What’s SONET?

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SONET is a new technology that uses lasers or LEDs to transmit data signals over fiber optic lines, replacing the older PDH system. It allows for faster and more efficient communication, using clocks to synchronize signals and multiple circuits to improve data rates. SONET has revolutionized telecommunications and is a vital element in developing technology.

SONET or Sychronous Optical Networking, is a new type of technology that has helped usher in the twenty-first century, where much of business and life is based on digital communications. SONET and Synchronous Data Hierarchy (SDH) allow for better transmission of data signals over fiber optic lines. This system uses lasers or LEDs, light emitting diodes, to send data bits over cables. People who understand telecommunications engineering and are looking for the latest and greatest improvements, see SONET as a vital element of a developing technology that will add speed to telephone and Internet communications while reducing costs over time.

The SONET system replaced an older system known as the “PDH” system that facilitated many telephone calls over fiber optic lines. Some experts call the PDH system a series of “metal drive systems.” A major problem with the previous system was the lack of standard operations in communication technologies.

After the dissolution of centralized telephone communications in the United States, the variety of regional companies had to join forces to maintain a network for telecommunications. This was part of what led to the development of SONET. Additionally, those familiar with the history of these older systems have identified other problems with what existed before the new sychronous optical networking system. Some say that coaxial cable has become expensive to use in networks and that many of the old lines were vendor specific, leading to problems with the flexibility of networks. The transmission speed was also limited, according to experts, to 50 Mbps, which the new system has far surpassed.

Sychronous Optical Networking is based on clocks that synchronize signals and data transmission. Technologies based on the SONET system have enabled faster data transmission which supports some of the longest telecommunications supply lines currently existing between regions of the world. An engineering idea called “multiplexing” has resulted in better and faster data rates, including the methods used for deep-sea cables and international lines.

A fundamental idea involved in SONET is the use of multiple circuits to speed up and improve communications. The system also uses a combination of two methods called overhead transport and synchronous payload envelope or SPE to regulate data transfer rates and to synchronize signals within the system. All of this has resulted in some astounding transmission capacities for today’s modern telecommunications installations.




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