BKSONET.RVW   20000606

"SONET, Second Edition", Walter J. Goralski, 2000, 0-07-212570-5,
U$65.00
%A   Walter J. Goralski
%C   300 Water Street, Whitby, Ontario   L1N 9B6
%D   2000
%G   0-07-212570-5
%I   McGraw-Hill Ryerson/Osborne
%O   U$65.00 905-430-5000 800-565-5758
%P   675 p.
%T   "SONET, Second Edition"

Goralski stated, in the preface to the first edition, that he wrote
this book because he was fundamentally dissatisfied with the books
written for SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork).  I hope he becomes
dissatisfied with some more topics.  Not that I wish him any ill, but
the results greatly benefit the rest of us.  This second version
updates and extends the material in the original volume.

Part one is an introduction to fiber optics and SONET.  Chapter one is
basic background to the need for SONET, citing increasing computing
capabilities and communications requirements, but not really stating
the necessity for the new technology.  The advantages of fiber itself
is made manifestly obvious in chapter two.  Cost, weight, security,
repair, bandwidth, and distance all factor into the equation.  (The
disadvantages of fiber, such as its antipathy towards water and
sunlight, are also mentioned.)  Along with the additional physics of
glass and fiber in chapter three, this makes for one of the best
explanations of fiber optics that I've ever read.  Chapter three also
presents material on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).  Chapter
four demonstrates the advantages that digital transmission holds over
analogue.  (This chapter also explains the importance of the "T-
carrier" system and designations, which appear in earlier chapters but
may be a bit bemusing for the uninitiated.)

Part two begins to examine SONET itself, providing background and
technical details.  The American history and evolution of SONET, and
its compatibility with the international Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
(SDH) are clearly explained in chapter five.  SONET architecture and
protocols, in chapter six, are presented lucidly and in detail.  This
chapter is mostly accessible to the intelligent lay reader, but the
significance of the material is probably going to be more apparent to
the specialist in communications technology.  (On the other hand,
nothing that I have ever read is clearer on the subject.)  A new
chapter seven deals with the payloads that SONET is being made to
carry.  In communications, even more than in computing, timing is
everything.  Again, newcomers will not understand as much of the
significance of the synchronization problems and solutions in chapter
eight as the technical reader, but they will be able to see the
difficulty and the resolution.

Part three moves from the protocols and standards into the real,
practical, hardware world.  Chapter nine provides a high level
overview and a rough structure of SONET networks.  The major network
component types are described in chapter ten.  (Optical Network Units,
or ONUs, are neither widely used nor really a part of SONET, and so
are mentioned only briefly.)  Chapter eleven gets very real and looks
at the major SONET equipment vendors, their product lines, product
uses, and even some sample installation configurations.

The specific advantages of SONET that were not explicitly stated in
chapter one are explained in detail in part four.  As Goralski points
out, at the beginning of chapter twelve, many recent communications
technologies have promised "improvements" that turned out to be vague
and indirect at best.  He goes to some detail to demonstrate that
SONET has practical and direct benefits for both carriers and
customers.  Chapter thirteen looks at the tightly coupled operations,
administration, maintenance, and provisioning features built into
SONET.  In terms of reliability, one of the advantages of SONET is the
ring structure, the fault tolerance of which is amply described in
chapter fourteen.

SONET is not yet fully available, and so part five discusses aspects
of implementation.  Chapter fifteen looks at the laying of both
networked and "dark" fiber around the United States.  Many new
applications (such as the distribution of cinema quality movies by
wire) become possible with SONET, but only if carriers provide the
service.  Chapter sixteen looks at both applications and service
provision.  The future of SONET is considered in chapter seventeen. 
Chapter sixteen ends the book with a comparison of the differences
(fairly minor) between SDH and SONET.

I was rather surprised to find that some of the errors from the
original edition are still included in the book.  One example is that
figure 12.4 is still entitled "A unidirectional ring" and 12.5 is
entitled "A bidirectional SONET ring," while both of them actually
show a bidirectional ring.

However, overall this text is the best I have yet come across on the
topic.  Network designers get technical details.  Lay readers get
lucid explanations.  Managers get implications.  Those responsible for
implementation get vendor contacts.  (And whoever did the copy editing
gets a C-.)

copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998, 2000   BKSONET.RVW   20000606