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Synchronous optical networking

Synchronous optical networking is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Synchronous optical networking rather than just read about it. In short: Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). At low transmission rates, data can also be transferred via an electrical interface.

Synchronous optical networking — main illustration
Synchronous optical networking — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Synchronous optical networking belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Synchronous optical networking to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Synchronous optical networking from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). At low transmission rates, data can also be transferred via an electrical interface. The method was developed to replace the plesiochronous digital hierarchy (PDH) system for transporting large amounts of telephone calls and data traffic over the same fiber without the problems of synchronization. SONET and SDH, which are essentially the same, were originally designed to transport circuit mode communications, e.g. DS1, DS3, from a variety of different sources. However, they were primarily designed to support real-time, uncompressed, circuit-switched voice encoded in PCM format. The primary difficulty in doing this prior to SONET/SDH was that the synchronization sources of these various circuits were different. This meant that each circuit was actually operating at a slightly different rate and with different phase. SONET/SDH allowed for the simultaneous transport of many different circuits of differing origin within a single framing protocol. SONET/SDH is not a complete communications protocol in itself, but a transport protocol (not a "transport" in the OSI Model sense). Due to SONET/SDH's essential protocol neutrality and transport-oriented features, SONET/SDH was the choice for transporting the fixed length Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) frames also known as cells. It quickly evolved mapping structures and concatenated payload containers to transport ATM connections. In other words, for ATM (and eventually other protocols such as Ethernet), the internal complex structure previously used to transport circuit-oriented connections was removed and replaced with a large and concatenated frame (such as STS-3c) into which ATM cells, IP packets, or Ethernet frames are placed.

Both SDH and SONET are widely used today: SONET in the United States and Canada, and SDH in the rest of the world. Although the SONET standards were developed before SDH, it is considered a variation of SDH because of SDH's greater worldwide market penetration. SONET is subdivided into four sublayers with some factor such as the path, line, section and physical layer. The SDH standard was originally defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and is formalised as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standards G.707, G.783, G.784, and G.803. The SONET standard was defined by Telcordia and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard T1.105. which define the set of transmission formats and transmission rates in the range above 51.840 Mbit/s.

Difference from PDH SDH differs from Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) in that the exact rates that are used to transport the data on SONET/SDH are tightly synchronized across the entire network, using atomic clocks. This synchronization system allows entire inter-country networks to operate synchronously, greatly reducing the amount of buffering required between elements in the network. Both SONET and SDH can be used to encapsulate earlier digital transmission standards, such as the PDH standard, or they can be used to directly support either Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) or so-called packet over SONET/SDH (POS) networking. Therefore, it is inaccurate to think of SDH or SONET as communications protocols in and of themselves; they are generic, all-purpose transport containers for moving both voice and data. The basic format of a SONET/SDH signal allows it to carry many different services in its virtual container (VC), because it is bandwidth-flexible.

Protocol overview SONET and SDH often use different terms to describe identical features or functions. This can cause confusion and exaggerate their differences. With a few exceptions, SDH can be thought of as a superset of SONET. SONET is a set of transport containers that allow for delivery of a variety of protocols, including traditional telephony, ATM, Ethernet, and TCP/IP traffic. SONET therefore is not in itself a native communications protocol and should not be confused as being necessarily connection-oriented in the way that term is usually used. The protocol is a heavily multiplexed structure, with the header interleaved between the data in a complex way. This permits the encapsulated data to have its own frame rate and be able to "float around" relative to the SDH/SONET frame structure and rate. This interleaving permits a very low latency for the encapsulated data. Data passing through equipment can be delayed by at most 32 μs, compared to a frame rate of 125 μs; in many competing protocols, which buffer the data during such transits for at least one frame or packet before sending it on. Extra padding is allowed for the multiplexed data to move within the overall framing, as the data is clocked at a different rate than the frame rate. The protocol is made more complex by the decision to permit this padding at most levels of the multiplexing structure, but it improves all-around performance.

Basic transmission unit The basic unit of framing in SDH is a STM-1 (Synchronous Transport Module, level 1), which operates at 155.520 megabits per second (Mbit/s). SONET refers to this basic unit as an STS-3c (Synchronous Transport Signal 3, concatenated). When the STS-3c is carried over OC-3, it is often colloquially referred to as OC-3c, but this is not an official designation within the SONET standard as there is no physical layer (i.e. optical) difference between an STS-3c and 3 STS-1s carried within an OC-3. SONET offers an additional basic unit of transmission, the STS-1 (Synchronous Transport Signal 1) or OC-1, operating at 51.84 Mbit/s—exactly one third of an STM-1/STS-3c/OC-3c carrier. This speed is dictated by the bandwidth requirements for PCM-encoded telephonic voice signals: at this rate, an STS-1/OC-1 circuit can carry the bandwidth equivalent of a standard DS-3 channel, which can carry 672 64-kbit/s voice channels. In SONET, the STS-3c signal is composed of three multiplexed STS-1 signals; the STS-3c may be carried on an OC-3 signal. Some manufacturers also support the SDH equivalent of the STS-1/OC-1, known as STM-0.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Synchronous optical networking: Racks of Alcatel STM-16 SDH add-drop multiplexers
Racks of Alcatel STM-16 SDH add-drop multiplexers
Synchronous optical networking: An STM-1 frame. The first nine columns contain the overhead and the pointers. For the sake of simplicity, the frame is shown as a rectangular structure of 270 columns and nine rows but the protocol does not transmit the bytes in this order.
An STM-1 frame. The first nine columns contain the overhead and the pointers. For the sake of simplicity, the frame is shown as a rectangular structure of 270 columns and nine rows but the protocol does not transmit the bytes in this order.
Synchronous optical networking: For the sake of simplicity, the frame is shown as a rectangular structure of 270 columns and nine rows. The first three rows and nine columns contain regenerator section overhead (RSOH) and the last five rows and nine columns contain multiplex section overhead (MSOH). The fourth row from the top contains pointers.
For the sake of simplicity, the frame is shown as a rectangular structure of 270 columns and nine rows. The first three rows and nine columns contain regenerator section overhead (RSOH) and the last five rows and nine columns contain multiplex section overhead (MSOH). The fourth row from the top contains pointers.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Synchronous optical networking

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Synchronous optical networking claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Synchronous optical networking before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Synchronous optical networking ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Synchronous optical networking

In research
Synchronous optical networking appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Synchronous optical networking in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Synchronous optical networking is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fiber-optic communications, ITU-T G Series Recommendations, ITU-T recommendations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Synchronous optical networking outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Synchronous optical networking in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Synchronous optical networking means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Synchronous optical networking out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Synchronous optical networking in simple terms?

Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). At low transmission rates, data can also be…

Why does Synchronous optical networking matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Synchronous optical networking?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Synchronous optical networking.

Tags

  • Fiber-optic communications
  • ITU-T G Series Recommendations
  • ITU-T recommendations
  • Network protocols
  • Synchronous optical networking

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