Ranging and registering cable modems under attenuated transmission conditions

1. A cable modem communication system that supports attenuated transmission adaptation during registering and ranging operations, the system comprising:

a plurality of Cable Modems (CMs);

a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) that communicatively couples to the plurality of CMs via a CM network segment and that is operable to segregate the plurality of CMs into at least two CM groups comprising a first group of CMs with which standard registering and ranging operations are performed and a second group of CMs with which attenuated transmission registering and ranging operations are performed;

each CM of the first group of CMs operable to perform registering and ranging operations by transmitting a ranging burst of a first format; and

each CM of the second group of CMs operable to perform registering and ranging operations by transmitting a ranging burst of a second format that differs from the ranging burst of the first format.

2. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format comprises a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet comprising a plurality of digitally modulated symbols; and

the ranging burst of the second format comprises a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet comprising a plurality of digitally modulated symbols that have been spread by at least one spreading code.

3. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein the CMTS includes a rake receiver that receives and demodulates a plurality of multi-path copies of the ranging burst of the second format.

4. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format comprises a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet; and

the ranging burst of the second format comprises a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet that has been encoded using an outer code.

5. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format comprises a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a single copy of first format data packet; and

the ranging burst of the second format comprises a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and multiple copies of a second format data packet.

6. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format comprises a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet comprising a plurality of digitally modulated symbols of a first modulation order; and

the ranging burst of the second format comprises a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet comprising a plurality of digitally modulated symbols of a second modulation order, the second modulation order lower than the first modulation order.

7. The cable modem communication system of claim 6 , wherein:

the first modulation order comprises an order higher than Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK); and

the second modulation order comprises BPSK.

8. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format comprises a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet having a first code rate; and

the ranging burst of the second format comprises a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet having a second code rate that is lower than the first code rate.

9. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format comprises a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet encoded using first coding characteristics; and

the ranging burst of the second format comprises a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet encoded using second coding characteristics that are more robust than the first coding characteristics.

10. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the ranging burst of the first format is transmitted at a first power level; and

the ranging burst of the second format is transmitted at a second power level that is greater than the first power level.

11. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein the ranging burst of the first format has a first duration, the ranging burst of the second format has a second duration, and the second duration is greater than the first duration.

12. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

the first group of CMs is operable to transmit the ranging bursts of the first format to the CMTS during a first contention interval; and

the second group of CMs is operable to transmit the ranging bursts of the second format to the CMTS during a second contention interval.

13. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of CMs and the CMTS are interoperable to determine which CMs form the first group and which CMs form the second group.

14. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

a CM is within the first group of CMs when professionally installed; and

a CM is within the second group of CMs when subscriber installed.

15. The cable modem communication system of claim 1 , wherein:

a CM is within the first group of CMs when ranging measurements fall within a favorable range; and

a CM is within the second group of CMs when ranging measurements fall within an unfavorable range.

16. A method for operating a cable modem communication system that includes a plurality of Cable Modems (CMs) that communicatively couple to a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) via a CM network segment, the method comprising:

segregating the plurality of CMs into at least two CM groups comprising a first group of CMs with which standard registering and ranging operations are performed and a second group of CMs with which attenuated transmission registering and ranging operations are performed;

each CM of the first group of CMs transmitting a ranging burst of a first format to the CMTS; and

each CM of the second group of CMs transmitting a ranging burst of a second format to the CMTS, the ranging burst of the second format differing from the ranging burst of the first format.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the first format with a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet having a plurality of digitally modulated symbols; and

each CM of the second group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the second format with a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet having a plurality of digitally modulated symbols that have been spread by at least one spreading code.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising the CMTS demodulating a plurality of multi-path copies of the ranging burst of the second format using a rake receiver.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the first format with a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet; and

each CM of the second group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the second format with a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet that has been encoded using an outer code.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the first format with a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a single copy of first format data packet; and

each CM of the second group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the second format with a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and multiple copies of a second format data packet.

21. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the first format with a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet having a plurality of digitally modulated symbols of a first modulation order; and

each CM of the second group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the second format with a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet having a plurality of digitally modulated symbols of a second modulation order, the second modulation order lower than the first modulation order.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein:

the first modulation order comprises an order higher than Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPS K); and

the second modulation order comprises BPSK.

23. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the first format with a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet having a first code rate; and

each CM of the second group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the second format with a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet having a second code rate that is lower than the first code rate.

24. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the first format with a first format preamble, a first format training sequence, and a first format data packet encoded using first coding characteristics; and

each CM of the second group of CMs forming the ranging burst of the second format with a second format preamble, a second format training sequence, and a second format data packet encoded using second coding characteristics that are more robust than the first coding characteristics.

25. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs transmitting the ranging burst of the first format at a first power level; and

each CM of the second group of CMs transmitting the ranging burst of the second format at a second power level that is less than the first power level.

26. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

each CM of the first group of CMs transmitting the ranging burst of the first format with a first duration; and

each CM of the second group of CMs transmitting the ranging burst of the second format with a second duration, wherein the second duration is greater than the first duration.

27. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

the first group of CMs transmitting the ranging bursts of the first format to the CMTS during a first contention interval; and

the second group of CMs transmitting the ranging bursts of the second format to the CMTS during a second contention interval.

28. The method of claim 16 , further comprising the plurality of CMs and the CMTS communicating to determine which CMs form the first group and which CMs form the second group.

29. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

determining that a CM is within the first group of CMs when professionally installed; and

determining that a CM is within the second group of CMs when subscriber installed.

30. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

determining that a CM is within the first group of CMs when ranging measurements fall within a favorable range; and

determining that a CM is within the second group of CMs when ranging measurements fall within an unfavorable range.

31. A method for operating a cable modem communication system that includes a plurality of Cable Modems (CMs) that communicatively couple to a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) via a CM network segment, the method comprising:

identifying a CM of the plurality of CMs for with which attenuated transmission registering and ranging operations are required;

the CM forming a ranging burst having a preamble, a training sequence, and a data packet having a plurality of digitally modulated symbols that are spread by at least one spreading code;

the CM transmitting the ranging burst to the CMTS;

the CMTS receiving the ranging burst from the CM; and

the CMTS determining ranging information based upon the received ranging burst.

32. The method of claim 31 , further comprising the CMTS demodulating a plurality of multi-path copies of the ranging burst using a rake receiver.

33. A method for operating a cable modem communication system that includes a plurality of Cable Modems (CMs) that communicatively couple to a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) via a CM network segment, the method comprising:

identifying a CM of the plurality of CMs for with which attenuated transmission registering and ranging operations are required;

the CM forming a ranging burst having a preamble, a training sequence, and a data packet that has been encoded using an outer code;

the CM transmitting the ranging burst to the CMTS;

the CMTS receiving the ranging burst from the CM; and

the CMTS determining ranging information based upon the received ranging burst.

34. A method for operating a cable modem communication system that includes a plurality of Cable Modems (CMs) that communicatively couple to a Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) via a CM network segment, the method comprising:

identifying a CM of the plurality of CMs for with which attenuated transmission registering and ranging operations are required;

the CM forming a ranging burst having a preamble, a training sequence, and multiple copies of a data packet;

the CM transmitting the ranging burst to the CMTS;

the CMTS receiving the ranging burst from the CM; and

the CMTS determining ranging information based upon the received ranging burst.