Lo, soul! seest thou not God's purpose from the first? The earth to be spann'd, connected by net-work From Passage to India! Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass", 1900. The Internet is growing at a tremendous rate today. New services, such as telephony and multimedia, are being added to the pure data-delivery framework of yesterday. Such high demands on capacity could lead to a "bandwidth-crunch" at the core wide-area network resulting in degra dation of service quality. Fortunately, technological innovations have emerged which can provide relief to the end-user to overcome the In ternet's well-known delay and bandwidth limitations. At the physical layer, a major overhaul of existing networks has been envisaged from electronic media (such as twisted-pair and cable) to optical fibers - in the wide area, in the metropolitan area, and even in the local area set tings. In order to exploit the immense bandwidth potential of the optical fiber, interesting multiplexing techniques have been developed over the years. Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is such a promising tech nique in which multiple channels are operated along a single fiber si multaneously, each on a different wavelength. These channels can be independently modulated to accommodate dissimilar bit rates and data formats, if so desired. Thus, WDM carves up the huge bandwidth of an optical fiber into channels whose bandwidths (1-10 Gbps) are compati ble with peak electronic processing speed.

In a local area network (LAN) or intranet, there are many pieces of hardare trying to gain access to the network transmission media at the same time (i.e., phone lines, coax, wireless, etc.). However, a network cable or wireless transmission frequency can physically only allow one node to use it at a given time. Therefore, there must be some way to regulate which node has control of the medium (a media access control, or MAC, protocol). Ethernet is a MAC protocol; it is one way to regulate physical access to network tranmission media. Ethernet networking is used primarily by networks that are contained within a single physical location. If you need to design, install, and manage a network in such an envronment, i.e., home or small business office, then Ethernet Networking for the Small Office and Professional Home Office will give you an in-depth understanding of the technology involved in an Ethernet network. One of the major goals of this book is to demystify the jargon of networks so that the reader gains a working familiarity with common networking terminology and acronyms. In addition, this books explains not only how to choose and configure network hardware but also provides practical information about the types of network devices and software needed to make it all work. Tips and direction on how to manage an Ethernet network are also provided. This book therefore goes beyond the hardware aspects of Ethernet to look at the entire network from bottom to top, along with enough technical detail to enable the reader to make intelligent choices about what types of transmission media are used and the way in which the various parts of the network are interconnected. - Explains how the Ethernet works, with emphasis on current technologies and emerging trends in gigabit and fast Ethernet, WiFi, routers, and security issues - Teaches how to design and select complementary components of Ethernet networks with a focus on home and small business applications - Discuses the various types of cables, software, and hardware involved in constructing, connecting, operating and monitoring Ethernet networks

Within the past few decades, information technologies have been evolving at a tremendous rate, causing profound changes to our world and our ways of life. In particular, fiber optics has been playing an increasingly crucial role within the telecommunication revolution. Not only most long-distance links are fiber based, but optical fibers are increasingly approaching the individual end users, providing wide bandwidth links to support all kinds of data-intensive applications such as video, voice, and data services. As an engineering discipline, fiber optics is both fascinating and challenging. Fiber optics is an area that incorporates elements from a wide range of techno- gies including optics, microelectronics, quantum electronics, semiconductors, and networking. As a result of rapid changes in almost all of these areas, fiber optics is a fast evolving field. Therefore, the need for up-to-date texts that address this growing field from an interdisciplinary perspective persists. This book presents an overview of fiber optics from a practical, engineering perspective. Therefore, in addition to topics such as lasers, detectors, and optical fibers, several topics related to electronic circuits that generate, detect, and process the optical signals are covered. In other words, this book attempts to present fiber optics not so much in terms of a field of “optics” but more from the perspective of an engineering field within “optoelectronics.

Optical Fiber Telecommunications V (A&B) is the fifth in a series that has chronicled the progress in the research and development of lightwave communications since the early 1970s. Written by active authorities from academia and industry, this edition not only brings a fresh look to many essential topics but also focuses on network management and services. Using high bandwidth in a cost-effective manner for the development of customer applications is a central theme. This book is ideal for R&D engineers and managers, optical systems implementers, university researchers and students, network operators, and the investment community. Volume (A) is devoted to components and subsystems, including: semiconductor lasers, modulators, photodetectors, integrated photonic circuits, photonic crystals, specialty fibers, polarization-mode dispersion, electronic signal processing, MEMS, nonlinear optical signal processing, and quantum information technologies. Volume (B) is devoted to systems and networks, including: advanced modulation formats, coherent systems, time-multiplexed systems, performance monitoring, reconfigurable add-drop multiplexers, Ethernet technologies, broadband access and services, metro networks, long-haul transmission, optical switching, microwave photonics, computer interconnections, and simulation tools. Biographical Sketches Ivan Kaminow retired from Bell Labs in 1996 after a 42-year career. He conducted seminal studies on electrooptic modulators and materials, Raman scattering in ferroelectrics, integrated optics, semiconductor lasers (DBR , ridge-waveguide InGaAsP and multi-frequency), birefringent optical fibers, and WDM networks. Later, he led research on WDM components (EDFAs, AWGs and fiber Fabry-Perot Filters), and on WDM local and wide area networks. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a recipient of the IEEE/OSA John Tyndall, OSA Charles Townes and IEEE/LEOS Quantum Electronics Awards. Since 2004, he has been Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Tingye Li retired from AT&T in 1998 after a 41-year career at Bell Labs and AT&T Labs. His seminal work on laser resonator modes is considered a classic. Since the late 1960s, He and his groups have conducted pioneering studies on lightwave technologies and systems. He led the work on amplified WDM transmission systems and championed their deployment for upgrading network capacity. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He is a recipient of the IEEE David Sarnoff Award, IEEE/OSA John Tyndall Award, OSA Ives Medal/Quinn Endowment, AT&T Science and Technology Medal, and IEEE Photonics Award. Alan Willner has worked at AT&T Bell Labs and Bellcore, and he is Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He received the NSF Presidential Faculty Fellows Award from the White House, Packard Foundation Fellowship, NSF National Young Investigator Award, Fulbright Foundation Senior Scholar, IEEE LEOS Distinguished Lecturer, and USC University-Wide Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is a Fellow of IEEE and OSA, and he has been President of the IEEE LEOS, Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE/OSA J. of Lightwave Technology, Editor-in-Chief of Optics Letters, Co-Chair of the OSA Science & Engineering Council, and General Co-Chair of the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics. For nearly three decades, the OFT series has served as the comprehensive primary resource covering progress in the science and technology of optical fiber telecom. It has been essential for the bookshelves of scientists and engineers active in the field. OFT V provides updates on considerable progress in established disciplines, as well as introductions to new topics. [OFT V]... generates a value that is even higher than that of the sum of its chapters.

Two books in one! Complete coverage of data cabling and fiber optics makes this the most comprehensive cabling book on the market With the growing demand for fiber optics in large-scale communications networks, network professionals need complete, up-to-the-minute information. The fourth edition of this popular guide provides you with the latest on copper and fiber-optic networking. It is particularly useful for those studying for the Fiber Optics Installer or Fiber Optics Technician certifications. Part I covers the basics of cabling, while Part II is devoted to in-depth information on fiber optics, allowing you to stay up to speed on all aspects of the field. Demonstrates how to work with all of the various types of cables-from those used to network desktops to hubs and switches up to those used by major telecommunications carriers Appeals to anyone who plans, builds, and maintains a network Offers a solid foundation in fiber optics As the industry transitions from copper cabling to fiber optics, Cabling: The Complete Guide to Copper and Fiber-Optic Networking, Fourth Edition is a vital tool for network administrators and technicians.