Optical Networking Glossary

Optical Units Reference

Multipliers, Optical Power, Gain & Loss, Wavelength & Frequency, and Bandwidth & Optical
Modulation Bandwidth
Optical Networks
Optical fibers connecting locations many miles apart, and carrying information in the form of on-off
flashes of laser light
Optical Fiber
Very thin strands of pure silica glass through which laser light travels in an optical network
Optical Modulation
The switching on and off of laser light in order to represent information in an optical network
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Transmitting many different colors (wavelengths) of laser light down the same optical fiber at the
same time, in order to increase the amount of information that can be transferred
Formatting for Transmission
The conversion of data into 1s and 0s, and the different ways in which these signals can be
transmitted through optical fiber
Protocol Basics
Forms of communication among network devices to enable the exchange of information
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and Synchronous Optical NETwork (Sonet)
Physical-layer protocol that frames data for fast and reliable transmission over optical fiber
Internet Protocol (IP)
A network-layer protocol that puts Internet data into packets and helps them to be routed over
interconnected local area networks (LANs)
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)

A protocol for the swift routing of data streams, bringing improved performance and quality-of-service
options to IP traffic
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
A data-link layer protocol allowing integration of voice and data with the ability to provide quality-ofservice guarantees
Ethernet
A data-link layer protocol commonly used to transfer Internet Protocol (IP) packets over cables in
local area networks (LANs)
Digital Wrappers and Forward Error Correction (FEC)
An encapsulation method for traffic of all protocols, allowing an optical network to be protocol
transparent, its functions to be managed in an efficient manner, and its data to be transmitted more
reliably
Laser Basics
Devices giving out intense light at one specific color
Distributed Feedback (DFB) Lasers
Lasers giving out a very sharply defined color of light
Tunable Lasers
Lasers that can be adjusted to emit one of several different wavelengths
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs)
Lasers that emit light from their surface in contrast with regular 'edge emitters'
Optical Amplification
Boosting of an optical signal without any conversion of the light into an electrical signal
Erbium Doped-Fiber Amplifiers (EDFAs)
Optical amplifiers made of short lengths of optical fiber doped with the element 'erbium'. A laser
excites erbium ions in the fiber, which can then give their energy to optical signals passing through

Synchronous Digital Hierarchy

Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
The Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) defines the transmission infrastructure that will be
used in international carrier networks outside North America for the next generation. Over
time it will replace the existing Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) which is currently in
place. Initially, SDH facilities will be used to transport signals from the existing digital
hierarchy operating at rates of approximately 2 Mb/s, 34 Mb/s, and 140 Mb/s.
The SDH is based on a hierarchy of transmission rates. The core rate is the Synchronous
Transport Module Level 1 (STM-1) rate of 155.52 Mb/s. Currently, SDH also defines rates of
STM-4, STM-16, STM-64, and STM-256, which operate at 4, 16, 64, and 256 times the STM1 rate, respectively. Higher rates may be supported in the future. The North American
counterpart of the SDH is called the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). SONET
supports the same family of transmission rates as are defined for SDH. In addition, in order
to accommodate the North American PDH rate of DS-3 (45 Mb/s), SONET also defines a
channel rate of 51.84 Mb/s, which is one-third of the STM-1 rate.
SDH Transmission Functions
Currently, SDH transmission functions are performed by three basic types of transmission
equipment: terminal multiplexes (TMs), add/drop multiplexes (ADMs), and Digital Crossconnect Systems (DCSs). TMs aggregate lower-rate signals and multiplex them to an STM-N
rate for transport to a network service node. Today, TMs would typically operate at the STM1 rate. ADMs are used at intermediate points on a transmission span to drop off subrate
signals for local distribution, as well as to pick up subrate channels which originate at that
local switching office. ADMs are often used on fiber rings for subrate traffic distribution.
Technologically, TMs and ADMs are very similar, with the major difference that the ADM
supports two STM-level interfaces to provide both input and output functions while the TM
supports only a single multiplexed interface. The SDH Digital Cross-connect System is used
to switch/rearrange STM-level signals on an administrative basis.
The STM-1 channel structure has three components: Virtual Container (VC-4), Section
Overhead (SOH), and Path Overhead (POH). The Virtual Container provides the informationcarrying capacity of the facility. The Virtual Container is treated by intermediate SDH
equipment (e.g., an SDH DCS) as a single contiguous channel operating at 150.34 Mb/s.
The SOH is a 5.18 Mb/s channel, which is used by the carrier to manage the SDH facility.
Functions such as framing, error detection, protection switching, timing adjustments, and a
variety of management features are defined for the SOH. The POH is a 576 Kb/s end-to-end
management channel. It is used to pass management and operations information between
the equipment which terminates the SDH span.
The Virtual Container of the STM-1 is flexible in that it can carry multiple subrate signals
from both the North American and international transmission hierarchies. STM-1 is also one
of the rates defined by the International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) for Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN).
Accommodating Existing Digital Hierarchies
The new transmission infrastructure defined by the SDH can only be acceptable if it can also
accommodate the existing digital hierarchies defined throughout the world. To carry the

existing digital signal hierarchy, SDH defines Tributary Unit Groups (TUGs). A TUG is a 6.912
Mb/s time division subchannel of the VC-4. Twenty-one TUGs can be carried in an STM-1.
Mappings are defined from each of the currently supported international and North
American digital transmission rates into the appropriate TUG. For example, for the European
2.048 Mb/s rate, the TU-12 mapping has been defined. A TU-12 carries each of three 2.048
Mb/s signals plus overhead in a 2.304 Mb/s container. In this way an STM-1 is capable of
carrying a total of sixty-three 2.048 Mb/s multiplexed streams. Different TUG types can be
mixed in the same STM-1, but different TUs cannot be mixed in the same TUG.
For signals operating at rates higher than STM-1 (e.g., STM-4), time division multiplexing
(TDM) of the STM-1s is used. Each of the four STM-1s is treated as an independent time
division bandwidth. Each of the channels has its own independent Section Overhead and
Path Overhead. At network cross-connect points the STM-1s may be routed in different
directions in the network.
To create channels with individual payloads greater than 150 Mb/s, SDH introduces the
concept of concatenation. In a concatenated interface, the individual STMs are joined to
form a super-rate channel. For example, four STM-1s can be concatenated to form a single,
contiguous time division channel of 622.06 Mb/s. This concatenated signal is called an STM4c. Intermediate SDH transmission equipment (e.g., a DCS) will treat the STM-4c as a
single channel with one SOH. The end equipment will use a single Path Overhead channel
for end-to-end management of the entire bandwidth.

What is a Network? A network is simply a group of two or more

Personal Computers linked together.

What Types of Networks Exist?

Many types of networks exist, but the most common types of networks
are Local-Area Networks (LANs), and Wide-Area Networks (WANs). In
a LAN, computers are connected together within a "local" area (for
example, an office or home). In a WAN, computers are farther apart and
are connected via telephone/communication lines, radio waves, or other
means of connection.

A network is simply a group of two or more Personal Computers linked

together.

What Types of Networks Exist?

Many types of networks exist, but the most common types of networks
are Local-Area Networks (LANs), and Wide-Area Networks (WANs). In
a LAN, computers are connected together within a "local" area (for
example, an office or home). In a WAN, computers are farther apart and
are connected via telephone/communication lines, radio waves, or other
means of connection.

How are Networks Categorized?

Networks are usually classified using three properties: Topology,
Protocol, and Architecture. Topology specifies the geometric
arrangement of the network.