Improve energy-efficiency of hybrid fiber-coaxial networks with traffic-aware design

We propose an advanced algorithm to achieve coordinated CMTS-side energy-saving in a HFC network supporting DOCSIS 3.0 standard. Based on traffic information, the algorithm grooms as many as cable modems (CMs) on a minimal number of CMTS ports as possible, and put the rest of its ports to sleep for energy-saving. With network simulations using a realistic CM traffic model, we demonstrate over 31.5% saving on the ON-time for CMTS ports. We also investigate the tradeoff between the energy-saving and the number of CM change operations, and the results show that the algorithm can control the number of CM changes with a preset readjustment threshold.