SONET

The term SONET is an acronym for Synchronous Optical Network, which is the standard for the transmission of the data over the fiber optic networks. This standard was released and introduced to the world during the mid 1980s and since then it had been in use, and even today it is extensively used in any network where data is send over the optical medium. In a nutshell, the role of the SONET in the network is that it defines the standards at the physical layer of the OSI model, and this standard defines a hierarchy of interface rates which in turn allow the data streams to be multiplexed, which are present at the different rates.

The biggest reason for the making of this standard were the telephone companies that were made in the 1980s after the breakup of the AT&T. The numerous telephone companies that were made at that time faced a dire problem of networking with one and other, however, with the help of the SONET the problem was achieved and without a need for a new network or connection, as the old fiber optic wires which already existed were used, which also reduced the operational and installation costs. However, now this standard is used in the OSI - seven layer model - at layer 1 and SONET as a carrier for many higher level application protocols.

This standard can transmit the data at very high speeds and the most common range over which the data is transmitted by the SONET 155 Mbps to 2.4Gbs. To attain such high speeds, high bandwidth data streams are to be made, which the SONET does by multiplexing together the channels having the bandwidth that are as low as 64 Kpbs in to data frames which are then sent at regular intervals.