text:
Mikulski plan for women's pay gets new push Baltimore Sun (with video clip) WASHINGTON —— A proposal to expand equal-pay protections for women, long championed by Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, was thrust into the national political spotlight Wednesday in a Democratic effort to court female voters — a crucial demographic in this year's election.
Dems push 'paycheck fairness' bill Politico Get ready for a new front in what Democrats call the GOP's "war on women." Five female Democratic senators pressed for legislation Wednesday aimed at closing the wage gap between men and women.
Promote Gender Equality, Sheryl Sandberg Urges HBS Grads Harvard Magazine Sandberg devoted much of her speaking time to urging her listeners to do whatever they can to move the business world toward gender equality.
Opinion KNIGHT: ACLU declares new war on single-sex education Washington Times Boys and girls have the same needs, desires and temperaments, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Media coverage of reproductive rights lacks the voices of women of color The Grio Conservative attacks on reproductive rights repeatedly make headlines. But women of color and low-income women who disproportionately depend on the services of Planned Parenthood and face challenges accessing reproductive care have not figured prominently in mainstream news coverage of the reproductive rights debate.
Gender pay gap widens despite big effort Herald Sun THE gap between Australian men and women's pay has increased over the past two decades. A new Federal Government report has found the pay gap increased by 1.5 per cent over the past 18 years, despite efforts by governments, unions and private sector…
Turkey needs to ensure gender equality: EU Hurriyet Daily News (press release) EU candidate Turkey needs to attain gender equality before it can enter the 27-nation bloc, according to a recent report from a Dutch European Parliament member of Turkish origin.
Will Women Ever Gain Ground in Russian Politics? Care2.com (blog) The Moscow Times notes that the number of female ministers dropped from three to two in Putin's new government Cabinet this week, serving as a reminder that women are often shunned frompolitical activity.
Barriers in India for women's role in the work force Globe and Mail India's female work force participation rate is one of the lowest in the world – just 13 per cent of women do waged work, according to the World Bank.
WDD to formulate women empowerment policy: official Pakistan Daily Times KARACHI: Sindh Women Development Department is in process of a comprehensive policy formulation for women empowerment, with major focus on mainstreaming gender issues in the law and their subsequent implementation mechanisms, said Musarrat Jabeen, a senior official of the department.
Needed: Alliance to protect rights of widows and single women The News International Women's rights activists and gender experts of South Asian countries stressed on the need for forming a regional alliance to protect rights of widows and single women.
INEC Urges Women To Participate More In Politics Osun Defender The Director in charge of Gender for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Margret Ikwunja-Ejeh, has launched aggressive sensitization campaign to attract more women into mainstream politics.
Women in Academia
@DrVCardo Women as speakers at conferences: reaching gender equality in academia (well, almost)
@DrVCardo UK government's human rights record on gender up for review http://shar.es/qqtU3 via @sharethis


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RSES Announces New Board
December 26, 2011
DES PLAINES, Ill. — RSES welcomes its 2011-2012 board of directors, including its executive committee and regional directors. The board of directors will serve until the 75th RSES Annual Conference, which will be held in Charleston, S.C., in 2012. RSES' new executive committee officers include Lawrence R. Donaldson, international president; Mike Eckstein, CM, international vice president; George S. Friedman, CM, international treasurer and secretary; Joe Marchese, CMS, international sergeant at arms; and Roger M. Hensley, CMS, chairman, educational & examining board.
Regional directors serving on the RSES board of directors include Regions 1 and 3 George S. Friedman, CM; Region 2 Joe Marchese, CMS; Regions 4 and 6 Harlan "Skip" Krepcik, CMS; Region 5 and 7 Keith Hill, CM; Regions 8 and 11 Rich Hoke, CMS; Regions 9, 12 and 13 Mike Eckstein, CM; Region 10 Larry D. Brewer, CM; Regions 14 and 15 J.F. "Fred" Townsend; and Regions 16 and 17 Wes Maxfield, CM.
Publication date: 12/26/2011
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to The NEWS Magazine

subset: commoncrawl


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Six dead as suicide bomber strikes outside Nato offices in Kabul
At least six people are dead after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
The Ministry of Interior confirmed the fatalities and revealed that five others have been wounded by today's blast, which took place close to Nato headquarters, the US and Italian embassies and the presidential palace.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid immediately emailed a statement to reporters in which he claimed a 28-year-old militant from the province of Logar, to the south of Kabul, was behind the attack.
However, Kabul's deputy police chief Daud Amin has claimed that eyewitnesses report seeing a teenage boy – of no more than 13 or 14-years-old – walking close to the site with a bag.
The blast comes as Afghans mark the 11th anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the former commander of the Northern Alliance, who was killed by an al-Qaeda suicide bomber two days before the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
In the wake of 9/11, the alliance joined forces with the US in the fight against the Taliban.
Sediq Sediqi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said the Haqqani network is the most likely force behind today's bomb.
Haqqani is thought to be one of the most dangerous groups fighting the US in Afghanistan and has links to both the Taliban and al-Qaeda.


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The Contestants
The Breakdown
How we think the fight will go
A deathly cold wave of darkness was extending through the universe, reaching its oppressive tendrils through every corner of space, growing each day ever stronger, ever dominant. Camazotz, at the heart of the corruption, could not save itself. Even the mere thought of liberation would be quickly extinguished, and resistance to the the tyrant who would not stop until every world was on their knees would result in dominance to all but the cleverest opponents. The Ainur, divine architects of countless worlds, had been leading the battle against the influence of The Dark Thing and all of the evil it brings for thousands of years, empowering lesser beings — no matter how small or seemingly insignificant — to fight back against the dystopian plague.
Ever stalwart in their insistence not to defeat power by granting even greater power, the Ainur saw it fit to win their battles in a very lateral manner and had been known to send their heralds to guide halflings and children alike, whose unassuming natures were often met with underestimation. After all, not even a being that could manipulate matter and minds as though they were clay would suspect to be challenged by a child, and the folly of arrogance would decide the battles.
But then, of course, there was the war.
The side of good had been losing for too long, and the divine overseers of righteousness, whose light could not shine in the web surrounding the Dark planets, were becoming desperate to stem the flood waters. With Gallifrey and its people lost to time and Earth lacking in warriors, the Ainur turned to Arda.
When a higher being appeared before Gandalf the White in the Undying Lands, he answered the call dutifully. As a re-ascended Maiar, Gandalf could not refuse his duty to defend the light — even if the herald was a little more whimsical than one might expect, clad in a mess of colorful rags and calling herself "Mrs. Whatsit." Gandalf abided.
She teleported him through time and space in a chilling instant, but he had been warned of the feeling of death reaching out to grip his heart and spread through his every atom. He remained steely, even as relative warmth poured back into him at the end of the tesser, as he emerged onto Camazotz where IT sat atop its throne in the clouds.
Unable to bear the darkness of this planet, the sun-spirit immediately left Gandalf to face this challenge alone. The wizened figure tenderly readjusted his pointy hat atop his bushy head and fixed his eyes on the tower ahead. He gave himself a knowing hum as he couldn't help but liken the monolithic tower to that of Sarumon's. Using his long, gnarled staff to make his steps more sure, Gandalf began walking toward the tower, cognizant of his surroundings and of the baffled and terrified expressions fixed on him but focused on his purpose.
It was made clear to him that he was not brought to Camazotz to empower the enslaved humans of this world, as was usually the wish of the Ainur, but rather to act as its sole liberator. There was too much at stake, and too many good fighters lost, for the forces of Good to delay any further with usual methods. Finally, before all was lost, they had sent the best warrior in the universe to finish the fight — a warrior who, however powerful, was still technically mortal and still fit in with the divine plan.
To be sure, mortality didn't take away from the fact that Gandalf had regained nearly all of his power as a Maiar. Ever since completing his quest to dispel the Dark Lord on Arda, Gandalf's powers had grown stronger by the day in The Undying Lands.
So when he arrived at the base of the tower, thus far as unassuming as any little child or hobbit may be, he immediately attracted the attention of the local authorities after he tapped the ground with the bottom of his staff and caused the earthy foundation beneath the tower to spike suddenly into the earth in a perfectly square radius, driving the tower downward as though it had been struck with a gargantuan hammer.
Gandalf shielded his face with a baggy sleeve from the displaced earth particles. When the debris settled, there were two older gentlemen standing at either side of him, both well out of staff reach. Their eyes glowed red and yet their expressions were paternal. Gandalf knew that these figures were the muscle of the creature ruling from up in its tower, the top of which was now on the ground level.
"I think you'll find that you're making a great mistake, my friend," said both suit-clad men in perfect unison. "You do not want to make an enemy of the savior of the universe, who wants nothing but happiness and peace."
Gandalf gruffly guffawed and nodded to himself, musing, "I have seen the sort of 'peace' afforded by brute force and oppression before, and I think you'll find that I am no friend of it." He unsheathed his sword, Glamdring, to express his intent without further words.
The two men with their glowing red eyes understood his message loud and clear. They said, again in harmony, "Very well. We just want you to know that we offered you the chance for peace and to eliminate all of your suffering. We are gracious, and we must insist that you accept our offer." Both men began to raise their hands for the incantation that Gandalf had been warned about, and the wise wizard chose that moment to conjure his shield of Istari, an ability that rendered him impervious for a time. The puppets' attempt to rip Gandalf's atoms apart were completely ineffectual, but they quickly readjusted and tried another approach, manipulating the pavement with hand waves to attempt squashing the Wizard in walls of concrete.
Gandalf dove fast just out of the animated jaws of material, pointing his staff while in midair at the man to his right. From the end of his staff, a massive lightning bolt snaked forward and struck the man directly in his sternum, instantly setting him completely ablaze. The man let loose a shrill scream of rage with a voice not his own, flailing and falling to his knees in defeat.
The remaining adversary continued his assault unfettered, trying to entangle Gandalf's legs by animating the very ground he stood on. Gandalf leapt nimbly over these tendrils, but struggled to find his aim while bounding through the air. When he pointed his staff again, the red-eyed man waved his hand in the air in a slicing motion and cut the staff in half from afar, which had not been protected by the shield conjuration.
Gandalf barreled forward, still impervious for at least a few seconds more, and brought his sword around in a wide arc that connected with the arm of his opponent, cleaving through it cleanly. The man rolled, picking up his arm in the process, and manipulated the molecules of the severed limb so that it condensed into an impossibly sharp dagger. He thrust it at Gandalf, and the wizard, though still shielded, parried with his sword, not certain if his shield could withstand a blade made so fine with such a conjuration. In fact, the blade made chips in his otherwise hearty sword. Gandalf had to find an opening, and fast.
Though it was more difficult to execute a spell without his wand, Gandalf had to try. As he backed quickly away and parried from the precise swipes of the knife, he focused his energies on a blinding flash of light, effectual enough to stun his opponent as he moved around him to slash at his vitals uncontested, defeating him with certainty.
All the while during this battle with the two red-eyed men, several underlings of IT were forming a perimeter around Gandalf, wielding some sort of metallic projectile weapon, and more began pouring in from all around. But before they could get a chance to fire on the wizard, Gandalf focused his energies and swept his hand in a wide arc, shooting great pillars of unscalable earth upward to shield him from any more oncomers. He could now focus on his primary objective: defeating IT.
Winded and a little weary but nevertheless determined, Gandalf gathered his energy and focused his mind straight ahead to the metal wall of the building directly in front of him. He reached out his hand and nodded his head in an effort to find concentration. After a laborious moment, he sharply tapped the metal with his fingertips. Immediately, a giant hole large enough for him to step through blasted inward. Unafraid, Gandalf the White stepped into the throne room of IT.
What few lights hadn't been destroyed in the fall of the tower flickered in the distance. Shadows animated the area as though the twisted metal panels were alive. But the room appeared to be free of IT's minions, free of an opposition other than the dark, pulsating blob that sat atop a pedestal in the room's center, its backside illuminated intermittently by the failing lights. IT.
You would bring death and strife to a happy world? A reproachful voice spoke directly into Gandalf's mind. One as wise and as benevolent as you, Gandalf the White of the Istari, ought to know better than most what sure and harmonious peace I offer to this universe. There was something in the way IT said harmonious that formed a drumbeat in Gandalf's heart, a drumbeat just barely out of sync with Gandalf's own heartbeat.
"I know that you think that in order to defeat chaos, you must control it, but that is no one's choice to make." Murky thoughts began to seep into Gandalf's head, but he pressed on, taking a step toward the enlarged brain atop the pedestal. "This power you wield to take away what you would call 'chaotic thoughts' should belong to no one, least of all a tyrant. Least of all," Gandalf's steps faltered, and he found it increasingly difficult to move to the beat of his own heart, "least of all a creature with no ability to love."
This seemed to enrage the creature, and the ensuing shriek sent a shudder through Gandalf, who was inching ever closer to IT, pulling his sword up through the air to strike — but with such great difficulty, as though it weighed a hundred times more. Do not speak to me of love, Istari. Love is chaos! Love has no place in my universe.
Gandalf regained a bit of his focus, and his leaden footsteps dragged slightly less at this. "By the love of Ilúvatar, all of creation exists to be free and to love freely. To be free of such cold and twisted logic as yours." Finally within striking distance, Gandalf's arm was fully raised and his will had become enough of his own to fulfill his destiny.
What of pity, friend? IT pleaded with eerie calmness. You speak of love, but do you know the consequence of my demise? Gandalf's heart pounding, he paused a moment. The Ainur didn't tell you, did she? You ought to know what's at stake. You ought to know that, if I am defeated, then every mind who I have liberated on this planet will collapse without my control. If you kill me, then you are also the murderer of eleven billion happy, useful humans. Can you live with yourself, knowing these consequences?
Though Gandalf had not known this — and could not know if IT was bluffing — this was a scenario he had contemplated countless times while philosophising on the halfling's weed. He answered, "If indeed these minds are already lost, then I am powerless to change their fates. No, pity will not stay my hand from a corrupt ruler when every other man's life in all of creation is at stake." And with that, the defender of the light brought down Glamdring in a fatal arc, cleaving the brain spectacularly in two.
Predicted Winner: Gandalf
NOTE: THIS MATCH ENDS ON Friday, March 22th, 2013, AT 5 PM, EST
Check out all the Cage Match 2013 posts!
Check out the round 1 recap and Cage Match 2013 Bracket!
Check out the round 2 recap and Cage Match 2013 Bracket!
IT image courtesy of ShutterStock. Gandalf image courtesy of MGM/Warner Bros.
Cage Match fans: We are looking forward to hearing your responses! If possible, please abstain from including potential spoilers about the books in your comments (and if you need spoilers to make your case, start your comments with: "SPOILER ALERT!"


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GAINESVILLE - The theme for this year's King Day march and observance in Gainesville is "Promises to Keep and Miles to go Before We Sleep."
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Bill Coates, pastor of First Baptist Church on Green Street in Gainesville.
This year's march and other events - on Monday, Jan. 20 - will mark the 85th Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 29th King Day federal holiday. However, the Gainesville celebrations began long before the third Monday in January was declared a federal holiday. This will be the 44th annual observance in Gainesville.
The event schedule is as follows:
March Assembly: 12:00 Sun Trust Bank downtown
March Start: 1:00
Program: 2:00 Fair Street Elementary School


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- University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), Utrecht University, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Philips sign memorandum of understanding to bring healthcare innovations to patients faster
- Public-private consortium also focuses on training engineers, top researchers and doctors
Amsterdam, the Netherlands – University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), Utrecht University, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Philips today announced their intention to share their knowledge, expertise and capacity for innovation to research and develop new methods for disease diagnosis and treatment based on medical imaging. Through the establishment of the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging (IDII), they will focus on more effective treatments for cancer, brain disease and cardio-vascular disease. This public-private partnership is essential to speeding up the development and use of new medical solutions that aim to improve patient care and make it more cost-efficient.
The consortium will focus on the development of new image-guided minimally-invasive treatments based on MRI and X-ray imaging. The 2-D, 3-D and 4-D (3-D + time) images that can be produced using these imaging technologies are already providing doctors with an increased amount of meaningful information about each patient. The consortium aims to further develop this medical information and use it in new treatment methods. It also intends to develop new navigation technologies with the objective to make minimally-invasive procedures more precise and less complex.
'Operating' without making an incision
Thanks to advances in medical science and technology, it is increasingly possible to carry out treatments using a catheter or needle rather than having to perform open surgery. In some cases, treatment can be given without making any incision in the patient at all − for example, using image-guided radiation therapy based on X-ray radiation or ultrasound waves. Because such treatments can be performed more targeted and less invasively, patients may be able to leave hospital sooner, which is an example of why medical imaging is playing an increasingly important role in the search for answers to the rising demand for healthcare, the increasingly acute shortage of hospital personnel and the rising cost of healthcare provision.
Public-private partnership
The opportunity for the consortium partners to not only share their knowledge but also share expensive and complex innovation facilities, such as clinical laboratories of the UMCU and the scanner technology research facilities at High Tech Campus Eindhoven, will make cooperation easier and speed up innovation. The knowledge, methodologies, software and technologies that are acquired through the consortium's combination of academic science and industrial R&D will be translated into the industrial manufacturing of new systems that can be used in clinical practice. Philips' development and production site in Best will play an important role in bringing to market new solutions that arise from the partnership and in bringing them closer to the patient. In the future, the cooperation will be expanded to include other innovative private partners as well.
Call from the World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging (IDII) forms part of the Innovative Medical Devices Initiative NL (IMDI.nl). This was set up after a call from the WHO in 2007 for greater technological innovation in the healthcare sector. The initiative aims to strengthen the knowledge infrastructure in the field of medical devices in the Netherlands. Through this, the IDMI.nl aims to ensure that healthcare in the Netherlands is safe, affordable and mindful of the shortage of personnel. The IMDI.nl also aims to make a meaningful contribution to the economy and science in the Netherlands.
Through this initiative, the Netherlands' is reaffirming its role as a leader in the field of innovation in healthcare. The initiative also further strengthens the Netherlands' leading international economic and scientific position in the field of medical imaging.
Prof. Dr. Jan Kimpen, chairman of the Executive Board of the University Medical Center Utrecht: "Medical imaging is a promising and versatile technology that can be used in many ways in patient care. With this collaboration we will be able to innovate close to the patient. By involving patients, we will not have four, but actually five partners!"
Mr. Frans van Houten, CEO Royal Philips Electronics: "Today we are creating a powerful triangle of academia, industry and clinical practice in order to improve our healthcare provision. This initiative means that all parties are involved more closely and at an earlier stage in the innovation process, and it also gives Philips new and valuable insights based on the most up-to-date clinical practice. It is only by working together in this way that we will be able to develop new and promising medical solutions at a faster rate and apply them in global healthcare."
Dr. ir. Arno Peels, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e): "The added value of this public-private partnership is faster innovation that will lead to the more rapid discovery of solutions for society's problems and, in due course, faster economic results. This ties in seamlessly with our input for the 'top sector' policy: innovation in both society and the economy − innovation to produce solutions for major challenges in society."
Ms. Yvonne van Rooy, President of the Executive Board of Utrecht University: "With the UMC Utrecht and the faculties of science and technology as well as veterinary medicine, the Utrecht Science Park boasts a unique concentration of knowledge institutes in the field of life sciences. Thanks to the strategic alliance with the Eindhoven University of Technology, we represent a strong partner for industry, both on a national and a European level, at the promising interface of technology and life sciences. This new consortium is further evidence of that."


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The markets extended its losses during the midday with the Dow plummeting 182 points to 12,642 as global manufacturing activity slowed. Nasdaq plunged 55 points to 2874.
On the upside
Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA) continued climbing ahead of the Food and Drug Administration's decision next week regarding the company's weight loss treatment Lorcaserin.
Chelsea Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CHTP) reported positive results from two Phase 3 clinical trials of its Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension treatment Northera.
ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) fell to a fourth quarter loss due to an accounting charge but the results topped analyst estimates.
On the downside
Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch both downgraded Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM).
Encana (NYSE: ECA) will increase its capital investment by $600 million this year to drill and develop more wells.
The International Trade Commission affirmed the validity of two Overland Storage (Nasdaq: OVRL) patents but found that BDT did not infringe on Overland's patents.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 17 points 766.


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We had a great response to the Thanksgiving edition of Caption that Critter, thanks again to everyone that entered!
We're back to our usual virtual bag of bragging rights this week so here we go.
Check out the photo over there, enter your caption(s) in the comment stream down there, and I'll be back here on Wednesday around noon with your winner.


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Subscribe Now
and get a year of girls' life for $19.95click here
How to makes crepes like a Parisian
"If you're new to crêpe-making," Martha says, "prepare to mess up the first crêpe (or even more), as you get the hang of swirling the batter into the pan, having your pan at the right temperature and the timing.
My advice is to make a double or triple batch of these crêpes. Spend 45 peaceful minutes making them, and then tuck them into your freezer in packets of around eight crêpes each. Then you'll have the best fast food option on the planet at your fingertips."
Makes 15 to 18 8-inch crêpes (depending on how many you mess up at first!)
1 3/4 to 2 1/4 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (preferably brown butter; see below), plus regular unsalted butter for the pan
Put 1 ¾ cups of the milk, the eggs, and salt into a blender. Whiz for a few seconds to blend everything together. Remove the lid and add the flour. Cover and blend until very smooth, about 20 seconds. Remove the lid, pour in the melted butter, cover, and whiz until combined, 10 seconds more.
Transfer the batter to a large glass measuring cup with a spout (or a bowl that's large enough to easily dip a 1/4-cup measuring cup into). Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 24 hours. (If resting for more than 30 minutes, store in the fridge.) When you're ready to make the crêpes, test the batter's consistency; it should be as thick as heavy cream but not as thick as pancake batter. If it feels too thick, whisk in up to 1/2 cup more of the remaining milk.
Heat an 8-in crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it's hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle upon contact. Using a folded paper towel, spread about 1/2 tsp of butter around the interior of the pan. The butter should sizzle upon contact, but not instantly turn brown. You don't want the pan to be so hot that the butter burns.
Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan, and at the same time lift the pan from the heat, tilting and turning it in all directions so the batter spreads evenly across the bottom of the pan in a thin circle. If the crêpe has any holes in it, quickly add a few drops of batter to fill them in. Or, if you have too much batter and the crêpe looks too thick, immediately pour the excess back into the measuring cup or bowl of batter. You can always trim off the "tail" that's left behind later.
Cook the crêpe until the edges begin to dry and lift from the sides of the pan, and the bottom is nicely browned, about 1 minute. To check for color, use a table knife, slim off-set spatula, or your fingers to lift up an edge of the crêpe and look underneath. When the first side is ready, use the knife, spatula, or your fingers to lift the crêpe and quickly flip it over. Smooth out any folded edges or pleats and then cook until the center is firm and the second side is browned, too, about 20 seconds more. The first side is almost always much prettier and more evenly browned (in these recipes, we'll call it the presentation side), while the second side tends to be more spotty.
Slide the crêpe from the pan onto a large plate or cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, adjusting the heat and wiping the pan with more butter as you cook. You can stack the crêpes on the plate as they're done. If you're going to store them in the freezer, lay pieces of waxed or parchment paper between them so they don't stick together. To keep in the fridge, just stack them neatly; no need for the paper separators. (Keep the stacks small if you usually cook for a few people, or make the stack larger if you find yourself cooking for a crowd most nights.) The crêpes will soften as they cool.
To store, wrap the stack in plastic wrap, and then slide it into a large zip-top freezer bag. The crêpes will keep in the fridge like this for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
To thaw, let the stack sit at room temperature until the crêpes are pliable, about an hour, and then peel them apart and proceed with your recipe.
Making Brown Butter
For most recipes, I not only melt the butter, but I cook it until the water has boiled off and the milk solids are starting to turn golden and take on a toasty flavor. At this stage, it's called beurre noisette in French ("hazelnut butter") or brown butter in English.
Melt 7 tbsp of unsalted butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook the butter, swirling the pan every few seconds, until all of the water inside the butter has sizzled off and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan begin to turn a pale golden color, 2 to 4 minutes. Continue cooking the butter until it turns golden brown and smells nutty and delicious, another few seconds. Immediately pour the brown butter into a bowl to stop the cooking. Let it cool to room temperature before using. And when you add the butter to your crêpe recipe, be sure to include the delicious toasty brown milk solids. Makes about 6 tbsp brown butter.
Butter-Sugar-Lemon Crepe
These are a popular after-school snack for kids lucky enough to live in crêpe -loving countries. You can use granulated of confectioners' sugar. Fold them into triangles, roll them up, or leave them flat like pancakes on your plate—all ways are good. The key is to eat them right away while they're warm, and watch out for dripping butter!
Makes 1 filled crêpe; serve 1 as a snack or dessert
1 Versatile Crepe or your choice
1 tsp butter, preferably salted, at room temperature
1.2 tsp granulated or confectioners' sugar
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Lay the crêpe presentation-side up in the skillet and let it heat through for about 15 seconds. Flip it over, and using a rubber spatula or the bottom of a spoon, spread it with the butter. Sprinkle the butter with ¼ tsp of the sugar, and then fold the crêpe into a half-moon shape. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ tsp sugar over the crepe, drizzle it with a good squeeze of lemon juice, and then fold it once more into a triangle. Slide the crêpe onto a plate and eat it right away.
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POSTED IN sweet treats, snack, breakfast, June/July 2012jump to comments


text:
Welcome to Cisco Support Community. We would love to have your feedback.
For an introduction to the new site, click here. If you'd prefer to explore, try our test area to get started. And see here for current known issues.
wht is difference between ip default gateway & ip default network ?
ip default gateway is used when there is no IP routing and you need to pass traffic to a layer 3 device, when the IP address is not on any attached/connected interfaces.
ip default network is used when you do have ip routing enabled, and the device considers the default network as the route to any ip address that is not on any attached/connected interfaces, or in its routing table.
can u please give me any example if possible ?
If you have a switch that is layer 3 manageable, and needs access to the internet - you configure the ip default-gateway, as the switch cannot run ip routing.
If you have a router, that is running ip routing, but is not configured to run a dynamic routing protocol, you could configure the ip default-network.
To be honest, I have been in networking for over 10 years, and have never had to use the ip default-network senario. I use the ip default-gateway all the time.
In short, Default gateway need to configure on every router to get path for unknown destination packets.By using Default network command you need to configure only on one router in the network, so other routers can learn the exit gate by using routing protocol which distribute this information to others.
Hi Andrew,
but layer 3 switch like 3750 3550 u can give ip routing command then ?
The 3750 and 3550 are MLS - Multi Layer Switches, capable of Layer 2 and Layer 3.
What is your question? What do you want to do exactly?
Andrew u seem to have an answer.I have L3 switch with fa0/1 connected with a router on port fa0/0.I gave vlan 1 an ip :192.168.1.1/24.I gave the fa0/0 of the router an ip of 192.168.1.2/24.
I want to ping from the switch,the second interface of the router fa0/1 with an ip : 192.168.2.1/24.Maby the ip default-network could help me.I tried to with the command on switch : ip default-network 192.168.1.2,so i can ping 192.168.2.1 but it wont ping.Have u an answer for this?


text:
Alonzo and Sarah Bingham
Information comes from Mrs. Nevin B Payne in the History of Bear Lake Pioneers.
Alonzo Bingham was born 10 Nov 1832 in Upper Leeds in Upper Canada, the son of Reuben Bingham and Susan Marks. He and his sister Lois Melissa Bingham were left orphans at an early age. He was called in 1863 with his cousin Calvin Bingham to settle the Bear Lake area. He settled in the Bennington area and was presiding elder of that ward during the 1870s. While laboring in this capacity he was exceedingly honest. He married Sarah Thorn in 1854. She was born 15 Feb 1836 in Nunda New York, the daughter of Asahel Thorn and Sarah Lester.
Children of Alonzo Bingham and Sarah Thorn
1. William Rueben Bingham b-25 Apr 1855 in East
Weber Utah; d-12 Dec 1927 in Thatcher Arizona
2. Charles Alonzo Bingham b-13 Dec 1856 in East Weber; d-4 Apr 1857
3. Asahel Bingham b-17 Feb 1858 in East Weber; d-1859
4. Joseph Bingham b-7 Oct 1859 in Springville Utah; d-7 Apr 1833 in Safford Arizona
5. Isaac Bingham b-12 Apr 1860 in Hyrum Utah; d-12 Apr 1860
6. Richard Bingham b-26 Nov 1861 in Hyrum; d-12 Feb 1926
7. Lydia Ann Bingham b-13 Feb 1864 in Bennington; d-12 Feb 1923
8. Lois Melissa Bingham b-26 Jan 1866 in Bennington; d-6 May 1950 in Safford Arizona
9. Nancy Adeline Bingham b-15 Aug 1868 in Bennington; d-21 Aug 1941
10. Hyrum Smith Bingham b-28 Feb 1871 in Bennington; d-3 May 1951 in Safford
11. David Lester Bingham b-19 May 1875 in Bennington; d-23 Nov 1945
12. Effie Bingham b-19 Oct 1876 in Bennington; d-26 Oct 1892
13. Alexander Bingham b-9 Sep 1878 in Salem Utah; d-1879
Alonzo was a very kind hearted man always looking after the poor and the widows. He made many trips to and across the plains to help immigrants coming to Utah. He was a very hard working man, but was never rich and always had to work with his hands for a living. In 1879 the family moved to Salem Utah and in 1880 moved on to St David Arizona, where they resided for 15 years. In 1895 he moved to Safford and remained there for the rest of his life. He made a living while in Arizona mostly by freighting. He had the government contract to carry freight from the railroad to St Huachuca and it was there that he had a serious accident.
While unloading freight he attempted to lift a pool table that fell on him causing injuries that led to his death. He died 4 Sep 1907 in Safford. Sarah died 26 Aug 1906 in Safford.


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Atelectasis After Pulmonary Lobectomy: The Effect Of Air During One-Lung Ventilation (OLV) On Postoperative Atelectasis
The recruitment status of this study is unknown. The completion date has passed and the status has not been verified in more than two years.
Verified February 2011 by London Health Sciences Centre.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
London Health Sciences Centre
Information provided by:
London Health Sciences Centre
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: February 1, 2011
Last updated: February 2, 2011
Last verified: February 2011
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study is currently recruiting participants.
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|June 2011
|Estimated Primary Completion Date:
|June 2011 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)


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It's been a crazy two years, but the 2012 presidential campaign is now over, much to the relief of everyone in the country with the possible exception of political operatives and TV station owners in battleground states.
Everyone already knows what happened, despite Karl Rove's best attempts to derail Fox News calling the Ohio results, and the subsequent on-air dope slap by Megyn Kelly, there were a few things you may not have heard about on Tuesday night.
While we watched President Obama become the president again, he managed to do it at all without Florida. Despite their best efforts to be relevant this year, Florida instead came off like a beauty pageant mom reminding everyone how she had been a pageant queen herself.
First, it was the voting — the last votes were cast at 1:30 am, long after Mitt Romney had delivered his concession speech. People waiting in line already knew the result, and so had no reason to vote.
Not that it mattered. Miami-Dade vote counters went home sometime around midnight, saying they were tired and didn't want to count anymore.
That's okay, the rest of the country is waiting for your results to see who the next president is, but, you know, whatever. You do what you want. We'll wait. No, really, go ahead. Yeah, none of the rest of the country got up at 4 a.m. to — No! No! You know what? That's bush league! That's total BS! The rest of this country has been up for the last 16 hours getting their stuff done, and you guys can't be bothered to count because you're a wittle sweepy?
Rhode Island has been here since 4:30 this morning, setting up chairs and making sure there were plenty of paper towels. Virginia stayed and counted until 2:00 in the morning. And Indiana got all their work done so they were finished by 8:00. Did this day catch you by surprise or something?
Finally, 48 hours after it all began, the votes were all counted, Obama won Florida, and the Romney campaign had to make another concession statement to the press, even though it interrupted their cupcake farewell party.
In stoner news, voters in Colorado and Washington said "wow, yeah, man" to recreational marijuana use, and then asked if you had ever really looked at your thumb.
Colorado and Washington became the first states to break the recreational marijuana prohibition, making it legal for anyone over 21 to possess up to an ounce of pot. In Colorado, people will be able to grow up to six plants for personal use, while in Washington, users will have to buy their weed from state-licensed providers.
These new developments have given rise to new ways of thinking for each state. For example, for their new state song, Colorado has selected Cheech and Chong's "Dave's Not Here." Meanwhile, Washington has declared their official state snack to be Cool Ranch Doritos.
In sore loser news, entertainment and real estate buffoon Donald Trump called for a revolution after Obama's victory, convinced that an angry uprising — a revolution, he said — in our nation's capital was the solution to a democratic election that didn't go his way.
"He lost the popular vote by a lot and won the election. We should have a revolution in this country!" read one of Trump's tweets. Trump later deleted that tweet after Obama finally did win the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.
And also forgetting that the same thing happened 12 years ago. And 124 years ago. And 136 years ago. And 188 years ago.
Also, his call for revolution was pretty drastic. If he had been a Democrat, you can be sure that Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity would have called him treasonous. But Trump figured deleting his tweets meant they never really happened, like a little kid hides his eyes to hide from his parents.
Of course, when you realize he thinks his hair style actually hides his baldness, that actually makes sense.
"Lets (sic) fight like hell and stop this great and disgusting injustice! The world is laughing at us," said another tweet.
No, they're only laughing at you, Donald. Of course, that's not a new state of affairs, since you've been a joke ever since you burst onto the public scene, like a pimple of pomposity.
This year will long be remembered as an important election year, showing that billionaires' money could not buy an election. That voter suppression and disenfranchisement could not keep voters from exercising their right. And that no matter how angry politics seems to make most people, there's still plenty of humor to be found in them too.
After all, the only problem with political jokes is that many of them get elected.
The second edition of Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (affiliate link), is now available. I wrote it with my good friend, Kyle Lacy.
My other book, No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing is also out.
You can get both of them from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million in October, or for the Kindle or Nook.
Like this post? Leave a comment, Digg it, or Stumble it.
Laughing Stalk is a weekly newspaper humor column about current events and personal observations. It's published in ten weekly newspapers and the world's first online alt newspaper, The American Reporter.
Friday, November 09, 2012
Political Roundup 2012
Posted by Erik Deckers at 08:00
Labels: barack obama, Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, political commentary, politics, presidential election, satire
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January 11, 2014 - Hyderabad
Mumbai based model in her statement told to the police that the event manager and three other associated have violated her by sprinkled her soft drink and gang raped her at a flat in Nizampet on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1. She said that she is not aware of the organizer one among others as she did never meet him earlier in person.
Police arrested the culprits within 24 hours
With the print and electronic media that gave a vast coverage to the incident, the police on Saturday showed the arrested of two persons P Venkat Raju and Happy, an event manager and learnt that some more in the custody. Police arrested Venkat Raju in Nizamabad while Nitin Yadav alias 'Happy' was arrested in Mumbai.
CP press conference
In the press conference, the Commissioner of Police Anurag Sharma said that the event manager Happy had contacted the victim on January 30 and offered her Rs.1 lakh for a programme in Hyderabad and the event manager was to get Rs.25,000 out of it. He directed her to contact one Ali alias Ajay Sharma after landing at Hyderabad Airport. Ali received her and put her in a car in which Happy, Venkat Raju, Hari Krishna were already seated and she was not aware of the event manager's presence as she did not met him earlier. They lodge in a rented flat where they committed the crime by offering a soft drink with some drug. When the victim was in a semi-conscious stage, they obtained here pin code of the ATM and withdraw the money of Rs.57,000 in two occasions. After the offence, they put her in a Mumbai bound bus. The Commissioner said that investigations are on to get some more information.
Andhra News


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CreditMantri matches your credit and demographic profile to Tata Capital Home Loan lending criteria - others just match your demographic criteria. We shortlist lenders willing to lend to you based on our proprietary matching algorithm.
In effect, we pre-screen your application to make sure you are likely to qualify as per the lender's credit criteria. We upfront check whether you qualify for Tata Capital Home Loan. Hence the chances of your Tata Capital Home Loan application getting approved is higher.
Tata Capital Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is a subsidiary of the well-known Tata Sons Limited. It offers a variety of finance products for retail, corporate and institutional customers. Tata Capital Financial Services Limited has more than 100 branches across India.
Buy your dream home with ease! Pay with Flexi EMIs, built to help you ease off your monthly outflow. Tata Capital Home Loan offer suits all kinds of budget and needs, has convenient repayment options and a speedy approval process.
You can use the home loan to:
Loan amount
You can avail home loans to up to a maximum of Rs. 10 crores from Tata Capital for a home loan.
Longer Tenure
Tata Capital offers loan tenures ranging from 12 months to 360 months to suit your budget and needs.
Flexi EMIs with Higher Home Loan Eligibility
Tata Capital offers Flexi EMIs schemes which make you eligible for a higher loan amount. It offers multiple repayment options that suit your financial situation. You can choose from options like Step Up and Bullet repayment.
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Once you decide to apply for a Home Loan in Tata Capital, Tata representatives will visit your residence and assist with the documentation process.
Browse from the list of Approved Projects
You can choose your dream home from a list of Approved Projects by Tata Capital which removes worry about having clear title deeds.
Multiple repayment options
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By availing this plan, you can increase your monthly EMIs every year to match the increase in your annual income. This gradual annual increase helps you repay your home loan quickly without leaving you taxed financially.
You can opt for this plan if you feel your EMIs are burning a hole in your pocket. It gives you the freedom to increase your EMI along with your annual increase in salary.
Only salaried employees are eligible for this kind of EMI mode.
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A home loan balance transfer facility is also available, where you can transfer your existing home loan with another financial institution for a better interest rate with Tata Capital.
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Zero foreclosure charges are applicable where you are servicing a home loan that has a floating rate of interest. If the interest rate on the loan is fixed and you are pre-closing the loan, a 2% fee plus taxes will be charged on the principal outstanding and all part payments.
Tata Capital Home Loan offers a range of interest rates on the portfolio of home loan products. For the latest interest rates, it is advisable to contact the company.
The following are the eligibility criteria for salaried employees, self-employed professionals, and self-employed non-professionals:
Above 24 years of age at the time of commencement of the loan.
Up to 65 years of age, or retirement age, whichever is earlier at the time maturity of the loan.
In order to check your eligibility for a home loan from Tata Capital, you can also use the Online Eligibility Calculator on their website. The loan amount you would be eligible for depends on various criteria like your net monthly income, your age, any other loan commitments you might already have, the cost of the property for which you require a loan, the tenure of the loan etc.
For salaried employees:
For the self-employed professional:
For self-employed non-professionals
What is the maximum loan amount that I can avail?
The maximum loan amount you can apply for is Rs. 10 Crore. However, the loan amount cannot exceed 80% of the market value of the property you are considering to buy.
I am self-employed. Am I eligible for Flexi EMI paying option?
No, only salaried employees are eligible for availing the Flexi EMI paying scheme.
What are the options for repaying the home loan?
You can choose to repay your loan by the following options:
Can I make a part prepayment on my loan?
Prepayment of your loan amount is allowed on the following terms:
You can make a prepayment of up to 25% of your loan amount—without incurring any prepayment charges.
If the prepayment amount exceeds 25% of your total loan amount—you will be charged 2% of the outstanding loan amount.
You can avail of a Home Loan from Tata Capital in order to construct your house, or purchase an independent bungalow/flat, buy a resale property or to extend your house (for example, add a floor or two). You can check your eligibility online and determine your estimated EMI costs to decide what kind of loan you can afford.
You can apply for Tata Home Loan in the following ways:
You can do a Tata Capital Home Loan status check by contacting any of their branches or online. In order to track your Home Loan application online, you need to input your loan application number/mobile number and date of birth.
Alternatively, if you think you need help with your Home Loan application and advice on loan-eligibility, CreditMantri can guide you through the entire process and match you with the loan offer that best suits your profile.
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What is the interest rate for Home loan
What are the interest rates on a Loan Against Property
What are the documents required for a Home loan
What are interest rates on a new home loan
Tips for a first-time home buyer
Six Reasons Your Home Loan Could Be Rejected
Planning to apply for a home loan? Check your credit report first.
How to get a Home loan from SBI
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Eligibility for Loan against Property
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I was just at one of my mum's friends houses down the street. She has two daughters who are 7 and 10 (the ten year old just won a state spelling bee!) and they both had friends over. I stayed and was hanging out with them and helping them cook a chocolate cake when the following conversation took place:
Me: So, Chloe, do you like Bindi Irwin (acknowledging the Bindi shrine near her bed)
Chloe: Yeah she's so awesome. What about you, are you obsessed with anyone?
Me: Well, there is my tiny Dean Geyer obsession…
Chloe's friend: OMG! Eeeww the hottest guy on last years Australian Idol was definately Ricky.
*All little girls nod in agreement*
Me: Ok then, who do you guys like?
Chloe's friend: OMG ZAC EFRON!!!
Chloe's sister Jayde: Yeah he is HOT!
Jayde's friend: I would just die if i met him. He is that hot.
And it went on like that for about five more minutes. Other than that, my convo highlight would have been when a nine year asked me what my favourite horror movie was. When i said i hadn't seen any and she replied 'Oh, mine is child's play but my favourite movie of all time is mean girls'. I was amazed. When i was 7-10 i didn't care about 'hot' guys or horror movies. What is our society coming too? Granted, chloe is a major tom-boy that is obsessed with Harry Potter but the others….. What do you guys think?
Love and random conversations,
frangipani princess xoxo


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SIOUX FALLS, S.D., March 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Slingshot®, a breakthrough innovation in precision ag from Raven Industries (Nasdaq:RAVN), is excited to announce the launch of a new software application called OnSite™ from AgIntegrated that will utilize the Slingshot API. The Slingshot API, or Application Programming Interface, is a software-to-software interface that is invisible to the end-user providing a simple way for one software system to communicate with another.
OnSite is a cloud-based mobile and desktop app that assists with file management and communications to and from the field by socially connecting people. By tapping into the Slingshot API, the OnSite software is able to communicate directly with Raven field computers to efficiently transfer data and locate equipment in the field.
AgIntegrated's use of the Slingshot API is evidence that a shift is occurring in the agricultural industry where software and technology providers are focusing more on their areas of expertise and becoming more willing to collaborate and integrate with each other to meet the demands of the industry. Today, the Slingshot API already offers a solution that will allow collaboration between the software providers such as AgIntegrated and the technology in the field. "AgIntegrated's implementation of OnSite is a great example of the Slingshot API at work," says Paul Welbig, Director of Slingshot Operations for Raven Industries. "Slingshot provides the wireless connection to the hardware in the field and provides a great connection for AgIntegrated to provide a seamless solution for their customers." Another driver in this shift is the adoption of mobile technologies and smart phones within agriculture. "Mobile technologies are enabling the precision ag consumer to become the most important asset once again," says Mike Santostefano, Director of Marketing and Business Development for AgIntegrated. "These consumers, including Precision Ag Specialists, Salespeople, Agronomists, Consultants, Operators, and Growers, are the people responsible for adopting and embracing precision agriculture. As seen in other industries, these connected consumers will ultimately drive the need for lower cost, easier to use, integrated systems that make their day more efficient."
If you have questions about Slingshot or the Slingshot API, visit www.ravenslingshot.com or call us toll free at (800) 243-5435 to learn more about how you can get started today. For more information about OnSite, please visit www.onsiteag.com or www.agintegrated.com.
About AgIntegrated
AgIntegrated, Inc. offers multi-platform applications and information management solutions to the agricultural industry in the form of consulting, development, marketing, and support services. AgIntegrated's experience and knowledge of agricultural processes, coupled with strong partnerships with top retailers, equipment and chemical manufacturers, soil labs, and technology providers enables AgIntegrated to provide premium, connected solutions to meet industry demands.
About Raven Industries
Since 1978, Raven has helped define the concept of precision agriculture and continues to create ground-breaking ideas and products that improve the position of growers around the world. Raven is publicly traded on NASDAQ (RAVN) and has earned an international reputation for agricultural innovation, product reliability and unmatched service and support. From field computers to boom controls, from GPS guidance to steering systems, Raven is leading the way for precision ag technology that delivers in the field. In partnership with our network of Raven dealers and distributors, we're helping growers of all sizes and types work smarter, reduce input costs and increase yields and profitability. Success in farming has always been about using less and getting more. With Raven, you can simply do it better.
Slingshot is a registered trademark of Raven Industries, Inc.
Ryan Molitor, Marketing Supervisor Raven Industries Applied Technology Division 605-335-0179 firstname.lastname@example.com
Raven Industries, Inc.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, UNITED STATES
Ryan Molitor, Marketing Supervisor Raven Industries Applied Technology Division 605-335-0179 email@example.com
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What Kansas State Says About America
As College Football Gets Richer and Flashier, a Stubbornly Traditional Team Keeps Winning
Let's not mince words about this. Kansas State, the No. 1 college-football team in the land, lacks some qualities that most of us have come to associate with the sport's elite.
Unlike Oregon, which has flashy uniforms and a thoroughly modern offense, or Notre Dame, which has history to burn, or Alabama, which has the best coach money can buy, the Wildcats are about as sexy as the south end of a northbound mule.
This is a...


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A two-year starter at Springboro High School in Southwest Ohio, Sean Welsh has drawn interest from several college football programs.
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There are many different scenarios and permutations with regards to physically wiring cable modem termination systems (CMTSs). You could have a sparse mode where upstream (US) ports on the CMTS are kept separate, a dense mode where signal is fed to multiple US ports, multiple CMTSs on the same physical plant, or different card densities. These combinations affect what happens when provisioning, maintaining, and troubleshooting.
The five CMTS-and-cable-modem (CM) combinations in this document are an attempt to address the issues associated with these permutations. Each combination has multiple scenarios and recommendations. Typical setup requirements, specifications, and default settings are also addressed.
If you are using a C6U upconverter from Motorola or General Instruments (GI), make sure that the frequency is set to 1.75 MHz below the center frequency and that the input is approximately 20 dBmV. The GI C8U displays the correct center frequency. A EuroDOCSIS upconverter needs 36.125 MHz intermediate frequency (IF) input, and the filter is better suited for the 6.952 symbol rate of the 8 MHz DS carrier. The DOCSIS output specification is 50 to 61 dBmV.
If you are using an MA4040D upconverter from VCom (formerly known as WaveCom), make sure that the center frequency is selected and that the input is between 28 and 35 dBmV. If the IF at 44 MHz has an output power greater than 32 dBmV, appropriate padding is necessary. The latest linecard output is approximately 42 dBmV.
The CMTS upstream input is typically set for 0 dBmV and has an internal IF of 70 MHz for the upstream. Be very cautious when inserting high signals (greater than 30 dBmV) at 17.5 MHz or at 35 MHz, as the 4th or 2nd harmonics (respectively) could be created and could "blow out" the IF at 70 MHz. This is not a problem on the MC5x20U and MC28U linecards, because new US physical layer (PHY) chips do not use a fixed IF. They use broadband direct sampling; the IF is digital. DOCSIS specifies less than 35 dBmV of total power per US port from 5 to 42 MHz.
DOCSIS frequencies are 88 to 860 MHz for DS and 5 to 42 MHz for US. Ironically, the center frequency for the lowest DS is 91 MHz, but that is not a typical National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) or National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) channel; 93 MHz is. Also, 855 MHz is the highest NTSC or NCTA channel, giving an upper bandedge of 858 MHz.
The CM output specification is 8 to 58 dBmV for Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying (QPSK) and 8 to 55 dBmV for quadrature amplitude modulation 16 (16-QAM). Cisco CMs transmit up to 60 or 61 dBmV.
The CM input specification is –15 to +15 dBmV, and the total input power should be less than 30 dBmV. For example, if you have 100 analog channels each at approximately 10 dBmV, that equals 10 + 10 × log(100), which equals 30 dBmV. A DS input of around –5 to +5 dBmV average digital power seems optimal.
A general recommendation is to put no more than 150 to 200 modems per US or per MAC domain. If you are doing Voice-over-IP (VoIP), you might want to halve this limit. Advances in DOCSIS PHY technology, however, might allow greater US aggregated bandwidth, permitting more modems per US than is currently recommended. Devices such as a digital set tops requiring low bandwidth might also be installed, allowing more devices to be installed. For guidelines about the maximum number of recommended users on a US or DS port, refer to What is the Maximum Number of Users per CMTS?.
The modem scans for the DS frequency. There are approximately twenty frequency tables in the modem for scanning purposes, which are listed in Table 1. Keep this in mind when deciding which frequency to use; also keep in mind any potential ingress sources, such as off-air digital channels. The modem might also have EuroDOCSIS and special frequency tables included.Table 1 – DS Frequency Scanning Table
|Range (Hz)
|Increments (Hz)
|453000000 – 855000000
|93000000 – 105000000
|111025000 – 117025000
|231012500 – 327012500
|333025000 – 333025000
|339012500 – 399012500
|405000000 – 447000000
|123012500 – 129012500
|135012500 – 135012500
|141000000 – 171000000
|219000000 – 225000000
|177000000 – 213000000
|55752700 – 67753300
|79753900 – 85754200
|175758700 – 211760500
|121756000 – 169758400
|217760800 – 397769800
|73753600 – 115755700
|403770100 – 595779700
|601780000 – 799789900
|805790200 – 997799800
The modem scans all of the standard tables before moving on to the HRC tables. In newer firmware, the modem rechecks the original DS approximately every 120 seconds, if it was already provisioned at one time. The modem saves the last three known good DS frequencies. 453 MHz is the default starting frequency for Cisco CMs. The CM locks on to the digital carrier center frequency and looks for the hexadecimal 1FFE MPEG-2 packet identifier (PID), which signifies DOCSIS. It waits for all upstream channel descriptors (UCDs), which are used for US frequency, modulation profile, channel width, and so forth. If it receives the wrong UCD, the modem eventually times out—due to being on the wrong US—and it tries the next UCD until it finally connects. Some modems might actually listen to an upstream channel change (UCC) command sent by the CMTS on the DS to advise the CM as to which UCD it should be using.
The latest versions of customer premises equipment (CPE) Cisco IOS® Software code have essentially three scanning algorithms:
Scan NTSC.
Scan selective European center frequencies.
Do an exhaustive scan that looks for a DOCSIS DS at every frequency that is divisible by 250 kHz or 1 MHz, which could take a long time.
Tip: Provisioning can be faster if you setup a modem in the warehouse before taking it out to the customer's house. After provisioned, be sure to pull the power plug so that the DS parameters and some of the US parameters are cached. It might also be faster to re-provision a modem by pulling the power to the modem or by clearing the modem interface using console or command-line interface (CLI) commands. That way, it starts scanning the original frequency table again. It is also recommended that you shut down the US ports that are not being used so that the CMs do not needlessly range on them.
Depending on the modem, the US level starts at approximately 6 dBmV and increments by 3 dB until it hits the CMTS within –25 to +25 dBmV. The modem uses a temporary Service ID (SID) of 0. Once in range, the modem is told to power adjust to its required level: usually, this is 0 dBmV CMTS input, but it can be set between -10 and +25 dBmV). This finalizes Ranging 1 (R1, init(r1)), and then Ranging 2 (R2, init(r2)) commences by fine-tuning the modem in 1 dB increments. The CMTS can track in 0.25 dB increments, but the modem can only change in 1 dB increments. Init(r1) is in contention time, so collisions could occur. Modems attempt to initialize during the cable insertion interval. Once init(r2) is reached, the modem gets another temporary SID that it usually keeps after full registration. Init(r2) and other provisioning steps are done during reserved times, based on the modem's SID. Ranging completes and the CMTS and CM are synchronized.
Using this example quality of service (QoS) profile can cause certain issues:
cable qos profile 6 max-burst 255 cable qos profile 6 max-downstream 64 cable qos profile 6 guaranteed-upstream 64 cable qos profile 6 max-upstream 64
The max-burst is in bytes, and it should be set between 1522 and 4096, depending on the linecard.
The default cable interface configuration setting of cable downstream rate-limit token-bucket shaping max-delay 128 is optimized for DS rate limits that are higher then 85 kbps. 1 / 0.128 = 7.81 packets per second (PPS) on the DS. If sending 1518 byte packets at 7 PPS, that equals 1518 × 8 × 7 = 85 kbps. The key word shaping is on by default in BC code, but not in EC code. If a service class is offered with DS rates lower than 85 kbps, there can be issues with dropped packets. Either set the shaping max-delay to 256 ms or turn off the shaping feature. Turning off the shaping feature can lead to erratic traffic patterns on the DS. This command is relevant for the VXR chassis, but not for the uBR10k.
A guaranteed US rate of 64 kbps—using QPSK at 1.6 MHz, which yields a 2.56 Mbps total rate—allows only forty CMs to come online, because Admission Control is on by default at 100 percent in some BC codes (2.56 Mbps / 64 kbps = 40).
The next step is IP address assignment. Most systems set up a nonroutable address space for the modems (such as a 10-net) and a public addressing network for CPE (such as a 24-net or 66-net). The cable dhcp giaddr policy command is used to tell the customer PCs to use the secondary IP address pool. Some configurations rely on Option 82 to achieve this goal and leave the command as dhcp giaddr primary.
Tip: To display the CPE associated with a specific modem, issue the show cable modem client_ip_address command or issue the show interface cable x/y modem 0 command. Using the max-cpe Command in the DOCSIS and CMTS explains how to control the number of CPE that are allowed to connect to one CM.
One DS frequency is feeding twelve nodes, and one US frequency with two nodes per port is feeding six US ports (typical setup).
This diagram shows half of this setup:
After the modem and the CMTS are synchronized with levels and timing, the modem obtains its IP address through DHCP and it obtains its DOCSIS configuration file through TFTP. The modem starts rescanning because it is told to use a DS frequency that is different from the one in the DOCSIS configuration file.
Either leave the DS frequency empty in the DOCSIS configuration file or configure it correctly. The DS frequency listed in the uBR configuration file has little effect, when using a uBR with an external UPx in this scenario.
Note: When the DS frequency and DS channel ID are set in the cable interface configuration, the cable downstream override command could become an issue when multiple DS frequencies are on the same plant. This command is intended for use in scenarios where the modem can see two different DS frequencies from the same CMTS, but it is only wired to one US or to multiple USs from the same MAC domain. The DS frequency in the uBR configuration also has an effect when doing N+1 redundancy. The external upconverter that has Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) capability needs to learn the DS frequency from the uBR configuration when a failover occurs.
Tip: It is recommended that you allow all modems to register and have non-paying customers download a "disable" configuration file in which Network Access is set to False. To convert a non-paying modem to a paying modem, update the database to give the modem a normal configuration file and then do one of these things:
"Bounce" the modem using SNMP.
Issue the clear cable modem {mac-address | ip-address} reset command. A new command exists to remove a modem from the CMTS database: clear cable modem {mac-address | ip-address} delete.
Tell the user to power cycle the modem.
The modem scans for DS and locks on. It then acquires a UCD and a time slot to transmit. The US transmission could affect existing modems' throughput and takes up contention time for provisioning other modems. R1 starts, but never finishes because of T3 timeout or R1 failure. It starts scanning DS again, locks back on the original DS frequency, and the process starts all over. Because the VXR is clocked from a single source, the initial maintenance slots are somewhat time-aligned across linecards, helping to mitigate the effects of incorrect wiring on "real" traffic.
Wire up the US correctly the first time. Cisco currently has a feature called virtual interfaces that will allow up to eight USs to be assigned to a DS within the new 5x20 and 28U linecards, so the user can decide what combinations of DS and USs to use.
R1 completes with a high enough level for the modem and CMTS to talk. R2 instructs the modem to a lower level. It goes back a forth a few times, then it stays on the higher level to allow R2 to complete. As a consequence of the high noise, the Range(complete) fails and the modem starts rescanning DS.
Note: If an S-card is used in conjunction with spectrum management, the modem can change modulation profiles, change power levels, change bandwidth from 3.2 MHz to 200 kHz, or hop to a different frequency that is either programmed (32 spectrum groups) or determined by the S-card. All of this can be accomplished by tracking carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), uncorrectable or correctable forward error correction (FEC) errors, station maintenance, and time or day. The drawback to this is that more bandwidth must be allocated for backup. The benefit is that you could run hotter levels (3 dB), because some of the power that is allocated for frequency is not being used.
Refer to Determining RF or Configuration Issues on the CMTS. Also refer to How to Increase Return Path Availability and Throughput and Upstream FEC Errors and SNR as Ways to Ensure Data Quality and Throughput.
Station maintenance on Cisco Universal Broadband Routers is one second per modem, up to twenty modems (in Cisco IOS Software Releases prior to 13BC, up to twenty-five modems). For example, if there are only four modems on a particular MAC domain (one DS and all of its associated USs), each modem is polled every 4 seconds. Once you have twenty or more modems, it stays at 20 seconds. This feature can be turned off for lab testing with the hidden, global test command test cable minimum-poll off, then the rate can be set with the cable polling msec command. The default for msec is 20000 milliseconds. If you have five modems, you can still set the polling to 20 seconds for a lab environment.
When the default of test cable minimum-poll on is used, the station maintenance period can be changed with the cable polling msec interface command, where msec is a value from 10 to 25000 milliseconds. This is a hidden interface command and, thus, is not supported. It may be advantageous to set this to 15 seconds whenever there are more than 1500 devices on a DS.
Station maintenance occurs at a maximum of every 15 seconds when Hot-standby Connection-to-Connection Protocol (HCCP) is configured for N+1 availability. Once one maintenance message is lost, it goes into a quick mode where a maintenance message is sent every 1 second. After sixteen total messages are missed, the modem is considered offline. If a modem does not receive a station maintenance message within its T4 timer (30 to 35 seconds), it will go offline and restart scanning DS.
Tip: Issue the show cable hop command to see the current station maintenance period.
Upstream Port Poll Missed Min Missed Hop Hop Corr Uncorr Port Status Rate Poll Poll Poll Thres Period FEC FEC (ms) Count Sample Pcnt Pcnt (sec) Errors Errors Cable3/0/U0 33.008 Mhz 789 * * * set to fixed frequency * * * 0 9 Cable4/0/U0 down 1000 * * * frequency not set * * * 0 0
Divide the Poll Rate value by 1000, then multiply the result by the number of modems registered in that MAC domain. For example, suppose that the show cable hop command shows 789 milliseconds and there are nineteen modems on the Cable3/0 interface. That equals 789 ms / 1000 ms/sec. × 19, which equals 14.99 seconds, or approximately 15 seconds per modem (calculations done with HCCP on this system). Station maintenance at a rate of once every 15 seconds for 19 modems equates to 1.27 station maintenance instances per second. If the CMTS sends a station maintenance instance to each modem once every 25 seconds for 1500 cable modems, this is equivalent to 60 station maintenance instances per second being generated by the CMTS. To clear the counters, issue the clear cable hop command in 15BC2 code, or issue clear interface cablex/y in earlier code.
If the US or DS is disconnected, the modem might timeout (with a T3 or T4 timer) or the modem itself might have a timer for the DS lock that could be vendor-specific. DOCSIS 1.0 specifies 600 ms as DS synchronization loss, but it does not specify what the CM should do after synchronization loss. Most CMs do not re-register immediately after synchronization loss, but they usually have a limit of approximately 6 to 10 seconds. T3 is a timer for ranging response from the CMTS, and T4 is a station maintenance timer. Depending on where a modem is in its station maintenance timer, it could get a T4 timeout within 5 seconds or 30 seconds. Once a timeout occurs, the modem either tries a new UCD or starts rescanning DS frequencies or both. There are more timers added in DOCSIS 2.0.
Reconnect the US or DS cabling.
Depending on the Cisco IOS Software Release that you are using, the CMTS can have a Power-Adjust Threshold range (0 to 10 dB) around nominal that can be set to disregard small changes. The default range is ±1 dB. The flap list also has a range that can be set from ±1 to ±10 dB for reporting purposes.
Note: Never set the Power-Adjust Threshold range to 0: modems will never successfully setup unless they hit the CMTS exactly at 0 dBmV, and ranging opportunities will be taken up by modems continually changing levels. The flap list will be very active! The default range of ±1 dB might be sufficient, but a range of ±2 dB might be justified for temperature swings that you do not want to track.
Because the loss was 3.75 dB, the CMTS instructs the modem to change by 3 or 4 dB, making the CMTS input –0.75 or +0.25 dBmV (within the ±1 dB range). The modems that are already maxed out are instructed to increase power indefinitely, so long as they are within the "continue" range (this can be changed with the power-adjust continue command). This command has a default setting of –2 from nominal and can be increased to –10. Modems between the continue range and the threshold range are commanded to change level during their station maintenance even though they can not, but they are allowed to stay online. When you issue a show cable modem command, you see a ! next to the level for each modem that has maxed out. Modems that are outside the "continue" range try a few times, relock on the original DS, retry the level again, and then rescan DS. US power adjustments more than 5 to 6 dB can cause modems to re-acquire.
Remove some attenuation, change the CMTS US power level to –3 dBmV, or increase the power-adjust continue command to 6.
Modems remember some of their last settings (DS frequency, US frequency, modulation, channel width, and US transmit power) to speed up a reboot. They do not remember time offsets, so when multiple modems re-transmit, their physical distance helps to offset the possibility of collisions. Once a collision occurs, an algorithm forces the modems to retry after backing off exponentially, decreasing the probability of another collision.
The amount of backoff is controlled by the cable upstream x range-backoff 3 6 interface command. In that command, 3 means 23, which equals 8. 6 means 26, which equals 64. Thus, the modem randomly backoffs between 8 and 64 initial maintenance opportunities. The maintenance opportunities are controlled by the cable insertion interval auto 60 480 command. This command allows the maintenance contention period to be adjusted automatically between 60 to 480 ms. If there are many modems offline, the initial maintenance will be every 60 ms, to help speed up provisioning. When only a few modems are offline, the initial maintenance could be every 480 ms, to allocate more time for reserved grants for "real" traffic.
One DS frequency is feeding twelve nodes, and three US frequencies—with six nodes combined then split—are feeding three US ports each, for a dense mode configuration and load balancing.
Ranging completes and the CMTS and CM are synchronized. The CM waits for all UCDs. If it receives the wrong UCD, the modem eventually times out—due to being on the wrong US—and it tries another UCD until it finally connects. After the modem and CMTS are synchronized with levels and timing, the modem obtains its IP address through DHCP and it obtains its DOCSIS configuration file through TFTP. From a provisioning point of view, you can do client-class processing to force a specific modem MAC address to a specific US. The modem starts transmitting on its required US frequency. In the DOCSIS configuration file, you can set the US Channel ID to 0 for telephony return, 1 for US 0, 2 for US 1, 3 for US 2, 4 for US 3, 5 for US 4, and 6 for US 5; or you can leave it blank.
Note: In later Cisco IOS Software Releases, the UCDs are sent in a pseudo-random order, so that the modems do not all pick the first UCD and do not provision on the same US when doing dense mode combining. This helps with load balancing across US ports. Besides combining the modems, noise and ingress are also combined and wreak havoc.
Table 2 lists the pseudo-random order of the UCDs.Table 2 – Upstream Allocation Sequence
|1st Choice
|2nd Choice
|3rd Choice
|4th Choice
|5th Choice
|6th Choice
Tip: Knowing the sequence of UCDs can help to determine the best way to physically combine US ports. If three US ports will be combined, combine even ports together (0, 2, and 4) and odd ports together (1, 3, and 5). If only two US ports are used, combine 0 and 3, 1 and 4, and 2 and 5 for perfect balance.
If modems are already scattered between multiple USs, you can force specific modems over to a certain US port without shutting the interface or ports. Issue the test cable ucc cablex/y {sid-number} {port-number} command. The modem should change US ports without rebooting. Because it could be time-consuming to test each one individually, it is advisable to write some type of PERL script.
Note: Like other test commands, this test command is not supported.
You can also issue the cable modem {mac-addres | ip-address} change-frequency {channel-id} command, where channel 1 is US0, channel 2 is US1, and so forth. The problem with this command is that it forces the modem to re-acquire and, therefore, it goes offline first.
ubr7246-2# cable modem 003.e350.97f5 change-frequency ? <1-6> Upstream Channel ID
Redo the segmentation to allow only four nodes to be combined, then split to two with two US frequencies. This allows some load balancing, less frequency use, and less noise funneling. Another possibility is to combine two nodes to one US port with one US frequency, but doing so does not allow load balancing.
It is also possible to set the Min US Throughput field in the DOCSIS configuration file and issue the Admission Control % command to only allow modems to provision on an US until the % of the total possible throughput is used.
Cisco IOS Software Releases later than 12.2(15)BC1 introduce a feature called Dynamic Load Balancing and can be configured to balance the modems based on modem count or on actual utilization or load.
Modems remember some of their last settings (DS frequency, US frequency, modulation, channel width, and US transmit power) for a speedier reboot. The modem scans for DS and periodically rechecks saved DS frequencies approximately every 2 minutes. The CM locks on and goes through the normal provisioning setup. For catastrophic failures, the exponential backoff ranging helps speed up the boot process by eliminating multiple collisions.
Note: The default insertion interval setting (automatic) configures the Cisco uBR7200 series to automatically vary (between 50 milliseconds and 2 seconds) the initial ranging times available to new cable modems that attempt to join the network. Using the automatic keyword with this command helps to bring a large number of modems online quickly (for example, after a major power failure). Because the DOCSIS 1.1 code reserves Init Maintenance every 60 ms, it may be wise to use 60 ms increments in the command (cable insertion interval automatic 60 480).
Many times, a power outage in the plant results in an RF outage to the modems, causing a catastrophic failure. The limiting factor for modem reboot could be all the modems attempting to "talk" to the DHCP server for IP addresses.
These are some commands that are useful to mitigate this potential problem:
It is also recommended that you use an external DHCP server with a CNR greater than or equal to 5.0, for a more evenly distributed request and grant cycle and for faster re-provisioning.
Note: Cable modems might fail to range the RF US levels correctly and cycle to maximum power. This drastically increases their connection time, and some may not reach maintenance state for hours. Try issuing these commands on the upstream interfaces:
cable up x data-backoff 3 5 cable up x range-backoff 3 6
Upstream Range Backoff values might be too small and might need to be changed from the default (automatic). Once these changes are applied and tested, the cable modems might be able to range the RF US levels immediately after the cable modem change-frequency command. This could reduce the connection time to less than a few minutes. You can issue the cable up x data-backoff command to help alleviate multiple collisions of upstream requests.
Two or more DS frequencies from the same CMTS.
A modem scans for DS and locks onto the first one that it detects, acquiring UCDs and a time slot to transmit. It fails US connections and starts scanning again for DS, continuing the process until it finds the correct DS. It locks onto the correct DS and receives a proper UCD. The modem obtains its IP address through DHCP and it obtains its DOCSIS configuration file through TFTP. The modem selects a new DS frequency, if the DOCSIS configuration file tells it to do so.
Note: If the cable downstream override cable interface command is issued (by default), it helps to quickly force modems to the proper DS frequency. This feature was implemented for the case where you may have multiple DS frequencies from the same CMTS, but the modem is only physically connected to one US. To work properly, the DS channel ID must be set, the DS frequency must be set, and the US channels must have the same settings (such as channel width, minislot, modulation profile, and so forth).
Redo the combining or place notch filters at the modems to eliminate the chance of locking onto the wrong DS frequency. One could also narrowcast the DS into the plant farther downstream, maybe at the hub. If the hub is totally optical, with no DS RF, you could put the DS into a 1310 nm Laser, then do wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) into the 1550 nm path after the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), if one is present. Be sure that the light level is approximately 10 dB lower than the 1550, and keep in mind that fiber loss is different at both wavelengths. This solution requires US RF at the hub, though. See Scenario 5 for another example.
Issue the shut command and then issue the no shut command on the interface; or clear all of the modems, to reload a new DOCSIS configuration file with the specific DS frequency. Other ways to force the modem to download its new configuration file are to issue the cable modem change-frequency command or to clear the cable modems one at a time. You might need to make the new configuration file a different name then what was used originally.
To force a modem to use a different DS frequency, issue this command:
ubr7246-2# cable modem 003.e350.97f5 change-frequency ? <54000000-1000000000> Downstream Frequency in Hz
Two or more DS frequencies from different CMTSs.
A modem scans for DS and locks onto the first one that it detects, acquiring UCDs and a time slot to transmit. It attempts registration on the first CMTS. Depending on the setup, it may either fail DHCP or the downloaded DOCSIS configuration file forces it to the correct DS frequency. The CM acquires the commanded DS frequency, UCDs and timeslots to transmit. Ranging completes and the CMTS and CM are synchronized. The modem obtains its IP address through DHCP and it obtains its DOCSIS configuration file through TFTP. If DHCP fails, it tries the other UCDs before rescanning DS.
Issue the no cable downstream override cable interface command. This feature was implemented for the case where you may have multiple DS frequencies, but the modem is only physically connected to one US; it is not intended for multiple-provider scenarios. If it is activated, a modem can lock to the correct DS frequency and transmit on the first UCD, hit both CMTSs, and one of the CMTSs sends the DS frequency override. Thus, it may start scanning on another DS frequency even though it did not have a chance to look at the other UCDs from the first DS frequency.
Two or more DS frequencies from different linecards, but separate US networks.
Current design indicates that a 1x6 line card is needed for one 600 HHP node, for 30 percent data penetration and 20 percent voice.
Two CMs, X and Y, are both physically connected to the same CMTS linecards (DSs A and B), but they are only connected to one linecard, with regards to US connectivity.
New CM (X) locks onto DS A and uses the map from A, which tells it to transmit on US 1 to perform initialization and ranging.
Existing CM (Y) transmits traffic on US 1 based on DS B map.
Transmit times coincide and data from CM Y is corrupted by transmissions from CM X.
CMs X and Y are physically connected to both CMTS linecards A and B. Both CMs see both DS signals, but are physically only connected to three of the six US ports on each CMTS linecard.
CM X locks onto DS A and attempts to connect to an US channel. On DS A, CM X is only connected to US ports 1 through 3. Ports 4 through 6 share the same frequencies and the same map timing. Therefore, the only ports listening to these frequencies all share the same map timing from DS A; the transmissions from CM X can not interfere with any other port or linecard.Example Frequencies
|US Port
|20 MHz
|22 MHz
|24 MHz
|20 MHz
|22 MHz
|24 MHz
|26 MHz
|28 MHz
|30 MHz
|26 MHz
|28 MHz
|30 MHz
This issue is mitigated by the fact that the linecards in the uBR7200 chassis are sourced from the same clock and are inadvertently synchronized, but the above solution gives extra assurance.
If you issue the cable downstream override cable interface command (default) it helps to quickly force modems to the proper DS frequency. This topology occurs when the fiber node uses multiple US laser transmitters to segment the node into an asymmetrical topology, such as 1200 HHP per DS but 600 HHP per US.
How can "time offset" be used to calculate the distance away?
The time offset is directly related to the physical distance away from the CMTS, using this equation:
((tick / 64) × (time offset – magic number) × c × Vp) / 2
In that equation, c is the speed of light in a vacuum (186,000 mi./sec. or 984e6 ft./sec.) and Vp is the velocity of propagation through the medium (0.82 for drop coaxial, 0.87 for hardline coaxial, or 0.67 for fiber). The whole equation is divided by two because it is a round trip. For example:
((6.25e-6 sec. / 64) × (time offset – magic number) × 984e6 ft./sec. × Vp) / 2
You can assume that, whatever the time offset is in a 6-foot plant, that must be the magic number to subtract. For example, if the time offset says 3055, subtract 2800 and do the math from there to determine 6.9 miles. Different time offsets for different modems from the same vendor or different vendors all on the same 6-foot plant is possible.
Does interleaving change throughput? Interleaving is supposed to affect latency but does not add any overhead. Is the latency affecting DS or US throughput or both?
Decreasing the interleave-depth value can affect upstream performance because it reduces the DS processing time, which affects US PPS rates. Also, it is important to understand that it reduces the time between transmission of a map packet, which assigns upstream transmit opportunities, and its reception at the CM. Therefore, it could slightly increases the upstream transmission rate (in PPS per modem) when the value is set to a lower number.
The default value is 32. As a workaround to impulse noise issues, you can increase it to 64 or to 128. By increasing this value, however, you may see US performance degradation (speed), but it will increase noise stability in the downstream. In other words, either the plant has to be very clean, or the customer will see more uncorrectable errors in the downstream, to a point where modems start loosing connectivity.
If you lower the interleave, it should theoretically increase the per-modem throughput, but real hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) plant delay might be limiting it anyway.
Why is the guard-t under Mod Profile set to default of 8 symbols?
The guardtime (guard-t) might vary with the CMTS, depending on different vendors. The specification mentions that it needs to be greater than or equal to the duration of five symbols plus the maximum timing error created by both the CM and the CMTS.
It has been observed that, with the Cisco CMTS, the guard time is set to 8 for request, short, and long bursts and to 48 for initial and station bursts with QPSK and QAM. This sounds logical because you want a better chance of initializing and doing station maintenance and you want less overhead time with actual data traffic.
This guardtime is also different depending on the actual linecard. The MC5x20S uses a Texas Instruments (TI) upstream chip and requires a 22 symbol guardband, while the MC28U uses the new Broadcom chip and requires a variable guardband, depending on the burst size.
Is scrambler like randomization on an analog level or like Manchester coding on a data level? Is it for one's density or for the QAM chip to have different symbols?
It is like Manchester coding on a data level and should never be turned off. You end up with the "batman" effect on the frequency trace, when viewing with peak-hold on a spectrum analyzer.
Is burst length in minislots or bytes? Is there also a command in the DOCSIS configuration file to set the max burst?
The burst length is in bytes. Originally, it was in minislots, where 255 was a valid number (currently, 255 is not valid in DOCSIS). This value must be either 0 or a number greater than an Ethernet frame.
Burst length is a user-unique parameter and may vary for each user, even when using the same burst type on the same channel as another user. Absence of this configuration setting implies that the burst size is limited elsewhere (for instance, in the DOCSIS configuration file). If you set the value at 0 in the DOCSIS configuration file, then that burst length is variable (not fixed), and modems will be able to burst at what they request.
The value of 0 does not work for DOCSIS 1.1 modems. It must be 2000 or below. If it is set to 5000, concatenation is available for three 1518 byte Ethernet frames, but there is a problem in the Broadcom chip that does not allow it: it must be below 4096 bytes.
A number above 1522 will cap the modems' requests to a fixed limit. The latest BC code has the cable default-phy-burst command, which defaults to 2000 bytes. It allows modems to come online when running DOCSIS 1.1 code with upstream concatenation activated, even though the DOCSIS configuration file still has the max-burst set at 0, which is normally illegal. The modems would normally get a reject(c) under the show cable modem command, but this new command overrides it.
The implementation of fragmentation allows modems to concatenate much more than previously allowed and the default-phy-burst command can be set to 0 to disable it.
What constitutes a short and a long burst?
If the minislot is selected for 8 ticks with QPSK at 1.6 MHz channel width, every minislot will be 16 bytes:
1.28 Msym/sec. × 2 bits/symbol × 1 byte/8 bits × 8 ticks/minislot × 6.25 µs/tick = 16 bytes/minislot
The normal max-burst size setting for a Short Interval Usage Code (IUC) in the modulation profile is 6 minislots. 16 × 6 = 96 bytes, thus any burst 96 bytes or less will use a short grant. The short grant IUC is intended for TCP acknowledgements and 64 byte Ethernet frames.
A map is sent every 2 ms, which equals 500 maps/sec. A map is about 60 bytes and it changes size depending on the number of US ports on a blade or on the whole uBR. Thus, it is 500 maps/sec/US, so for a 1x6 card the DS overhead could be ~1.5 Mbps just for maps.
Maps and Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG) frames are unrelated. All Ethernet packets are carried in the MPEG-TS payload. 184 / 4 bytes of each MPEG-TS frame create a continuous sequence of bytes that Ethernet packets overlay. A map is an Ethernet packet. Its length depends on how many IUCs are in it. There is one IUC for each upstream transmission opportunity, be it a data packet, a request slot, maintenance interval, and so forth. The map size can change depending on the US modulation and bandwidth (BW) selected.
Maps can vary between 2 and 8 ms: 2 ms is the minimum used, while 8 ms relates to how long it takes to send a 1518 byte frame plus some other stuff. Smaller maps are better, as they decreases request-to-grant latencies.
Maps take a hit on the CPU as well as on the downstream BW. You could have 500 maps/US × 6 USs × 4 linecards, which equals 12000 per uBR. Typically, it is closer to 250 maps/sec/US.
How will the distribution of the CMs over different Rx frequencies be done, when a group of three nodes is connected for dense mode combining with different frequencies? How are the load balancing and redundancy done in this case?
Initially, it is up to the cable modem to pick an upstream channel for which it has received a UCD message. Depending on vendor implementation or depending on whether the modem has cached its last US frequency, a cable modem might always take the first available upstream channel or might choose randomly amongst the available options.
Newer Cisco IOS Software code sends the UCDs in a semi-random fashion, to help provision modems equally across the US ports. You should, however, be able to force certain modems to a specific US port through the DOCSIS configuration file.
When admission control is enabled in combination with minimum guaranteed upstream bandwidth per modem, the CMTS will not allow certain modems to provision when the configured admission control threshold is reached. This threshold can be set between 10 percent and 1000 percent.
More USs available means more UCDs that the CMs must range on and, possibly, means they take longer to provision.
Cisco IOS Software Releases later than 12.2(15)BC1 introduce a feature called Dynamic Load Balancing and can be configured to balance the modems based on modem count or on actual utilization or load.


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