Chapter 7: Router Control Module (RCM)
STANDARD Revision 1.0
C4® CMTS Release 8.3 User Guide
© 2016 ARRIS Enterprises LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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Primary Software Functions
The primary software functions of the RCM include:
Forwarding downstream packets to the 16D or XD CAMs and upstream packets received from the 12U or 24U CAMs
Priority-based output scheduling and congestion management using the Quality of Service (QoS) parameter set.
Bandwidth allocation to each client (CAM) card slot for subscriber, management, video, and control traffic
External I/O connectivity and bandwidth via one (1) ten-gigabit Ethernet and ten (10) one-gigabit Ethernet interfaces.
Support for multiple, simultaneous Ethernet interfaces when two RCMs are configured
Hardware support for Access Control Lists (ACLs)
Supporting routing protocols and DHCP
Supporting control plane software.
RCM Hardware
The RCM cards are located in slots 17 and 18 in the C4 CMTS chassis. In the C4c CMTS or simplex mode, slot 17 must be
used.
The RCM is designed to be used without a Physical Interface Card (PIC); therefore, the connectors for all interfaces are on
the front panel. A filler panel is added to the back of the chassis in the corresponding slot. Front-panel LEDs indicate
whether the card is powered, active or standby, and whether the ports and crossover link are connected or are actively
passing traffic. See
The adaptive link or A-link protocol is used on the ARRIS CMTS midplane. The A-links provide the higher data rates needed
to support the client cards. These cards include:
16D CAM
XD CAM
12U CAM
24U CAM
The A-links provide the upstream and downstream data paths between the RCM and the client cards.