CABLE DROPOUT AND THE CRAN

Hi all,

here in Florida, and other locations, Nationally, Comcast uses a 10 Gigabit Ethernet system (10GigE) , called a CRAN, Converged Regional Area Network.

The Converged Regional Area Network, or CRAN allows all voice, video, and Internet traffic to go over a single network with redundant 10 GigE networks, we are talking a major multiplex of high data rates.
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The speed of the connections are very fast. All devices on the Comcast network, regardless if it is a cable modem, digital cable box, VoIP modem, or whatever are connected to each other, from the demarc box of the home and outward, on a redundant 10 GigE optical network.
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Such a network can provide network speeds far in excess of what Verizon's Fios offers with little upgrade by Comcast should they want to offer equivalent speeds.
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All areas are being converted to the CRAN. The most apparent thing you will notice when you are switched, is the additional hops; you see the additional hops if you run a Traceroute on your INTERNET connection.
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These hops have little to no effect on speeds or latency. The good news is; by keeping the traffic more internal ie. on Comcast proprietary networks, it reduces cost to Comcast and allows the subscriber to put a less detrimental affect on the network.
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What does all this technical stuff mean; communications are complex, and sometimes, Stuff Happens!

Dave Israel
Cable Boy