SONET Last modified: Thursday, July 28, 2005
Short for Synchronous Optical Network, a standard for connecting fiber-optic transmission systems. SONET was proposed by Bellcore in the middle 1980s and is now an ANSI standard. SONET defines interface standards at the physical layer of the OSI seven-layer model. The standard defines a hierarchy of interface rates that allow data streams at different rates to be multiplexed. SONET establishes Optical Carrier (OC) levels from 51.8 Mbps (OC-1) to 9.95 Gbps (OC-192). Prior rate standards used by different countries specified rates that were not compatible for multiplexing. With the implementation of SONET, communication carriers throughout the world can interconnect their existing digital carrier and fiber optic systems. The international equivalent of SONET, standardized by the ITU, is called SDH.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about SONET . Also check out the following links! SDH/SONET Tutorial A short tutorial on SDH and SONET from Queen's University of Belfast. SONET presentation notes This student page provides a good overview of SONET, including historical notes, terms, protocols, frames and how it works.	Fiber Optics Networking Standards ADM broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) fiber optics OC optoelectronics SDH T-1 carrier T-3 carrier Give Us Your Feedback Shopping SONET Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: Expansion Modules 73 Model Matches Health Aids 0 Store Offers