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From: HGSCHULZ@cs.umass.edu (Henning Schulzrinne)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Questions About SONET
Message-ID: <4265@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 21 Feb 90 21:17:00 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 123, Message 5 of 5


I have a number of questions regarding SONET, the Bellcore-standard
Synchronous Optical NETwork.

1. Are there any readily accessible papers (i.e., not just some
standard) containing details on SONET, beyond the paper in the March
1989 issue of the IEEE Communications Magazine? I am especially
interested in motivations of certain design decisions, not just
"that's how it is and there is nothing you can do about it".

2. Why was the row size set to 90 bytes? As it is, ATM packets will
have to be broken across rows.

3. How do ATM and SONET interact? What gets switched where?

4. What is the advantage of interleaving ``header'' information
throughout the frame, rather than concentrating it at the beginning of
a frame? Why are the payload pointers put a number of rows after the
beginning of the frame, so that I have to wait until I can determine
where the payload begins?

5. Why was the path overhead made part of the payload rather than the
header?

6. What is the implementation status of SONET?

Thanks for any help or pointers to people who might know.  If there is
enough interest, I will summarize to the Digest.


Henning Schulzrinne  (HGSCHULZ@CS.UMASS.EDU)
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003 - USA === phone: +1 (413) 545-3179 (EST); FAX: (413) 545-1249