DSM performance on practical DSL systems based on estimated crosstalk channel information

This paper investigates practical aspects associated to the adoption of dynamic spectrum management (DSM) in existing digital subscriber lines (DSL) access networks. A standard-compliant crosstalk estimation method is utilized in order to retrieve the crosstalk channel information needed by, e.g., a DSM level 2 system. A DSM application framework was developed to help testing DSM in practice and investigate the foreseen gap between the DSM results obtained with simulations and practical achievable data rates. This framework is based on “off-the-shelf” DSL equipments and is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the test procedures via DSL standardized protocols. The work also discusses the discrepancies identified in laboratory experiments, associated to different sources of mismatch between simulations and practice.