Cisco Explorer Series User manual

734375Rev H
Explorer Digital Home
Communications Terminal
Staging Guide

Please Read
Important
Please read this entire guide. If this guide provides installation or operation
instructions, give particular attention to all safety statements included in this guide.

Notices
Trademark Acknowledgements
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco
and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's
trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks.
CableCARD is a trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
"Dolby" and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
Other third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective
owners.
The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between
Cisco and any other company. (1009R)
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invention claimed in any existing or later issued patent.
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734375 Rev H iii
Contents
About This Guide vii
The Staging Process 1
Overview................................................................................................................................... 2
What Knowledge and Skills Do You Need? ........................................................................ 3
Download Methods ................................................................................................................. 4
Install EMMs............................................................................................................................. 5
Staging Preparations 9
Overview................................................................................................................................. 10
Verify DNCS System Configuration Settings .................................................................... 11
Set Up Environment Variables............................................................................................. 12
Create EMM Directories ....................................................................................................... 14
Set Up Default Packages for Instastaging........................................................................... 15
Set Up Service Disconnect .................................................................................................... 17
Set Up the Staging Defaults.................................................................................................. 18
Install Software....................................................................................................................... 19
Billing System Preparation ................................................................................................... 20
Optimize Your System Performance for Downloads and Staging 21
Overview................................................................................................................................. 22
Recommendations to Improve Your Staging and Software Download Performance . 23
Recommendations to Improve Your Data Carousel Rate ................................................ 34
Staging Area Considerations 45
Minimum Network Requirements ...................................................................................... 46
QAM Requirements............................................................................................................... 47
QPSK Requirements .............................................................................................................. 49
CMTS Requirements.............................................................................................................. 50
Ventilation and Handling ..................................................................................................... 51
CableCARD Module Requirements .................................................................................... 52
Obtain and Load EMM Data 53
Obtain EMM Data.................................................................................................................. 54
FTP Download Option .......................................................................................................... 55
Mail or Shipping Service Option ......................................................................................... 56

Contents
iv 734375 Rev H
Copy the EMM File................................................................................................................ 58
Send the EMM File to the DNCS Using FTP...................................................................... 59
Extract the EMM File............................................................................................................. 60
Copy the TOC File ................................................................................................................. 61
Load EMM Data..................................................................................................................... 62
How to Stage DHCTs 67
Overview................................................................................................................................. 68
DHCT Staging Flowchart ..................................................................................................... 69
Staging DHCTs with Services .............................................................................................. 70
Staging DHCTs For Instastaging ......................................................................................... 71
Verify the PowerKEY Information ...................................................................................... 72
Verifying the Staging Process .............................................................................................. 75
How to Stage CableCARD Modules 77
Overview................................................................................................................................. 78
Setting Up the DNCS for CableCARD Module Staging................................................... 79
Staging CableCARD Modules.............................................................................................. 80
Verify CableCARD Module Staging ................................................................................... 85
Returning DHCTs and CableCARD Modules to Service 87
Check for Stranded IPPV Events and Clear NVM ............................................................ 88
Returning CableCARD Modules to Service ....................................................................... 92
Troubleshooting 93
Staging Failures...................................................................................................................... 94
DHCT Errors........................................................................................................................... 95
Send Instant Hits.................................................................................................................... 99
OS and ResApp Downloads............................................................................................... 101
PowerKEY/EA Issues ......................................................................................................... 104
Customer Information 109
Appendix A Download LED Indicators 111
Overview............................................................................................................................... 112
LED Indicators Displayed During an OSM Download.................................................. 113
LED Indicators Displayed During a CVT Download ..................................................... 116
DHCTs with Three LED Indicators ................................................................................... 119
DHCTs with Single LED Indicators .................................................................................. 122
POWER LED Indicators Displayed on DHCTs ............................................................... 125

Contents
734375 Rev H v
Appendix B Button Sequence for DHCT Functions 129
Button Sequences ................................................................................................................. 130
E940 Forced Download Button .......................................................................................... 131
Appendix C Setting Up Multiple Bootloader Carousels 133
Overview............................................................................................................................... 134
Determine Available Bandwidth for Multiple Bootloaders........................................... 136
Setting Up Multiple Bootloader Carousels ...................................................................... 140
Adding a Bootloader Source to the DNCS ....................................................................... 142
Setting Up DHCTs to Download Images from a Specific Bootloader Carousel ......... 144
Appendix D Adding an HDD Test Server to the BFS 147
Overview............................................................................................................................... 148
Adding an HDD Test Server to the BFS ........................................................................... 150
Registering the HDD Test Server with the BFS ............................................................... 154
Placing the HDD Performance Specification File on the HDD Test Server................. 156
Appendix E Format the Hard Drive Without Clearing NVM 157
Formatting the Hard Drive................................................................................................. 158
Appendix F Staging Out-Of-Band Bridges 159
Overview............................................................................................................................... 160
Set Up Staging Bridges........................................................................................................ 162
Appendix G Staging Toolkit 165
Overview............................................................................................................................... 166
Remote Controls................................................................................................................... 167
Activating the Staging Toolkit for DHCTs with Alphanumeric LEDs ........................ 168
Activating the Staging Toolkit for DHCTs with Single or Triple LEDs....................... 169
Index 171

About This Guide
734375 Rev H vii
About This Guide
Introduction
This guide provides procedures for staging Explorer®Digital Home
Communications Terminals (DHCTs) and CableCARD™ modules for use in the
Digital Broadband Delivery System (DBDS).
Scope
This guide provides an overview of the staging process, all the steps you must take
to prepare your site for staging DHCTs, staging procedures and the most common
staging processes, and presents the best practices based on our experience. This
guide also includes common troubleshooting steps.
Notes:
This guide does not include procedures for installing client release software.
Refer to Downloading New Client Application Platform Installation Instructions (part
number 4003052) for information regarding installing client release software.
This guide does not include procedures for staging Separable Security Host with
CableCARDTM module (SSC) DHCTs. Refer to one of the follwoing guides (based
on the Digital Network Control System (DNCS) system release you are using) for
information regarding staging SSC DHCTs:
-Separable Security Host Staging Guide for System Release 4.2.1 and Earlier (part
number 736107)
-Separable Security Host Staging Guide for System Release 4.3 and Later (part
number 4024836)
See Related Publications for information on obtaining the documents mentioned
above.
Audience
This guide is written for staging area personnel responsible for staging DHCTs,
DHCT installation personnel, and system operators of the DNCS.

About This Guide
viii 734375 Rev H
Document Version
This is the eighth release of this guide. In addition to minor text and graphic
changes, the following table provides the technical changes to this document.
Title
Title
Added a chapter that contains information
on optimizing your system performance
Optimize Your System Performance for
Downloads and Staging (on page 21)
Added information on improving the
speed and performance of CVT downloads
for DHCTs
Recommended Frequencies for Improved
CVT Download Performance (on page 47)
Fixed a typographical error in the
procedure for extracting the EMM file
Extracting the EMM File (on page 60)
Updated LED behavior during download
for three-LED DHCTs
DHCTs with Three LED Indicators (on page
119)
Updated LED behavior during download
for single-LED DHCTs
DHCTs with Single LED Indicators (on
page 122)
Added an appendix that explains how to
set up multiple bootloader carousels (SR
4.3 and later only)
Setting Up Multiple Bootloader Carousels
(on page 133)
Added an appendix that explains how to
set up the HDD test on the DNCS for
DVRs
Adding an HDD Test Server to the BFS (on
page 147)