ETE/EEE 423

Principles of Telecommunication
Networks

Dr. Arshad M. Chowdhury

Associate Professor
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
North South University
 Circuit Switching Networks
Transport network
Host B
Host A

Host C Host D

Switch Switch

• End-to-end dedicated circuits between clients

– Client can be a person or equipment (router or switch)
• Circuit can take different forms
– Dedicated path for the transfer of electrical current
– Dedicated time slots for transfer of voice samples
– Dedicated frames for transfer of Nx51.84 Mbps signals
– Dedicated wavelengths for transfer of optical signals
• Circuit switching networks require:
– Multiplexing & switching of circuits
– Signaling & control for establishing circuits
 How a network grows
(a) A switch provides the network to a cluster of users, e.g. a
telephone switch connects a local community

Network Access
network

(b) A multiplexer connects two access networks, e.g. a high

speed line connects two switches
 A Network Keeps Growing
1*
a b
2 a b
4
(a) Metropolitan network A 3
viewed as Network A of A A
Access Subnetworks c d d
c

Network of
Metropolitan Access
(b) National network viewed
as Network of Regional Subnetworks
Subnetworks (including A)

Veryhigh-
 
speed lines

Network of Regional National &

Subnetworks International
 Multiplexing
• Multiplexing involves the sharing of a transmission channel (resource) by
several connections or information flows
– Channel = 1 wire, 1 optical fiber, or 1 frequency band
• Significant economies of scale can be achieved by combining many signals into
one
– Fewer wires/pole; fiber replaces thousands of cables
• Implicit or explicit information is required to demultiplex the information flows.

(a) (b) Shared

A A A
Channel
A

B B B MUX MUX B

C C C C
 Frequency-Division Multiplexing
• Channel divided into frequency slots
A
f
0 Wu

B
(a) Individual signals
f
occupy Wu Hz 0 Wu

C
f
0 Wu

(b) Combined signal fits A B C

into channel bandwidth f
0 W
• Guard bands required
• AM or FM radio stations
• TV stations in air or cable
• Analog telephone systems
 Time-Division Multiplexing
 High-speed digital channel divided into time slots
A1 A2 …
t
0T 3T 6T
(a) Each signal
transmits 1 unit every
3T seconds B1 B2 …
t
0T 3T 6T

C1 C2 …
t
0T 3T 6T

(b) Combined signal A1 B1 C1 A2 B2 C2 …

t
transmits 1 unit 0T 1T 2T 3T 4T 5T 6T
every T seconds
 Framing required
 Telephone digital transmission
 Digital transmission in backbone network
 T-Carrier Services
• Digital telephone system uses TDM.
• PCM voice channel is basic unit for TDM
• The basic unit of the T-hierarchy is the 64 kbps DS-0 created by
digitizing an analog voice channel using PCM

1 Channel = 8000 samples/sec. x 8 bits/sample = 64Kbps

• T-Carrier circuits are the most common dedicated digital

circuits used today
• T-carriers are created by combining a number of DS-0 signals
using time division multiplexing along with some overhead
information to create a higher speed data stream.
• T-1 carrier carries Digital Signal 1 (DS-1) that combines 24 voice
channels into a digital stream:
 T1 data transfer with multiplexing

 The lowest level of the T-carrier hierarchy is the T-1, created by combining 24
DS-0 signals
 A T1 multiplexer combines the 8-bit samples from 24 DS-0 channels + one
framing bit = (8x24) + 1 = 193 bit T1 frame
 This frame is then transmitted 8000 time per second, resulting in a nominal data
rate of 193 x 8000 = 1.544 Mbps for a T1 carrier.
 Inverse Multiplexing with a T-1C Carrier
• A T1C circuit is an inverse multiplexed bundle of two T1 circuits.
• Each T1C circuit provides a nominal data rate of 3.152 Mbps.
• The sending T1C mux transmits the signal by splitting it up between two T1 circuits
• The receiving mux then recombines the incoming data streams from both T1
circuits.
 North American Digital Multiplexing Hierarchy

1 . DS1 signal, 1.544Mbps

.
Mux
24
1 . DS2 signal, 6.312Mbps
24 DS0 .
4 DS1 Mux
4
1 . DS3 signal, 44.736Mpbs
.
7 DS2 Mux
7
1 .
• DS0, 64 Kbps channel .
Mux
6 DS3
• DS1, 1.544 Mbps channel 6 DS4 signal
• DS2, 6.312 Mbps channel 274.176Mbps
• DS3, 44.736 Mbps channel
• DS4, 274.176 Mbps channel
 Types of T-carrier services

Digital Signal T-Carrier No. of DS-1 Nominal Effective

Name Name Channels Data Rate Data Rate

DS-0 64 kbps 53 kbps

DS-1 T-1 1 1.544 Mbps 1.3 Mbps
DS-2 T-2 4 6.312 Mbps 5.2 Mbps
DS-3 T-3 28 43.375 Mbps 36 Mbps
DS-4 T-4 168 274.176 Mbps 218 Mbps
 CCITT Digital Hierarchy
• CCITT digital hierarchy based on 30 PCM channels

1 . E1 - 2.048 Mbps
. Mux
30
E2 - 8.448 Mbps
64 Kbps 1 ..
Mux
4
1 .. E3 - 34.368 Mpbs
Mux
4 E4 -139.264 Mbps
1 ..
 E1, 2.048 Mbps channel Mux
4
 E2, 8.448 Mbps channel
 E3, 34.368 Mbps channel
 E4, 139.264 Mbps channel
 Clock Synch & Bit Slips
• Digital streams cannot be kept perfectly synchronized
• Bit slips can occur in multiplexers

Slow clock results in late bit

arrival and bit slip

MUX t

5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1
 Pulse Stuffing
• Pulse Stuffing: synchronization to avoid data loss due to slips
• Output rate > R1+R2
– i.e. DS2, 6.312Mbps=4x1.544Mbps + 136 Kbps
• Pulse stuffing format
– Fixed-length master frames with each channel allowed to
stuff or not to stuff a single bit in the master frame.
– Redundant stuffing specifications
– signaling or specification bits (other than data bits) are
distributed across a master frame.

Muxing of equal-rate signals Pulse stuffing

requires perfect synch
 Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
• Optical fiber link carries several wavelengths
– From few (4-8) to many (64-160) wavelengths per fiber
• Imagine prism combining different colors into single beam
• Each wavelength carries a high-speed stream
– Each wavelength can carry different format signal
– e.g. 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, or 10 Gbps
Multiplexed Channels

30 dB

1 1540 nm 1550 nm 1560 nm

1

2 1  2
m
2.

Optical fiber
Optical Optical
m MUX deMUX
m
Typical U.S. Optical Long-Haul Network
 SONET: Overview
• Synchronous Optical NETwork
• North American TDM physical layer standard for optical
fiber communications
• 8000 frames/sec. (Tframe = 125 sec)
– compatible with North American digital hierarchy
• SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) elsewhere
– Needs to carry E1 and E3 signals
– Compatible with SONET at higher speeds
• Greatly simplifies multiplexing in network backbone
• OA&M support to facilitate network management
• Protection & restoration
 SONET simplifies multiplexing
Pre-SONET multiplexing: Pulse stuffing required demultiplexing all
channels

MUX DEMUX MUX DEMUX

Remove Insert
tributary tributary

SONET Add-Drop Multiplexing: Allows taking individual channels in

and out without full demultiplexing

MUX ADM DEMUX

Remove Insert
tributary tributary
 SONET Specifications

• Defines electrical & optical signal interfaces

• Electrical
– Multiplexing, Regeneration performed in electrical
domain
– STS – Synchronous Transport Signals defined
– Very short range (e.g., within a switch)

• Optical
– Transmission carried out in optical domain
– Optical transmitter & receiver
– OC – Optical Carrier
 SONET & SDH Hierarchy
SONET Optical Signal Bit Rate (Mbps) SDH
Electrical Electrical
Signal Signal
STS-1 OC-1 51.84 N/A
STS-3 OC-3 155.52 STM-1
STS-9 OC-9 466.56 STM-3
STS-12 OC-12 622.08 STM-4
STS-18 OC-18 933.12 STM-6
STS-24 OC-24 1244.16 STM-8
STS-36 OC-36 1866.24 STM-12
STS-48 OC-48 2488.32 STM-16
STS-192 OC-192 9953.28 STM-64
STS: OC: Optical STM:
Synchronous Channel Synchronous
Transport Transfer
Signal Module
 SONET Multiplexing

DS1 Low-speed
DS2 mapping
E1 function STS-1
51.84 Mbps
Medium
DS3 speed STS-1
44.736 mapping OC-n
STS-n
...
function
...

Scrambler E/O
STS-3c
High- STS-1 MUX
E4
speed STS-1
mapping STS-1
139.264 function
STS-3c
STS-1
High- STS-1
ATM or speed STS-1
POS mapping
function
 SONET Equipment
• By Functionality
– ADMs: dropping & inserting tributaries
– Regenerators: digital signal regeneration
– Cross-Connects: interconnecting SONET streams

• By Signaling between elements

– Section Terminating Equipment (STE): span of fiber between
adjacent devices, e.g. regenerators
– Line Terminating Equipment (LTE): span between adjacent
multiplexers, encompasses multiple sections
– Path Terminating Equipment (PTE): span between SONET
terminals at end of network, encompasses multiple lines
A simple network using SONET equipment
 Section, Line, & Path in SONET

PTE PTE
LTE LTE LTE
STE STE
SONET SONET
terminal MUX MUX terminal
Reg ADM Reg

Section Section Section Section

STS Line
STS-1 Path

STE = Section Terminating Equipment, e.g., a repeater/regenerator

LTE = Line Terminating Equipment, e.g., a STS-1 to STS-3 multiplexer
PTE = Path Terminating Equipment, e.g., an STS-1 multiplexer

• Often, PTE and LTE equipment are the same

– Difference is based on function and location
– PTE is at the ends, e.g., STS-1 multiplexer.
– LTE in the middle, e.g., STS-3 to STS-1 multiplexer.
 Section, Line, & Path Layers in SONET

Path Path
Line Line Line Line
Section Section Section Section Section Section Section
Optical Optical Optical Optical Optical Optical Optical

• SONET has four layers

– Optical, section, line, path
– Each layer is concerned with the integrity of its own signals
• Each layer has its own protocols
– SONET provides signaling channels for elements within a layer
 SONET STS Frame
• SONET streams carry two types of overhead
• Path overhead (POH):
– inserted & removed at the ends
– Synchronous Payload Envelope (SPE) consisting of Data +
POH traverses network as a single unit
• Transport Overhead (TOH):
– Overhead related to Line and Section layers
– processed at every SONET node
– TOH occupies a portion of each SONET frame
– TOH carries management & link integrity information
 STS-1 Frame
810x64kbps=51.84 Mbps
810 Octets per frame @ 8000 frames/sec
90 columns

A1 A2 J0 J1
B1 E1 F1 B3
1
D1 D2 D3 C2
Order of
2 transmission H1 H2 H3 G1
9 rows B2 K1 K2 F2
Special OH octets:
A1, A2 Frame Synch D4 D5 D6 H4
B1, B2, B3 Parity byte D7 D8 D9 Z3
C1, C2 Identification
D1-D3 Section OA&M D10 D11 D12 Z4
D4-D12 Line OA&M S1 M0/1 E2 N1
J0 Section trace
(Connection Alive?)
J1 Path trace 3 Columns of Synchronous Payload Envelope (SPE)
G1 Path status Transport OH 1 column of Path OH + 86 data columns
H1, H2, H3, H4 Pointer Action
Section Overhead Path Overhead
K1, K2 Automatic Protection
Switching Line Overhead Data
 SPE Can Span Consecutive Frames

Pointer First octet

Frame 87 Columns
k

Synchronous
payload 9 Rows
envelope
Pointer Last octet
Frame
k+1
First column is path overhead

• Pointer indicates where SPE begins within a frame

• Pointer enables add/drop capability
 Stuffing in SONET
• Consider system with different clocks (faster out than in)
• Use buffer (e.g., 8 bit FIFO) to manage difference
• Buffer empties eventually
• One solution: send “stuff”
• Problem:
– Need to signal “stuff” to receiver

FIFO
1,000,000 bps 1,000,001 bps
 Negative & Positive Stuff

Frame Frame
k Pointer k Pointer
First octet First octet
of SPE of SPE

Stuff byte Stuff byte

Frame Frame
k+1 Pointer k+1 Pointer
First octet First octet
of SPE of SPE

(a) Negative byte stuffing (b) Positive byte stuffing

Input faster than output Input is slower than output
Send extra byte in H3 to catch up Stuff byte to fill gap
 Synchronous Multiplexing
• Synchronize each incoming STS-1 to local clock
– Terminate section & line OH and map incoming SPE into a new STS-1
synchronized to the local clock
– This can be done on-the-fly by adjusting the pointer
• All STS-1s are synched to local clock so bytes can be interleaved to
produce STS-n

STS-1 STS-1 STS-1 STS-1

Map
STS-1 STS-1 STS-1 STS-1 Byte STS-3
Map Interleave
STS-1 STS-1 STS-1 STS-1
Map

Incoming Synchronized new

STS-1 frames STS-1 frames
 Octet Interleaving

Order of 1
transmission
A1 A2 J0 J1
2
A1 A2 J0 J1
3 B1 E1 F1 B3
A1 A2 J0 J1
B1 E1 F1 B3
D1 D2 D3 C2
B1 E1 F1 B3
D1H1 D2 D3 C2
H2 H3 G1
D1H1 D2 D3 C2
H2 H3 G1
H1 B2 K1 K2 F2
H2 H3 G1
B2 K1 K2 F2
D4 D5 D6 H4
B2 K1 K2 F2
D4 D5 D6 H4
D7 D8 D6 H4
D9 Z3
D4 D5
D7 D8 D9 Z3
D10 D11 D12 Z4
D7 D8 D9 Z3
D10 D11 D12 Z4
S1 M0/1 E2 N1
D10 D11 D12 Z4
S1 M0/1 E2 N1
S1 M0/1 E2 N1
 Concatenated Payloads

• Needed if payloads of interleaved

Concatenated Payload OC-Nc
frames are “locked” into a bigger unit
N x 87 columns • Data systems send big blocks of
information grouped together, e.g., a
J1 router operating at 622 Mbps
B3 – SONET/SDH needs to handle these as
C2 a single unit
G1 • H1,H2,H3 tell us if there is
F2 concatenation
H4 • STS-3c has more payload than 3 STS-
Z3 1s
Z4 • STS-Nc payload = Nx780 bytes
N1 • OC-3c = 149.760 Mb/s
• OC-12c = 599.040 Mb/s
• OC-48c = 2.3961 Gb/s
(N/3) – 1 87N - (N/3) • OC-192c = 9.5846 Gb/s
columns of columns of
fixed stuff payload
 SONET Transport Networks
• Backbone of modern networks
• Provide high-speed connections: Typically STS-1 up to OC-192
• Clients: large routers, telephone switches, regional networks
• Very high reliability required because of consequences of failure
– 1 STS-1 = 783 voice calls; 1 OC-48 = 32000 voice calls;

Telephone
Switch

Router
Router

Transport Network

Telephone
Switch
Telephone
Switch
Router
 SONET ADM Networks

MUX ADM DEMUX

Remove Insert
tributary tributary

• SONET ADMs: the heart of existing transport networks

• ADMs interconnected in linear and ring topologies
• SONET signaling enables fast restoration (within 50 ms) of
transport connections
 Linear ADM Topology
• ADMs connected in linear fashion
• Tributaries inserted and dropped to connect clients

1 2 3 4

 Tributaries traverse ADMs transparently

 Connections create a logical topology seen by clients
 Tributaries from right to left are not shown
2

1 3

4
1+1 Linear Automatic Protection Switching
T = Transmitter W = Working line R
= Receiver P = Protection line

W
T R

Bridge Selector

T R
P

• Simultaneous transmission over diverse routes

• Monitoring of signal quality
• Fast switching in response to signal degradation
• 100% redundant bandwidth
 1:1 Linear APS

Switch Switch
W
T R

APS signaling

T R
P

• Transmission on working fiber

• Signal for switch to protection route in response to
signal degradation
• Can carry extra (preemptible traffic) on protection line
 1:N Linear APS

Switch Switch
W1
T R

W²
T R

…
…
…

…
Wn
T R

P
T R

APS signaling
• Transmission on diverse routes; protect for 1 fault
• Reverts to original working channel after repair
• More bandwidth efficient
 SONET Rings
• ADMs can be connected in ring topology
• Clients see logical topology created by tributaries

(a) (b)
a a

OC-3n
OC-3n

b c
c
OC-3n
Three ADMs connected in Logical fully connected
physical ring topology topology
 SONET Ring Options

• 2 vs. 4 Fiber Ring Network

• Unidirectional vs. bidirectional transmission
• Path vs. Link protection

• Spatial capacity re-use & bandwidth efficiency

• Signalling requirements
 Two-Fiber UPSR
UPSR: Unidirectional Path Switched Ring
• Low complexity
Two fibers transmit in opposite directions
• Unidirectional • Fast path protection
– Working traffic flows clockwise • 2 TX, 2 RX
– Protection traffic flows counter-clockwise • No spatial re-use; ok for hub
– 1+1 like traffic pattern
• Selector at receiver does path protection • Suitable for lower-speed access
switching networks
1
• Different delay between W and
P path

No spatial re-use

4 Each path uses 2x bw 2

3
W = Working Paths P = Protection Paths
 UPSR path recovery
1

4 2

W = Working line
P = Protection line
 Four-Fiber BLSR
• BLSR: Bidirectional Line Switched Ring
• 1 working fiber pair; 1 protection fiber pair
• Bidirectional
– Working traffic & protection traffic use same route in working pair
– 1:N like
• Line restoration provided by either:
– Restoring a failed span
– Switching the line around the ring
 4-BLSR
1

Equal
W
delay

P
Standby
bandwidth 2
4
is shared

Spatial
Reuse

3
 BLSR Span Switching
1
W
Equal
delay

P
Span
Switching 2
4
restores
failed line

Fault on
working
links
3
 BLSR Span Switching
1
W
Equal
delay

P
Line
Switching 2
4
restores
failed lines

Fault on
working and
protection
links

3
 BLSR Properties

• High complexity: signaling required

• Fast line protection for restricted distance (1200 km) and
number of nodes (16)
• 4 TX, 4 RX
• Spatial re-use; higher bandwidth efficiency
• Good for uniform traffic pattern
• Suitable for high-speed backbone networks
• Multiple simultaneous faults can be handled
 Backbone Networks consist of
Interconnected SONET Rings

Regional UPSR
Metro OC-12
ring ring Interoffice
rings

BLSR
OC-48,
OC-192

UPSR or
BLSR
OC-12,
OC-48
 The Problem with Rings
• Managing bandwidth can be complex
• Increasing transmission rate in one span affects all equipment in
the ring
• Introducing WDM means stacking SONET ADMs to build parallel
rings
• Distance limitations on ring size implies many rings need to be
traversed in long distance
• End-to-end protection requires ring-interconnection mechanisms
Managing 1 ring is simple; Managing many rings is very complex
 Mesh Topology Networks using SONET
Cross-Connects
• Cross-Connects are nxn switches
• Interconnects SONET streams
• More flexible and efficient than rings
• Need mesh protection & restoration

Router

B A
C

D
Router F Router

G E

Router
 From SONET to WDM
SONET
• combines multiple SPEs into
high speed digital stream
• ADMs and crossconnects
interconnected to form
networks
• SPE paths between clients
from logical topology
• High reliability through
protection switching
WDM
• combines multiple wavelengths into a
common fiber
• Optical ADMs can be built to insert and
drop wavelengths in same manner as in
SONET ADMS
• Optical cross-connects can also be built
• All-optical backbone networks will
provide end-to-end wavelength
connections
• Protection schemes for recovering from
failures are being developed to provide
high reliability in all-optical networks
 Optical Switching

Optical
…

…
… fiber

…
switch

DeMUX
MUX

Output Input

WDM
…
WDM

Wavelength
cross-

WDM
…
connect
…
WDM

Dropped Added
wavelengths wavelengths