Synchronous optical networking

Synchronousopticalnetworking(SONET)andsynchronousdigitalhierarchy (SDH)arestandardizedmultiplexingprotocolsthattransfermultipledigitalbit streamsoveropticalfiberusinglasersorlightemittingdiodes(LEDs).Lowerdata ratescanalsobetransferredviaanelectricalinterface.Themethodwasdeveloped toreplacethePlesiochronousDigitalHierarchy(PDH)systemfortransportinglarger amountsoftelephonecallsanddatatrafficoverthesamefiberwithout synchronizationproblems.SONETgenericcriteriaaredetailedinTelcordia TechnologiesGenericRequirementsdocumentGR253CORE.[1]Genericcriteria applicabletoSONETandothertransmissionsystems(e.g.,asynchronousfiberoptic systemsordigitalradiosystems)arefoundinTelcordiaGR499CORE.[2] SONETandSDH,whichareessentiallythesame,wereoriginallydesignedto transportcircuitmodecommunications(e.g.,DS1,DS3)fromavarietyofdifferent sources,buttheywereprimarilydesignedtosupportrealtime,uncompressed, circuitswitchedvoiceencodedinPCMformat.[3]Theprimarydifficultyindoingthis priortoSONET/SDHwasthatthesynchronizationsourcesofthesevariouscircuits weredifferent.Thismeantthateachcircuitwasactuallyoperatingataslightly differentrateandwithdifferentphase.SONET/SDHallowedforthesimultaneous transportofmanydifferentcircuitsofdifferingoriginwithinasingleframing protocol.SONET/SDHisnotitselfacommunicationsprotocolperse,butatransport protocol. DuetoSONET/SDH'sessentialprotocolneutralityandtransportorientedfeatures, SONET/SDHwastheobviouschoicefortransportingAsynchronousTransfer Mode(ATM)frames.Itquicklyevolvedmappingstructuresandconcatenated payloadcontainerstotransportATMconnections.Inotherwords,forATM(and eventuallyotherprotocolssuchasEthernet),theinternalcomplexstructure previouslyusedtotransportcircuitorientedconnectionswasremovedandreplaced withalargeandconcatenatedframe(suchasOC3c)intowhichATMcells,IP packets,orEthernetframesareplaced. BothSDHandSONETarewidelyusedtoday:SONETintheUnitedStatesandCanada, andSDHintherestoftheworld.AlthoughtheSONETstandardsweredeveloped beforeSDH,itisconsideredavariationofSDHbecauseofSDH'sgreaterworldwide marketpenetration. TheSDHstandardwasoriginallydefinedbytheEuropeanTelecommunications StandardsInstitute(ETSI),andisformalizedasInternationalTelecommunications Union(ITU)standardsG.707,[4]G.783,[5]G.784,[6]andG.803.[7][8]TheSONETstandard

wasdefinedbyTelcordia[1]andAmericanNationalStandardsInstitute(ANSI) standardT1.105.
DifferencefromPDH SynchronousnetworkingdiffersfromPlesiochronousDigitalHierarchy(PDH)inthattheexactratesthat areusedtotransportthedataonSONET/SDHaretightlysynchronizedacrosstheentirenetwork, usingatomicclocks.Thissynchronizationsystemallowsentireintercountrynetworkstooperate synchronously,greatlyreducingtheamountofbufferingrequiredbetweenelementsinthenetwork. BothSONETandSDHcanbeusedtoencapsulateearlierdigitaltransmissionstandards,suchasthePDH standard,ortheycanbeusedtodirectlysupporteitherAsynchronousTransferMode(ATM)orso calledpacketoverSONET/SDH(POS)networking.Assuch,itisinaccuratetothinkofSDHorSONETas communicationsprotocolsinandofthemselves;theyaregeneric,allpurposetransportcontainersfor movingbothvoiceanddata.ThebasicformatofaSONET/SDHsignalallowsittocarrymanydifferent servicesinitsvirtualcontainer(VC),becauseitisbandwidthflexible. Protocoloverview SONETandSDHoftenusedifferenttermstodescribeidenticalfeaturesorfunctions.Thiscancause confusionandexaggeratetheirdifferences.Withafewexceptions,SDHcanbethoughtofasasuperset ofSONET. Theprotocolisanextremelyheavilymultiplexedstructure,withtheheaderinterleavedbetweenthe datainacomplexway.Thispermitstheencapsulateddatatohaveitsownframerateandbeableto "floataround"relativetotheSDH/SONETframestructureandrate.Thisinterleavingpermitsavery lowlatencyfortheencapsulateddata.Datapassingthroughequipmentcanbedelayedbyatmost 32microseconds(s),comparedtoaframerateof125s;manycompetingprotocolsbufferthedata duringsuchtransitsforatleastoneframeorpacketbeforesendingiton.Extrapaddingisallowedfor themultiplexeddatatomovewithintheoverallframing,asthedataisclockedatadifferentratethan theframerate.Theprotocolismademorecomplexbythedecisiontopermitthispaddingatmostlevels ofthemultiplexingstructure,butitimprovesallaroundperformance. Thebasicunitoftransmission ThebasicunitofframinginSDHisaSTM1(SynchronousTransportModule,level1),whichoperatesat 155.52megabitspersecond(Mbit/s).SONETreferstothisbasicunitasanSTS3c(Synchronous TransportSignal3,concatenated)orOC3c,dependingonwhetherthesignaliscarriedelectrically(STS) oroptically(OC),butitshighlevelfunctionality,framesize,andbitratearethesameasSTM1. SONEToffersanadditionalbasicunitoftransmission,theSTS1(SynchronousTransportSignal1)orOC 1,operatingat51.84Mbit/sexactlyonethirdofanSTM1/STS3c/OC3ccarrier.Thisspeedisdictated bythebandwidthrequirementsforPCMencodedtelephonicvoicesignals:atthisrate,anSTS1/OC1 circuitcancarrythebandwidthequivalentofastandardDS3channel,whichcancarry67264Kbit/s

voicechannels.[3]InSONET,theSTS3c/OC3csignaliscomposedofthreemultiplexedSTS1signals;the STS3C/OC3cmaybecarriedonanOC3signal.SomemanufacturersalsosupporttheSDHequivalentof theSTS1/OC1,knownasSTM0. Framing Inpacketorienteddatatransmission,suchasEthernet,apacketframeusuallyconsistsofaheaderand apayload.Theheaderistransmittedfirst,followedbythepayload(andpossiblyatrailer,suchasaCRC). Insynchronousopticalnetworking,thisismodifiedslightly.Theheaderistermedtheoverhead,and insteadofbeingtransmittedbeforethepayload,isinterleavedwithitduringtransmission.Partofthe overheadistransmitted,thenpartofthepayload,thenthenextpartoftheoverhead,thenthenext partofthepayload,untiltheentireframehasbeentransmitted. InthecaseofanSTS1,theframeis810octetsinsize,whiletheSTM1/STS3cframeis2,430octetsin size.ForSTS1,theframeistransmittedasthreeoctetsofoverhead,followedby87octetsofpayload. Thisisrepeatedninetimes,until810octetshavebeentransmitted,taking125s.InthecaseofanSTS 3c/STM1,whichoperatesthreetimesfasterthananSTS1,nineoctetsofoverheadaretransmitted, followedby261octetsofpayload.Thisisalsorepeatedninetimesuntil2,430octetshavebeen transmitted,alsotaking125s.ForbothSONETandSDH,thisisoftenrepresentedbydisplayingthe framegraphically:asablockof90columnsandninerowsforSTS1,and270columnsandninerowsfor STM1/STS3c.Thisrepresentationalignsalltheoverheadcolumns,sotheoverheadappearsasa contiguousblock,asdoesthepayload. TheinternalstructureoftheoverheadandpayloadwithintheframediffersslightlybetweenSONETand SDH,anddifferenttermsareusedinthestandardstodescribethesestructures.Theirstandardsare extremelysimilarinimplementation,makingiteasytointeroperatebetweenSDHandSONETatany givenbandwidth. Inpractice,thetermsSTS1andOC1aresometimesusedinterchangeably,thoughtheOCdesignation referstothesignalinitsopticalform.ItisthereforeincorrecttosaythatanOC3contains3OC1s:an OC3canbesaidtocontain3STS1s. SDHframe

AnSTM1frame.Thefirstninecolumnscontaintheoverheadandthepointers.Forthesakeof simplicity,theframeisshownasarectangularstructureof270columnsandninerowsbuttheprotocol doesnottransmitthebytesinthisorder.

Forthesakeofsimplicity,theframeisshownasarectangularstructureof270columnsandninerows. Thefirstthreerowsandninecolumnscontainregeneratorsectionoverhead(RSOH)andthelastfive rowsandninecolumnscontainmultiplexsectionoverhead(MSOH).Thefourthrowfromthetop containspointers. TheSTM1(SynchronousTransportModule,level1)frameisthebasictransmissionformatforSDHthe firstlevelofthesynchronousdigitalhierarchy.TheSTM1frameistransmittedinexactly125s, therefore,thereare8,000framespersecondona155.52Mbit/sOC3fiberopticcircuit.[nb1]TheSTM1 frameconsistsofoverheadandpointersplusinformationpayload.Thefirstninecolumnsofeachframe makeuptheSectionOverheadandAdministrativeUnitPointers,andthelast261columnsmakeupthe InformationPayload.Thepointers(H1,H2,H3bytes)identifyadministrativeunits(AU)withinthe informationpayload.Thus,anOC3circuitcancarry150.336Mbit/sofpayload,afteraccountingforthe overhead.[nb2] Carriedwithintheinformationpayload,whichhasitsownframestructureofninerowsand261 columns,areadministrativeunitsidentifiedbypointers.Alsowithintheadministrativeunitareoneor morevirtualcontainers(VCs).VCscontainpathoverheadandVCpayload.Thefirstcolumnisforpath overhead;itisfollowedbythepayloadcontainer,whichcanitselfcarryothercontainers.Administrative unitscanhaveanyphasealignmentwithintheSTMframe,andthisalignmentisindicatedbythepointer inrowfour. Thesectionoverhead(SOH)ofaSTM1signalisdividedintotwoparts:theregeneratorsection overhead(RSOH)andthemultiplexsectionoverhead(MSOH).Theoverheadscontaininformationfrom thetransmissionsystemitself,whichisusedforawiderangeofmanagementfunctions,suchas

monitoringtransmissionquality,detectingfailures,managingalarms,datacommunicationchannels, servicechannels,etc. TheSTMframeiscontinuousandistransmittedinaserialfashion:bytebybyte,rowbyrow. Transportoverhead Thetransportoverheadisusedforsignalingandmeasuringtransmissionerrorrates,andiscomposedas follows: Sectionoverhead CalledRSOH(regeneratorsectionoverhead)inSDHterminology:27octetscontaininginformationabout theframestructurerequiredbytheterminalequipment. Lineoverhead CalledMSOH(multiplexsectionoverhead)inSDH:45octetscontaininginformationabouterror correctionandAutomaticProtectionSwitchingmessages(e.g.,alarmsandmaintenancemessages)as mayberequiredwithinthenetwork. AUPointer PointstothelocationoftheJ1byteinthepayload(thefirstbyteinthevirtualcontainer).[10] Pathvirtualenvelope Datatransmittedfromendtoendisreferredtoaspathdata.Itiscomposedoftwocomponents: Payloadoverhead(POH) Nineoctetsusedforendtoendsignalinganderrormeasurement. Payload Userdata(774bytesforSTM0/STS1,or2,340octetsforSTM1/STS3c) ForSTS1,thepayloadisreferredtoasthesynchronouspayloadenvelope(SPE),whichinturnhas18 stuffingbytes,leadingtotheSTS1payloadcapacityof756bytes.[11] TheSTS1payloadisdesignedtocarryafullPDHDS3frame.WhentheDS3entersaSONET network,pathoverheadisadded,andthatSONETnetworkelement(NE)issaidtobeapathgenerator andterminator.TheSONETNEislineterminatingifitprocessesthelineoverhead.Notethatwherever thelineorpathisterminated,thesectionisterminatedalso.SONETregeneratorsterminatethesection, butnotthepathsorline. AnSTS1payloadcanalsobesubdividedintosevenvirtualtributarygroups(VTGs).EachVTGcanthen besubdividedintofourVT1.5signals,eachofwhichcancarryaPDHDS1signal.AVTGmayinsteadbe

subdividedintothreeVT2signals,eachofwhichcancarryaPDHE1signal.TheSDHequivalentofaVTG isaTUG2;VT1.5isequivalenttoVC11,andVT2isequivalenttoVC12. ThreeSTS1signalsmaybemultiplexedbytimedivisionmultiplexingtoformthenextlevelofthe SONEThierarchy,theOC3(STS3),runningat155.52Mbit/s.Thesignalismultiplexedbyinterleaving thebytesofthethreeSTS1framestoformtheSTS3frame,containing2,430bytesandtransmittedin 125s. Higherspeedcircuitsareformedbysuccessivelyaggregatingmultiplesofslowercircuits,theirspeed alwaysbeingimmediatelyapparentfromtheirdesignation.Forexample,fourSTS3orAU4signalscan beaggregatedtoforma622.08Mbit/ssignaldesignatedOC12orSTM4. ThehighestratecommonlydeployedistheOC768orSTM256circuit,whichoperatesatrateofjust under38.5Gbit/s.[12]Wherefiberexhaustionisaconcern,multipleSONETsignalscanbetransported overmultiplewavelengthsonasinglefiberpairbymeansofwavelengthdivisionmultiplexing,including densewavelengthdivisionmultiplexing(DWDM)andcoarsewavelengthdivisionmultiplexing(CWDM). DWDMcircuitsarethebasisforallmodernsubmarinecommunicationscablesystemsandotherlong haulcircuits. SONET/SDHandrelationshipto10GigabitEthernet Anothertypeofhighspeeddatanetworkingcircuitis10GigabitEthernet(10GbE).TheGigabitEthernet Alliancecreatedtwo10GigabitEthernetvariants:alocalareavariant(LANPHY)withalinerateof 10.3125Gbit/s,andawideareavariant(WANPHY)withthesamelinerateasOC192/STM64 (9,953,280Kbit/s).TheWANPHYvariantencapsulatesEthernetdatausingalightweightSDH/SONET frame,soastobecompatibleatalowlevelwithequipmentdesignedtocarrySDH/SONETsignals, whereastheLANPHYvariantencapsulatesEthernetdatausing64B/66Blinecoding. However,10GigabitEthernetdoesnotexplicitlyprovideanyinteroperabilityatthebitstreamlevelwith otherSDH/SONETsystems.ThisdiffersfromWDMsystemtransponders,includingbothcoarseand densewavelengthdivisionmultiplexingsystems(CWDMandDWDM)thatcurrentlysupportOC192 SONETsignals,whichcannormallysupportthinSONETframed10GigabitEthernet. SONET/SDHdatarates SONET/SDHDesignationsandbandwidths Payload SONETOptical SONETFrame SDHleveland bandwidth[nb CarrierLevel Format FrameFormat 3] (kbit/s) OC1 STS1 STM0 50,112

LineRate(kbit/s)

51,840

OC3

STS3 STS12 STS24 STS48 STS192 STS768

STM1 STM4 STM16 STM64 STM256

150,336 601,344 1,202,688 2,405,376 9,621,504 38,486,016

155,520 622,080 1,244,160 2,488,320 9,953,280 39,813,120

OC12 OC24 OC48

OC192 OC768

Userthroughputmustalsodeductpathoverheadfromthepayloadbandwidth,butpathoverhead bandwidthisvariablebasedonthetypesofcrossconnectsbuiltacrosstheopticalsystem. Notethatthedatarateprogressionstartsat155Mbit/sandincreasesbymultiplesoffour.Theonly exceptionisOC24,whichisstandardizedinANSIT1.105,butnotaSDHstandardrateinITUT G.707.[9][4]Otherrates,suchasOC9,OC18,OC36,OC96,andOC1536,aredefinedbutnotcommonly deployed;mostareconsideredorphanedrates.[13][14][3] Thenextlogicalrateof160Gbit/sOC3072/STM1024hasnotyetbeenstandardized,duetothecostof highratetransceiversandtheabilitytomorecheaplymultiplexwavelengthsat10and40Gbit/s.[citation needed] Physicallayer Thephysicallayeractuallycomprisesalargenumberoflayerswithinit,onlyoneofwhichisthe optical/transmissionlayer(whichincludesbitrates,jitterspecifications,opticalsignalspecifications, etc.).TheSONETandSDHstandardscomewithahostoffeaturesforisolatingandidentifyingsignal defectsandtheirorigins. SONET/SDHnetworkmanagementprotocols Seealso:TelecommunicationsManagementNetwork. SONETequipmentisoftenmanagedwiththeTL1protocol.TL1isatelecomlanguageformanagingand reconfiguringSONETnetworkelements.ThecommandlanguageusedbyaSONETnetworkelement, suchasTL1,mustbecarriedbyothermanagementprotocols,suchasSNMP,CORBA,orXML.SDHhas beenmainlymanagedusingtheQ3interfaceprotocolsuitedefinedinITUrecommendationsQ.811and Q.812.WiththeconvergenceofSONETandSDHonswitchingmatrixandnetworkelements architecture,newerimplementationshavealsoofferedTL1.[citationneeded] MostSONETNEshavealimitednumberofmanagementinterfacesdefined:

Electricalinterface Theelectricalinterface,oftena50ohmcoaxialcable,sendsSONETTL1commandsfromalocal managementnetworkphysicallyhousedinthecentralofficewheretheSONETnetworkelementis located.Thisisforlocalmanagementofthatnetworkelementand,possibly,remotemanagementof otherSONETnetworkelements. Craftinterface Local"craftspersons"(telephonenetworkengineers)canaccessaSONETnetworkelementona"craft port"andissuecommandsthroughadumbterminalorterminalemulationprogramrunningona laptop.Thisinterfacecanalsobeattachedtoaconsoleserver,allowingforremoteoutofband managementandlogging. Datacommunicationchannels(DCCs) SONETandSDHhavededicateddatacommunicationchannels(DCCs)withinthesectionandline overheadformanagementtraffic.Generally,sectionoverhead(regeneratorsectioninSDH)isused. AccordingtoITUTG.7712,therearethreemodesusedformanagement:[15]

IPonlystack,usingPPPasdatalink OSIonlystack,usingLAPDasdatalink Dual(IP+OSI)stackusingPPPorLAPDwithtunnelingfunctionstocommunicatebetween stacks.

Tohandleallofthepossiblemanagementchannelsandsignals,mostmodernnetworkelementscontain arouterforthenetworkcommandsandunderlying(data)protocols. Themainfunctionsofnetworkmanagementinclude: Networkandnetworkelementprovisioning Inordertoallocatebandwidththroughoutanetwork,eachnetworkelementmustbeconfigured. Althoughthiscanbedonelocally,throughacraftinterface,itisnormallydonethroughanetwork managementsystem(sittingatahigherlayer)thatinturnoperatesthroughtheSONET/SDHnetwork managementnetwork. Softwareupgrade NetworkelementsoftwareupgradesaredonemostlythroughtheSONET/SDHmanagementnetworkin modernequipment. Performancemanagement

Networkelementshaveaverylargesetofstandardsforperformancemanagement.Theperformance managementcriteriaallownotonlymonitoringthehealthofindividualnetworkelements,butisolating andidentifyingmostnetworkdefectsoroutages.Higherlayernetworkmonitoringandmanagement softwareallowstheproperfilteringandtroubleshootingofnetworkwideperformancemanagement,so thatdefectsandoutagescanbequicklyidentifiedandresolved. Equipment WithadvancesinSONETandSDHchipsets,thetraditionalcategoriesofnetworkelementsarenolonger distinct.Nevertheless,asnetworkarchitectureshaveremainedrelativelyconstant,evennewer equipment(includingmultiserviceprovisioningplatforms)canbeexaminedinlightofthearchitectures theywillsupport.Thus,thereisvalueinviewingnew,aswellastraditional,equipmentintermsofthe oldercategories. Regenerator Traditionalregeneratorsterminatethesectionoverhead,butnotthelineorpath.Regeneratorsextend longhaulroutesinawaysimilartomostregenerators,byconvertinganopticalsignalthathasalready traveledalongdistanceintoelectricalformatandthenretransmittingaregeneratedhighpowersignal. Sincethelate1990s,regeneratorshavebeenlargelyreplacedbyopticalamplifiers.Also,someofthe functionalityofregeneratorshasbeenabsorbedbythetranspondersofwavelengthdivision multiplexingsystems. Adddropmultiplexer Adddropmultiplexers(ADMs)arethemostcommontypeofnetworkelements.TraditionalADMswere designedtosupportoneofthenetworkarchitectures,thoughnewgenerationsystemscanoften supportseveralarchitectures,sometimessimultaneously.ADMstraditionallyhaveahighspeed side(wherethefulllineratesignalissupported),andalowspeedside,whichcanconsistofelectricalas wellasopticalinterfaces.Thelowspeedsidetakesinlowspeedsignals,whicharemultiplexedbythe networkelementandsentoutfromthehighspeedside,orviceversa. Digitalcrossconnectsystem Recentdigitalcrossconnectsystems(DCSsorDXCs)supportnumeroushighspeedsignals,andallowfor crossconnectionofDS1s,DS3sandevenSTS3s/12candsoon,fromanyinputtoanyoutput.Advanced DCSscansupportnumeroussubtendingringssimultaneously. Networkarchitectures SONETandSDHhavealimitednumberofarchitecturesdefined.Thesearchitecturesallowforefficient bandwidthusageaswellasprotection(i.e.theabilitytotransmittrafficevenwhenpartofthenetwork hasfailed),andarefundamentaltotheworldwidedeploymentofSONETandSDHformovingdigital

traffic.EverySDH/SONETconnectionontheopticalPhysicallayerusestwoopticalfibers,regardlessof thetransmissionspeed. LinearAutomaticProtectionSwitching LinearAutomaticProtectionSwitching(APS),alsoknownas1+1,involvesfourfibers:twoworkingfibers (oneineachdirection),andtwoprotectionfibers.Switchingisbasedonthelinestate,andmaybe unidirectional(witheachdirectionswitchingindependently),orbidirectional(wherethenetwork elementsateachendnegotiatesothatbothdirectionsaregenerallycarriedonthesamepairoffibers). Unidirectionalpathswitchedring Inunidirectionalpathswitchedrings(UPSRs),tworedundant(pathlevel)copiesofprotectedtrafficare sentineitherdirectionaroundaring.Aselectorattheegressnodedetermineswhichcopyhasthe highestquality,andusesthatcopy,thuscopingifonecopydeterioratesduetoabrokenfiberorother failure.UPSRstendtositnearertotheedgeofanetwork,andassucharesometimescalledcollector rings.Becausethesamedataissentaroundtheringinbothdirections,thetotalcapacityofanUPSRis equaltothelinerateNoftheOCNring.[16]Forexample,inanOC3ringwith3STS1susedtotransport 3DS3sfromingressnodeAtotheegressnodeD,100percentoftheringbandwidth(N=3)wouldbe consumedbynodesAandD.Anyothernodesontheringcouldonlyactaspassthroughnodes.TheSDH equivalentofUPSRissubnetworkconnectionprotection(SNCP);SNCPdoesnotimposearingtopology, butmayalsobeusedinmeshtopologies. Bidirectionallineswitchedring Bidirectionallineswitchedring(BLSR)comesintwovarieties:twofiberBLSRandfourfiberBLSR.BLSRs switchatthelinelayer.UnlikeUPSR,BLSRdoesnotsendredundantcopiesfromingresstoegress. Rather,theringnodesadjacenttothefailurereroutethetraffic"thelongway"aroundthering.BLSRs tradecostandcomplexityforbandwidthefficiency,aswellastheabilitytosupport"extratraffic"that canbepreemptedwhenaprotectionswitchingeventoccurs. BLSRscanoperatewithinametropolitanregionor,often,willmovetrafficbetweenmunicipalities. BecauseaBLSRdoesnotsendredundantcopiesfromingresstoegress,thetotalbandwidththataBLSR cansupportisnotlimitedtothelinerateNoftheOCNring,andcanactuallybelarger thanNdependinguponthetrafficpatternonthering.[17]Inthebestcase,alltrafficisbetweenadjacent nodes.Theworstcaseiswhenalltrafficontheringegressesfromasinglenode,i.e.,theBLSRisserving asacollectorring.Inthiscase,thebandwidththattheringcansupportisequaltothelinerateNofthe OCNring.ThisiswhyBLSRsareseldom,ifever,deployedincollectorrings,butoftendeployedininter officerings.TheSDHequivalentofBLSRiscalledMultiplexSectionSharedProtectionRing(MSSPRING). Synchronization Clocksourcesusedforsynchronizationintelecommunicationsnetworksareratedbyquality,commonly calledastratum.Typically,anetworkelementusesthehighestqualitystratumavailabletoit,whichcan bedeterminedbymonitoringthesynchronizationstatusmessages(SSM)ofselectedclocksources.

Synchronizationsourcesavailabletoanetworkelementare: Localexternaltiming ThisisgeneratedbyanatomicCaesiumclockorasatellitederivedclockbyadeviceinthesamecentral officeasthenetworkelement.TheinterfaceisoftenaDS1,withsyncstatusmessagessuppliedbythe clockandplacedintotheDS1overhead. Linederivedtiming Anetworkelementcanchoose(orbeconfigured)toderiveitstimingfromthelinelevel,bymonitoring theS1syncstatusbytestoensurequality. Holdover Asalastresort,intheabsenceofhigherqualitytiming,anetworkelementcangointoaholdovermode untilhigherqualityexternaltimingbecomesavailableagain.Inthismode,thenetworkelementusesits owntimingcircuitsasareference. Timingloops Atimingloopoccurswhennetworkelementsinanetworkareeachderivingtheirtimingfromother networkelements,withoutanyofthembeinga"master"timingsource.Thisnetworkloopwill eventuallyseeitsowntiming"floataway"fromanyexternalnetworks,causingmysteriousbiterrors andultimately,intheworstcases,massivelossoftraffic.Thesourceofthesekindsoferrorscanbehard todiagnose.Ingeneral,anetworkthathasbeenproperlyconfiguredshouldneverfinditselfinatiming loop,butsomeclassesofsilentfailurescouldneverthelesscausethisissue. NextgenerationSONET/SDH SONET/SDHdevelopmentwasoriginallydrivenbytheneedtotransportmultiplePDHsignalslikeDS1, E1,DS3,andE3alongwithothergroupsofmultiplexed64Kbit/spulsecodemodulatedvoicetraffic. TheabilitytotransportATMtrafficwasanotherearlyapplication.InordertosupportlargeATM bandwidths,concatenationwasdeveloped,wherebysmallermultiplexingcontainers(e.g.,STS1)are inverselymultiplexedtobuildupalargercontainer(e.g.,STS3c)tosupportlargedataorientedpipes. Oneproblemwithtraditionalconcatenation,however,isinflexibility.Dependingonthedataandvoice trafficmixthatmustbecarried,therecanbealargeamountofunusedbandwidthleftover,duetothe fixedsizesofconcatenatedcontainers.Forexample,fittinga100Mbit/sFastEthernetconnectioninside a155Mbit/sSTS3ccontainerleadstoconsiderablewaste.Moreimportantistheneedforall intermediatenetworkelementstosupportnewlyintroducedconcatenationsizes.Thisproblemwas overcomewiththeintroductionofVirtualConcatenation. Virtualconcatenation(VCAT)allowsforamorearbitraryassemblyoflowerordermultiplexing containers,buildinglargercontainersoffairlyarbitrarysize(e.g.,100Mbit/s)withouttheneedfor intermediatenetworkelementstosupportthisparticularformofconcatenation.Virtualconcatenation

leveragestheX.86orGenericFramingProcedure(GFP)protocolsinordertomappayloadsofarbitrary bandwidthintothevirtuallyconcatenatedcontainer. TheLinkCapacityAdjustmentScheme(LCAS)allowsfordynamicallychangingthebandwidthvia dynamicvirtualconcatenation,multiplexingcontainersbasedontheshorttermbandwidthneedsinthe network. ThesetofnextgenerationSONET/SDHprotocolsthatenableEthernettransportisreferredto asEthernetoverSONET/SDH(EoS).