a settlement that was substantially smaller.
New York City agreed last fall to pay $9.5 million to settle charges that it had billed Medicare for ambulance services for patients who didn't need them, then mischaracterized the patient's condition to collect the reimbursement. No criminal charges were filed, the city admitted no wrongdoing and the whistle-blower, a former city paramedic, collected $1.425 million.
Others haven't fared as well, because the government tends to prosecute smaller companies more aggressively. Last year, Michael Schooler, president of Georgia Intensive Care, received a one-year prison sentence for submitting false claims; Harley Revis, accused of submitting more than $1 million in false claims on behalf of his Oklahoma ambulance company, got 51 months.
More than 100 ambulance companies have been nailed in the past five years for Medicare fraud.
Amid the clampdown, all providers are feeling the pressure ironically, even Bob Goeggel; his Medicare carrier is putting his claims under a microscope and has denied a bunch. "We met all the criteria, but they're apparently under great pressure to produce these reports (to the government) and do them quickly," he says. "One of the quickest ways to do that is to deny a lot of stuff."
Gateway is resubmitting the claims and expects to be paid, but for a small company, where cash flow is critical for meeting payrolls and paying vendors, the delay has been an "inconvenience of major proportions," Goeggel says.
He blames companies that defrauded the government for making it hard on honest businesses.
Since his retirement from his $225,000-a-year job at Abbott, Dougherty, who turned 60 last week, has launched a consulting-and-management-coaching business. According to his still-under-construction Web site, T.W. Dougherty Associates "specializes in personalized management and consulting and coaching for mid-sized businesses in the greater St. Louis, Missouri region." It doesn't say whether he has any clients.
McCormick says Abbott has become a stronger organization in the past year, working hard to develop "the strongest Medicare-compliance program that we know of for an ambulance service in the Midwest.... I have no idea how it'll all wind up, but I know this: I'm proud to come to work every day at Abbott."
Goeggel, for his part, is confident that federal prosecutors will push forward, expand their investigation and prevail. What that would mean for Gateway's future, however, is unclear.
Whatever the outcome of his whistle-blower suit, Goeggel says he has no regrets. "There were activities going on that were illegal," he says. "I didn't do this for competitive advantage. I did it because there was illegal activity going on and I was aware of it.
"Competition is part of business matter of fact, it makes business very, very healthy. But you know what's not part of business? Fraud. That's not part of business."
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The man serving a life prison term for kidnapping three women and repeatedly raping them in his home for nearly a decade has been found dead and is believed to have committed suicide, a prison official said.
Ariel Castro, 53, was found hanging in his cell around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, located south of Columbus in central Ohio, JoEllen Smith, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokeswoman, said early Wednesday.
Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 10:50 p.m.
Castro's attorneys tried unsuccessfully to have a psychological examination of Castro done at the Cuyahoga County Jail, where Castro was housed before he was turned over to state authorities following his guilty plea and conviction, his attorney, Jaye Schlachet, told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Schlachet said he could not immediately comment further.
In an interview last month after Castro's conviction, Schlachet and attorney Craig Weintraub said their client clearly fit the profile of sociopathic disorder and that they hoped researchers would study him for clues that could be used to stop other predators.
The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. They escaped from Castro's Cleveland home May 6, when Amanda Berry, one of the women, broke part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help.
"Help me," she said in a 911 call. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years and I'm, I'm here, I'm free now."
The two other women were so scared of Castro that they held back initially even as police officers began to swarm the house. But quickly they realized they were free.
"You saved us! You saved us!" another of the captives, Michelle Knight, told an officer as she leaped into his arms.
Castro was arrested that evening. He had also fathered a child with Berry while she was in captivity; that girl was 6 years old when freed. A judge rejected Castro's request to have visiting rights with his daughter.
Elation over the women's rescue soon turned to shock as details emerged about conditions of their captivity. Investigators say they were bound with chains, repeatedly raped and deprived of food and bathroom facilities. Knight told investigators she was beaten and starved several times to force her to miscarry.
Messages left for the women's lawyers were not immediately returned early Wednesday.
Castro was sentenced Aug. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.
In a rambling statement, he told the judge he was not a monster but a man suffering from a pornography addiction.
"I'm not a monster. I'm sick," Castro said at his sentencing.
Knight was the only one of the three who appeared in court at his sentencing.
"You took 11 years of my life away, and I have got it back," she said in the hushed courtroom. "I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning."
Castro was in protective custody because of the notoriety of his case, meaning he was checked every 30 minutes, but was not on suicide watch, Smith said. She said suicide watch entails constant observation.
Castro was also watched closely in the Cuyahoga County Jail in the several weeks after his arrest and before his case was resolved by a guilty plea, with logs noting his activity every 10 minutes. He was taken off county jail suicide watch in early June after authorities determined he was not a suicide risk.
This is the second high-profile suicide in an Ohio prison in a month.
On Aug. 4, death row inmate Billy Slagle was found hanged in his cell just days before his scheduled execution. He was condemned to death for fatally stabbing a neighbor.
Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.
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Feng Shui For DummiesPaperback For Dummies
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- Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
- Format: Paperback | 432 pages
- Dimensions: 188mm x 231mm x 28mm | 635g
- Publication date: 14 December 2010
- Publication City/Country: Chichester
- Edition: 2, Revised
- Edition statement: 2nd Revised edition
- Illustrations note: Illustrations (some col.)
- Sales rank: 111,185
Product description
Benefit from the ancient Chinese art of Feng ShuiTake a look around you. What do you see? Whether or not you're aware of it, your environment profoundly affects your health, wealth, family life, relationship, and yes, even your destiny.Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway), which means wind water, is the ancient Chinese study of harmony and energy flow between you and your physical surroundings. Now, Feng Shui For Dummies, 2nd Edition shows you how you can apply Feng Shui principles to your home (inside and out) and workplace (from window office to cubicle) in order to achieve a better life. * Principles are explained in an easy-to-understand language * Practical tips show you how to incorporate the traditions of Feng Shui to your everyday life * Before-and-after illustrations and full-color photos of real-life Feng Shui makeovers in an all-new 8-page color insertFree of technical jargon and brimming with practical tips and advice, Feng Shui For Dummies shows you how to feel and access the energy of your environment and create harmony and happiness in your life.
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Author information
David Daniel Kennedy is one of America's best-known experts on the subject of Feng Shui. He's the author of Feng Shui Tips for a Better Life, Feng Shui for Abundance, and the Feng Shui Home Study Course; a direct student of the late Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun; and a designer of custom training programs for Feng Shui practitioners.
Back cover copy
Packed with up-to-date practices to bring Feng Shui into your life Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese study of harmony and energy flow between you and your physical surroundings. Now you can discover how to apply Feng Shui principles to your home (inside and out) and workplace (from window office to cubicle) in order to achieve a better life. Free of technical jargon and brimming with practical tips and advice, "Feng Shui For Dummies" shows you how to access the energy of your environment and create harmony in your life. Feng Shui 101 -- discover the benefits and inner power of Feng Shui, understand the Feng Shui Octagon, harness the energies of the Five Elements, and get a grip on different types of cures Energize your home's outdoor spaces -- assess the energy of your neighborhood; make the most of your home's positioning, lot, and shape; and create a welcoming entry Maximize indoor spaces -- bring Feng Shui to every room you inhabit, boost the power of your home's energy, and improve your office Take your Feng Shui up a notch -- discover how to make life changes with Feng Shui, from generating cash flow and improving your health to putting the pizzazz back in a relationship Open the book and find: The many benefits of Feng Shui The secrets of the Feng Shui Octagon Tips for selecting your Feng Shui tools How to use the power of the Five Elements Ways to boost your home's energy, both indoors and outdoors Feng Shui blessing ceremonies Full-color photos that will inspire you to enhance your home Learn to: Incorporate Feng Shui into a home of any size, from houses to apartments and more Change lighting, color, and furniture placement to bring health, wealth, and happiness Create overall balance, harmony, and prosperity in your life
Table of contents
Introduction. Part I: Getting Started: Feng Shui Made Clear. Chapter 1: Discovering the World of Feng Shui. Chapter 2: Mastering the Principles of Feng Shui. Chapter 3: Unveiling the Secrets of the Octagon. Chapter 4: Picking Up Your Feng Shui Tools. Chapter 5: Harnessing the Energies of the Five Elements. Chapter 6: Tapping the Inner Power of Feng Shui. Part II: Energizing Your Home's Exterior. Chapter 7: Harnessing Nature's Power to Enhance Your Outdoor Spaces. Chapter 8: Making the Most of Your Lot and Home Shape. Chapter 9: Open Sesame! Creating a Welcoming Entry. Part III: Feathering the Nest: Nurturing and Nourishing Indoor Spaces. Chapter 10: Reinventing Your Home's Layout. Chapter 11: Maximizing Results in the Bedroom. Chapter 12: Now You're Cookin': Feng Shui for Your Kitchen. Chapter 13: Home Is Where the "Shui" Is: Enhancing Your Family Areas. Chapter 14: Sprucing Up the Bits and Pieces. Chapter 15: Power-Boosting Your Home's Energy. Chapter 16: Improving Your Apartment with Feng Shui. Chapter 17: Using Feng Shui in Your Offi ce to Enhance Your Career. Part IV: Going to the Next Level: Using Feng Shui for Life Change. Chapter 18: Hitting the Ground Running: Your Fabulous Feng Shui Action Plan. Chapter 19: Taking Care of the Big Three: Your Money, Honey, and Health. Chapter 20: Looking Before You Leap: Selecting Your Next Home with Feng Shui. Chapter 21: Creating New Energy with Feng Shui Blessing Ceremonies. Chapter 22: Unleashing the Genie: Personal Feng Shui Empowerment. Part V: The Part of Tens. Chapter 23: Ten Principles for Success with Your Feng Shui. Chapter 24: Ten Tips for Finding the Right Consultant and Sticking with the Plan. Chapter 25: Ten Tips for Selling a Home with the Help of Feng Shui. Chapter 26: Ten Unique Calligraphies to Bless Your Life. Appendix: Feng Shui Resources. Index.


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Some embodiments of the present invention may include a method to stream packets into a queue for an upstream transmission, send multiple requests for upstream bandwidth to transmit data from the queue and receiving multiple grants to transmit data, and transmit data from the queue to the upstream as grants are received. Another embodiment may provide a network comprising a cable modem termination system (CMTS), and a cable modem wherein the cable modem may transmit data to the CMTS with a streaming protocol that sends multiple requests for upstream bandwidth to transmit data and receives multiple grants to transmit data, and transmits data to the CMTS as grants are received.
1. A method, comprising:
transferring a wideband channel descriptor message from a cable modem termination system (CMTS), over a downstream channel, to a wideband cable modem including a plurality of Quadrature Amplitude Modulators (QAMs), the wideband channel descriptor message defining a wideband upstream channel that is distributed over a plurality of modulated upstream channels, wherein the modulated channels each extend to a different one of the cable modem QAMs;
using the cable modem to range on the modulated upstream channels, wherein after the ranging the cable modem is contemporaneously communicatively coupled to the plurality of modulated channels;
queuing packets on the wideband cable modem into a stream for an upstream cable transmission over the wideband upstream channel;
partitioning the stream into a plurality of transmission blocks;
sending a plurality of requests for upstream bandwidth over the wideband channel, the plurality of requests distributed over the modulated upstream channels subsequent to completing ranging on the modulated upstream channels, wherein each request is for an amount of bandwidth corresponding to one of the transmission blocks; and
after receiving back a bandwidth grant, transmitting at least a portion of data taken from a first one of the transmission blocks according to the received bandwidth grant regardless of whether the received bandwidth grant is associated with the first transmission block;
wherein if the received bandwidth grant is associated with a transmission block other than the first transmission block, said transmission from the first transmission block in response to receiving the bandwidth grant disassociates bandwidth grants from bandwidth requests.
2. The method of
3. The method of
4. The method of
5. The method of
6. The method of
7. An apparatus, comprising:
means for bonding a plurality of modulated upstream channels into a wideband upstream channel, wherein the bonded modulated upstream channels extend from a wideband cable modem, wherein each modulated channel is modulated using a different Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (QAM), and wherein the wideband upstream channel is for sending transmissions from the wideband cable modem to a cable modem termination system (CMTS);
means for streaming data packets into a queue for an upstream cable transmission over the wideband upstream channel;
means for organizing the queued data into different groups;
means for sending a plurality of requests for upstream bandwidth over the wideband upstream channel, the plurality of requests distributed over the modulated upstream channels, wherein each request is associated with one of the groups, and wherein each request indicates a requested bandwidth that corresponds to a quantity of data in the associated group; and
means for transmitting data from the queue to the wideband upstream channel as grants are received in response to sending the requests, wherein data from one group is transmitted over a different modulated channel than a modulated channel used to send the request associated with said group.
8. An apparatus, comprising:
means for initializing a wideband cable modem for transmission over a plurality of modulated channels to a cable modem termination system, said initialization including ranging on each of the modulated channels;
means for streaming data packets into a queue for an upstream cable transmission;
means for sending multiple requests for upstream bandwidth to transmit data from the queue and receiving multiple grants to transmit the queued data, wherein the requests are associated with different portions of the data;
means for receiving back grants for at least a portion of the requests; and
means for transmitting data from the front of the queue to the back of the queue to a wideband upstream channel as the grants are received, wherein the data is transmitted from the front to the back independently of an order of arrival of the grants;
wherein the requests are sent on separate Quadrature Amplitude Modulator (QAM) channels.
9. The apparatus of
10. The apparatus of
11. The apparatus of
12. The apparatus of
13. The apparatus of
14. The apparatus of
15. The apparatus of
This application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/574,506, filed May 25, 2004, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/574,876, filed May 26, 2004, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/622,312, filed Oct. 25, 2004, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/624,490, filed Nov. 1, 2004, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/635,995, filed Dec. 13, 2004, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/588,635, filed Jul. 16, 2004, U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/582,732, filed Jun. 22, 2004, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/590,509, filed Jul. 23, 2004.
The Internet has changed society and is as much a part of modern culture as television and telephones. People are becoming increasingly connected to share and access information. This interconnectivity promotes improvements in the computing and communication infrastructure.
Much of this infrastructure was designed for entertainment or communication, but is being adapted to deliver general data. The addition of general information and data transmission over the legacy infrastructure has necessarily been somewhat restrained by the need for the infrastructure to continue its initial functions. Furthermore, legacy technical characteristics of this infrastructure influence the various solutions to include information storage and transmission. Most major entertainment and communication channels now include computer networking capabilities.
Many people get their television service through cable television (CATV). CATV was initially developed to deliver television signals to areas where antennas had difficulty picking up television broadcasts. Coaxial cabling is the primary type of cabling used by the cable television industry because it is much less susceptible to interference and can carry large amounts of data.
Television signals are broadcast in 6 MHz channels and this channel bandwidth was incorporated into cable television. As transmission demands increased, parts of the coaxial backbone were replaced with optical fiber to create a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network. The bandwidth of the cable infrastructure makes it an attractive technology to incorporate data transmission.
An example use of data over a cable television network was approved by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) which includes interface requirements for high speed data communication, and is called the data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS).
Cable service providers also offer internet service through the cable television network in 6 MHz channels for downstream data. Upstream data has historically received less bandwidth and has been offered in a fraction of a channel, such as in 2 MHz provisions. This asymmetry was due to the Internet initially being an information provider. Currently, peer-to-peer computing, file sharing, gaming, and other uses have increased the need for upstream bandwidth.
Due to the legacy CATV infrastructure primarily being a broadcast channel, there are different modulation schemes for upstream and downstream transmission, for example, downstream utilize 64 and 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) and upstream utilizes Quadrature Phase Shift Keying or 16 QAM.
Furthermore, to allow maximum data transmission through different networks, DOCSIS supports use of various combinations of modulation and therefore different data rates, which in turn complicates the physical layer in these networks.
Placing upstream and downstream data onto the cable television network requires special equipment at each end of the HFC plant. On the customer end, a cable modulator/demodulator (cable modem, or CM) transmits and receives data over the cable television infrastructure and on the cable provider end a cable modem termination system (CMTS) is used to place and retrieve data from the cable television network.
Typically a CMTS broadcasts to numerous CMs over a shared channel while each CM separately sends upstream data. In this framework, a cable modem must select only the broadcast downstream data that is intended for it while it must follow an arbitration protocol to avoid data collisions with other cable modems while transmitting upstream data.
Cable modems are identified by Service Identifiers (SIDs). SIDs are used as a BPI (baseline privacy) index on the downstream (DS) and also to designate upstream data to certain CMs for the CMTS on the upstream (US).
The upstream bandwidth is allocated by a CMTS and is shared among multiple CMs. Upstream transmissions are divided into mini-slots which may carry up to 1024 bytes, but in practice often contain considerably less bytes to conserve bandwidth. The arbitration protocol for upstream transmissions is assigned by a CMTS in response to requests by CMs. The CMTS communicates these assignments to each cable modem with a media access control (MAC) packet called a mini-slot allocation packet (MAP).
Currently, upstream bandwidth is limited. What is needed is a method and apparatus to satisfy the requirements of peer-to-peer computing, file sharing, distributed computing, gaming, and other applications which have an increased need for upstream bandwidth.
Some embodiments of the present invention may include a method to stream packets into a queue for an upstream transmission, send multiple requests for upstream bandwidth to transmit data from the queue and receiving multiple grants to transmit data, and transmit data from the queue to the upstream as grants are received.
Another embodiment may provide an apparatus comprising at least one request grant state machine to launch requests to transmit data to a cable modem termination station and receive grants to transmit data, and a packet streaming queue state machine to send packet streaming queue requests to the request grant state machine, wherein the packet streaming queue requests are managed separately from the requests to allow data in the packet streaming queue to be parsed in arbitrary data sizes.
Some embodiments may provide a network comprising a cable modem termination system (CMTS), and a cable modem wherein the cable modem may transmit data to the CMTS with a streaming protocol that sends multiple requests for upstream bandwidth to transmit data and receives multiple grants to transmit data, and transmits data to the CMTS as grants are received.
Embodiments of the invention may be best understood by reading the disclosure with reference to the drawings, wherein:
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the inventions may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order to not obscure the understanding of this description.
Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment", etc., means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one aspect of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.
Generally, a wideband upstream protocol may be developed. In one embodiment, the wideband upstream places identifiers into discrete portions of a data flow, and can therefore distribute the data in a streaming fashion over one or multiple channels.
Furthermore, an embodiment may place the data in one or multiple queues, and can parse arbitrary sizes of the data from the queue or queues, and send the arbitrary sizes of data to a remote device. In an embodiment, streaming allows multiple requests for bandwidth and as grants for bandwidth requests are returned, the streaming protocol can parse the data in a queue or queues relative to the grants, and therefore dissociate grants from requests. The protocol uses the identifiers to correctly manage the data at the receiving end.
Embodiments are not limited to any specific network or architecture. The cable embodiments described herein are for purposes of illustration, but embodiments are not so limited. Other example embodiments may be deployed over a digital subscriber line (DSL), in an Ethernet network or in a wireless environment, etc.
An embodiment may comprise an apparatus to receive multiple outstanding requests for upstream bandwidth, to send multiple grants for upstream bandwidth, and to receive data from a remote device in response to the grants for upstream bandwidth. An embodiment may be the remote device that sends multiple requests for upstream bandwidth, receives multiple grants for upstream bandwidth, and sends data in response to the grants for upstream bandwidth.
An embodiment may comprise a system including a remote device and an apparatus, the remote device to send multiple outstanding requests for upstream bandwidth, the apparatus to send multiple grants for upstream bandwidth, and the remote device to send data in response to the grants for upstream bandwidth.
Referring to
Referring to the present embodiment, a cable modem may have multiple upstream QAMs, for example 8 QAMs. In the present embodiment, each QAM may get initialized as a DOCSIS upstream so it can transfer data over the cable service. Additionally, the DOCSIS initialization may happen individually for each QAM with each QAM terminating into a conventional CMTS. Since each QAM may initialize individually, the QAMs may be different speeds, or may even all be the same speed. In one embodiment, a CM 115 may send data across multiple QAMs 140 in the upstream to the CMTS 110. An embodiment may overlay on top of a conventional DOCSIS narrowband upstream.
CM 115 upstream transmissions typically require an arbitration protocol to sequence the upstream data and avoid collisions between multiple CMs 115. This is different than downstream transmissions from a CMTS where there is a continuous transmission, for example, typically only one transmitter using simple queuing.
The data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) provides a method of bandwidth allocation and timing. For example, CMs 115 may send requests to a CMTS 110 and the CMTS 110 may send a MAP 180 downstream to a CM 115. The MAP 180 typically describes bandwidth allocation and timing for any CM 115 coupled with CMTS 110.
In an embodiment, data may be sent between the CM 115 and CMTS 110 in data groups called mini-slots. Mini-slots may be groups of Forward Error Correction (FEC) blocks which are further comprised of bytes. Mini-slots are configurable but often are 8 or 16 bytes. A MAP 180 includes information stating which CM 115 is assigned to a mini-slot.
In an embodiment, mini-slots are assigned to CMs 115 by SIDs. A SID is a dynamically assigned address to a cable modem and is generally 13 or 14 bits. SIDs are conventionally assigned when a CM 115 comes online. After SIDs are assigned, a CMTS 110 schedules CM 115 bandwidth allocation and communicates the allocation to a CM 115 with a MAP 180.
Referring to
In an embodiment, requests from CMs 115 go through a contention slot where times set aside called "request intervals" when CMs 115 send their requests 150 to the CMTS 110. If more than one CM 115 sends a request 150 to the CMTS 110, the request 150 does not get through. When requests 150 are successful, the CMTS 110 notifies the CM 115. In the event that the request 150 does not get through, the CM 115 has to resend the request 150. Once a CMTS 110 gets a request 150, it schedules the bandwidth for the associated CM 115. Sent packets can contain a request called a "piggyback request" so the CM 115 can avoid contention. In this regard, a CM 115 can send multiple packets with piggyback requests and avoid contention.
Furthermore, if a CM 115 has not sent data for a certain time, packets can get backed up. The next time the CM 115 requests, it can take those packets, concatenate them together into a big concatenation frame and send a request for the concatenation frame.
An additional problem is that a CMTS may only schedule a portion of data requested to be sent. For example, a CM 115 may request to send 2,000 bytes and the head end (CMTS 110) may initially schedule only 1,000 bytes and wait to schedule any of the remaining bytes. A cable modem protocol may therefore provide for collecting or parsing of data, in this example, the DOCSIS protocol provides for concatenating and fragmenting frames. The concatenation and fragmentation may occur within a single QAM.
The present embodiment can continually build the stream of packets 214, 216 etc. In a streaming protocol, bits are constantly being fed into one or multiple queues. As packets come in, a streaming protocol can identify blocks of packets, such as packets 214, 216, and generate requests 220, 222, for these packets.
In one embodiment the requests 220, 222, are launched on different upstreams. Referring back to the embodiment in
In the present embodiment, a streaming protocol allows the CM 115 to use the first grant that comes back. In conventional DOCSIS, after a request is made on an upstream, a CM 115 may get a grant for that upstream, and send data in that same upstream. In the present embodiment, the CM 115 is going to take data from the front of the streaming protocol and place it in that upstream.
Referring back to the embodiment in
With a dissociation of requests and grants, a CM 115 can launch requests and when the first grants return, can send data out so that the transit delay through the upstreams is the lowest possible. Ultimately the number of bytes from requests will equal the number of bytes that get granted. In this embodiment, additional upstreams decrease delay as more grants may be received and the data may be parsed more and sent more quickly.
According to this embodiment, the request pointer 302 may signify a 1000 byte request, followed by the request pointer 304 signifying a 200 byte request. Initially, the grant pointer 310 is illustrated as representing a grant of 200 bytes, which allows a streaming protocol to carve 200 bytes from the packet 330 at the bottom of the buffer 300. The second grant 312 may be 1000 bytes and the grant pointer can continue in this fashion up buffer 300.
This example illustrates a dissociation between the first request 302 that was for 1000 bytes and the first grant 310 for 200 bytes. The request pointers may continue in this fashion completely dissociated from the grant pointer side of the buffer. Eventually, the request and grant pointers end up at the top of buffer 300.
The DOCSIS protocol mandates one outstanding request at a time. That is, after a CM 115 sends a request, it waits until it gets a grant. In the present embodiment, multiple outstanding requests are allowed before reception of a grant. Embodiments provide multiple streaming protocols that may dissociate requests and grants. For example, requests may be launched on either separate QAMs and/or separate SIDs within a QAM.
The DOCSIS specification disallows more than one outstanding request per SID, which allows a CM 115 to set two SIDs and double its throughput as long as each SID carries independent traffic. Therefore, an embodiment may comprise an aggregated stream of traffic that may be spread across multiple physical channels which can then be reassembled at a far end, for example, by embedding sequence numbers into a data stream, such as in headers in the data stream. Additionally, because the association is not needed it is possible to use the streaming mode even with a single SID by allowing multiple outstanding grants at a time.
In an embodiment, a cable modem, or other transmit or receive device, can accelerate a request/grant cycle. An embodiment may do so even for a single SID on a single upstream in the manner described herein. Request and grant dissociation, described in the streaming protocol above, allows multiple outstanding requests or grants per SID. In an embodiment this dissociation further simplifies flow management to the amount of data transmitted, for example a number of bytes.
Since embodiments may use multiple outstanding requests, they can request in parallel multiple grants and more quickly drain a buffer or other storage. This may result in an overload of a contention channel since due to all the requests being sent on the channel, but a cable modem or other transmit or receive device may use a piggy back request approach and reduce the number of requests per channel. In an embodiment this may be based on a configuration policy. For example, a cable modem, or other device, may have 1,000 bytes of data to send and it can launch 4 substantially simultaneous requests for 250 bytes at the same time, or send 2 requests for 250 bytes and as grants come back piggyback more requests for the remaining data. Example embodiments may further append more than one request to a single data packet or may distribute the requests over multiple data packets, for example a request per data packet.
In the present embodiment, a CMTS may manage QoS at the CM. By allowing a CMTS to manage QoS at a CM, the CMTS can prevent head-of-line blocking, a scenario where a higher priority packet may get stuck behind a lower priority packet. A conventional unit for QoS provisioning is called a service flow (SF). For example, DOCSIS 1.1 allows multiple service flows per cable modem. This means that different types of traffic like data, voice, and video can be separately identified on the same cable modem in order to provide specialized QoS treatment relative to traffic needs. The output of the PSQ 410 and 412 may then be sent to a SF chosen from a group of SFs, which in turn are located on one QAM carrier 430 chosen from within a group of upstream QAM carriers. In an embodiment there could be any number of PSQs 410 and 412, each with any number of QAM/SF combinations.
In one embodiment there is a request/grant state machine in the hardware of a cable modem. Another embodiment may allow one outstanding request per SID, and some embodiments may function a layer above that and utilize multiple SIDs/multiple QAMs. Some embodiments may re-specify the operation of request grant/state machines at both the cable modem and a CMTS, to utilize multiple outstanding requests on the same channel.
In a conventional approach, multiple outstanding requests on the same channel produced problems. Therefore the conventional approach could not acknowledge multiple requests effectively, for example, a problem could arise by dropping one request yet having an outstanding one with a different packet size. By placing an identifier with the data and parsing the data in arbitrary sizes, data can still be sent when grants are dissociated from requests.
A legacy CMTS might handle bandwidth requests but then transmit information in normal DOCSIS, that is, with packets. The present embodiment can pass information in arbitrary sizes and is therefore not restricted to passing packets. This allows passing blocks of parsed data from a streaming protocol. But by passing blocks of data, functionality must exist on the other end of a connection to take those blocks and turn them into packets again. One way to manage reassembly of packets is to tunnel each flow. Tunneling allows operating in the current environment with legacy equipment.
The embodiment illustrated in
The MAC 648 may be coupled to bus 622 and therefore coupled with a tuner such as wideband tuner 614, and may receive conventional narrow band data over bus 622. In an embodiment bus 622 can branch from bus 618. In an embodiment bus 618 may comprise 16 channels. Bus 618 may be coupled to a wideband tuner 614 which may send and receive RF signals at 610. In the present embodiment, bus 618 couples wideband tuner 614 with a wideband framer 626. The wideband framer may then couple with an Ethernet multiplexer 630 which in turn may be connected to the DOCSIS capable chip 644. The Ethernet multiplexer 630 may also be coupled with a wideband upstream framer 636 which is coupled to a wideband upstream modulator.
Referring to
In another embodiment, the size of PSQ-REQ 724 can be a configuration parameter from a wideband CMTS (WCMTS) to a wideband CM (WCM). PSQ-REQ 724 size is allowed to not line up with a packet boundary. In some embodiments, it may be a fraction of a packet length, multiple packet lengths, both, etc. In other embodiments, it may be a pre-determined value, a multiple of a predetermined value, or an arbitrary value, as examples. One choice is to have a value of PSQ-REQ 724 chosen so that a wideband payload would fill upstream FEC Blocks efficiently.
In some embodiments, each PSQ, as it receives more packets, continues to generate PSQ-REQs 724 without waiting for PSQ-GNTs 728. In one embodiment each PSQ may generate PSQ-REQs 724 up to a maximum number of outstanding PSQ-REQs allowed. Eventually a WCMTS sends back transmit opportunities within MAPs, where the MAPs comprise GNTs 718.
In some embodiments, a streaming protocol as disclosed herein can be used for QOS. For example, multiple streaming protocols may be applied to data and voice traffic. In one embodiment, multiple streaming protocols may utilize different SIDs and launch unique sets of requests and grants. This embodiment would comprise output queueing QOS.
A conventional approach may receive packets and send them to different queues depending upon a type of service (TOS) value. For example, a conventional approach may use multiple TOS queues, for example queues 0 through 7, and couple them with an output queue where the output queue manages requests and grants with a request/grant state machine.
An embodiment utilizing QOS may receive packets into multiple streaming protocols, for example into queues 0 through 7 with each queue running a streaming protocol. In this embodiment, outputs may use different SIDs, or QAMs, and could launch requests on any of them. Therefore, upon reception of a grant, an embodiment may pull data from any desired stream, for example by different TOS streams or by differentiated services code points (DSCP), and apply it to the received grant. Data could therefore traverse different QOS pipes and may be reassembled and sequenced. Another embodiment may comprise multiple TOS pipes at a cable modem and at a CMTS.
In an embodiment, wideband queuing, such as with a streaming protocol as described herein, can be viewed as a form of hierarchal queuing. In this embodiment, each individual upstreams/flows may be classified as a first level of the hierarchy and the WB channel itself may be classified as a second level of the hierarchy. A hierarchal policy can define how much a single flow, for example a flow designated with a service flow identifier (SFID), can overload an upstream as well as how much an aggregate flow can be.
Referring to
All flows, individual and aggregates, may be defined using standard DOCSIS 2.0 TLVs. An aggregate QoS mapping TLV may associate a group of flows with an aggregate by associating a set of service flow references to an aggregated service flow reference.
To provision fine-grained control over striped data QoS at a CM, an embodiment may define the following QoS parameters and pass to the CM through a configuration file during initialization: lower hierarchy involving individual service flow QoS, such as for each SID resource, and a higher hierarchy such as an aggregate QoS across SIDs.
Referring to
In another embodiment, a CMTS may implement QoS. For example, a CMTS can impose a limit on aggregate traffic of a wideband channel when there is a need to share the same upstream, for example with traditional DOCSIS channels or other bonded channels. In an embodiment a bonded channel is a group of physically separated entities that can carry a single stream of data by means of "stripping" the data across multiple channels. In an embodiment, the entities may be physically separated by different frequencies or different wirings. Basic units that can be stripped include bytes, or frames or packet, as examples.
A hierarchical scheduling embodiment described above is not limited to any hierarchical policies, for example, it may be used for two different ISPs to share the same upstream, or it may be used for two logical channels to share an upstream.
In an embodiment, a single CM can support multiple bonded channels. For example, a CM can have a 20 Mbps flow with no Committed Rate (Best effort), and a 50 Mbps flow with a Committed rate of 10 Mbps. In the present embodiment these flows may each be mapped to a separate group of SIDs, and striped independently.
In this embodiment, a CMTS controls bandwidth allocation for each bonded flow. A CM would only have to pick a SID that is available for transmission and do a DOCSIS 1.1 style rate shaping per SID and per bonded flow. In an embodiment, a flow provides a load balancing policy for a CM modem by preventing the CM from moving all of its traffic to one channel in case the other channels get congested.
In another embodiment, another option is to provide a cable modem with a "pipe" that is wide enough to accommodate both flows. For example, the pipe might have a CIR of 10 Mbps and a peak rate of 70 mbps (the sum of both peak rates). The individual flows comprising the pipe would have an aggregate CIR of 10 Mbps. In this embodiment, a CMTS manages the bandwidth allocation for the pipe and will ensure the pipe gets a 70 Mbps peak rate and a 10 Mbps committed rate.
Both techniques are valid ways of managing two flows. The first technique provides more discretionary control by a CMTS, and the second technique provides more discretionary control by a CM. The first technique might make more sense for basic CMs, while the second technique might make sense when the CM is actually an access router in a commercial deployment.
To utilize the added functionality of this streaming, or wideband, protocol, several SIDs may be configured. That is, all SIDs have to be coordinated between a CM and the CMTS. Therefore, to enable wideband upstream and bring it on line, an embodiment may register each upstream like a conventional upstream.
Conventionally at this stage, there would be a trivial file transfer protocol exchange (TFTP), a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) exchange for an IP address, a time of day (TOD) exchange, and perhaps other conventional exchanges. In an embodiment these steps are skipped at this point and the cable modem may go directly into station maintenance.
Referring to
A double registration modem may have a narrowband registration and a wideband registration. Therefore a wideband registration file may already contain all the information needed to bring multiple downstreams online as well as all the information needed for a service flow for the upstream.
In the present embodiment, as an upstream begins registration, the cable modem may apply the relevant values already received from an initial TFTP exchange. This present an interesting issue regarding how to define a TFTP file in such a way that it will apply to multiple upstreams even though it only conducted a single DHCP process. This is accomplished with type-length-value (TLV). A TLV is an encoding method consisting of three fields, a first field indicating the type of an element, a second field indicating the length of an element, and a third field that contains an element's value.
In DOCSIS when you define service flows or any type of information you have a TLV. In an embodiment a TLV may be used to define a service flow. Under that TLV the present embodiment may have a sub-TLV that would contain specific service flow information.
Furthermore, TLVs may be nested. For example, an embodiment may define 5 service flows. This embodiment may use 5 TLVs that define service flows and within each one of these 5 TLVs it may encapsulate sub-TLVs. An example sub-TLV that may be encapsulated in one of the 5 example TLVs may state a peak rate of 1 megabit for the related service flow. In this embodiment, a TLV may name service flows 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., and a sub-TLV may define the specific parameters for each service flow. In another embodiment, a super TLV that we will call an upstream identifier, or SID identifier, etc., may be used to distinguish flows as not only a flow that belongs to a specific modem but a flow that belongs to a specific modem and a specific upstream. Higher orders of TLVs allow global identifiers to classify multiple service flows, this allows each individual service flow to have its normal definition.
For example, an embodiment may have an upper level TLV service flow associated with multiple service flows, therefore it can stripe information across five upstreams and instead of having five TFTP files with five configurations, it can have one TFTP file and be logically separated into five pieces by adding an upper dimension or upper level TLV. Lower level TLVs, on the other hand, allow differentiable control, for example to allow one stream to operate under conventional DOCSIS. Furthermore, this allows an embodiment high availability, for example if one upstream fails, an embodiment may stripe whatever it can over upstreams that are still available.
An example configuration file with multiple TLVs may use the following format:
YY (Flow list mapping)
Referring the sample configuration file, the segment at 24 (Upstream Service Flow Encodings), S01 (Service Flow Reference)=3, may be considered a super TLV that encapsulates an aggregate flow. In an embodiment the TLV at 24 (Upstream Service Flow Encodings), S01 (Service Flow Reference)=3, may be classified in an upstream channel configuration group.
In the present embodiment, the 24 (Upstream Service Flow Encodings) with S01 (Service Flow Reference)=3, may correspond to defining a service flow, and sub-TLVs may be options of a service flow. For example, sub-TLV S08 may be a maximum sustained traffic rate and S09 may be a burst size, etc.
Referring to the configuration file, 24 (Upstream Service Flow Encodings) with S01 (Service Flow Reference)=1 may refer to a SID 1, and 24 (Upstream Service Flow Encodings) with S01 (Service Flow Reference)=2 may refer to a SID 2. In this example, Service Flow Reference=1 has a peak rate of 20,000,000 (for example, 20 megabits per second), Service Flow Reference=2 has a peak rate of 10,000,000. These values represent individually thresholds for each flow. In the example configuration file, both of these flows are mapped into the aggregate flow, Service Flow Reference=3, which is limited again to 20,000,000. This illustrates a way to manage separate and aggregated data streams as represented in
In another embodiment, the additional divisions and hierarchies of flow allows different control for each flow or over a large aggregated flow. For example, encryption may be needed on one upstream channel and not on another. Embodiments allow different keys per upstream, for example to selectively encrypt different channels based on some a user configuration.
The configuration shown as 1016 in
The data is received from the GigE switch and sent to either the WCMTS or the CMTS depending upon the destination of the data. The WCTMS then receives the data through an interface compatible with the GigE data. In order to differentiate between the incoming and outgoing interfaces, the incoming interface or communications port will be referred to as communicating with the data network.
A processor 1042 receives the data from the data network, such as Ethernet frames. Ethernet frames refer to the data received in a format compatible with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers standard 802.3. The frames are then converted into DOCSIS packets and transmitted across the cable interface 1044 to the QAMs 1022. A wideband CMTS may use several narrowband channels to transmit data in the downstream. In one embodiment, a wideband channel is a collection of narrowband channels bonded together, and may be referred to as channel bonding.
In an embodiment, a method may comprise receiving multiple outstanding requests from a cable modem for upstream bandwidth to transmit data, sending multiple grants to a cable modem to transmit the data, and receiving and assembling the data from the cable modem. In some embodiments, the requests are received on separate QAMs. In some embodiments, the requests are received on separate SIDs within a QAM. In some embodiments, multiple requests are received for a single SID. The present embodiment may further comprise sending grants on separate SIDs within a QAM. An embodiment, may comprise hierarchical queueing with separate quality of service for each SID resource and an aggregate quality of service across a plurality of SIDs.
An embodiment may be an apparatus with a port to receive multiple outstanding requests from a cable modem for upstream bandwidth to transmit data, a port to send multiple grants to a cable modem to transmit the data, and a processor connect to the port, the processor to receive and assemble the data from the cable modem. The present embodiment may further comprise the processor being able to assemble striped data across multiple service flows. In this embodiment, the service flows may be combined with multiple QAMs to allow multiple requests to be outstanding.
Yet another embodiment may be an apparatus with means for receiving multiple outstanding requests from a cable modem for upstream bandwidth to transmit data, means for sending multiple grants to a cable modem to transmit the data, and means for receiving the data from the cable modem. In an embodiment, the means for receiving multiple outstanding requests further comprising means for receiving the requests on separate QAMs. In another embodiment, the means for receiving multiple outstanding requests further comprising means for receiving the requests on separate SIDs within a QAM.
In one embodiment, the means for sending multiple grants to a cable modem further comprising means for sending grants on separate SIDs within a QAM. In the present embodiment, the means for sending multiple grants to a cable modem further comprising hierarchical queueing with separate quality of service for each SID resource and an aggregate quality of service across a plurality of SIDs.
In an embodiment, a network may comprise a cable modem termination system (CMTS), and a cable modem in communication with the cable modem termination system, where the cable modem can transmit data to the CMTS with a streaming protocol that sends multiple requests for upstream bandwidth to transmit data and receives multiple grants to transmit data, and transmits data to the CMTS as grants are received.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative instead of restrictive or limiting. Therefore, the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes, modifications, and alterations that come within the meaning, spirit, and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced as being within the scope of the appended claims.
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