Rescheduling a cable-modem upstream channel after changing one or more of its properties

In a cable-modem network, a cable modem (CM) talks to a cable-modem termination system (CMTS) over a traditional cable-television network. In the DOCSIS protocol for such networks, the CMTS schedules the upstream (CM-to-CMTS) channels. DOCSIS also provides a mechanism that lets the CMTS change an upstream channel´s properties at any time. Unfortunately, changing such a property usually invalidates the current upstream schedule. This paper describes a novel algorithm for rescheduling a DOCSIS upstream channel in response to a property change. The algorithm, which is in use in a real CMTS, has several important advantages: It is flexible, service preserving, and efficient.