Optical network An optical network is a type of data communication network built with optical fiber technology.

It utilizes optical fiber cables as the primary communication medium for converting data and passing data as light pulses between sender and receiver nodes. An optical network is also known as an optical fiber network or fiber optic network. WDM WDMThe technology of combining a number of wavelengths onto the same Fiber is known WDM. WDM is the basic technology of optical networking. It is a technique for using a fiber to carry many separate and independent channels. In WDM multiple optical carriers at different wavelengths are modulated by using independent electrical bit streams and are then transmitted over the same fiber. It increases the information carrying capacity of a fiber. Advantages (i) It has greater transmission capacity (ii) Duplex transmission (iii) Simultaneous transmission of various signals (iv) Easy system expansion. (v) Lower cost (vi) Faster access to new channels. The key system features of WDM are (1) Capacity upgrade WDM system can increase the capacity of a fiber network. (ii) Transparency In WDM, each optical channel can carry any transmission format with WDM, any type of information, analog or digital can be sent simultaneously over the same fiber. (iii) Wavelength routingIn addition to using multiple wavelengths to increase link capacity

Telecommunication infrastructure Telecommunication infrastructure usually consists of three kinds of networks: 1. Access, 2. Transport and 3. Core Network. Fixed access network usually consists of MSAN / DSLAM / IP A devices, as well as FR and ATM nodes. Mobile GSM network consists of several thousand base stations of Ericsson, Nokia or Siemens. Mobile 3G network consists of several hundred base stations from Ericsson, Nokia and Hawaii and etc.

Transport Network is composed of optical cable network, wired network, radio links, DWDM network and IP / MPLS network. Fiber optic cable is synonym for modern transportation network and is used to transfer data (FE, Gibe, and 10GB), SDH (STM-1/64) or large capacity WDM (wavelength-division multiplexing) signals. Core fixed network usually consists of analog in older parts and digital capacity. Analog capacities must be removed in future. For Digital facilities it is on the equipment following manufacturers: Alcatel (Alcatel 1000 E10, Alcatel LS), Ericsson (Ericsson AXE), Hawaii (Hawaii MSAN, Hawaii UA5000 IP) and Siemens (Siemens EWSD). Switching Switching is process to forward packets coming in from one port to a port leading towards the destination. When data comes on a port it is called ingress, and when data leaves a port or goes out it is called egress. A communication system may include number of switches and nodes. At broad level, switching can be divided into two major categories: Connectionless: Data is forwarded on behalf of forwarding tables. No previous handshaking is required and acknowledgements are optional. Connection Oriented: Before switching data to be forwarded to destination, there is a need to pre-establish circuit along the path between both endpoints. Data is then forwarded on that circuit. After the transfer is completed, circuits can be kept for future use or can be turned down immediately. Circuit Switching When two nodes communicates with each other over a dedicated communication path, it is called circuit switching. Theres a need of pre-specified route from which data will travel and no other data will permitted. In simple words, in circuit switching, to transfer data circuit must established so that the data transfer can take place. Circuits can be permanent or temporary. Applications which use circuit switching may have to go through three phases: Establish a circuit Transfer of data Disconnect the circuit

Circuit switching was designed for voice applications. Telephone is the best suitable example of circuit switching. Before a user can make a call, a virtual path between caller and callee is established over the network. Message Switching This technique was somewhere in middle of circuit switching and packet switching. In message switching, the whole message is treated as a data unit and is switching / transferred in its entirety. A switch working on message switching, first receives the whole message and buffers it until there are resources available to transfer it to the next hop. If the next hop is not having enough resource to accommodate large size message, the message is stored and switch waits.

] This technique was considered substitute to circuit switching. As in circuit switching the whole path is blocked for two entities only. Message switching is replaced by packet switching. Message switching has some drawbacks: Every switch in transit path needs enough storage to accommodate entire message. Because of store-and-forward technique and waits included until resources available, message switching is very slow. Message switching was not a solution for streaming media and real-time applications. Packet Switching Shortcomings of message switching gave birth to an idea of packet switching. The entire message is broken down into smaller chunks called packets. The switching information is added in the header of each packet and transmitted independently. It is easier for intermediate networking devices to store smaller size packets and they do not take much resources either on carrier path or in the switches internal memory.

Packet switching enhances line efficiency as packets from multiple applications can be multiplexed over the carrier. The internet uses packet switching technique. Packet switching enables the user to differentiate data streams based on priorities. Packets are stored and forward according to their priority to provide Quality of Service. Difference between circuit switching and packet switching? Circuit Switching: 1.) In circuit switching, there are various nodes used in the network through which the signals are passed from one system to another. 2.) In this a number of nodes are available between two devices and hence multiple paths are available to pass a signal. 3.) This concept is mainly used in telephony systems. 4.) This is best used for transmission of audio signals and not suitable for data transmission. 5.) This type of switching is connection oriented and may be connectionless also. 6.) Due to its old version, this technique is less popular and more expensive.

Packet Switching: 1.) In packet switching, the data is sent over the network in the form of packets i.e. a large unit of data items wrapped into a single bigger unit. 2.)In these, the packets follows the same path that is defined for them before passing into the network. 3.) It can be used for telephony, DSL services and other data transmission services. 4.) It is best used for sending data over the network and audio and video signals can also be sent over the network in the form of packets. 5.) It is usually a connection less service. 6.) It is a new technology and economic than the circuit switching approach. Advantage of Packet Switching: More efficient use of overall network bandwidth due to flexibility in routing the smaller packets over shared links. Packet switching networks are often cheaper to build as less equipment is needed given this ability to share. Another benefit of packet switching is known as pipelining. Disadvantage of Packet Switching: Longer delays in receiving messages due to the time required to package and route packets. For many applications, delays are not long enough to be significant, but for high-performance applications like real-time video, additional data compression and QoS technology is often required to achieve the required performance levels. Potential for network security risks due to the use of shared physical links. Protocols and other related elements on packet switching networks must designed with the appropriate security precautions.

Synchronous Optical Network( SONET ) SONET is a physical layer network technology designed to carry large volumes of traffic over relatively long distances on fiber optic cabling. SONET was originally designed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for the USA public telephone network in the mid-1980s. SONET possesses several characteristics that make it appealing on the Internet today: SONET defines clear interoperability standards between different vendors' products SONET can carry nearly any higher-level protocol (including IP), and SONET includes built-in support for ease of management and maintenance. Generally speaking, SONET performs at very high speeds. At the base signaling level called "STS-1," SONET supports 51.84 Mbps. The next level of SONET signaling, STS-3, supports triple the bandwidth, or 155.52 Mbps. Higher levels of SONET signaling increase the bandwidth in successive multiples of four, up to approximately 40 Gbps! The speed and cost of SONET make the technology competitive with alternatives like ATM and Gigabit Ethernet. ADVANTAGES OF SONET: -SONET is a newly adopted standard for interfaces in optical networks. -SONET reduced Back-to-Back Multiplexing. -SONET supports a multipoint or HUB configuration. -As a result of SONET transmission, the networks clocks are referenced to a highly stable reference point. -SONET can carry very large amounts of traffic; it would seem on the surface to be an ideal technology for future voice and data broadband networks.

DISADVANTAGES OF SONET: -Fixed circuits. -SONET provisions point-to-point circuits between ring nodes. -Each circuit is allocated a fixed amount of bandwidth that is wasted when not used. -Waste of bandwidth for meshing. DESCRIPTION OF SONET LAYERS: The SONET layer consists of four sub layers:1. The Path Layer: - The highest level, the path layer, takes services such as DS-3, T1, or ISDN and maps them into the SONET format. 2. The Line Layer: - The line layer takes care of a number of functions, including synchronization and multiplexing for the path layer above it. 3. The Section Layer: - The section layer transports STS frames over optical cabling. This layer is commonly compared with the Data-Link layer of the OSI model, which also handles framing and physical transfer. 4. The photonic Layer: - The photonic layer is the electrical and optical interface for transporting information over fiber optic cabling. Optical Transport Network ITU-T defines an Optical Transport Network (OTN) as a set of Optical Network Elements (ONE) connected by optical fiber links, able to provide functionality of transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of optical channels carrying client signals. An ONE may Re-time, Re-Amplify, Re-shape (3R) but it does not have to be 3R it can be purely photonic. OTN was designed to provide support for optical networking using wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) unlike its predecessor SONET/SDH. ITU-T Recommendation G.709 is commonly called Optical Transport Network (OTN) (also called digital wrapper technology or optical channel wrapper). As of December 2009 OTN has standardized the following line rates. OTN Architecture

PDH & SDH 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. Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). difference between PDH and SDH multiplexing methods. PDH and SDH are two different multiplexing techniques used in telecommunication. Their main features are shown below in brief; PDH: Less synchronized Easy to operate Absent of high network management features Low data rates High efficiency in allocating bits in the frame More on manual control SDH: Fully synchronized More software oriented Network management features available High data rates Low efficiency in the allocation of bits in the frame Low user interaction necessary Interoperability is possible Explain clearly the advantages and disadvantages of SDH. Advantages: Provision of high data rates Availability of advanced network management facilities Less user interaction Interoperability is possible Disadvantages: High cost Complex systems High skill of staff required PDH advantages include: Equipment small enough for use in street cabinets Good for point-to-point connections Cost-effective support for access networks PDH disadvantages include: Manufacturer-specific systems Multiplexer mountains No integrated network management Limited management available

Link Management Protocol Link Manager is used for managing the security, link set-up and control. It talks to the other link manager to exchange information and control messages through the link controller using some predefined link-level commands. Its support for upper layer protocols is bit hazy but possibly a upper layer interface can be used to execute algorithms for mode managment (park, hold, sniff, active), security managment, QoS managment etc. These algorithms may themselves have some input from the user itself. For example, if the user requests a low power operation (lower range operation in a home or a room), then link manager can negotiate with the other link manager about the power control and both can go into some sort of low power mode according to some pre-set algorithm. Also if the security is not a big issue, a user can decide about the level of security by choosing some reduced security option and therefore inform link manager to go soft on security. Interleaving Interleaving is a process or methodology to make a system more efficient, fast and reliable by arranging data in a noncontiguous manner. There are many uses for interleaving at the system level, including: -Storage: As hard disks and other storage devices are used to store user and system data, there is always a need to arrange the stored data in an appropriate way. -Error Correction: Errors in data communication and memory can be corrected through interleaving. -Multi-Dimensional Data Structures Interleaving is the only technique supported by all kinds of motherboards. High-level processing management systems are constantly required to implement such techniques. Interleaving promotes efficient database and communication for servers in large organizations. There are various types of interleaving: Two-Way Interleaving: Two memory blocks are accessed at same level for reading and writing operations. The chance for overlapping exists. Four-Way Interleaving: Four memory blocks are accessed at the same time. Error-Correction Interleaving: Errors in communication systems occur in high volumes rather than in single attacks. Interleaving controls these errors with specific algorithms. Latency is one disadvantage of interleaving. Interleaving takes time and hides all kinds of error structures, which are not efficient.