Km

GAS AUTHORITY OF INDIA LIMITED (GAIL)

2015

STUDY OF TELECOM AND SCADA

SYSTEM USED IN PIPELINE
INDUSTRY

PRACHI SAXENA
1208231123
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY (B.TECH)
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION
MORADABAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MORADABAD
244001

A
PROJECT REPORT
ON

STUDY OF TELECOM AND SCADA SYSTEM

USED IN PIPELINE INDUSTRY
GAS AUTHORITY OF INDIA LIMITED (GAIL)
B-35 AND 36 SECTOR-1,NOIDA(UTTAR PRADESH)-201301
(01.06.2015 01.07.2015)

Through :

Submitted By:

Mr. P.K Dey

Prachi Saxena

Chief Manager (Training)

1208231123

Moradabad Institute of Technology, Moradabad

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the Training entitled Study of Telecom and SCADA Systems used
in Pipeline Industry submitted by me in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics &Communication Engineering. This
training is the bonafide work carried out by me under the guidance of Mr. P.K Dey ( Chief
Manager ), GAILDepartment.

Prachi Saxena

PROJECT REPORT APPROVAL SHEET

It is to certify that the project entitled Study of Telecom and SCADA System in
Pipeline Industry was completed by Ms. Prachi Saxena under my guidance during the
period w.e.f. 1st Jun,2015 to 1st July 2015. The same is hereby approved.

Signature:
________________
Mr. P.K Dey
Chief Manager (Training)
GAIL(INDIA) Limited
B-35 & 36, Sector-1, NOIDA 201301

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my gratitude to my honourable guides Mr. P.K Dey for his sincere and
prompt guidance.
He stood by me all along the way to make my training a working reality. He provided me
with additional insight and ideas with painstaking attention to details. His components and
criticism have been invaluable. I thank him for his considerate response to my queries and
help to make my training a success.
Special thanks to Mr. S.K Agrawal DGM (GAILTEL), GAIL-NOIDA, Mr. V.K.
Nagar Dy. Manager (Training), GAIL Training Institute NOIDA and all the GAIL
employees who were a part of my Training.
I would like to express my thanks to my father Mr. Naresh Chandra Saxena with whos
support and encouragement I could successfully finish my project. A huge thanks to my
mother Mrs. Shashi Bala Saxena for bearing me during training. Last but not the least I
would like to thanks my friends and all well-wishers who encouraged me in those low
moments and keep me going for achieving my ultimate goal.

Prachi Saxena

PREFACE
With the ongoing revolution in Electronics and Communications where innovations are
taking place at the blink of eye, it is possible to keep pace with the emerging trends.
Excellence is the attitude that the whole human race is born with. It is the environment that
makes sure that whether the result of this attitude is visible or otherwise. A well planned,
properly and evaluated industrial training helps a lot in culminating a professional attitude.
It provides a linkage between a student and industry to develop an awareness of industrial
approach to problem solving based on the broad understanding of process and mode of
operation of organization.
During this period, a student gets the real experience of working in a real environment.
Most of the theoretical knowledge that has been gained during the course of their studies is
put to test here. Apart from this the student gets an opportunity to learn the latest
technology, which immensely helps in them in building their career.
We had the opportunity to have a real experience on many ventures which increased our
sphere of knowledge to a great extent. We got a chance to learn many new technologies
and also interfaced too many instruments. And all this credit goes to the organization
GAIL (INDIA) Limited.

CONTENTS
Serial

Title

Page

Number

Number

1.

Abstract and Description

10

2.

GAIL Profile

11

3.

GAILTEL Profile and GAILTEL Network

19

4.

OPTICAL FIBERS

23

5.

6.

7.

Overview

Applications

Principle of operation

Practical issues

PLESIOCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY (PDH)

Overview

Multiplexing

Limitations of PDH

SYNCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY (SDH)

Overview

SDH multiplexing levels

SDH Network Elements

SDH Network Configurations

The SDH Frame

SDH Overhead

Virtual Containers and Virtual Container Examples

Bandwidth Efficiency

WAVELENGTH-DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (WDM)

Overview

WDM systems

DWDM systems

Wavelength-converting transponders

Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer

38

41

50

(ROADM)

Optical cross connects (OXCs)

6

8.

9.

10.

Enhanced WDM

Transceivers versus transponders

NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NMS)

Overview

Technologies

SCADA

59

61

Overview

Common system components

Systems concepts

SCADA architectures

Security issues

SCADA In the workplace

CONCLUSION

74

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Title

Number

Page
Number

Fig..1

GAILTEL Network in INDIA

22

Fig..2

Propagation of light through a multi-mode optical fiber.

29

Fig.3

Structure of a typical single-mode fiber.

30

Fig.4

Optical fiber types

30

Fig.5

Light attenuation by ZBLAN & silica fibers

31

Fig.6

Specular reflection

32

Fig.7

Diffuse reflection

32

Fig.8

An optical fiber cable

34

Fig.9

ST connectors on multi-mode fiber

34

Fig.10

SDH multiplexing levels

41

Fig.11

Elements that make up an SDH network.

42

Fig.12

Point to Point SDH network.

43

Fig.13

Point to Multi-Point SDH network.

43

Fig.14

Meshed Network Architecture

43

Fig.15

Ring Architecture

43

Fig.16

SDH Frame Structure

44

Fig.17

STM-1 Frame Structure

44

Fig.18

SDH Overhead

45

Fig.19

Structure of the Overhead Bytes

45

Fig.20

Path Overhead

46

Fig.21

Virtual Containers

46

Fig.22

Multiplexing Structure

47

Fig.23

Fitting of VC-4 into STM-1 Frame

48

Fig.24

3x VC-3s fit into the STM-1 Frame

48

Fig.25

Starting of VC-3 in STM-1 Frame

48

Fig.26

Lower Order V-C in STM-1 Frame

48

Fig.27

Bandwidth Efficiency

49

Fig.28

WDM operating principle

50

Fig.29

Nortel's WDM System

50

Fig.30

SCADA's schematic overview

63
8

Fig.31

Typical basic SCADA animations

64

ABSTRACT AND DISCRIPTION

Abstract
Study of various Telecommunication Systems used in pipeline industry aims to provide a
thorough knowledge of the latest commun ication systems( example : Fibcom equipment,
Nortel equipment e.t.c ) which are employed by the company for forming networks (
example: The SCADA Network ) for long distance communication by the
company.Communication forms the backbone of a pipeline industry.
Project Title
The title of the project is STUDY OF TELECOM AND SCADA SYSTEMS USED IN
PIPELINE INDUSTRY .
Project Description
The main idea of the project is to understand the latest technology for communication
which is being used by the pipeline industry where communication forms the backbone of
the company.
It includes :

Overview of OPl Fiber Communication

The Study of PDH.

The Study of SDH.

DWDM Systems.

Network Management System(NMS).

Interfacing of Fibcom, Nortal Equipments.

SCADA System.

Live Problem Diagonosis.

10

GAIL PROFILE
GAIL (India) established on 16th August, 1984 was erstwhile known as Gas Authority of
India Limited. It was incorporated with an objective to create gas sector infrastructure for
sustained development of the natural gas sector in the country. It is India's flagship natural
gas company integrating all aspects of the natural gas value chain including
exploration and production, processing, transmission, distribution and marketing and
related services.
The 2800km HaziraVijaipurJagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline became operational in
1991. During 199193, three LPG plants were constructed and some regional pipelines
were acquired, enabling GAIL to begin its regional gas distribution in various parts of
India. The company began its city gas distribution in Delhi in 1997 by setting up nine
CNG stations, catering to the city's vast public transport fleet. In 1999, GAIL set up
northern India's only petrochemical plant at Pata.
GAIL became the first Infrastructure Provider Category II Licensee and signed the
country's first Service Level Agreement for leasing bandwidth in the DelhiVijaipur sector
in 2001, through its telecom business GAILTEL. In 2001, GAIL commissioned world's
longest and India's first cross country LPG Transmission Pipeline from Jamnagar to Loni.
The company today has reached new milestones with its strategic diversification into
petrochemicals, telecom and liquid hydrocarbons, besides gas infrastructure. It has also
extended its presence in power, liquefied natural gas regasification, city gas distribution
and exploration and production through equity and joint ventures participations.
Incorporating the newfound energy into its corporate identity, Gas Authority of India was
renamed GAIL (India) Limited on November 22, 2002 .
GAIL is also expanding its business to become a player in the international market. Today
it is a partner in the Dawoo-OVL led consortium in two offshore block in Myanmar which
has made a gas discovery. In a rapidly changing scenario, company is spearheading the
move to a new era of clean fuel industrialisation, creating a quadrilateral of green energy
corridors that connect major consumption centres in India with major gas fields, LNG
terminals and other cross border gas sourcing points.

11

GAIL (India) Limited has shown organic growth in gas transmission through the years by
building large network of trunk pipelines covering length of around 10,700 kilometres
(6,600 mi). Leveraging on the core competencies, GAIL played a key role as gas market
developer in India for decades catering to major industrial sectors like power, fertilizers,
and city gas distribution. GAIL transmits more than 160 mmscmd of gas through its
dedicated pipelines and have more than 70% market share in both gas transmission and
marketing.
Since 1984, GAIL has made significant contributions to the nations economy by
supplying natural gas across country through its pipeline network for

Generation of over 87,000 MW of power.

Production of over 145 million tons of Urea.

Production of LPG for over 7 crore households in the country.

Over 5.75 lacs vehicles in the country today running on CNG supplied by GAIL and over
7 lacs households on Piped Natural Gas(PNG) in the country.

Production of Petrochemicals of around 400,000 MTs ,used in plastic industries.

Infrastructure
GAIL owns the country's largest pipeline network, the cross-country 2300 km HaziraVijaipur-Jagdishpur pipeline with a capacity to handle 33.4 MMSCMD gas. The Company
supplies gas to power plants for generation of over 4,000 MW of power to fertilizer plants
for production of 10 million tonnes of urea and to several other industries. The regional
pipelines are in Mumbai, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry,
Assam, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
The Company has established six Gas Processing (LPG) Plants, four along the HVJ
pipeline two at Vijaipur, MP, one at Vaghodia, Gujarat and Auraiya, UP and one each in
Lakwa, Assam and Usar, Maharashtra. These plants have the capacity to produce nearly 1
million tpa of LPG. GAIL has also set up several compressor stations for boosting the gas
pressure to desired levels for its customers and internal users.
GAIL also possesses a vast telecommunication network that contributes significantly to
the high level of system reliability of operations, on-line real time communication and
monitoring higher productivity. GAIL became the first Infrastructure Provider Category II

12

Licensee and signed the country's first Service Level Agreement for leasing bandwidth in
the Delhi-Vijaipur sector in 2001, through its telecom business GAILTEL.GAIL Project
offices have been set up where its plants, complexes, etc. are located. In 2001, GAIL
commissioned world's longest and India's first Cross Country LPG Transmission Pipeline
from Jamnagar to Loni.
Businesses and Operations
Natural Gas GAIL has been the undisputed leader in the marketing, transmission and
distribution of Natural Gas in India. As India's leading Natural Gas Major, it has been
instrumental in the development of the Natural Gas market in the country. GAIL sells
around 51% (excluding internal usage) of Natural Gas sold in the country. Of this, 37% is
to the power sector and 26% to the fertiliser sector. GAIL is supplying around 60
MMSCMD of Natural Gas from domestic sources to customers across India. GAIL has
adopted a Gas Management System to handle multiple sources of supply and delivery of
gas in a co-mingled form and provide a seamless interface between shippers, customers,
transporters and suppliers.
LNG GAIL play a major role in sourcing of LNG and creation of the pipeline
infrastructure to form an efficient national grid that will ensure connectivity to all demand
centres. To achieve these objectives, GAIL is actively pursuing LNG sourcing from major
LNG producers/sellers all across the globe. GAIL has promoted Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL),
along with oil majors Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation
(IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) for the import of LNG into
India. GAIL has so far imported 5 spot cargoes in the first half of 2011. In addition, GAIL
has imported 1 LNG cargo from the international market through PLL.
LPG and other liquid hydrocarbons GAIL is marketing Gas Processing Unit's (GPU's).
It produces million tonnes of LPG. Its 1,922 km LPG transmission pipeline connects the
western, northern, and southern part of India and has capacity to transport 3.8 million
metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of LPG. It also produces propane, pentane and
naphtha and by-products of polymer plant namely MFO, propylene & hydrogenated C4
mix. GAIL has seven LPG Plants, two at Vijaipur and one at Vaghodia, and one each in
Lakwa (Assam), Auraiya (UP), Gandhar (Gujarat) and Usar (Maharashtra), producing
over 1 million TPA LPG and other liquid hydrocarbons. LPG is sold in bulk to LPG
retailing companies such IOCL, BPCL, HPCL and other liquid hydrocarbon products are
13

sold to industries.It has 1,900 km LPG pipeline network 1,300 km of which connects the
western and northern parts of India and 600 km of networks is in the southern part of the
country connecting Eastern Coast. LPG transmission through pipelines was 3337 TMT in
the year 201011.GAIL has a share of about 10% of the Indian LPG market in LPG
production and 7% in LPG sales.
Petrochemicals GAIL diversified from gas marketing and transmission into polymer
business by setting up North India's first gas based Petrochemicals complex. GAIL
commissioned the plant successfully in year 1999. GAIL Pata plant has a design capacity
to produce 100 TPA of ethylene (Expandable to 5 TPA). Downstream units include HDPE
production unit of 1-TPA capacity and an LLDPE/HDPE swing plant of 16-TPA capacity.
This complex recovers ethane-propane (C2/C3) from natural gas from Vijaipur through
the HVJ pipeline for producing polymers. GAIL has set up a joint venture, Brahmaputra
Cracker and Polymer Limited BCPL, to construct a Greenfield petrochemical plant in
Assam, has equity stake in OPAL petrochemical plant led by ONGC, 17% equity stake in
ONGC Petro-additions Limited (OPaL).In a successful span of about a decades of
establishing and marketing its grades under the brand names G-Lex & G-Lene, GAIL has
alongside augmented its name plate capacity of HDPE & LLDPE to 410,000 MTPA by
adding another dedicated HDPE downstream polymerisation unit of 100,000 MTPA.
Further, GAIL is working on augmentation of the installed capacity further by putting up
new plants of HDPE/LLDPE by 500 KTA at Pata, which is targeted to be operational by
FY 201314.
Power It has a joint venture with Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation -- Gujarat State
Energy Generation -- where it has an installed capacity of 156 MW. GAIL also has a joint
venture with NTPC, Indian Financial Institutions (IFIs) and MSEB Holding Company
Limited. Ratnagiri Gas And Power Pvt. Ltd. (RGPPL). The promoters have
incorporated and registered the company as a private limited company on 8 July 2005. The
authorised share capital of the company is 20 billion and the shareholdings of GAIL,
NTPC and IFI's are 28 1/3% each and MSEB 15%. The project is located at Ratnagiri
district of Maharashtra state about 340 km south of Mumbai. The project has power
generation capacity of 2150 MW along with an integrated 5 MMTPA LNG terminal.
Primary fuel for the power plant is natural gas.which has power generation capacity of
2150 MW.

14

GAILTEL GAILTEL, the Telecom & Telemetry services arm of GAIL (India) Limited,
is providing communication services for its business critical pipeline Supervisory Control
and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for automation of
organisation-wide business processes/functions and inter/intra office communications
apart from commercially leasing telecom services to telecom operators across India since
2001. It has optic fibre network extending over 13,000 km across 200 cities. It leases
SCADA, ERP and ISP services to telecom operators including Hutch, Tata
Communications, Airtel, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices,
among others.
Exploration and Production GAIL is participating in 31 exploration blocks, in Basins
such as Mahanadi, Mumbai, Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Tripura Fold Belt, Gujarat Kutch,
Krishna Godavari, Cauvery and Cauvery Palar. In these blocks it has partnered with
companies like ONGC, OIL, GSPC, Hardy Exploration & Production, Petrogas, JOGPL,
Eni and Daewoo, OVL, IOC, Korea Gas Corporation, Hallworthy, BPCL, HPCL and
Silverwave as Operators. Out of these 31 E&P blocks, 2 blocks are overseas.
GAIL is an active member of multi-organisation team (MOT) set-up up for assessment of
shale gas potential in Indian basins. The other representative in MOT are from DGH
(Directorate General of Hydrocarbons), ONGC and Oil India Limited (OIL). GAIL is also
a member of National Gas Hydrate Programme being coordinated by DGH and is actively
involved in activities related to Gas Hydrate exploration.
Alliances GAIL has formed Subsidiaries and joint venture companies for city gas
distribution and petrochemicals. GAIL is one of the pioneers to introduce City Gas
Projects in India for gas supplies to households, commercial users and for the transport
sector by forming subsidiaries/ joint venture companies.
Subsidiaries

GAIL Gas Limited

Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL)

GAIL Global (Singapore) Pte Limited

Joint ventures

Aavantika Gas Limited (AGL)

Bhagyanagar Gas Limited (BGL)

15

Central U.P. Gas Limited (CUGL)

Green Gas Limited (GGL)

Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL)

Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL)

Maharashtra Natural Gas Limited (MNGL)

ONGC Petro-additions Limited (OPaL)

Petronet LNG Limited (PLL)

Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt. Ltd. (RGPPL)

Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited (TNGCL)

GAIL China Gas Global Energy Holdings Limited

Milestones

It won Oil Industry Safety Award, 2007-08 from Oil Industry Safety Directorate.

It received National Award for Excellence in Cost Management from The Institute of Cost
and Works Accounts of India (ICWAI).

Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award as the best performer among the Large Scale
Manufacturing Industry.

GAIL gets SCOPE Meritorious Award for Corporate Governance for the year 200708 in
year 2009.

GAIL (India) was conferred a Certificate of Recognition for Excellence in Corporate

Governance in the 10th ICSI National Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance
2010 as one of the Top Companies adopting Excellent Practices in Corporate Governance.

In GAIL ranked no.1 company among gas utilities in Asia in the Platts Global Ranking.

In 2011

GAIL (India) Limited was conferred the 'Managing India Award' for the

'Outstanding PSU of the Year' by All India Management Association. GAIL is the first
PSU to be conferred this award.

In 2012

GAIL (India) was conferred 'MOU EXCELLENCE AWARD' by the

Department Of Public Enterprises in the petroleum sector and it has been ranked Worlds
No. 1 in Downstream Operations in Platts Global Energy Awards.\

16

GAIL's Business Portfolio includes:

7,847 km of natural gas high pressure trunk pipeline with a capacity to carry 148
MMSCMD of natural gas across the country.

7 LPG gas processing units to produce 1.2 MMTPA of LPG and other liquid
hydrocarbons.

North India's only gas based integrated petrochemical complex at Pata with a capacity of
producing 4,10,000 TPA of ploymers.

1,922 km of LPG transmission pipeline network with a capacity to transport 3.8 MMTPA
of LPG.

27 oil and gas exploration blocks and 3 coal bed methane blocks.

13,000 km of OFC network offering highly dependable bandwith for telecom service
providers.

Joint venture companies in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow, Bhopal,
Agartala and Pune, for supplying Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to households and commercial
users, and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the transport sector.

Participating stake in the Dahej LNG Terminal and the upcoming Kochi LNG Terminal in
Kerala.

GAIL has been entrusted with the responsibility of reviving the LNG terminal at Dabhol
as well as sourcing LNG.

The company has established presence in the CNG and City Gas sectors in Egypt through
equity participation in three Egyptian companies namely Fayum Gas Company SAE, Shell
CNG SAE and National Gas Company SAE.

It has a stake in China Gas Holding in order to explore opportunities in the CNG sector in
mainland China.

A whollyowned subsidiary company GAIL Global (Singapore) Pte in Singapore.

17

Type

State-owned enterprise public company

Traded as

BSE: 532155, NSE: GAIL, LSE: GAID, BSE SENSEX

Constituent

Industry

Energy, Petrochemicals

Founded

1984

Headquarter

16, Bhikaji Cama Place,R K Puram, New Delhi-110066,

India

Key people

Shri B. C. Tripathi (Chairman & MD)

Products

Natural Gas, Petrochemical, Liquid Hydrocarbons,

Liquefied Petroleum Gas Transmission, City Gas
Distribution, E&P, Telecommunication, Electricity
Generation.

Financials

Revenue

619 billion (US$9.8 billion) (FY201314)

Net income 47 billion (US$750 million) (FY201314)

Number of employees

3,994 (2013)

Parent

MoP&NG

Website

www.gailonline.com

Turnover

Rs. 56,569 crore

Market Shares

78% in natural gas transmission.

70% in natural gas marketing.

Outlook

GAIL has signed a co-operation agreement with the government of Himachal Pradesh for
extension of the proposed Dadri-Bawana-Bangal natural gas pipeline up to Himachal
Pradesh.

GAIL (India) and Indian Oil Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
in area of petrochemicals for setting up of cracker complex.

The state-owned gas major has a market share of 78% in natural gas transmission and 70%
in marketing.It has 27 oil and gas exploration blocks and 3 coal bed methane blocks.

18

GAILTEL
Overview
GAILTEL, the Telecom & Telemetry services arm of GAIL (India) Limited, is providing
communication services for its business critical pipeline Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for automation of
organization-wide business processes/functions and inter/intra office communications
apart from commercially leasing telecom services to telecom operators across India since
2001.
GAILTEL has a reach of around 13000 Km of OFC network along GAILs reliable cross
country pipelines (5681 Km) and state/national highway routes (7346 Km), connecting
150 towns/cities spanning across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and NCR.
GAILTEL services include long term lease of Dark Fibre and Duct under IRU, Tower
space & collocation facilities and point-to-point leased line Bandwidth services. With
SDH & DWDM as the core layer, GAILTEL network is built largely along the highly
secured GAILs cross country pipeline corridor and ensure highly reliable and error free
service to its internal & external customers. The network is managed centrally on 24X7
basis from a state-of-art Network Management Centre at Noida.
GAILTEL, today serves most of the Telecom operators of the country, which include
Vodafone, TCL(VSNL), Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Tulip Telecom, Tata Tele services,
PGCIL, DEN Network to name a few.
Service Profile

Low bandwidth leasing services E1,E3,DS-3 and STM-1.

High bandwidth leasing services STM-4.

Lambda Leasing STM-16 and STM-64.

Managed bandwidth n 64 k to n e1.

Discounts offered on TRAI rates for highly competitive tariffs.

Ethernet based services Virtual LAN, Transparent LAN, Corporate Ethernet, Broadband
Internet Access, VPN.
19

Service Features

End - to-End bandwidth through Service Level Agreement (USA).

High availability levels through redundant network.

Stringent rebate structureon non availability of the service.

247 NOCC and Customer Service Centre.

Product Ranges

Bandwidth Leasing

n E-1

E3/DS-3

STM-1

STM-4

STM-16

Infrastructure Leasing

Dark Fibre

Tower

Co-location facilities: Space and Power

NLD service-LOI Received

Enterprise

Internet Bandwidth

Leased Line (Future)

IP-VPN (Future)

We are committed to maintain highest industry standards of services to the complete

satisfaction of customers through observance of quality management systems based on
continual improvement.

20

GAILTEL Customer Base

Applications

Cellular/Fixed

National Long Distance

International Long Distance

Call Centre Operators

Pipeline Operating Companies

Media

Cable TV Operators

21

Fig.1 GAILTEL Network in INDIA

22

OPTICAL FIBERS
Overview
An Optical Fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic
to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. They are used as a means to
transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic
communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at higher
bandwidths (data rates) than wire cables. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because
signals travel along them with lesser amounts of loss; in addition, fibers are also immune
to electromagnetic interference, a problem which metal wires suffer from excessively.
Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so that they may be used
to carry images, thus allowing viewing in confined spaces, as in the case of a fiberscope.
Specially designed fibers are also used for a variety of other applications, some of them
being fiber optic sensors and fiber lasers.
Optical fibers typically include a transparent core surrounded by a transparent cladding
material with a lower index of refraction which further surrounded by buffer coating.
Together, all of this creates a fibre optic which can carry upto 10 million messages at any
time using light pulses.
Light is kept in the core by the phenomenon of total internal reflection which causes the
fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers that support many propagation paths or transverse
modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those that support a single mode are
called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers have a wider core diameter and are
used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must
be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than
1,000 meters.
An important aspect of a fiber optic communication is that of extension of the fiber optic
cables such that the losses brought about by joining two different cables is kept to a
minimum. Joining lengths of optical fiber often proves to be more complex than joining
electrical wire or cable and involves the carefully cleaving of the fibers, perfect alignment
of the fiber cores and the splicing of these aligned fiber cores. For applications that
demand a permanent connection a mechanical splice (holds mechanically the ends of the
23

fibers) or a fusion splice (fuse the ends of the fibers) could be used. Temporary or semipermanent connections are made by means of specialized optical fiber connectors.
The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of
optical fibers is known as fiber optics.
Applications
Communication
Optical fiber can be used as a medium for telecommunication and computer networking
because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. It is especially advantageous for longdistance communications, because light propagates through the fiber with little attenuation
compared to electrical cables. This allows long distances to be spanned with few repeaters.
The per-channel light signals propagating in the fiber have been modulated at rates as high
as 111 gigabits per second (Gbit/s) by NTT, although 10 or 40 Gbit/s is typical in
deployed systems. In June 2013, researchers demonstrated transmission of 400 Gbit/s over
a single channel using 4-mode orbital angular momentum multiplexing.
Each fiber can carry many independent channels, each using a different wavelength of
light (wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM)). The net data rate (data rate without
overhead bytes) per fiber is the per-channel data rate reduced by the FEC overhead,
multiplied by the number of channels (usually up to eighty in commercial dense WDM
systems as of 2008). As of 2011 the record for bandwidth on a single core was 101 Tbit/s
(370 channels at 273 Gbit/s each). The record for a multi-core fiber as of January 2013
was 1.05 petabits per second. In 2009, Bell Labs broke the 100 (petabit per second)
kilometre barrier (15.5 Tbit/s over a single 7,000 km fiber).
For short distance application, such as a network in an office building, fiber-optic cabling
can save space in cable ducts. This is because a single fiber can carry much more data than
electrical cables such as standard category 5 Ethernet cabling, which typically runs at 100
Mbit/s or 1 Gbit/s speeds. Fiber is also immune to electrical interference; there is no crosstalk between signals in different cables, and no pickup of environmental noise. Nonarmored fiber cables do not conduct electricity, which makes fiber a good solution for
protecting communications equipment in high voltage environments, such as power

24

generation facilities, or metal communication structures prone to lightning strikes. They

can also be used in environments where explosive fumes are present, without danger of
ignition. Wiretapping (in this case, fiber tapping) is more difficult compared to electrical
connections, and there are concentric dual-core fibers that are said to be tap-proof.
Fibers are often also used for short-distance connections between devices. For example,
most high-definition televisions offer a digital audio optical connection. This allows the
streaming of audio over light, using the TOSLINK protocol.
Advantages over copper wiring
The advantages of optical fiber communication with respect to copper wire systems are:

Broad bandwidth

Immunity to electromagnetic interference

Low attenuation loss over long distances

Electrical insulator

Material cost and theft prevention

Sensors
Fibers have many uses in remote sensing. In some applications, the sensor is itself an
optical fiber. In other cases, fiber is used to connect a non-fiberoptic sensor to a
measurement system. Depending on the application, fiber may be used because of its small
size, or the fact that no electrical power is needed at the remote location, or because many
sensors can be multiplexed along the length of a fiber by using different wavelengths of
light for each sensor, or by sensing the time delay as light passes along the fiber through
each sensor. Time delay can be determined using a device such as an optical time-domain
reflectometer.
Optical fibers can be used as sensors to measure strain, temperature, pressure and other
quantities by modifying a fiber so that the property to measure modulates the intensity,
phase, polarization, wavelength, or transit time of light in the fiber. Sensors that vary the
intensity of light are the simplest, since only a simple source and detector are required. A
particularly useful feature of such fiber optic sensors is that they can, if required, provide
distributed sensing over distances of up to one meter. In contrast, highly localized
25

measurements can be provided by integrating miniaturized sensing elements with the tip
of the fiber. These can be implemented by various micro- and nanofabrication
technologies, such that they do not exceed the microscopic boundary of the fiber tip.
Extrinsic fiber optic sensors use an optical fiber cable, normally a multi-mode one, to
transmit modulated light from either a non-fiber optical sensoror an electronic sensor
connected to an optical transmitter. A major benefit of extrinsic sensors is their ability to
reach otherwise inaccessible places. An example is the measurement of temperature inside
aircraft jet engines by using a fiber to transmit radiation into a radiation pyrometer outside
the engine. Extrinsic sensors can be used in the same way to measure the internal
temperature of electrical transformers, where the extreme electromagnetic fields present
make other measurement techniques impossible. Extrinsic sensors measure vibration,
rotation, displacement, velocity, acceleration, torque, and twisting. A solid state version of
the gyroscope, using the interference of light, has been developed. The fiber optic
gyroscope (FOG) has no moving parts, and exploits the Sagnac effect to detect mechanical
rotation.
Common uses for fiber optic sensors includes advanced intrusion detection security
systems. The light is transmitted along a fiber optic sensor cable placed on a fence,
pipeline, or communication cabling, and the returned signal is monitored and analysed for
disturbances. This return signal is digitally processed to detect disturbances and trip an
alarm if an intrusion has occurred.
Power transmission
Optical fiber can be used to transmit power using a photovoltaic cell to convert the light
into electricity.[35] While this method of power transmission is not as efficient as
conventional ones, it is especially useful in situations where it is desirable not to have a
metallic conductor as in the case of use near MRI machines, which produce strong
magnetic fields.[36] Other examples are for powering electronics in high-powered antenna
elements and measurement devices used in high-voltage transmission equipment.
Other uses
Optical fibers have a wide number of applications.

26

They are used as light guides in medical and other applications.

Optical fiber is also used in imaging optics.

In spectroscopy.

An optical fiber doped with certain rare earth elements such as erbium can be used as the
gain medium of a laser or optical amplifier. The process that causes the amplification is
stimulated emission.

Optical fiber nonlinearity can have deleterious effects on optical signals, and measures are
often required to minimize such unwanted effects.

Optical fibers doped with a wavelength shifter collect scintillation light in physics
experiments.

Fiber optic sights for handguns, rifles, and shotguns use pieces of optical fiber to improve
visibility of markings on the sight.
Principle of operation
An overview of the operating principles of the optical fiber
An optical fiber is a cylindrical dielectric waveguide (nonconducting waveguide) that
transmits light along its axis, by the process of total internal reflection. The fiber consists
of a core surrounded by a cladding layer, both of which are made of dielectric materials.
To confine the optical signal in the core, the refractive index of the core must be greater
than that of the cladding. The boundary between the core and cladding may either be
abrupt, in step-index fiber, or gradual, in graded-index fiber.
Index of refraction
The index of refraction (or refractive index) is a way of measuring the speed of light in a
material. Light travels fastest in a vacuum, such as in outer space. The speed of light in a
vacuum is about 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per second. The refractive index of a
medium is calculated by dividing the speed of light in a vacuum by the speed of light in
that medium. The refractive index of a vacuum is therefore 1, by definition. A typical
single mode fiber used for telecommunications has a cladding made of pure silica, with an
index of 1.444 at 1,500 nm, and a core of doped silica with an index around 1.4475. The
larger the index of refraction, the slower light travels in that medium. From this
information, a simple rule of thumb is that a signal using optical fiber for communication
27

will travel at around 200,000 kilometers per second. To put it another way, the signal will
take 5 milliseconds to travel 1,000 kilometers in fiber. Thus a phone call carried by fiber
between Sydney and New York, a 16,000-kilometer distance, means that there is a
minimum delay of 80 milliseconds (about 1/12 of a second) between when one caller
speaks and the other hears. (The fiber in this case will probably travel a longer route, and
there will be additional delays due to communication equipment switching and the process
of encoding and decoding the voice onto the fiber).
Total internal reflection
When light traveling in an optically dense medium hits a boundary at a steep angle (larger
than the critical angle for the boundary), the light is completely reflected. This is called
total internal reflection. This effect is used in optical fibers to confine light in the core.
Light travels through the fiber core, bouncing back and forth off the boundary between the
core and cladding. Because the light must strike the boundary with an angle greater than
the critical angle, only light that enters the fiber within a certain range of angles can travel
down the fiber without leaking out. This range of angles is called the acceptance cone of
the fiber. The size of this acceptance cone is a function of the refractive index difference
between the fiber's core and cladding.
In simpler terms, there is a maximum angle from the fiber axis at which light may enter
the fiber so that it will propagate, or travel, in the core of the fiber. The sine of this
maximum angle is the numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber. Fiber with a larger NA
requires less precision to splice and work with than fiber with a smaller NA. Single-mode
fiber has a small NA.
Multi-mode fiber
Fiber with large core diameter (greater than 10 micrometers) may be analyzed by
geometrical optics. Such fiber is called multi-mode fiber. In a step-index multi-mode fiber,
rays of light are guided along the fiber core by total internal reflection. Rays that meet the
core-cladding boundary at a high angle (measured relative to a line normal to the
boundary), greater than the critical angle for this boundary, are completely reflected while
rays forming a low angle are refracted from the core into the cladding, and do not convey
light and hence information along the fiber. The critical angle (minimum angle for total
28

internal reflection) is determined by the difference in index of refraction between the core
and cladding materials and determines the acceptance angle of the fiber, often reported as
a numerical aperture. A high numerical aperture allows light to propagate down the fiber
in rays both close to the axis and at various angles, allowing efficient coupling of light into
the fiber. However, this high numerical aperture increases the amount of dispersion as rays
at different angles have different path lengths and hence take different times to traverse the
fiber.

Fig.2 Propagation of light through a multi-mode optical fiber.

In graded-index fiber, the index of refraction in the core decreases continuously between
the axis and the cladding. This causes light rays to bend smoothly as they approach the
cladding, rather than reflecting abruptly from the core-cladding boundary. The resulting
curved paths reduce multi-path dispersion because high angle rays pass more through the
lower-index periphery of the core, rather than the high-index center. The index profile is
chosen to minimize the difference in axial propagation speeds of the various rays in the
fiber. This ideal index profile is very close to a parabolic relationship between the index
and the distance from the axis.
Single-mode fiber
Fiber with a core diameter less than about ten times the wavelength of the propagating
light cannot be modeled using geometric optics. Instead, it must be analyzed as an
electromagnetic structure, by solution of Maxwell's equations as reduced to the
electromagnetic wave equation to understand behaviors such as speckle that occur when
coherent light propagates in multi-mode fiber. As an optical waveguide, the fiber supports
one or more confined transverse modes by which light can propagate along the fiber. Fiber
supporting only one mode is called single-mode or mono-mode fiber. The behavior of
29

larger-core multi-mode fiber can also be modeled using the wave equation, which shows
that such fiber supports more than one mode of propagation. The results of such modeling
of multi-mode fiber approximately agree with the predictions of geometric optics, if the
fiber core is large enough to support more than a few modes.
1. Core: 8 m diameter.
2. Cladding: 125 m dia.
3. Buffer: 250 m dia.
4. Jacket: 400 m dia.
Fig.3 Structure of a typical single-mode fiber

Fig.4 Optical fiber types

The waveguide analysis shows that the light energy in the fiber is not completely confined
in the core. Instead, especially in single-mode fibers, a significant fraction of the energy in
the bound mode travels in the cladding as an evanescent wave.
The most common type of single-mode fiber has a core diameter of 810 micrometers and
is designed for use in the near infrared. The mode structure depends on the wavelength of
the light used, so that this fiber actually supports a small number of additional modes at
visible wavelengths. Multi-mode fiber, by comparison, is manufactured with core
diameters as small as 50 micrometers and as large as hundreds of micrometers. The
normalized frequency V for this fiber should be less than the first zero of the Bessel
function J0 (approximately 2.405).
Special-purpose fiber
Some special-purpose optical fiber is constructed with a non-cylindrical core and/or
cladding layer, usually with an elliptical or rectangular cross-section. These include
30

polarization-maintaining fiber and fiber designed to suppress whispering gallery mode

propagation. Polarization-maintaining fiber is a unique type of fiber that is commonly used
in fiber optic sensors due to its ability to maintain the polarization of the light inserted into
it. Photonic-crystal fiber is made with a regular pattern of index variation (often in the
form of cylindrical holes that run along the length of the fiber). Such fiber uses diffraction
effects instead of or in addition to total internal reflection, to confine light to the fiber's
core. The properties of the fiber can be tailored to a wide variety of applications.
Mechanisms of attenuation
Attenuation in fiber optics, also known as transmission loss, is the reduction in intensity of
the light beam (or signal) as it travels through the transmission medium. Attenuation
coefficients in fiber optics usually use units of dB/km through the medium due to the
relatively high quality of transparency of modern optical transmission media. The medium
is usually a fiber of silica glass that confines the incident light beam to the inside.
Attenuation is an important factor limiting the transmission of a digital signal across large
distances. Thus, much research has gone into both limiting the attenuation and maximizing
the amplification of the optical signal. Empirical research has shown that attenuation in
optical fiber is caused primarily by both scattering and absorption. Single-mode optical
fibers can be made with extremely low loss. Corning's SMF-28 fiber, a standard singlemode fiber for telecommunications wavelengths, has a loss of 0.17 dB/km at 1550 nm. For
example, an 8 km length of SMF-28 transmits nearly 75% of light at 1,550 nm.

Fig.5 Light attenuation by ZBLAN & silica fibers

31

Light scattering
The propagation of light through the core of an optical fiber is based on total internal
reflection of the lightwave. Rough and irregular surfaces, even at the molecular level, can
cause light rays to be reflected in random directions. This is called diffuse reflection or
scattering, and it is typically characterized by wide variety of reflection angles.Light
scattering depends on the wavelength of the light being scattered. Thus, limits to spatial
scales of visibility arise, depending on the frequency of the incident light-wave and the
physical dimension (or spatial scale) of the scattering center, which is typically in the form
of some specific micro-structural feature. At high optical powers, scattering can also be
caused by nonlinear optical processes in the fiber.

Fig.6 Specular reflection

Fig.7 Diffuse reflection

UV-Vis-IR absorption
In addition to light scattering, attenuation or signal loss can also occur due to selective
absorption of specific wavelengths, in a manner similar to that responsible for the
appearance of color. Primary material considerations include both electrons and molecules
as follows:
1) At the electronic level, it depends on whether the electron orbitals are spaced (or
"quantized") such that they can absorb a quantum of light (or photon) of a specific
wavelength or frequency in the ultraviolet (UV) or visible ranges. This is what gives rise
to color.

32

2) At the atomic or molecular level, it depends on the frequencies of atomic or molecular

vibrations or chemical bonds, how close-packed its atoms or molecules are, and whether
or not the atoms or molecules exhibit long-range order. These factors will determine the
capacity of the material transmitting longer wavelengths in the infrared (IR), far IR, radio
and microwave ranges
.Manufacturing Materials
Glass optical fibers are almost always made from silica, but some other materials, such as
fluorozirconate, fluoroaluminate, and chalcogenide glasses as well as crystalline materials
like sapphire, are used for longer-wavelength infrared or other specialized applications.
Silica and fluoride glasses usually have refractive indices of about 1.5, but some materials
such as the chalcogenides can have indices as high as 3. Typically the index difference
between core and cladding is less than one percent.
Plastic optical fibers (POF) are commonly step-index multi-mode fibers with a core
diameter of 0.5 millimeters or larger. POF typically have higher attenuation coefficients
than glass fibers, 1 dB/m or higher, and this high attenuation limits the range of POFbased systems.
Practical issues
Cable construction
In practical fibers, the cladding is usually coated with a tough resin buffer layer, which
may be further surrounded by a jacket layer, usually glass. These layers add strength to the
fiber but do not contribute to its optical wave guide properties. Rigid fiber assemblies
sometimes put light-absorbing ("dark") glass between the fibers, to prevent light that leaks
out of one fiber from entering another. This reduces cross-talk between the fibers, or
reduces flare in fiber bundle imaging applications. Modern cables come in a wide variety
of sheathings and armor, designed for applications such as direct burial in trenches, high
voltage isolation, dual use as power lines, installation in conduit, lashing to aerial
telephone poles, submarine installation, and insertion in paved streets.
Fiber cable can be very flexible, but traditional fiber's loss increases greatly if the fiber is
bent with a radius smaller than around 30 mm. This creates a problem when the cable is
33

bent around corners or wound around a spool, making FTTX installations more
complicated. "Bendable fibers", targeted towards easier installation in home environments,
have been standardized as ITU-T G.657. This type of fiber can be bent with a radius as
low as 7.5 mm without adverse impact. Even more bendable fibers have been developed.
Bendable fiber may also be resistant to fiber hacking, in which the signal in a fiber is
surreptitiously monitored by bending the fiber and detecting the leakage.
Another important feature of cable is cable's ability to withstand horizontally applied
force. It is technically called max tensile strength defining how much force can be applied
to the cable during the installation period.Some fiber optic cable versions are reinforced
with aramid yarns or glass yarns as intermediary strength member. In commercial terms,
usage of the glass yarns are more cost effective while no loss in mechanical durability of
the cable. Glass yarns also protect the cable core against rodents and termites.

Fig.8 An optical fiber cable

Fig.9 ST connectors on multi-mode fiber.

Termination and splicing

Optical fibers are connected to terminal equipment by optical fiber connectors. These
connectors are usually of a standard type such as FC, SC, ST, LC, MTRJ, or SMA, which
is designated for higher power transmission. All of these standardised connectors are a
"physical contact" (PC) type where the mating surfaces touch each other to achieve the
lowest possible attenuation.Optical fibers may be connected to each other by connectors or
by splicing, that is, joining two fibers together to form a continuous optical waveguide.
The generally accepted splicing method is arc fusion splicing, which melts the fiber ends
together with an electric arc. For quicker fastening jobs, a mechanical splice is used.
Fusion splicing is done with a specialized instrument that typically operates as follows:

34

The two cable ends are fastened inside a splice enclosure that will protect the splices, and
the fiber ends are stripped of their protective polymer coating. The ends are cleaved with a
precision cleaver to make them perpendicular, and are placed into special holders in the
splicer. The splice is usually inspected via a magnified viewing screen to check the cleaves
before and after the splice. The splicer uses small motors to align the end faces together,
and emits a small spark between electrodes at the gap to burn off dust and moisture. Then
the splicer generates a larger spark that raises the temperature above the melting point of
the glass, fusing the ends together permanently. The location and energy of the spark is
carefully controlled so that the molten core and cladding do not mix, and this minimizes
optical loss. A splice loss estimate is measured by the splicer, by directing light through
the cladding on one side and measuring the light leaking from the cladding on the other
side. A splice loss under 0.1 dB is typical. The complexity of this process makes fiber
splicing much more difficult than splicing copper wire.
Mechanical fiber splices are designed to be quicker and easier to install, but there is still
the need for stripping, careful cleaning and precision cleaving. The fiber ends are aligned
and held together by a precision-made sleeve, often using a clear index-matching gel that
enhances the transmission of light across the joint. Such joints typically have higher
optical loss and are less robust than fusion splices, especially if the gel is used. All splicing
techniques involve installing an enclosure that protects the splice.
Fibers are terminated in connectors that hold the fiber end precisely and securely. A fiberoptic connector is basically a rigid cylindrical barrel surrounded by a sleeve that holds the
barrel in its mating socket. The mating mechanism can be push and click, turn and latch
(bayonet mount), or screw-in (threaded). A typical connector is installed by preparing the
fiber end and inserting it into the rear of the connector body. Quick-set adhesive is usually
used to hold the fiber securely, and a strain relief is secured to the rear. Once the adhesive
sets, the fiber's end is polished to a mirror finish. Various polish profiles are used,
depending on the type of fiber and the application. For single-mode fiber, fiber ends are
typically polished with a slight curvature that makes the mated connectors touch only at
their cores. This is called a physical contact (PC) polish. The curved surface may be
polished at an angle, to make an angled physical contact (APC) connection. Such
connections have higher loss than PC connections, but greatly reduced back reflection,
because light that reflects from the angled surface leaks out of the fiber core. The resulting
35

signal strength loss is called gap loss. APC fiber ends have low back reflection even when
disconnected.
In the 1990s, terminating fiber optic cables was labor-intensive. The number of parts per
connector, polishing of the fibers, and the need to oven-bake the epoxy in each connector
made terminating fiber optic cables difficult. Today, many connectors types are on the
market that offer easier, less labor-intensive ways of terminating cables. Some of the most
popular connectors are pre-polished at the factory, and include a gel inside the connector.
Those two steps help save money on labor, especially on large projects. A cleave is made
at a required length, to get as close to the polished piece already inside the connector. The
gel surrounds the point where the two pieces meet inside the connector for very little light
loss.
Free-space coupling
It is often necessary to align an optical fiber with another optical fiber, or with an
optoelectronic device such as a light-emitting diode, a laser diode, or a modulator. This
can involve either carefully aligning the fiber and placing it in contact with the device, or
can use a lens to allow coupling over an air gap. In some cases the end of the fiber is
polished into a curved form that makes it act as a lens. Some companies can even shape
the fiber into lenses by cutting them with lasers.
In a laboratory environment, a bare fiber end is coupled using a fiber launch system, which
uses a microscope objective lens to focus the light down to a fine point. A precision
translation stage (micro-positioning table) is used to move the lens, fiber, or device to
allow the coupling efficiency to be optimized. Fibers with a connector on the end make
this process much simpler: the connector is simply plugged into a pre-aligned fiberoptic
collimator, which contains a lens that is either accurately positioned with respect to the
fiber, or is adjustable. To achieve the best injection efficiency into single-mode fiber, the
direction, position, size and divergence of the beam must all be optimized. With good
beams, 70 to 90% coupling efficiency can be achieved.
With properly polished single-mode fibers, the emitted beam has an almost perfect
Gaussian shapeeven in the far fieldif a good lens is used. The lens needs to be large

36

enough to support the full numerical aperture of the fiber, and must not introduce
aberrations in the beam. Aspheric lenses are typically used.
Fiber fuse
At high optical intensities, above 2 megawatts per square centimeter, when a fiber is
subjected to a shock or is otherwise suddenly damaged, a fiber fuse can occur. The
reflection from the damage vaporizes the fiber immediately before the break, and this new
defect remains reflective so that the damage propagates back toward the transmitter at 13
meters per second (411 km/h, 28 mph). The open fiber control system, which ensures
laser eye safety in the event of a broken fiber, can also effectively halt propagation of the
fiber fuse. In situations, such as undersea cables, where high power levels might be used
without the need for open fiber control, a "fiber fuse" protection device at the transmitter
can break the circuit to keep damage to a minimum.

37

PLESIOCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY (PDH)

Overview
The plesiochronous digital hierarchy (PDH) is a technology used in telecommunications
networks to transport large quantities of data over digital transport equipment such as fibre
optic and microwave radio systems.The term plesiochronous is derived from Greek
plsios, meaning near, and chronos, time, and refers to the fact that PDH networks run in a
state where different parts of the network are nearly, but not quite perfectly, synchronised.
PDH is typically being replaced by synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) or synchronous
optical networking (SONET) equipment in most telecommunications networks.
PDH allows transmission of data streams that are nominally running at the same rate, but
allowing some variation on the speed around a nominal rate. By analogy, any two watches
are nominally running at the same rate, clocking up 60 seconds every minute. However,
there is no link between watches to guarantee they run at exactly the same rate, and it is
highly likely that one is running slightly faster than the other.The basic transfer rate of the
data is 2048 kilobits per second. For instance, in each speech transmission,the normal rate
breaks into different thirty channels of 64 kilobits per second along with two different 64
kilobits per second in order to perform the tasks of synchronization and signaling. The
typical rate of transmitting the data over the fibre optic systems is 565 Mbit/sec in order to
transport the data in the long distance. But as the technology has improved with the
passing of tim, now the telecommunication companies have replaced the PDH equipment
with that of the SDH equipment, which has the capability of transmitting the data at much
higher rates as compared to the PDH systems.
Multiplexing
In order to move multiple data streams from one place to another, they are multiplexed in
groups of four. This is done by taking 1 bit from stream #1, followed by 1 bit from stream
#2, then #3, then #4. The transmitting multiplexer also adds additional bits in order to
allow the far end receiving multiplexer to decode which bits belong to which data stream,
and so correctly reconstitute the original data streams. These additional bits are called
"justification" or "stuffing" bits.
38

Because each of the four data streams is not necessarily running at the same rate, some
compensation has to be introduced. The transmitting multiplexer combines the four data
streams assuming that they are running at their maximum allowed rate. This means that
occasionally, (unless the 2 Mbit/s really is running at the maximum rate) the multiplexer
will look for the next bit but it will not have arrived. In this case, the multiplexer signals to
the receiving multiplexer that a bit is "missing". This allows the receiving multiplexer to
correctly reconstruct the original data for each of the four 2 Mbit/s data streams, and at the
correct, different, plesiochronous rates.
The resulting data stream from the above process runs at 8.448 Mbit/s (about 8 Mbit/s).
Similar techniques are used to combine four 8 Mbit/s together, plus bit stuffing, giving
34 Mbit/s. Four 34 Mbit/s, gives 140. Four 140 gives 565.
With multiplexing signals, the clock rate on each stream within the multiplex can vary
very slightly. This can occur for a number of reasons, and is sometimes referred to as
"jitter". When a multiplexed stream arrives, there has to be a mechanism for reconstituting
the various streams into the original signal form. With signals arriving at various different
end-times, there has to be a way to get them all to be available for inverse multiplexing in
a simultaneous manner, so PDH bit-stuffs the signals until they are all the same length, at
which point they can be successfully demultiplexed. The stuffed bits are then discarded.
Limitations of PDH

PDH is not very flexible

As previously explained, it is not easy to identify individual channels in a higher order bit
stream. You must multiplex the high rate channel down through all multiplexing levels to
find a particular lower speed channel. This requires an expensive and complex
multiplexer mountain.

Lack of Performance
It is not easy to provide good performance if you cant monitor the performance in the first
place. For PDH there is no international standard for performance monitoring and no
agreed management channels. There are some spare overhead bits that are being used for
management but they have limited bandwidth and are hard to locate in a 140 Meg stream
without de-multiplexing.

39

Lack of standards
Not only does PDH have two totally different multiplexing hierarchies but it is quite weak
on standards. For example there are no standards for data rates above 140Mbit/s and no
standards for the line side of a Line Transmission Terminal.

40

SYNCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY (SDH)

Overview
SDH, like PDH is based on a hierarchy of continuously repeating, fixed length frames
designed to carry isochronous traffic channels. SDH was specifically designed in such a way
that it would preserve a smooth interworking with existing PDH networks. The developers of
SDH also addressed the weaknesses of PDH. They recognised that it was necessary to adopt
not only a Synchronous frame structure but one that also preserves the byte boundaries in the
various traffic bit streams. Because SDH is synchronous it allows single stage multiplexing
and de-multiplexing. This eliminates hardware complexity. You dont need multiplexer
mountains.
SDH multiplexing levels
The US and Japan use SONET while most of the rest of the world use SDH. Apart from
using some different terminology, there is very little difference between SONET and SDH.
You can see that the data rates are the same except SDH doesnt specify a 51 Meg rate.
STM-1 forms the basis of the SDH frame structure. For example an STM-4 is a frame
consisting of 4 x STM-1s. In Sonet, the STS levels refer to the speed of the bit stream. When
these bits are converted to a train of optical pulses in a fibre, they are called an Optical
Carrier (OC). You may also see OC-3c referred to. This is simply the same bit rate as OC3, but interpreted as one channel instead of 3 multiplexed OC-1s. The c stands for
Concatenated.

Fig.10 SDH multiplexing levels.

41

Fig.11 Elements that make up an SDH network.

SDH Network Elements

Path Terminating Element

These are the end point devices where the lower speed channels enter and leave the SDH
Network. These are known as Path Level devices.

Digital Cross Connect

These devices can x-connect at the STM level down to individual E1 streams. So an E1
stream on one STM trunk could be x-connected to another STM trunk.

Regenerator
Is a device that regenerates the signal.

Add/Drop Multiplexer
The Add/Drop mux has the ability to breakout and insert low speed channels into an
STM stream.
SDH Network Configurations
The simplest network configuration is a Point to Point network as shown in figure 12. This
involves two terminal multiplexers linked by fibre with of without a regenerator in the link. If
we include an Add/Drop mux we can now have a point to multi-point configuration as shown
in figure 13.
A meshed network architecture (as shown in figure 14) uses a Digital Cross Connect to
concentrate traffic at a central site and allow easy re-provisioning of the circuits. The most
popular network configuration is the Ring Architecture shown in figure 15. Here we have
four Add/Drop muxes interconnected by 2 fibre rings. The main advantage of this
42

architecture is its survivability. If a fibre is cut or an Add/Drop mux dies the multiplexers
have the intelligence to heal the network.

Fig.12 Point to Point SDH network.

Fig.13 Point to Multi-Point SDH network.

Fig.14 Meshed Network Architecture

Fig.15 Ring Architecture

The SDH Frame

The basis of SDH is the STM-1 Frame as shown in figure 16. The STM-1 frame runs at
155.52Mbit/s, and is 125uS long. This means that you get 8,000 STM-1 frames per second.
8,000 frames a second is a very common rate in telecommunications networks for example
G.704 operates at 8,000 frames a second. This means that each Byte in the frame is equal to a
64kbit/s channel. The Frame is made up of a Section Overhead field and a Payload field.
STM-1 Frames are usually represented as 9 Rows by 270 Columns for a total of 2430 Bytes
as shown in figure 17. The bytes are transmitted from Left to Right, Top to Bottom. The first
9 Columns are the section overhead and the other 261 columns are used to carry the payload.
43

The Section Overhead has three parts:* Regenerator Section Overhead

* Pointers
* Multiplex Section Overhead
In SDH the actual user data is carried in Virtual Containers. The Virtual Containers have a
Path Overhead field and they come in a number of different sizes. We will look in detail at
Virtual Containers later in the tutorial. But first we will have a look at the SDH Overhead.

Fig.16 SDH Frame Structure

Fig.17 STM-1 Frame Structure

SDH Overhead
Figure 18 shows how the SDH overhead and transport functions are divided into the
following layers:

Regenerator Section
The Regenerator Section Overhead contains information required for the elements located at
both ends of a section. This might be between two Regenerators or Line Termination
Equipment.

Multiplex Section
The multiplex section overhead contains information required between the multiplex section
termination equipment at each end of the Multiplex Section. Basically that means between
consecutive network elements excluding Regenerators.

Path
The Path overhead is created and terminated by the Path Terminating Equipment at either end
of the link. It is transported in the Virtual Container with the user data.
In SONET terms these are known as Path, Line and Section. And sometimes
these terms are incorrectly used for SDH.
Figure 19 shows the structure of the overhead bytes.
44

The first 3 rows are Regenerator Section Overhead:A1 and A2 are framing bytes and indicate the start of the STM-1 frame.
J0 contains a trace message that is continually transmitted between Regenerator Sections so
that they know they are still connected.
B1 provides parity checking. Calculated over all bytes of the previous STM-1 frame.
E1 can be used for voice communications over the regenerator Section.
F1 is set aside for the users purposes.
D1, D2 and D3 form a 192kbit/s message channel for Operations, Administration and
Maintenance. Eg. Alarms, control, monitoring.
The last five rows of the Section Overhead are used for the Multiplex Section:B2 24 bit Parity Check.
K1 and K2 Automatic Protection Switching. This is used to provide automatic switching to a
backup facility in the event of a failure.
D4 to D12 form a 576kbit/s message channel for Operations, Administration and
Maintenance. Eg. Remote provisioning, monitoring, alarms etc.
S1 is the synchronous status message byte used to carry synchronisation messages ie: I am
primary reference clock or Do not use me as clock reference.
M1 Remote error indication.
E2 A 64kbit/s voice channel between Multiplex Sections.

Fig.18 SDH Overhead

Fig.19 Structure of the Overhead Bytes

Path Overhead
The Path overhead is part of the Virtual Containers. Figure 20 shows the overhead associated
with high order and low order Virtual Containers. This overhead is transported between Path

45

Terminating Devices:High Order Virtual Containers

J1 This byte repetitively transmits a user programmable data string so the receiving path
device can see that it is still connected to the intended transmitting path device.
B3 Parity bits.
C2 Specifies the type of mapping in the Virtual Container. For example it tells you if the
High Order Virtual Container contains Lower Order Virtual Containers or ATM CELLs etc.
G1 Conveys performance of the path.
F2 Communications between path elements.
H4 Multiframe indicator.
Low Order Virtual Containers
There is only a single byte of overhead in a low order Virtual Container. This byte is used for
the following purposes over a 4 byte multiframe.
V5 Error Checking, Path Status and Signal label (async, byte sync, bit sync).
J2 Access path identifier (so the receiver knows he is still connected to the intended
transmitter).
N2 Connection Monitoring.
K4 Automatic Protection Switching. This is used to provide automatic switching to a backup
facility in the event of a failure.

Fig.20 Path Overhead

Fig.21 Virtual Containers

Virtual Containers
Figure 21 shows the 5 Virtual Container sizes and the services they are intended to carry. It is
a very rigid structure and is not very bandwidth efficient. For example to carry an E3
46

(CEPT3) service requires more than 30% overhead. Even the best case an E1 requires more
than 10% overhead. And there is no provision to carry N x 64kbit/s, E2 (8Mbit/s) or 10 meg
or 100 Meg. The Virtual Containers provide a permanent nailed up path across the network
and there is no Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation.

Fig.22 Multiplexing Structure

SDH Multiplexing Structure
Figure 22 shows how to combine multiple services onto the STM trunk. If we look at the
example of a E1 (2Mbit/s) service.
1. The E1 frame is placed into a C-12 Container.
2. A Path overhead is added and it becomes a VC-.
2 Virtual Container.
3. Multiple VC-12s are assigned Pointers and become a TUG-2 Tributary Unit Group. The
pointers indicate the location of the first byte of each of the Virtual Containers.
4. Seven of these TUGs can be Mapped into a VC-.
3 Virtual Container.
5. Multiple VC-3 Virtual Containers will be assigned Pointers and placed into an AUG
Administration User Group.
6. And the AUG will be placed in the STM Frame. The Pointers are used to locate individual
2 meg streams in the STM Frame.
Virtual Container Examples
Figure 23 shows how a VC-4 Virtual Container fits into the STM-1 Frame. The VC-4 fits
perfectly in the STM-1 Frame and a Pointer indicates the location of the first byte of the VC47

4. If the VC-4 is not properly synchronised with the STM-1 frame it can slip position in the
Frame. There is actually a Byte of bandwidth in the Pointer Section that can be used by the
VC-4 if it is running faster than the STM-1 Frame.
Figure 24 shows how 3 x VC-3s fit into the STM-1 Frame. Although it is not shown in this
diagram the VC-3 Virtual Containers do not take up all the bandwidth of the STM-1. They
are allocated a certain fixed space and they can move around in it. There is extra bandwidth if
the VC-3s are running from faster clocks than the STM-1 Frame. The pointer indicates the
first byte of the Virtual Containers.

Fig.23 Fitting of VC-4 into STM-1 Frame

Fig.24 3 x VC-3s fit into the STM-1 Frame

Fig.25 Starting of VC-3 in STM-1 Frame

Fig.26 Lower Order V-C in STM-1 Frame

Figure 25 shows how the VC-3 Virtual Containers may start in different places within their
assigned area in the STM-1 Frame. When a device places a Virtual Circuit into the STM-1
Frame it also sets the Pointer Value so the receiving device can locate the beginning of the
Virtual Circuit.
Figure 26 shows how Lower Order Virtual Containers are Carried in the STM-1 Frame:To hold Lower Order Virtual Containers we need to use a TUG (Tributary Unit Group).
Each TUG has a fixed place in the Virtual Circuit and it has a number of Pointers in fixed

48

positions in the TUG. The TUG shown in figure 26 has 3 pointers for VC-12 Virtual
Containers. The VC-12 is allocated a fixed space that is a little larger that it requires so it has
room to move around. The Pointer shows the location of the first byte of the VC-12. So when
the VC-12 arrives at it destination the receiving device will locate the VC-12 by looking at
the pointers.
Bandwidth Efficiency

Fig.27 Bandwidth Efficiency

Figure 27 shows a number of common data rates and the corresponding Virtual Containers
that would need to be used to carry these data streams.

49

WAVELENGTH-DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (WDM)

Overview
In fiber-optic communications, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is a
technology which multiplexes a number of optical carrier signals onto a single optical
fiber by using different wavelengths (i.e., colors) of laser light. This technique enables
bidirectional communications over one strand of fiber, as well as multiplication of
capacity.
The term wavelength-division multiplexing is commonly applied to an optical carrier,
whereas frequency-division multiplexing typically applies to a radio carrier. Since
wavelength and frequency are tied together through a simple directly inverse relationship,
in which the product of frequency and wavelength equals c (the propagation speed of
light), the two terms actually describe the same concept.
WDM systems

Fig.28 WDM operating principle

Fig.29 Nortel's WDM System

A WDM system uses a multiplexer at the transmitter to join the signals together, and a
demultiplexer at the receiver to split them apart. With the right type of fiber it is possible
to have a device that does both simultaneously, and can function as an optical add-drop
multiplexer. The concept was first published in 1978, and by 1980 WDM systems were
being realized in the laboratory. The first WDM systems combined only two signals.
Modern systems can handle up to 160 signals and can thus expand a basic 10 Gbit/s
system over a single fiber pair to over 1.6 Tbit/s.

50

WDM systems are popular with telecommunications companies because they allow them
to expand the capacity of the network without laying more fiber. By using WDM and
optical amplifiers, they can accommodate several generations of technology development
in their optical infrastructure without having to overhaul the backbone network. Capacity
of a given link can be expanded simply by upgrading the multiplexers and demultiplexers
at each end.
This is often done by use of optical-to-electrical-to-optical (O/E/O) translation at the very
edge of the transport network, thus permitting interoperation with existing equipment with
optical interfaces. Most WDM systems operate on single-mode fiber optical cables, which
have a core diameter of 9 m. Certain forms of WDM can also be used in multi-mode
fiber cables which have core diameters of 50 or 62.5 m. Optical receivers, in contrast to
laser sources, tend to be wideband devices. Therefore, the demultiplexer must provide the
wavelength selectivity of the receiver in the WDM system.
WDM systems are divided into different wavelength patterns, conventional/coarse
(CWDM) and dense (DWDM). WDM, DWDM and CWDM are based on the same
concept of using multiple wavelengths of light on a single fiber, but differ in the spacing
of the wavelengths, number of channels, and the ability to amplify the multiplexed signals
in the optical space. EDFA provide an efficient wideband amplification for the C-band
(WDM systems), Raman amplification adds a mechanism for amplification in the L-band.
For CWDM wideband optical amplification is not available, limiting the optical spans to
several tens of kilometres.
Coarse WDM
Prior to the relatively recent ITU standardization of the term, one common meaning for
coarse WDM meant two (or possibly more) signals multiplexed onto a single fiber, where
one signal was in the 1550 nm band, and the other in the 1310 nm band.In 2002 the ITU
standardized a channel spacing grid for use with CWDM (ITU-T G.694.2), using the
wavelengths from 1270 nm through 1610 nm with a channel spacing of 20 nm. (G.694.2
was revised in 2003 to shift the actual channel centers by 1 nm, so that strictly speaking
the center wavelengths are 1271 to 1611 nm). Many CWDM wavelengths below 1470 nm
are considered "unusable" on older G.652 specification fibers, due to the increased
attenuation in the 12701470 nm bands. Newer fibers which conform to the G.652.C and
51

G.652.D standards, such as Corning SMF-28e and Samsung Widepass nearly eliminate the
"water peak" attenuation peak and allow for full operation of all 18 ITU CWDM channels
in metropolitan networks.The 10GBASE-LX4 10 Gbit/s physical layer standard is an
example of a CWDM system in which four wavelengths near 1310 nm, each carrying a
3.125 gigabit-per-second (Gbit/s) data stream, are used to carry 10 Gbit/s of aggregate
data.
The main characteristic of the recent ITU CWDM standard is that the signals are not
spaced appropriately for amplification by EDFAs. This therefore limits the total CWDM
optical span to somewhere near 60 km for a 2.5 Gbit/s signal, which is suitable for use in
metropolitan applications. The relaxed optical frequency stabilization requirements allow
the

associated

costs

of

CWDM

to

approach

those

of

non-WDM

optical

components.CWDM is also being used in cable television networks, where different

wavelengths are used for the downstream and upstream signals. In these systems, the
wavelengths used are often widely separated, for example the downstream signal might be
at 1310 nm while the upstream signal is at 1550 nm.
An interesting and relatively recent development relating coarse WDM is the creation of
GBIC and small form factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers utilizing standardized CWDM
wavelengths. GBIC and SFP optics allow for something very close to a seamless upgrade
in even legacy systems that support SFP interfaces. Thus, a legacy switch system can be
easily "converted" to allow wavelength multiplexed transport over a fiber simply by
judicious choice of transceiver wavelengths, combined with an inexpensive passive optical
multiplexing device.Passive CWDM is an implementation of CWDM that uses no
electrical power. It separates the wavelengths using passive optical components such as
bandpass filters and prisms. Many manufacturers are promoting passive CWDM to deploy
fiber to the home.
Dense WDM
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) refers originally to optical signals
multiplexed within the 1550 nm band so as to leverage the capabilities (and cost) of
erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), which are effective for wavelengths between
approximately 15251565 nm (C band), or 15701610 nm (L band). EDFAs were
originally

developed

to

replace

SONET/SDH

optical-electrical-optical

(OEO)
52

regenerators, which they have made practically obsolete. EDFAs can amplify any optical
signal in their operating range, regardless of the modulated bit rate. In terms of multiwavelength signals, so long as the EDFA has enough pump energy available to it, it can
amplify as many optical signals as can be multiplexed into its amplification. EDFAs
therefore allow a single-channel optical link to be upgraded in bit rate by replacing only
equipment at the ends of the link, while retaining the existing EDFA or series of EDFAs
through a long haul route. Furthermore, single-wavelength links using EDFAs can
similarly be upgraded to WDM links at reasonable cost. The EDFA's cost is thus leveraged
across as many channels as can be multiplexed into the 1550 nm band.
DWDM systems
At this stage, a basic DWDM system contains several main components:
1. A DWDM terminal multiplexer. The terminal multiplexer contains a wavelengthconverting transponder for each data signal, an optical multiplexer and where necessary an
optical amplifier (EDFA). Each wavelength-converting transponder receives an optical
data signal from the client-layer, such as Synchronous optical networking [SONET /SDH]
or another type of data signal, converts this signal into the electrical domain and retransmits the signal at a specific wavelength using a 1,550 nm band laser. These data
signals are then combined together into a multi-wavelength optical signal using an optical
multiplexer, for transmission over a single fiber (e.g., SMF-28 fiber). The terminal
multiplexer may or may not also include a local transmit EDFA for power amplification of
the multi-wavelength optical signal. In the mid-1990s DWDM systems contained 4 or 8
wavelength-converting transponders; by 2000 or so, commercial systems capable of
carrying 128 signals were available.
2. An intermediate line repeater is placed approximately every 80100 km to compensate
for the loss of optical power as the signal travels along the fiber. The 'multi-wavelength
optical signal' is amplified by an EDFA, which usually consists of several amplifier stages.
3. An intermediate optical terminal, or optical add-drop multiplexer. This is a remote
amplification site that amplifies the multi-wavelength signal that may have traversed up to
140 km or more before reaching the remote site. Optical diagnostics and telemetry are
often extracted or inserted at such a site, to allow for localization of any fiber breaks or
signal impairments. In more sophisticated systems (which are no longer point-to-point),

53

several signals out of the multi-wavelength optical signal may be removed and dropped
locally.
4. A DWDM terminal demultiplexer. At the remote site, the terminal de-multiplexer
consisting of an optical de-multiplexer and one or more wavelength-converting
transponders separates the multi-wavelength optical signal back into individual data
signals and outputs them on separate fibers for client-layer systems (such as
SONET/SDH). Originally, this de-multiplexing was performed entirely passively, except
for some telemetry, as most SONET systems can receive 1,550 nm signals. However, in
order to allow for transmission to remote client-layer systems (and to allow for digital
domain signal integrity determination) such de-multiplexed signals are usually sent to
O/E/O output transponders prior to being relayed to their client-layer systems. Often, the
functionality of output transponder has been integrated into that of input transponder, so
that most commercial systems have transponders that support bi-directional interfaces on
both their 1,550 nm (i.e., internal) side, and external (i.e., client-facing) side. Transponders
in some systems supporting 40 GHz nominal operation may also perform forward error
correction (FEC) via digital wrapper technology, as described in the ITU-T G.709
standard.
5. Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC). This is data channel which uses an additional
wavelength usually outside the EDFA amplification band (at 1,510 nm, 1,620 nm,
1,310 nm or another proprietary wavelength). The OSC carries information about the
multi-wavelength optical signal as well as remote conditions at the optical terminal or
EDFA site. It is also normally used for remote software upgrades and user (i.e., network
operator) Network Management information. It is the multi-wavelength analogue to
SONET's DCC (or supervisory channel). ITU standards suggest that the OSC should
utilize an OC-3 signal structure, though some vendors have opted to use 100 megabit
Ethernet or another signal format. Unlike the 1550 nm multi-wavelength signal containing
client data, the OSC is always terminated at intermediate amplifier sites, where it receives
local information before re-transmission.
The introduction of the ITU-T G.694.frequency grid in 2002 has made it easier to integrate
WDM with older but more standard SONET/SDH systems. WDM wavelengths are
positioned in a grid having exactly 100 GHz spacing in optical frequency, with a reference
frequency fixed at 193.10 THz. The main grid is placed inside the optical fiber amplifier

54

bandwidth, but can be extended to wider bandwidths. Today's DWDM systems use
50 GHz or even 25 GHz channel spacing for up to 160 channel operation.
DWDM systems have to maintain more stable wavelength or frequency than those needed
for CWDM because of the closer spacing of the wavelengths. Precision temperature
control of laser transmitter is required in DWDM systems to prevent "drift" off a very
narrow frequency window of the order of a few GHz. In addition, since DWDM provides
greater maximum capacity it tends to be used at a higher level in the communications
hierarchy than CWDM, for example on the Internet backbone and is therefore associated
with higher modulation rates, thus creating a smaller market for DWDM devices with very
high performance. These factors of smaller volume and higher performance result in
DWDM systems typically being more expensive than CWDM.
Recent innovations in DWDM transport systems include pluggable and software-tunable
transceiver modules capable of operating on 40 or 80 channels. This dramatically reduces
the need for discrete spare pluggable modules, when a handful of pluggable devices can
handle the full range of wavelengths.
Wavelength-converting transponders
Wavelength-converting transponders served originally to translate the transmit wavelength
of a client-layer signal into one of the DWDM system's internal wavelengths in the
1,550 nm band (note that even external wavelengths in the 1,550 nm will most likely need
to be translated, as they will almost certainly not have the required frequency stability
tolerances nor will it have the optical power necessary for the system's EDFA).
In the mid-1990s, however, wavelength converting transponders rapidly took on the
additional function of signal regeneration. Signal regeneration in transponders quickly
evolved through 1R to 2R to 3R and into overhead-monitoring multi-bitrate 3R
regenerators. These differences are outlined below:
1R

Retransmission. Basically, early transponders were "garbage in

garbage out" in that their output was nearly an analogue "copy" of
the received optical signal, with little signal cleanup occurring. This
limited the reach of early DWDM systems because the signal had to

55

be handed off to a client-layer receiver before the signal deteriorated

too far. Signal monitoring was basically confined to optical domain
parameters such as received power.
2R

Re-time and re-transmit. Transponders of this type were not very

common and utilized a quasi-digital Schmitt-triggering method for
signal clean-up. Some rudimentary signal-quality monitoring was
done by such transmitters that basically looked at analogue
parameters.

3R

Re-time, re-transmit, re-shape. 3R Transponders were fully digital

and normally able to view SONET/SDH section layer overhead
bytes such as A1 and A2 to determine signal quality health. Many
systems will offer 2.5 Gbit/s transponders, which will normally
mean the transponder is able to perform 3R regeneration on OC3/12/48 signals, and possibly gigabit Ethernet, and reporting on
signal health by monitoring SONET/SDH section layer overhead
bytes. Many transponders will be able to perform full multi-rate 3R
in both directions. Some vendors offer 10 Gbit/s transponders, which
will perform Section layer overhead monitoring to all rates up to and
including OC-192.

Muxponder

The muxponder ( multiplexed transponder) has different names

depending on vendor. It essentially performs some relatively simple
time-division multiplexing of lower-rate signals into a higher-rate
carrier within the system. More recent muxponder designs have
absorbed more and more TDM functionality, in some cases
obviating the need for traditional SONET/SDH transport equipment.

Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM)

As mentioned above, intermediate optical amplification sites in DWDM systems may
allow for the dropping and adding of certain wavelength channels. In most systems
deployed as of August 2006 this is done infrequently, because adding or dropping
wavelengths requires manually inserting or replacing wavelength-selective cards. This is
costly, and in some systems requires that all active traffic be removed from the DWDM

56

system, because inserting or removing the wavelength-specific cards interrupts the multiwavelength optical signal.
With a ROADM, network operators can remotely reconfigure the multiplexer by sending
soft commands. The architecture of the ROADM is such that dropping or adding
wavelengths does not interrupt the "pass-through" channels. Numerous technological
approaches are utilized for various commercial ROADMs, the tradeoff being between
cost, optical power, and flexibility.
Optical cross connects (OXCs)
When the network topology is a mesh, where nodes are interconnected by fibers to form
an arbitrary graph, an additional fiber interconnection device is needed to route the signals
from an input port to the desired output port. These devices are called optical
crossconnectors (OXCs). Various categories of OXCs include electronic ("opaque"),
optical ("transparent"), and wavelength selective devices.
Enhanced WDM
Cisco's Enhanced WDM system combines 1 GB Coarse Wave Division Multiplexing
(CWDM) connections using SFPs and GBICs with 10 GB Dense Wave Division
Multiplexing (DWDM) connections using XENPAK, X2 or XFP DWDM modules. These
DWDM connections can either be passive or boosted to allow a longer range for the
connection.
Transceivers versus transponders

Transceivers Since communication over a single wavelength is one-way (simplex

communication), and most practical communication systems require two-way (duplex
communication) communication, two wavelengths will be required (which might or might
not be on the same fiber, but typically they will be each on a separate fiber in a so-called
fiber pair). As a result, at each end both a transmitter (to send a signal over a first
wavelength) and a receiver (to receive a signal over a second wavelength) will be required.
A combination of a transmitter and a receiver is called a transceiver; it converts an
electrical signal to and from an optical signal. There are usually transreceiver types based
on WDM technology.
57

Coarse WDM (CWDM) Transceivers: Wavelength 1270 nm, 1290 nm, 1310 nm,
1330 nm, 1350 nm, 1370 nm, 1390 nm, 1410 nm, 1430 nm, 1450 nm, 1470 nm, 1490 nm,
1510 nm, 1530 nm, 1550 nm, 1570 nm, 1590 nm, 1610 nm.

Dense WDM (DWDM) Transceivers: Channel 17 to Channel 61 according to ITU-T.

Transponder In practice, the signal inputs and outputs will not be electrical but optical
instead (typically at 1550 nm). This means that in effect we need wavelength converters
instead, which is exactly what a transponder is. A transponder can be made up of two
transceivers placed after each other: the first transceiver converting the 1550 nm optical
signal to/from an electrical signal, and the second transceiver converting the electrical
signal to/from an optical signal at the required wavelength. Transponders that don't use an
intermediate electrical signal (all-optical transponders) are in development.

58

NETWORK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NMS)

Overview
In computer networks, network management is the operation, administration,
maintenance, and provisioning (OAMP) of networked systems. Network management is
essential to command and control practices and is generally carried out of a network
operations center.

Operation deals with keeping the network (and the services that the network provides) up
and running smoothly. It includes monitoring the network to spot problems as soon as
possible, ideally before users are affected.

Administration deals with keeping track of resources in the network and how they are
assigned. It includes all the "housekeeping" that is necessary to keep the network under
control.

Maintenance is concerned with performing repairs and upgradesfor example, when

equipment must be replaced, when a router needs a patch for an operating system image,
when a new switch is added to a network. Maintenance also involves corrective and
preventive measures to make the managed network run "better", such as adjusting device
configuration parameters.

Provisioning is concerned with configuring resources in the network to support a given

service. For example, this might include setting up the network so that a new customer can
receive voice service, real time communications etc.
A common way of characterizing network management functions is FCAPSFault,
Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security.
Functions that are performed as part of network management accordingly include
controlling, planning, allocating, deploying, coordinating, and monitoring the resources of
a network, network planning, frequency allocation, predetermined traffic routing to
support load balancing, cryptographic key distribution authorization, configuration
management, fault management, security management, performance management,
bandwidth management, Route analytics and accounting management.

59

Data for network management is collected through several mechanisms, including agents
installed on infrastructure, synthetic monitoring that simulates transactions, logs of
activity, sniffers and real user monitoring. In the past network management mainly
consisted of monitoring whether devices were up or down; today performance
management has become a crucial part of the IT team's role which brings about a host of
challengesespecially for global organizations.
Network management does not include user terminal equipment.
Technologies
A small number of accessory methods exist to support network and network device
management. Access methods include the SNMP, command-line interface, custom XML,
CMIP, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Transaction Language 1, CORBA,
NETCONF, and the Java Management Extensions (JMX). Internet service providers (ISP)
use a technology known as deep packet inspection in order to regulate network congestion
and lessen Internet bottlenecks.
Schemas include the WBEM, the Common Information Model, and MTOSI amongst
others.
In the United States, Medical Service Providers provide a niche marketing utility for
managed service providers as HIPAA legislation consistently increases demands for
knowledgeable providers. Medical Service Providers are liable for the protection of their
clients' confidential information, including in an electronic realm. This liability creates a
significant need for managed service providers who can provide secure infrastructure for
transportation of medical data.

60

SCADA
Overview
SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is a system operating with coded
signals over communication channels so as to provide control of remote equipment (using
typically one communication channel per remote station). The control system may be
combined with a data acquisition system by adding the use of coded signals over
communication channels to acquire information about the status of the remote equipment
for display or for recording functions. It is a type of industrial control system (ICS).
Industrial control systems are computer-based systems that monitor and control industrial
processes that exist in the physical world. SCADA systems historically distinguish
themselves from other ICS systems by being large-scale processes that can include
multiple sites, and large distances. These processes include industrial, infrastructure, and
facility-based processes, as described below:

Industrial processes include those of manufacturing, production, power generation,

fabrication, and refining, and may run in continuous, batch, repetitive, or discrete modes.

Infrastructure processes may be public or private, and include water treatment and
distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power
transmission and distribution, wind farms, civil defense siren systems, and large
communication systems.

Facility processes occur both in public facilities and private ones, including buildings,
airports, ships, and space stations. They monitor and control heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning systems (HVAC), access, and energy consumption.
Common system components
A SCADA system usually consists of the following subsystems:

Remote terminal units (RTUs) connect to sensors in the process and convert sensor
signals to digital data. They have telemetry hardware capable of sending digital data to the
supervisory system, as well as receiving digital commands from the supervisory system.
RTUs often have embedded control capabilities such as ladder logic in order to
accomplish boolean logic operations.
61

Programmable logic controller (PLCs) connect to sensors in the process and convert
sensor signals to digital data. PLCs have more sophisticated embedded control capabilities
(typically one or more IEC 61131-3 programming languages) than RTUs. PLCs do not
have telemetry hardware, although this functionality is typically installed alongside them.
PLCs are sometimes used in place of RTUs as field devices because they are more
economical, versatile, flexible, and configurable.

A telemetry system is typically used to connect PLCs and RTUs with control centers,
data warehouses, and the enterprise. Examples of wired telemetry media used in SCADA
systems include leased telephone lines and WAN circuits. Examples of wireless telemetry
media used in SCADA systems include satellite (VSAT), licensed and unlicensed radio,
cellular and microwave.

A data acquisition server is a software service which uses industrial protocols to connect
software services, via telemetry, with field devices such as RTUs and PLCs. It allows
clients to access data from these field devices using standard protocols.

A humanmachine interface or HMI is the device which presents processed data to a

human operator, and through this, the human operator monitors and interacts with the
process. The HMI is a client that requests data from a data acquisition server.

A Historian is a software service which accumulates time-stamped data, boolean events,

and boolean alarms in a database which can be queried or used to populate graphic trends
in the HMI. The historian is a client that requests data from a data acquisition server.

A supervisory (computer) system, gathering (acquiring) data on the process and sending
commands (control) to the SCADA system.

Communication infrastructure connecting the supervisory system to the remote terminal

units.

Various processes and analytical instrumentation.

Systems concepts
The term SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) usually refers to centralized
systems which monitor and control entire sites, or complexes of systems spread out over
large areas. Most control actions are performed automatically by RTUs or by PLCs. Host
control functions are usually restricted to basic overriding or supervisory level
intervention. For example, a PLC may control the flow of cooling water through part of an
industrial process, but the SCADA system may allow operators to change the set points for
62

the flow, and enable alarm conditions, such as loss of flow and high temperature, to be
displayed and recorded. The feedback control loop passes through the RTU or PLC, while
the SCADA system monitors the overall performance of the loop.

Fig.30 SCADA's schematic overview

Data acquisition begins at the RTU or PLC level and includes meter readings and
equipment status reports that are communicated to SCADA as required. Data is then
compiled and formatted in such a way that a control room operator using the HMI can
make supervisory decisions to adjust or override normal RTU (PLC) controls. Data may
also be fed to a Historian, often built on a commodity Database Management System, to
allow trending and other analytical auditing.
SCADA systems typically implement a distributed database, commonly referred to as a
tag database, which contains data elements called tags or points. A point represents a
single input or output value monitored or controlled by the system. Points can be either
"hard" or "soft". A hard point represents an actual input or output within the system, while
a soft point results from logic and math operations applied to other points. (Most
implementations conceptually remove the distinction by making every property a "soft"
point expression, which may, in the simplest case, equal a single hard point.) Points are
normally stored as value-timestamp pairs: a value, and the timestamp when it was
recorded or calculated. A series of value-timestamp pairs gives the history of that point. It
is also common to store additional metadata with tags, such as the path to a field device or
PLC register, design time comments, and alarm information.
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SCADA systems are significantly important systems used in national infrastructures such
as electric grids, water supplies and pipelines. However, SCADA systems may have
security vulnerabilities, so the systems should be evaluated to identify risks and solutions
implemented to mitigate those risks.
Humanmachine interface

Fig.31 Typical basic SCADA animations

A humanmachine interface (HMI) is the input-output device through which the human
operator controls the process, and which presents process data to a human operator.
HMI(Human Machine interface) is usually linked to the SCADA system's databases and
software programs, to provide trending, diagnostic data, and management information
such as scheduled maintenance procedures, logistic information, detailed schematics for a
particular sensor or machine, and expert-system troubleshooting guides.
The HMI system usually presents the information to the operating personnel graphically,
in the form of a mimic diagram. This means that the operator can see a schematic
representation of the plant being controlled. For example, a picture of a pump connected to
a pipe can show the operator that the pump is running and how much fluid it is pumping
through the pipe at the moment. The operator can then switch the pump off. The HMI
software will show the flow rate of the fluid in the pipe decrease in real time. Mimic
diagrams may consist of line graphics and schematic symbols to represent process
elements, or may consist of digital photographs of the process equipment overlain with
animated symbols.

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The HMI package for the SCADA system typically includes a drawing program that the
operators or system maintenance personnel use to change the way these points are
represented in the interface. These representations can be as simple as an on-screen traffic
light, which represents the state of an actual traffic light in the field, or as complex as a
multi-projector display representing the position of all of the elevators in a skyscraper or
all of the trains on a railway.
An important part of most SCADA implementations is alarm handling. The system
monitors whether certain alarm conditions are satisfied, to determine when an alarm event
has occurred. Once an alarm event has been detected, one or more actions are taken (such
as the activation of one or more alarm indicators, and perhaps the generation of email or
text messages so that management or remote SCADA operators are informed). In many
cases, a SCADA operator may have to acknowledge the alarm event; this may deactivate
some alarm indicators, whereas other indicators remain active until the alarm conditions
are cleared. Alarm conditions can be explicitfor example, an alarm point is a digital
status point that has either the value NORMAL or ALARM that is calculated by a formula
based on the values in other analogue and digital pointsor implicit: the SCADA system
might automatically monitor whether the value in an analogue point lies outside high and
low- limit values associated with that point. Examples of alarm indicators include a siren,
a pop-up box on a screen, or a coloured or flashing area on a screen (that might act in a
similar way to the "fuel tank empty" light in a car); in each case, the role of the alarm
indicator is to draw the operator's attention to the part of the system 'in alarm' so that
appropriate action can be taken. In designing SCADA systems, care must be taken when a
cascade of alarm events occurs in a short time, otherwise the underlying cause (which
might not be the earliest event detected) may get lost in the noise. Unfortunately, when
used as a noun, the word 'alarm' is used rather loosely in the industry; thus, depending on
context it might mean an alarm point, an alarm indicator, or an alarm event.
Hardware solutions
SCADA solutions often have Distributed Control System (DCS) components. Use of
"smart" RTUs or PLCs, which are capable of autonomously executing simple logic
processes without involving the master computer, is increasing. A standardized control
programming language, IEC 61131-3 (a suite of 5 programming languages including
Function Block, Ladder, Structured Text, Sequence Function Charts and Instruction List),
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is frequently used to create programs which run on these RTUs and PLCs. Unlike a
procedural language such as the C programming language or FORTRAN, IEC 61131-3
has minimal training requirements by virtue of resembling historic physical control arrays.
This allows SCADA system engineers to perform both the design and implementation of a
program to be executed on an RTU or PLC. A Programmable Automation Controller
(PAC) is a compact controller that combines the features and capabilities of a PC-based
control system with that of a typical PLC. PACs are deployed in SCADA systems to
provide RTU and PLC functions. In many electrical substation SCADA applications,
"distributed RTUs" use information processors or station computers to communicate with
digital protective relays, PACs, and other devices for I/O, and communicate with the
SCADA master in lieu of a traditional RTU.
Since about 1998, virtually all major PLC manufacturers have offered integrated
HMI/SCADA systems, many of them using open and non-proprietary communications
protocols. Numerous specialized third-party HMI/SCADA packages, offering built-in
compatibility with most major PLCs, have also entered the market, allowing mechanical
engineers, electrical engineers and technicians to configure HMIs themselves, without the
need for a custom-made program written by a software programmer. The Remote
Terminal Unit (RTU) connects to physical equipment. Typically, an RTU converts the
electrical signals from the equipment to digital values such as the open/closed status from
a switch or a valve, or measurements such as pressure, flow, voltage or current. By
converting and sending these electrical signals out to equipment the RTU can control
equipment, such as opening or closing a switch or a valve, or setting the speed of a pump.
Supervisory station
The term supervisory station refers to the servers and software responsible for
communicating with the field equipment (RTUs, PLCs, SENSORS etc.), and then to the
HMI software running on workstations in the control room, or elsewhere. In smaller
SCADA systems, the master station may be composed of a single PC. In larger SCADA
systems, the master station may include multiple servers, distributed software applications,
and disaster recovery sites. To increase the integrity of the system the multiple servers will
often be configured in a dual-redundant or hot-standby formation providing continuous
control and monitoring in the event of a server malfunction or breakdown.

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Operational philosophy
For some installations, the costs that would result from the control system failing are
extremely high. Hardware for some SCADA systems is ruggedized to withstand
temperature, vibration, and voltage extremes. In the most critical installations, reliability is
enhanced by having redundant hardware and communications channels, up to the point of
having multiple fully equipped control centres. A failing part can be quickly identified and
its functionality automatically taken over by backup hardware. A failed part can often be
replaced without interrupting the process. The reliability of such systems can be calculated
statistically and is stated as the mean time to failure, which is a variant of Mean Time
Between Failures (MTBF). The calculated mean time to failure of such high reliability
systems can be on the order of centuries
Communication infrastructure and methods
SCADA systems have traditionally used combinations of radio and direct wired
connections, although SONET/SDH is also frequently used for large systems such as
railways and power stations. The remote management or monitoring function of a SCADA
system is often referred to as telemetry. Some users want SCADA data to travel over their
pre-established corporate networks or to share the network with other applications. The
legacy of the early low-bandwidth protocols remains, though.
SCADA protocols are designed to be very compact. Many are designed to send
information only when the master station polls the RTU. Typical legacy SCADA protocols
include Modbus RTU, RP-570, Profibus and Conitel. These communication protocols are
all SCADA-vendor specific but are widely adopted and used. Standard protocols are IEC
60870-5-101 or 104, IEC 61850 and DNP3. These communication protocols are
standardized and recognized by all major SCADA vendors. Many of these protocols now
contain extensions to operate over TCP/IP. Although the use of conventional networking
specifications, such as TCP/IP, blurs the line between traditional and industrial
networking, they each fulfill fundamentally differing requirements.
With increasing security demands (such as North American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC) and Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) in the US), there is
increasing use of satellite-based communication. This has the key advantages that the
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infrastructure can be self-contained (not using circuits from the public telephone system),
can have built-in encryption, and can be engineered to the availability and reliability
required by the SCADA system operator. Earlier experiences using consumer-grade
VSAT were poor. Modern carrier-class systems provide the quality of service required for
SCADA.
RTUs and other automatic controller devices were developed before the advent of industry
wide standards for interoperability. The result is that developers and their management
created a multitude of control protocols. Among the larger vendors, there was also the
incentive to create their own protocol to "lock in" their customer base. A list of automation
protocols is compiled here.
Recently, OLE for process control (OPC) has become a widely accepted solution for
intercommunicating different hardware and software, allowing communication even
between devices originally not intended to be part of an industrial network.
SCADA architectures
SCADA systems have evolved through four generations as follows:
First generation: "Monolithic"
Early SCADA system computing was done by large minicomputers. Common network
services did not exist at the time SCADA was developed. Thus SCADA systems were
independent systems with no connectivity to other systems. The communication protocols
used were strictly proprietary at that time. The first-generation SCADA system
redundancy was achieved using a back-up mainframe system connected to all the Remote
Terminal Unit sites and was used in the event of failure of the primary mainframe system.
Some first generation SCADA systems were developed as "turn key" operations that ran
on minicomputers such as the PDP-11 series made by the Digital Equipment Corporation
Second generation: "Distributed"
SCADA information and command processing was distributed across multiple stations
which were connected through a LAN. Information was shared in near real time. Each
station was responsible for a particular task thus making the size and cost of each station
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less than the one used in First Generation. The network protocols used were still not
standardized. Since the protocols were proprietary, very few people beyond the developers
knew enough to determine how secure a SCADA installation was. Security of the SCADA
installation was usually overlooked.
Third generation: "Networked"
Similar to a distributed architecture, any complex SCADA can be reduced to simplest
components and connected through communication protocols. In the case of a networked
design, the system may be spread across more than one LAN network called a process
control network (PCN) and separated geographically. Several distributed architecture
SCADAs running in parallel, with a single supervisor and historian, could be considered a
network architecture. This allows for a more cost effective solution in very large scale
systems.
Fourth generation: "Internet of Things"
With the commercial availability of cloud computing, SCADA systems have increasingly
adopted Internet of Things technology to significantly reduce infrastructure costs and
increase ease of maintenance and integration. As a result SCADA systems can now report
state in near real-time and use the horizontal scale available in cloud environments to
implement more complex control algorithms than are practically feasible to implement on
traditional programmable logic controllers.[8] Further, the use of open network protocols
such as TLS inherent in the Internet of Things technology, provides a more readily
comprehensible and manageable security boundary than the heterogeneous mix of
proprietary network protocols typical of many decentralized SCADA implementations.
One such example of this technology is an innovative approach to rainwater harvesting
through the implementation of real time controls (RTC).
This decentralization of data also requires a different approach to SCADA than traditional
PLC based programs. When a SCADA system is used locally, the preferred methodology
involves binding the graphics on the user interface to the data stored in specific PLC
memory addresses. However, when the data comes from a disparate mix of sensors,
controllers and databases (which may be local or at varied connected locations), the

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typical 1 to 1 mapping becomes problematic. A solution to this is Data Modeling, a

concept derived from object oriented programming.
In a Data Model, a virtual representation of each device is constructed in the SCADA
software. These virtual representations (Models) can contain not just the address
mapping of the device represented, but also any other pertinent information (web based
info, database entries, media files, etc.) that may be used by other facets of the
SCADA/IoT implementation. An example of data modeling in this context can be found in
the Virtualization of Things (VoT) Platform developed by B-Scada. As the increased
complexity of the Internet of Things renders traditional SCADA increasingly housebound, and as communication protocols evolve to favor platform-independent, serviceoriented architecture (such as OPC UA), it is likely that more SCADA software
developers will implement some form of data modeling.
Security issues
SCADA systems that tie together decentralized facilities such as power, oil, and gas
pipelines and water distribution and wastewater collection systems were designed to be
open, robust, and easily operated and repaired, but not necessarily secure. The move from
proprietary technologies to more standardized and open solutions together with the
increased number of connections between SCADA systems, office networks, and the
Internet has made them more vulnerable to types of network attacks that are relatively
common in computer security. For example, United States Computer Emergency
Readiness Team (US-CERT) released a vulnerability advisory[12] that allowed
unauthenticated users to download sensitive configuration information including password
hashes on an Inductive Automation Ignition system utilizing a standard attack type
leveraging access to the Tomcat Embedded Web server. Security researcher Jerry Brown
submitted a similar advisory regarding a buffer overflow vulnerability in a Wonder ware
In Batch Client ActiveX control. Both vendors made updates available prior to public
vulnerability release. Mitigation recommendations were standard patching practices and
requiring VPN access for secure connectivity. Consequently, the security of some
SCADA-based systems has come into question as they are seen as potentially vulnerable
to cyber attacks.
In particular, security researchers are concerned about:
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the lack of concern about security and authentication in the design, deployment and
operation of some existing SCADA networks

the belief that SCADA systems have the benefit of security through obscurity through the
use of specialized protocols and proprietary interfaces

the belief that SCADA networks are secure because they are physically secured

the belief that SCADA networks are secure because they are disconnected from the
Internet.
SCADA systems are used to control and monitor physical processes, examples of which
are transmission of electricity, transportation of gas and oil in pipelines, water distribution,
traffic lights, and other systems used as the basis of modern society. The security of these
SCADA systems is important because compromise or destruction of these systems would
impact multiple areas of society far removed from the original compromise. For example,
a blackout caused by a compromised electrical SCADA system would cause financial
losses to all the customers that received electricity from that source. How security will
affect legacy SCADA and new deployments remains to be seen.
There are many threat vectors to a modern SCADA system. One is the threat of
unauthorized access to the control software, whether it be human access or changes
induced intentionally or accidentally by virus infections and other software threats residing
on the control host machine. Another is the threat of packet access to the network
segments hosting SCADA devices. In many cases, the control protocol lacks any form of
cryptographic security, allowing an attacker to control a SCADA device by sending
commands over a network. In many cases SCADA users have assumed that having a VPN
offered sufficient protection, unaware that security can be trivially bypassed with physical
access to SCADA-related network jacks and switches. Industrial control vendors suggest
approaching SCADA security like Information Security with a defense in depth strategy
that leverages common IT practices.
The reliable function of SCADA systems in our modern infrastructure may be crucial to
public health and safety. As such, attacks on these systems may directly or indirectly
threaten public health and safety. Such an attack has already occurred, carried out on
Maroochy Shire Council's sewage control system in Queensland, Australia. Shortly after a
contractor installed a SCADA system in January 2000, system components began to
function erratically. Pumps did not run when needed and alarms were not reported. More
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critically, sewage flooded a nearby park and contaminated an open surface-water drainage
ditch and flowed 500 meters to a tidal canal. The SCADA system was directing sewage
valves to open when the design protocol should have kept them closed. Initially this was
believed to be a system bug. Monitoring of the system logs revealed the malfunctions were
the result of cyber attacks. Investigators reported 46 separate instances of malicious
outside interference before the culprit was identified. The attacks were made by a
disgruntled ex-employee of the company that had installed the SCADA system. The exemployee was hoping to be hired by the utility full-time to maintain the system.
In April 2008, the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack issued a Critical Infrastructures Report which
discussed the extreme vulnerability of SCADA systems to an electromagnetic pulse
(EMP) event. After testing and analysis, the Commission concluded: "SCADA systems
are vulnerable to EMP insult. The large numbers and widespread reliance on such systems
by all of the Nations critical infrastructures represent a systemic threat to their continued
operation following an EMP event. Additionally, the necessity to reboot, repair, or replace
large numbers of geographically widely dispersed systems will considerably impede the
Nations recovery from such an assault."
Many vendors of SCADA and control products have begun to address the risks posed by
unauthorized access by developing lines of specialized industrial firewall and VPN
solutions for TCP/IP-based SCADA networks as well as external SCADA monitoring and
recording equipment. The International Society of Automation (ISA) started formalizing
SCADA security requirements in 2007 with a working group, WG4. WG4 "deals
specifically with unique technical requirements, measurements, and other features required
to evaluate and assure security resilience and performance of industrial automation and
control systems devices".
The increased interest in SCADA vulnerabilities has resulted in vulnerability researchers
discovering vulnerabilities in commercial SCADA software and more general offensive
SCADA techniques presented to the general security community. In electric and gas utility
SCADA systems, the vulnerability of the large installed base of wired and wireless serial
communications links is addressed in some cases by applying bump-in-the-wire devices
that employ authentication and Advanced Encryption Standard encryption rather than
replacing all existing nodes.
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In June 2010, anti-virus security company VirusBlokAda reported the first detection of
malware that attacks SCADA systems (Siemens' WinCC/PCS 7 systems) running on
Windows operating systems. The malware is called Stuxnet and uses four zero-day attacks
to install a rootkit which in turn logs into the SCADA's database and steals design and
control files. The malware is also capable of changing the control system and hiding those
changes. The malware was found on 14 systems, the majority of which were located in
Iran.
In October 2013 National Geographic released a docudrama titled, "American Blackout"
which dealt with a large-scale cyber attack on SCADA and the United States' electrical
grid.
SCADA In the workplace
SCADA can be a great tool while working in an environment where operational duties
need to be monitored through electronic communication instead of locally. For example,
an operator can position a valve to open or close through SCADA without leaving the
control station or the computer. The SCADA system also can switch a pump or motor on
or off and has the capability of putting motors on a Hand operating status, Off, or
Automatic. Hand refers to operating the equipment locally, while Automatic has the
equipment operate according to set points the operator provides on a computer that can
communicate with the equipment through SCADA.

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CONCLUSION
The industrial training at GAIL(India) Limited, Noida has given me an exposure to the
activities at a large public sector undertaking unit. This being a large organisation deals
with the wide variety of spectrum of technologies. The exposure on STUDY OF
VARIOUS TELECOM EQUIPMENTS USED IN PIPELINE INDUSTRY has givem me
a great confidence and knowledge.

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