Manage Cable Devices
The Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Router (Cisco cBR-8) is a 13 rack unit (RU) chassis. It supports multiple card modules and is designed with back-to-back midplanes; a front facing Digital Midplane and a rear facing RF Midplane. In a cable network with the Remote PHY architecture, multiple Remote PHY Devices (RPDs) connect to Cisco cBR-8 devices based on the Data Over Cable Systems Interface Standard (DOCSIS) and EuroDOCSIS standards that define two-way operation over the cable network.
Remote PHY is an architectural strategy that removes the PHY element from a product and places that PHY element in a separate access point interconnected with an IP network. The Cisco Remote-PHY solution leverages existing IP technologies like Ethernet PON (EPON), Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Networks (GPON), and Metro Ethernet (MetroE) equipment; it deploys DOCSIS in Multi Dwelling Units (MDUs) over digital fiber to enable two-way services over cable.
Using Cisco EPN Manager , you can add and discover Cisco cBR-8 and devices and RPDs, view their L2TP links and topology on the network topology, and further configure them. You can also continuously monitor the health of RPDs to Cisco cBR-8 device links. See Manage Cisco cBR-8 and RPDs Association.
For more information about cBR-8 devices, see http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/cable/cbr/cisco-cbr/index.html:
The process of managing cable devices in Cisco EPN Manager involves:
- Ensuring that the cBR-8 devices, and Cisco Smart PHY are up and available for configuring.
- Adding the cBR-8 device and ensuring that the inventory collection status for the device is 'Completed'. See Add Devices to Cisco EPN Manager
- (Optional) Configuring the required access in Cisco EPN Manager by providing Cisco Smart PHY credentials.
- (Optional) Monitoring the devices using the network topology to view the associated monitoring policies, alarms information, and link information.
- (Optional) Managing device images using Software Image Management. See Manage Device Software Images.
Features and Limitations
Cisco EPN Manager supports the following features to manage cable devices:
- Configuring Cisco Smart PHY with Cisco EPN Manager .
- Monitoring and visualizing RPD to cBR-8 L2TP links in the network topology.
- Ability to place unmapped cable devices on the network topology.
- Managing software images on cBR-8 devices.
- Performing configuration audit using compliance for cBR-8 devices.
- Viewing cBR-8 device 360 and interface 360 information.
- Viewing cBR-8 device details in the chassis view.
- Viewing cable device syslogs.
Cisco EPN Manager has the following limitation in managing cable devices:
- You cannot set the location of devices in bulk using the Import and Export Locations options on the network topology.
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Cisco Smart PHY must not be configured with more than one Cisco EPN Manager server. You must also ensure that after you configure the Cisco Smart PHY client credentials in the Admin Settings page, you must not change the configuration to a new client.