Optical Networking Crash Course

by Steven Shepard

Description power to evaluate technologies, companies, equipment, trendsBursting with promise as a potential solution to skyrocketing Internet traffic, optical networking is the buzz of Silicon Valley and Wall Street. But if you need to penetrate deeper than excitement and speculation—if you want to put insight, experience, and an insider's grasp behind your business and personal investment decisions—you've come to the right place. Steve Shepard's lucid, probing, and well-conceived Optical Networking Demystified is the Rosetta Stone that decodes the mysteries. It shows you what's what, who's who, and how it all works together in the speed-of-light world of optical networking, from technologies and equipment to companies and competitors.This book is a must-read if—You're at the nexus where fast-moving technological innovation and split-second business decision-making collideYou manage or develop in telecom, Internet service, networking, or the upper echelons of any businessYou're an investor with an eye on Lucent, Nortel, JDSU, Cisco, Ciena, Agilent, or other optical equipment makers, service providers, or applications creatorsYou need to compare optical and other strategies such as cable, DSL, and LMDSYou appreciate understandable explanations of optical technology means, methods, potentials, and constraintsYou heard that DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing) is going to change everything (and you want to know what it is and why it will)You need straight answers on optical transport issues, routing, and switchingThe words "lithium niobate modulators" and "four-wave mixing" make your pulse quickenYou require details on the entirenetworking field—technologies, markets, and trendsYou're a curious Netizen in search of insider details on the hottest new technology in communicationsFor a handle on the only technologically feasible way to quickly increase networking capacity by orders of magnitude, Sam Shepard's book is essential. Optical Networking Demystified is a ticket to ride the light wave—and not get burnt.THE INSIDE DOPE ON—Bandwidth BaronsFiber MakersComponent MakersRanked Solutions/ApplicationsEquipment MakersFive NinesSecuritySignal SinksBackhoe FadeAdd-Drop MuxHow It All Fits Together