In the last several years, the role of compute resources has increased the demands upon modern cable regional and access networks. Computation has quickly become part of network infrastructure itself, beyond just supporting services, over-the-top applications, and management tasks. At the same time, advancements in silicon and optical technology allow for a re-examination of cable network topology and service placement. This blog examines some key decision points the cable industry needs to consider as we work together to build the next generation of a Modern Cable Network.

The Growing Role of Compute

Computing has always played an important role in Internet systems. Network services such as DNS and SMTP, as well as applications such as web services, video cache, and the control planes of routers themselves, all depend on general-purpose compute systems being distributed in the network. Some of these compute resources are discrete servers, some are in large cloud computing environments, and still others are co-resident in routing devices. But they all share the same fundamental trait