SONET/SDH – Advanced

Day 1: Overview/Review of Optical Communications Systems

 

• Basic Physical Theory
  • Brief history of optical communications systems
  • Principles of optics relevant to optical communications systems
  • Key background from physics
• Layered Communications Architectures
  • Why layered architectures
  • OSI Model
  • TCP/IP Model
  • Functionality of each layer and physical implementations
• Optical Fiber
  • Types of optical fiber
  • Operation of optical fiber
  • Limitations of optical fiber and optical communications systems
• Optical Light Sources and Detectors
  • Principles of lasers
  • Solid state lasers
  • Coupling of light into fiber
  • Optical detectors
• Modulation of Light, Optical Receivers
  • Methods of modulating light
  • Practical limitations
  • Formats used to transmit information using light and optics
• Noise and Detection
  • Types of noise and distortion which affects optical signals
  • Methods of reducing effects of noise and distortion
  • Optimal detection methods and devices
• DWDM
  • Basic principles of Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
  • Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
  • Architectures used in DWDM
  • Components required for WDM networks
  • International standards for WDM networks
• Opto-electronic Networks
  • FDDI
  • Fiber channel
  • SONET, SDH
  • Ethernet on optical networks
• MPLS
  • Switching vs routing
  • Label switching
  • Multiprotocol label switching in optical networks

 

Day 2: SONET/SDH Principles

 

• SONET Technology and Terminology
  • SONET digital hierarchy
  • Comparison with the Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH)
  • SONET equipment types
  • STS-1 frame format
• SONET Headers
  • Section Overhead (SOH)
  • Line Overhead (LOH)
  • Path Overhead (POH)
  • Floating payload: SONET pointers
  • Synchronization and accommodating jitter
• SONET Error Rates, Detection, and Correction
• Virtual Tributaries (Containers)
  • VT groups
  • Virtual tributaries pointers
  • SONET VT multiframe
  • SONET mapping of asynchronous DS-1, byte-synchronous DS-1, asynchronous DS-3, and asynchronous DS-4
• STS-N Frame Format
  • STS-N frame structure
  • Concatenated STS-Nc frame format
  • STS-Nc frame structure
• SDH versus SONET
  • SONET vs SDH frame structure
  • STM-1 frame
  • Overhead bytes and their function
  • SDH layers
  • Mapping in SDH: C4 mapping and C-3 mapping examples
  • Hierarchical multiplexing structure
• SONET/SDH Networking
  • Network survivability architectures
  • Protection topologies: Linear
  • Protection topologies: Ring
  • Protection topologies: Mesh
  • Topologies: Rings, # fibers, directionality
  • SONET: Automatic Protection Switching (APS)
  • SONET linear APS
  • Add-Drop Multiplexing (ADM)
  • Digital Cross-Connects (DCC)

 

Day 3: SONET/SDH (continued)

 

• Current Architectures: Ring Protection
  • Unidirectional Path Switched Ring (UPSR)
  • Bidirectional Line Switched Ring (BLSR/2)
  • Bi-directional Line Switched Ring (BLSR/4)
  • Mesh restoration versus ring/linear protection
• IP over SONET
  • IP+SONET vs. IP+ATM+SONET
  • IP over Optical Networks (IPO)
  • Packets over SONET (POS)
  • Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) – RFC1661
• SONET/SDH Limitations
• Next Generation SONET/SDH
  • Virtual Concatenation: VCAT
  • SONET channelization and concatenation
  • Virtual concatenation group
  • Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme: LCAS
  • LCAS architecture
• Generic Framing Procedure (GFP)
  • GFP client signal adaptation
  • GFP frame format
  • Adding GFP on SONET
  • Ethernet over SONET
  • Virtual concatenation for Ethernet
• Optical Transport Network
  • OTN hierarchical overview
  • Basic transport structure of an OTN
  • OTN transmitter and receiver
  • OTN layer structure
  • OTN interface classes
  • OTN hierarchical overview

 

Day 4: SONET in the Context of Communications Networks; Advanced Topics

 

• Network Design Principles and Tradeoffs
• Next Generation Network (NGN)
  • Merging the voice and data worlds
  • Vision of ITU-T NGN
  • Structure of ITU NGN Focus Group (FGNGN)
• SONET vs Ethernet in Future Networks
  • The layer 2 problem
  • Growth of Ethernet and Ubiquity of Ethernet networks
  • Elimination of SONET
• Link Capacity Adjustment (LCAS) and Virtual Concatenation (VCAT)
  • Need for dynamic bandwidth in modern networks
  • LCAS implementation and SONET
  • VCAT supporting variable bit rate data streams
• ASON/GMPLS (include restoration at the FO transport level vs OSPF restoration at the IP layer)
  • Control planes and optical networks
  • Flexible bandwidth and Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON)
  • Network routing protocols and border gateway protocols
  • GMPLS fundamentals
  • Restoration at FO transport level
• UNI (User Network Interface)
  • Requesting network connection from ASON/GMPLS control plane
• GFP vs HDLC vs PPP (different encapsulation techniques)
  • Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) and Ethernet frames
  • HDLC service classes and Asynchronous Balanced Mode (ABM)
  • Point to Point Protocol (PPP) applications
• Future of SONET/SDH in a Data-driven Ethernet World
  • Expected lifetime of SONET/SDH
  • Replacement technologies for SONET/SDH and timeframes
  • Economic pressures and standards issues
• Wrap-up:  Course Recap, Discussion, and Participant Evaluation of the Course