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RFGW 10 Questions

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WBB
RFGW 10 Questions

Does the RFGW 10 require any type of data license like the RFGW 1? Are there any major gotchas with a used RFWG 10?

Thanks.

forbins
Yes, you need Downstream QAM

Yes, you need Downstream QAM licenses. The number per line card varies based on how many downstream channels you are configured for on a service group. No major issues besides some funky stuff happening with the DTI modules which was corrected in the a newer code.

WBB
Clarification

I understand that the DS384 cards can be licensed with different amounts of channels. 64, 128, etc. I'm trying to figure out if there is some type of license required to use those channels as data qams vs video qams. For example, the RFGW 1 with 48 channels needs 1 data license in order to use the qams for data with the DTI server. The 96 channels RFGW1 needs 2 of those data licenses. I haven't found anything about data licenses for the RFGW 10 so I'm wondering (hoping really) that the data licenses are not a thing on the RFGW 10.

Thanks!

mbowe
Harmonic NSG9000-40G is

Harmonic NSG9000-40G is another popular edgeqam.

Up to 18 RF ports. Each port has up to 36 DS channels (648 DS total).

One or two of these gives you pretty decent capacity, while taking much less rack space than RF gateway 10.

WBB
Harmonic

Thank you for the suggestion. Do you know what licenses are required for the 40g or possibly the 6g as well? I'm trying to figure out what 2nd hand options are actually available/viable for the 3g60-eqam combo.

mbowe
QAM vs DOCSIS license

With NSG9000-40G, I looked back at some of our invoices where we bought them new.

Each RF card came with 16 included QAM licenses (8 per port). Then if you want more QAMs you buy more QAM licenses. Up to 36 QAMs per port.

Then for M-CMTS operation, we were buying 1 "DOCDTI" license per active DS channel. So again, up to 36 DOCDTI per port.

mbowe
Also note that you need to

Also note, to run an edgeqam you need to have :

* a DTI server (eg TimeCreator 1000)
* 2 x DTCC cards in your CMTS.

And if you have more than a couple of 3G60 cards, you will need an aggregation switch. Takes the 1G links from 3G60 cards / SPA24's, uplinks to the edgeqam at 10G.

WBB
TC1000

Is the TC1000 the only DTI server that is available? It's the only one I've ever seen mentioned. Just wondering if there were other options or if that's the only one.

Thanks again.

Edited because I can't spell.

mbowe
Its the only model I have

Its the only model I have ever seen

Saw some going real cheap on ebay the other day USD$500
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SYMMETRICOM-TC1000-TIMECREATOR-1000-W-IOC-IMC-D...

Killa200
Rocnet

I have bought TONS from that seller on and off eBay and would buy from them, especially at that price.

WBB
TC1000

Yes I've noticed they have gotten much cheaper recently and I've purchased a couple already. I was just wondering if there was another version out there in case these start dying off en mass. The TC1000 appears to be all we have.

Kalium
There are only DS licenses

The RFGW-10 is much easier to license but a bit more time consuming to setup than the RFGW-1. It only requires Downstream licenses on the DS384s cards and does not require 2 Data and 1 Octal on the main board like the RFGW-1.
Only thing Id say to remember is to not underestimate the power requirements. You'll need at least 40A DC to power it and two power inputs to one PEM, which can be achieved with a Y-type cable jumper from a single rectifier.

WBB
RFGW-10

Thank you for clearing that up and for the heads up on the power. I'll keep this as an option but the Harmonic looks more suitable if I can find one.

mbowe
> the Harmonic looks more

> the Harmonic looks more suitable if I can find one.

Suggestions :
* Rincon Technology
* Shields Environmental
* TXO Systems

WBB
Thank you. I'll call/email

Thank you. I'll call/email those folks. My usual ebay scouring hasn't turned up much.

I do wonder if these 2 together would work?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harmonic-NSG-9K-CS-11-6G-High-Density-Universal...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Harmonic-NSG-DG40G-HectoQAM-processor-board-for...

mbowe
I don't recommend the NSG9000

I don't recommend the NSG9000-6G model, unless you tiny ISP.
And in that case you should buy the 20x20 linecards rather than 3G60.

The suppliers I mentioned have fully populated NSG9000-40Gs available.

NSG9000-40G has 9 x RF card slots.
If you need to save some $, perhaps buy the 40G unit but with less of the RF cards.
Then you still have the safety of being able to expand the capacity later.

WBB
My thought was

My thought was to buy the 6g model for the turbo chassis and the rf cards and then buying the 40g processor to slot in it? Ie, get a complete 40g unit for around $2k. Not totally sure that would work but I thought it might be worth a shot. Another question on the licensing for these. Is the DOCDTI license required to be installed in order to configure and use as m-cmts and is there a certain version required in order to use the DEPI mode? I'm assuming if the DOCDTI field is 0 then it won't allow to even configure as m-cmts? Apologies as the newest manual I have found is for version 3.4 and I'm not sure what will or won't work.

mbowe
I don't know if mixing and

I don't know if mixing and matching chassis/parts will work. I don't think I would want to try that.

Some of the early NSG 3G and 6G had hard binding of licenses to chassis. I think the the 40G version always had the soft version. I will attach a doc which might help explain this.

For DEPI application, I believe the minimum firmware version is 3.3, and the recommended firmware is 3.7. I will try attaching the DEPI guide.

There are newer firmwares, but they only add features / patch bugs etc for video (not m-cmts).

File attachments: 
WBB
Many thanks.

Both of those docs were really helpful. The manual I found for the 3g/6g models is what lead to my questions. Is the 3.7 firmware freely available to download anywhere?

mbowe
We got our firmware from

We got our firmware from Harmonic as part of maintenance contract after buying new NSG9000-40Gs

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