Although coaxial networks and hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) networks have been in use for delivering television programs to the home, their usage as access networks to provide broadband interactive data services (BIDS) to the home is very recent. In this article, the authors highlight the importance of managing the networking infrastructure for BIDS and explore the unique requirements and challenges in managing HFC networks. Considering the operational requirements of BIDS operators, network maintenance, subscriber support, and planning are identified as the three functional areas that a BIDS network management system must address. It is argued that management support built into BIDS equipment (e.g., cable modems, headend cable termination units, subscriber PCs) can provide a cost-effective way of monitoring the status and performance of HFC networks, and some initial experiences of implementing and deploying network monitors in a real-world BIDS system are presented.
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