{"id":1490,"date":"2012-03-31T13:47:12","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T10:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fxplans.com\/web\/?page_id=1490"},"modified":"2012-09-30T02:00:33","modified_gmt":"2012-09-29T22:30:33","slug":"fiber-optic-networks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fxplans.com\/web\/fiber-optic-networks\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiber Optic Networks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When we talk about optical networks, we are really talking about two generations\u00a0of optical networks. In the first generation<\/strong><\/em>, optics was essentially used for\u00a0transmission and simply to provide capacity. Optical fiber provided lower bit error\u00a0rates and higher apacities than copper cables. All the switching and other intelligent\u00a0network functions were handled by electronics. Examples of first-generation optical\u00a0networks are SONET (synchronous optical network) and the essentially similar SDH\u00a0(synchronous digital hierarchy) networks, which form the core of the telecommunications\u00a0infrastructure in North America and in Europe and Asia, respectively, aswell as a variety of enterprise networks such as Fibre Channel.<\/p>\n

Second-generation<\/strong><\/em> optical networks have routing, switching, and intelligence inthe optical layer. Before we discuss this generation of networks, we will first lookat the multiplexing techniques that provide the capacity needed to realize thesenetworks.<\/p>\n

Basics \u00a0of Fiber Optic networks<\/span><\/p>\n

Fiber optic technology is simply the use of light to transmit data. The\u00a0general use of fiber optics did not begin until the 1970s. Robert Maurer of\u00a0Corning Glass Works developed a fiber with a loss of 20 dB\/km,\u00a0promoting the commercial use of fiber. Since that time the use of fiber\u00a0optics has increased dramatically. Advances in fiber technology, lower
\nproduction costs, and installation have all contributed to the wide use of\u00a0fiber.\u00a0The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of fiber, its\u00a0construction, and functionality.\u00a0The heaviest use of fiber is in the telecommunications industry. Telephone companies initially used fiber to transport high volumes of voice traffic between central office locations. During the 1980s telephone companies began to deploy fiber throughout their networks. Fiber technology allows companies to “future proof” networks. We use the phrase “future proof” because fiber is theoretically unlimited in bandwidth. Bandwidth is a measurement of the data carrying capacity of the media (in this case, fiber). The greater the bandwidth, the more data or information that can be transmitted. Copper has a bandwidth and a distance limitation, making it less desirable.<\/p>\n

Brief over view of fiber optic cable advantages over copper:<\/span><\/p>\n