This record contains a preprint version of the manuscript “Policy-Driven Access-Edge Enforcement for DOCSIS Upstream in HFC Networks”. Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) access networks based on DOCSIS continue to serve a large broadband footprint, yet upstream service quality under contention is often dominated by latency-under-load and jitter rather than peak throughput. This article presents an intermediate modernization step that treats transport-facing upstream behavior as a software-defined, policy-managed function enforced at the access edge, without changes to the coaxial plant, DOCSIS PHY/MAC, or customer premises equipment. The proposed edge node classifies traffic using operator-controlled DSCP markings and applies per-class actions using VPP dataplane primitives, including deterministic policing and controlled degradation via remark-then-drop. We evaluate two minimal policies: (i) a fixed-rate bulk cap that preserves an interactive protected class under contention, and (ii) a two-rate envelope that demotes excess bulk traffic via DSCP remarking before dropping above an excess threshold. The methodology emphasizes operational verifiability: policy effects are observed through per-class throughput and stability indicators and corroborated using policer statistics and post-policy DSCP accounting. Initial controlled experiments on a two-node bare-metal testbed demonstrate enforceable bulk caps and an observable demotion stage preceding drops, supporting implementation feasibility and measurable policy effects under contention in a constrained validation environment. Related reproducibility artifact: Code Ocean, DOI: 10.24433/CO.0628266.v1.
Ivanets et al. (Fri,) studied this question.