DOCSIS concatenation combines multiple upstream packets into one packet to reduce packet overhead and overall latency, and to increase transmission efficiency. Using concatenation, a DOCSIS modem needs to make only one bandwidth request for a concatenated packet, as opposed to making a different bandwidth request for each individual packet; this technique is especially effective for bursty real-time voice traffic.
The following information is entered by the user to enable concatenation, determine the HMAC-MD5 algorithm specification (RFC 2104 or RFC 1321) to be used, and specify the authentication string used between the provisioning server and the CMTS.
Specifies whether the modem supports concatenation of upstream packet requests:
To enable concatenation (1)
To disable concatenation (0)
This mandatory field specifies the algorithm used to compute the CMTS Message Integrity Check (MIC). If yes, the HMAC-MD5 algorithm specified in RFC 2104 is used; if no, the algorithm specified by RFC 1321 is used. (The algorithm used must match the one used on the CMTS.)
Specifies an authentication string to be used between the provisioning server (which creates the configuration files) and the CMTS. It allows the CMTS to authenticate the modem provisioning with a central authentication service, such as a RADIUS server. This field is typically used only for one-way modems that use telco-return.
Example: [blank]---This is the default value. Cisco recommends that you leave this field empty.