The Synchronous

Optical Network
(SONET)

Presented by:
Charlie Dale D. Catana
The synchronous optical network (SONET)- standard
was especially designed for the high data-rate
capability of fiber-optic transmission.

Fiber Optics High Data Rates

• Requires new digital transmission standards.
• DS signals and T-series carriers developed for
coaxial cable and microwave transmission.
• Do not fully utilize fiber's bandwidth.
Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) Standard
Overview
• North American standard, equivalent to the European
synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH).
• Basic data rate: 51.840 Mb/s, with multiples possible.
• Signal at basic rate: synchronous transport signal level
one (STS-1).
• Signal transmitted on fiber: optical carrier one (OC-1).
SONET/SDH Data Rate Overview
• Lowest speed accommodates North American DS-3 data
rate (44.736 Mb/s) and European E-3 rate (34 Mb/s).
• SONET/SDH is an international standard.
• Data rate of 2.5 Gb/s is within current optical links
capabilities.
• As technology advances, additional SONET basic rate
multiplexing can be achieved.
• TAT-12/13 system already multiplexes two STM-16
signals.
SONET Standard vs DS-1 Digital Transmission Scheme
• SONET STS-1 signal has 8,000 frames per second, similar
to DS-1's sampling rate.
• DS-1 signal has 193 bits per frame, 8 bits for each
sample from 24 channels, plus 1 framing bit.
• SONET STS-1 signal has 6480 bits per frame, arranged in
rows and columns.
STS-1 Signal Structure
• First three columns (27 bytes): transport overhead,
line overhead (9 bytes), section overhead (2 bytes).
• Eighty-seven columns: STS-1 synchronous payload
envelope (SPE).
• Path overhead (POH): 1 byte in each column.
• 4.4% of frame's 810 bytes: 36 bytes for overhead.
SONET Frame and DS Series
• SONET frame has more overhead than DS series.
• DS-1 signals lack information about signal routing
and setup, leading to errors in voice samples.
• Prior to SONET, timing problems in multiplexing
digital signals were prevalent.
• Differences in transmission paths between signals
could cause phase errors.
• Early digital switching had analog signals, making
synchronization less common.
• Digital transmission introduced phase differences,
making synchronization a more serious issue.
Digital Signals and SONET
• DS series of digital signals solved phase problem by
bit stuffing, adding overhead and requiring excess bit
removal.
• SONET uses a pointer to denote starting position of
information frame.
• SONET frames include a payload pointer in
transport overhead to indicate start of synchronous
payload envelope (SPE).
• Pointer value can be adjusted to account for phase
and frequency differences between signals.
Fiber in Local-Area
Networks

Charlie Dale D. Catana

LANs typically use twisted-pair or coaxial cables, with
fiber optics being used for higher data rates and
distances. The trend towards higher bandwidths is
expected to continue.
Chapter 10 outlines three network connection
topologies: star, ring, and bus. Ring topology is
easiest with fiber optics, involving direct connections
from nodes. Often, two rings circulate signals in
opposite directions
NETWORK TOPOLOGY
Bus System Challenges
• Difficulty in tapping into optical fiber at various
points along bus length.
• Optical tee connectors are expensive and
contribute about a decibel of loss.
• Most fiber systems are unidirectional, not suitable
for bus topology.

Fiber LAN Topology Overview

• All-fiber star topology possible with optical power
splitters.
• Ring topology in fiber LANs uses an active hub for
signal conversion.
• Separate fiber connections for signals traveling to
and from the hub.
• Most fiber LANS use FDDI, high-speed Ethernet, or
gigabit Ethernet.
FDDI System Overview
• Utilizes multimode fiber with 1.3 µm wavelength.
• Utilizes LED transmitters and PIN diode receivers
for cost-effectiveness.
• Uses short distances and modest data rates,
eliminating the need for laser transmitters.
• Data rate: 100 Mb/s, high for LAN but low for fiber.
• Compatible with coaxial cable and copper
connections
FDDI System Overview
• Uses two token rings for signals in opposite
directions.
• Each node decodes signal along the fiber, sending
it to the connected terminal if it's for the connected
terminal.
• Each node acts as a regenerative repeater, allowing
for greater distances than other LANs.
• FDDI is often used to connect copper-based LANs
due to its high data rate and long-distance capability.
Fiber vs Copper for Ethernet
• Fiber can replace copper for Ethernet at 100 Mb/s
or 10 Mb/s, though lower data rates are rarely used.
• Multimode glass fiber with diameters of 62.5 µm
and 125 µm is used with LED sources operating at
1300 nm.
• Network is a logical bus with an active hub,
converting optical and electrical signals.
• Fiber offers longer distances between nodes, up to
2 km for standard systems and more with
proprietary transceivers.
"Gigabit Ethernet System Overview"
• Originally designed for fiber optics, can also use
twisted-pair wiring.
• Multimode fiber used for short distances up to
500m.
• Laser diodes operating at 850 nm and single-mode
fiber increase distance to 5 km.
THANK YOU