SNR margin determination based on FEC code and/or ECC decoding statistics

1 . A communication device comprising:

a communication interface; and

a processor, the processor and the communication interface configured to:

receive a plurality of forward error correction (FEC) coded signals from an other communication device;

decode iteratively the plurality of FEC coded signals to make estimates of information encoded therein;

determine an operational error check rate based on error check failure of at least one of the plurality of FEC coded signals after performing a predetermined number of decoding iterations; and

determine a signal to noise ratio (SNR) margin of the communication device by applying the operational error check rate to a characterization of the communication device that relates error check rate and SNR.

2 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

decode iteratively the plurality of FEC coded signals to make estimates of information encoded therein, wherein the plurality of FEC coded signals includes low density parity check (LDPC) coded signals;

determine a syndrome failure total based on syndrome failure of at least one of the plurality of LDPC coded signal after performing a predetermined number of LDPC decoding iterations; and

determine the SNR margin of the communication device by applying the syndrome failure total relative to the number of the plurality of FEC coded signals to a characterization of the communication device that relates syndrome error rate and SNR.

3 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

generate preliminary hard decisions for bits within the plurality of FEC coded signals before iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make the estimates of the information encoded therein;

determine a total number of corrected bits based on a number of preliminary hard decisions that are changed by iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make the estimates of the information encoded therein;

generate a corrected bit rate based on a ratio of the total number of corrected bits and a total number of decoded bits that is decoded by iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals; and

determine the SNR margin of the communication device by applying the corrected bit rate to a characterization of the communication device that relates bit error rate (BER) or block error rate (BLER) and SNR.

4 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

transmit the SNR margin to the other communication device for use in adjusting operation of the other communication device.

5 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

receive the plurality of FEC coded signals transmitted based on a first power from the other communication device;

transmit the SNR margin to the other communication device for use in adjusting operation of the other communication device; and

receive at least one additional FEC coded signal transmitted based on a second power that is different than the first power from the other communication device.

6 . The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

receive the plurality of FEC coded signals based on a first modulation density from the other communication device;

transmit the SNR margin to the other communication device for use in adjusting operation of the other communication device; and

receive at least one additional FEC coded signal based on a second density that includes more or fewer constellation points than the first modulation density from the other communication device.

7 . The communication device of claim 1 further comprising:

a cable modem, wherein the other communication device is a cable headend transmitter or a cable modem termination system (CMTS).

8 . The communication device of claim 1 further comprising:

the processor and the communication interface configured to support communications within at least one of a satellite communication system, a wireless communication system, a wired communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, or a mobile communication system.

9 . A communication device comprising:

a communication interface; and

a processor, the processor and the communication interface configured to:

receive a plurality of forward error correction (FEC) coded signals from an other communication device;

decode iteratively the plurality of FEC coded signals to make estimates of information encoded therein;

determine an operational error check rate based on error check failure of at least one of the plurality of FEC coded signals after performing a predetermined number of decoding iterations;

determine a signal to noise ratio (SNR) margin of the communication device by applying the operational error check rate to a characterization of the communication device that relates error check rate and SNR;

transmit the SNR margin to the other communication device for use in adjusting operation of the other communication device; and

receive at least one additional FEC coded signal from the other communication device that is transmitted using at least one different operational parameter than is used to transmit the plurality of FEC coded signals.

10 . The communication device of claim 9 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

decode iteratively the plurality of FEC coded signals to make estimates of information encoded therein, wherein the plurality of FEC coded signals includes low density parity check (LDPC) coded signals;

determine a syndrome failure total based on syndrome failure of at least one of the plurality of LDPC coded signal after performing a predetermined number of LDPC decoding iterations; and

determine the SNR margin of the communication device by applying the syndrome failure total relative to a number of the plurality of FEC coded signals to a characterization of the communication device that relates syndrome error rate and SNR.

11 . The communication device of claim 9 , wherein the processor and the communication interface are further configured to:

generate preliminary hard decisions for bits within the plurality of FEC coded signals before iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make the estimates of the information encoded therein;

determine a total number of corrected bits based on a number of preliminary hard decisions that are changed by iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make the estimates of the information encoded therein;

generate a corrected bit rate based on a ratio of the total number of corrected bits and a total number of decoded bits that is decoded by iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals; and

determine the SNR margin of the communication device by applying the corrected bit rate to a characterization of the communication device that relates bit error rate (BER) or block error rate (BLER) and SNR.

12 . The communication device of claim 9 further comprising:

a cable modem, wherein the other communication device is a cable headend transmitter or a cable modem termination system (CMTS).

13 . The communication device of claim 9 further comprising:

the processor and the communication interface configured to support communications within at least one of a satellite communication system, a wireless communication system, a wired communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, or a mobile communication system.

14 . A method for execution by a communication device, the method comprising:

receiving, via a communication interface of the communication device, a plurality of forward error correction (FEC) coded signals from an other communication device;

iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make estimates of information encoded therein;

determining an operational error check rate based on error check failure of at least one of the plurality of FEC coded signals after performing a predetermined number of decoding iterations; and

determining a signal to noise ratio (SNR) margin of the communication device by applying the operational error check rate to a characterization of the communication device that relates error check rate and SNR.

15 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make estimates of information encoded therein, wherein the plurality of FEC coded signals includes low density parity check (LDPC) coded signals;

determining a syndrome failure total based on syndrome failure of at least one of the plurality of LDPC coded signal after performing a predetermined number of LDPC decoding iterations; and

determining the SNR margin of the communication device by applying the syndrome failure total relative to the number of the plurality of FEC coded signals to a characterization of the communication device that relates syndrome error rate and SNR.

16 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

generating preliminary hard decisions for bits within the plurality of FEC coded signals before iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make the estimates of the information encoded therein;

determining a total number of corrected bits based on a number of preliminary hard decisions that are changed by iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals to make the estimates of the information encoded therein;

generating a corrected bit rate based on a ratio of the total number of corrected bits and a total number of decoded bits that is decoded by iteratively decoding the plurality of FEC coded signals; and

determining the SNR margin of the communication device by applying the corrected bit rate to a characterization of the communication device that relates bit error rate (BER) or block error rate (BLER) and SNR.

17 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

receiving, via the communication interface, the plurality of FEC coded signals based on a first power from the other communication device;

transmitting, via the communication interface, the SNR margin to the other communication device for use in adjusting operation of the other communication device; and

receiving, via the communication interface, at least one additional FEC coded signal based on a second power that is different than the first power from the other communication device.

18 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

receiving, via the communication interface, the plurality of FEC coded signals based on a first modulation density from the other communication device;

transmitting, via the communication interface, the SNR margin to the other communication device for use in adjusting operation of the other communication device; and

receiving, via the communication interface, at least one additional FEC coded signal based on a second density that includes more or fewer constellation points than the first modulation density from the other communication device.

19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the communication device is a cable modem, and the other communication device is a cable headend transmitter or a cable modem termination system (CMTS).

20 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

operating the communication interface of the communication device to support communications within at least one of a satellite communication system, a wireless communication system, a wired communication system, a fiber-optic communication system, or a mobile communication system.