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The following information provides general guidelines for the content likely to be included on the Cisco Cable Communications Specialist exam. However, other related topics may also appear on any specific delivery of the exam.
The exam covers examples of solution types that a qualified cable associate can offer based on a combination of training and real-world experience. The successful candidate should be able to:
RADIO FREQUENCY/CABLE PLANT /DOCSIS COMPLIANCE
Cable Plant DOCSIS Compliance
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Ensure cable network meets or exceeds DOCSIS 1.x RFI specifications for upstream and downstream data transmission |
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Determine the downstream/upstream RF parameters and modulation modes using appropriate test equipment |
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Identify, analyze, and solve RF problems on the network |
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Connect a CMTS through an HFC network to the home including: downstream/upstream ports, upconverter, fiber and fiber nodes, amplifiers/bridgers, trunk and drop cables, attenuation, splitters, cable modems and CPE |
Coaxial Cable Plant Inspection and Validation
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Check and verify the condition and length of the cable's center conductors at the connecters as well as recognize improperly installed connectors |
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List possible cable plant problems as seen on the display from a Spectrum Analyzer with a test signal applied |
Cable Plant EIA/TIA, Fire and Building Code Compliance
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Identify power, ventilation and spatial considerations for cable headends |
STANDARDS
DOCSIS 1.0
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Given IOS display screens, list the steps and explain how and why DOCSIS 1.0 cable modems complete DOCSIS insertion, provisioning and registration, including POST, downstream channel acquisition, upstream channel information, DHCP, TOD, TFTP, registration and SID/QoS assignment |
DOCSIS 1.1
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List the steps and explain how and why DOCSIS 1.1 cable modems complete DOCSIS insertion, provisioning and registration, including POST, downstream channel acquisition, upstream channel information, DHCP, TOD, TFTP, registration, BPI, SID and SFID assignment |
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Explain the concepts and terminology of cable modem access to a network, including best effort, unsolicited grant service, unsolicited grant service with activity detector, real time polling, non-real time polling, concatenation, fragmentation, and committed information rates as they apply to DOCSIS data deployments |
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Explain how and why concatenation and fragmentation is performed in a DOCSIS deployment |
Euro-DOCSIS
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List the differences between DOCSIS and Euro-DOCSIS and specify deployment issues associated with Euro-DOCSIS |
Packet Cable (Architecture only)
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Identify the devices that perform core packet cable functions and their relationship to other major Packet Cable components |
DOCSIS 2.0
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Identify the features and functions of DOCSIS 2.0 and the relationship to the previous DOCSIS standards |
INTERNET PROTOCOL
Routing
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Given IOS display screens, determine the status and configuration of the routing protocol and its implementation |
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Given IOS display screens, determine the status and configuration of IP services |
CISCO PRODUCTS AND CONFIGURATIONS
Cisco IOS Version and Upgrade
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Given Cisco IOS displays, determine the software versions and list the steps to upgrade |
CMTS Products and Configurations
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Given Cisco IOS screens, list the steps to configure and verify the status of CMTS non-RF interfaces |
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Given Cisco IOS screens, list the steps to configure CMTS global parameters for cable systems |
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Given Cisco IOS screens, list the steps to configure CMTS RF interface parameters for cable systems |
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Given Cisco IOS displays, determine the status of protocols, processes and interfaces in the CMTS |
Backhaul Network Configuration
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Given a scenario, determine if multiple UBR routers are installed |
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Explain how to implement dual home connections into the WAN Core |
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Given IOS display screens, verify the status, configuration and connectivity of the backbone |
Troubleshooting
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Given Cisco IOS and application displays, demonstrate knowledge of when and how to utilize them to recognize cable problems from their outputs |
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Given Cisco IOS display screens, locate and determine downstream and upstream RF parameters |
PROVISIONING
DOCSIS Cable Modem Provisioning
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Specify and define DOCSIS server and configuration file parameters for DOCSIS 1.0 and 1.1 deployments |
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Specify the minimum DOCSIS 1.0 configuration file parameters |
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Specify the minimum DOCSIS 1.1 configuration file parameters |
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Identify the steps to provide SNMP string and vendor based commands and configurations into a cable modem via the DOCSIS configuration file |
CAPACITY PLANNING ASSESSMENT
Data Capacity Bandwidth Determination
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Identify bandwidth availability downstream and/or upstream on cable plant infrastructures for data only deployments |
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Identify critical issues in determining bandwidth availability downstream and/or upstream on cable plant infrastructures for mixed voice data deployments |
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