SONET, which stands for Synchronous Optical Networking is a protocol designed

to transfer digital data over fiber optic channels. It finds its application in
communication systems where data needs to be transmitted at a high speed, like
telephone. SONET protocol transmits data that are synchronized in time. A main
advantage of SONET is that it can bind signals from different protocols and
transmit the combined resultant signal through its channel. This protocol is
mainly designed for use in North America and Japan. SONET has a base
transmission rate of 51.84Mbit/s with speeds up to 2488.32Mbit/s.

STM stands for Synchronous Transport Module. STM-1 is the base signal of the
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) protocol. SDH is a synchronous
transmission protocol used in high speed communication systems and is primarily
designed for use in Europe. The base transmission rate of SDH protocol is
155.52Mbit/s and this transmission rate is designated as STM-1. STM-1 is the
framing unit of SDH.

Synchronous Transport Signal (STS) is the base signal of SONET protocol.

SONET has an initial transmission rate of 51.84Mbit/s, which is designated as
STS-1 level. SDH has a lowest bit rate of 155.52 Mbps which is three times that
of the lowest bit rate of SONET. Hence STM-1 signal of SDH protocol is
equivalent to the STS-3 signal of SONET. This STS-3 signal is obtained by
multiplexing 3 STS-1 signals.

SONET protocol mainly comprises of four layers. These layers are as follows-
photonic layer, section layer, line layer and path layer. Each layer can
communicate with the layers directly connected to it. This ensures smooth flow
of data between the layers. SDH protocol has the same layers as SONET but
uses the terms path, multiplex section and regen section to describe the layers.

Photonic layer is concerned with the conversion of the signal from electrical to
optical format. The section layer takes care of framing, scrambling and detection
of errors in the signal to be transmitted. Line layer takes care of multiplexing and
synchronization functions while the path layer is concerned with end-to-end
transmission of the signal from the sending end to receiving end.

The data is being transmitted through the network in the form of frames. Each
frame is divided into header and payload. Header consists of the overhead added
at different layers and Payload contains the actual information to be transmitted
through the network. Path layer overhead is added to the payload of the frame,
whereas section and line layer overheads are added to the header.

A STS-1 frame has 810 octets arranged in 9 rows of 90 octets. They are divided
such that there are 3 octets of overhead and 87 octets of payload and are
transmitted. A STM-1 frame on the other hand can transmit data three times
faster than STS-1 frame. It consists of 2430 octets arranged as 270 octets in 9
rows, with 9 octets of overhead and 261 octets of payload. It takes 125
microseconds to transmit both STS-1 and STM-1 frame.

Thus both SONET which uses STS signals and SDH which uses STM signals are
protocols which are developed for providing interface for optical networks. They
mainly differ in the transmission rates they offer-SDH can transmit data three
times faster than SONET. Both protocols can support signals from different
vendors and transmit them through the network, while efficiently managing the
network. They monitor the performance of various devices connected to the
network like multiplexers, repeaters etc. They can not only transport signals from
different protocols but also have provisions whereby it can accommodate signals
from upcoming services like Asynchronous Transport Module (ATM) and
Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN). Both have very slight
differences between them and they are being widely used all over the world.