Abstract

The performance of optical components and transmission systems, computer memory, and processing power have increased exponentially in recent years. This technological abundance has stimulated the imagination of networking researchers who, not to be outdone, have responded with their own exponential growth of systems concepts, and the inevitable acronyms. This tutorial is aimed at those engineers and scientists working at the forefront of optical communications technology who are trying to increase their knowledge of networking. It will cover the basic motivations and concepts that are fundamental to networking, such as achieving widespread connectivity, locating and coordinating with users and applications, and sharing common resources. It will cover the various approaches to moving bits around and the key concepts of connection and connectionless transport, transmission, multiplexing, and switching. It will then go on to describe some of today's most heavily used acronyms, such as SDH or SONET, ATM, FR, SMDS, and IP.

© 1995 Optical Society of America