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Cisco uBR905 Router Hardware Installation Guide
OL-0598-01 (9/2000)
Chapter 1
Product Overview
Functional Overview
Functional Overview
This section provides a functional overview of the operation of the Cisco uBR905 cable access router,
divided into the following categories:
•
Initial Power On and Provisioning
•
Initial Power On and Provisioning
The Cisco uBR905 cable access router ships from the Cisco factory ready to work in a
DOCSIS-compliant bridging mode. However, before the router can transmit traffic, the CMTS at the
headend must properly provision the router as follows:
1.
The appropriate service must be purchased from the cable system. If certain features, such as IPsec
data encryption, are desired, a license for the appropriate Cisco IOS software image must also be
purchased.
2.
When the router is first brought online, the CMTS at the headend downloads a DOCSIS
configuration file to the router. This file—which is a binary file that must be in the format required
by the DOCSIS specification—configures the router for the appropriate level of services and sets
other parameters as needed.
3.
At this point, the router is completely configured for basic DOCSIS operations, but if additional
features beyond those in the default Cisco IOS software image are desired, the DOCSIS
configuration file can also specify that the router should download another Cisco IOS image from
the CMTS.
4.
To configure the Cisco uBR905 cable access router for any additional features, the cable service
provider can do any or all of the following:
–
Cisco IOS commands can be included in the Vendor Specific Information field (suboption 131)
in the DOCSIS configuration file.
–
The Cisco uBR905 cable access router can download a Cisco IOS configuration file from a
host workstation specified by the DOCSIS configuration file. The Cisco IOS configuration file
is an ASCII text file that contains the Cisco IOS commands needed to configure the router for
any additional features.
–
A system administrator can manually configure the Cisco uBR905 cable access router by
giving Cisco IOS commands at the CLI interface. This can be done either locally by connecting
to the system’s RJ-45 console port or remotely by establishing a Telnet connection with the
unit.
–
If SNMP management has been enabled, certain parameters can be queried and configured
using an SNMP manager at the cable provider’s network operations center (NOC).
Note
The CMTS Cisco uBR905 router downloads the DOCSIS configuration file each time it is
powered on, but it downloads the Cisco IOS image (if needed) and Cisco IOS
configuration file (if needed) only once when the router is initially brought online.
However, a new configuration file or image can be downloaded whenever necessary, such
as when the cable service offers new services or subscribers upgrade their services.