In my opinion. Home networking (including personal clouds) have to change
the brain damaged model of asymmetric tail technologies. Giving back the
original peer-to-peer nature of networking the asymmetricity of the access
technologies will not be tolerable in such a level (1:10) we have today.
Maybe 1:2 should be more acceptable.
I think a more fundamental question is why in 2011 we're stuck with
statically
shaped asymmetric up and down. You can pretty dynamically shape *within* a
given
direction to do just about anything you want to the traffic, but I don't know
of
last mile access technologies that do that *across* the up and downstream. If
it
were more like ethernet that doesn't have those artificial distinctions, this
conversation would be moot.
I recall the reason that DOCSIS is asymmetric is had a lot to do with how
they
carved out spectrum of the analog channels -- and relegating upstream to
slots
that weren't very good for those analog channels. That's been about 15 years
ago though and in the mean time the internet has sort of become important.
With dsl technologies like vdsl (flexible) or adsl (fixed 1/8 or 1/24) the
total bandwidth (up+down) is not linear.
example:
adsl: 1mbit up, 24mbit down - total 25mbit
can not be used with 12.5mbit up/down.
at the co the noise is very high, as there are many lines in a bundle and
the dslams "cry" with high signal levels into the lines.
Also the crosstalk is high.
downstream:
co-side: dslams send signal with high level + high level noise.
cpe-side: signal arrives damped, noise arrives damped -> signal to
noise (snr) is acceptable.
high bandwiths can be achieved.
upstream:
cpe-side: cpe send signal with high level, low level noise
co-side: high level noise produce crosstalk to damped signal
that arrives from cpe -> signal to noise (snr) is low
only low bandwiths can be achieved.
so dsl technologies, that use old, unshielded cables operate now at the
maximum what the cable can do (up to 30MHz with vdsl2).
Higher speeds can only be achieved with better cables; like fiber or coax.
coax technologies use in oposite to dsl technologies no point to point
links but bus technology to connect several customers to one head-end.
asymmetric bandwith -> more clients per head-end.
high-speed symmetric services can only be offered with new network types
like fiber.
Kind regards,
Ingo Flaschberger