CHAPTER 12Access & Interconnection

Technologies

CECS 474 Computer Network Interoperability

Notes for Douglas E. Comer, Computer Networks and Internets (5th Edition)

Tracy Bradley Maples, Ph.D.Computer Engineering & Computer ScienceCal ifornia State University, Long Beach

Access Technologies Internet access technology refers to a data communications system that connects an Internet subscriber to an ISP (such as a telephone company or cable company).

Defn: Downstream refers to data traveling from an ISP in the Internet to a subscriber.

Defn: Upstream refers to data traveling from a subscriber to an ISP. Note: Most Internet users follow an asymmetric pattern where a subscriber receives more data from the Internet than sending.

Narrowband and Broadband Access Technologies  Two broad categories of technologies are used for Internet access:

Narrowband & Broadband

Defn: Narrowband refers to technologies that deliver data at up to 128 Kbps.

For example: The maximum data rate for dial-up phone lines is 56 Kbps and is classified as a narrowband technology. Defn: Broadband generally refers to technologies that offer high data rates, but the exact boundary between broadband and narrowband is blurry. • Many people suggest that broadband technologies must deliver more than 1 Mbps. • Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Thus, broadband may sometimes mean any speed higher than a dial-up line.

+ Fiber to the House (FTTH)

The Local Subscriber Loop The terms local loop or local subscriber line are used to refer to the connection between the phone company Central Office (CO) and an individual subscriber’s residence or business. Subscribers that use dial-up modems or DSL obtain access to networks by using analog signals on a conventional analog telephone service. 

This conventional service consists of twisted pair and dialup call with 4 KHz of bandwidth. It may be able to handle much higher bandwidth

a subscriber close to a CO may be able to handle frequencies above 1 Mbps.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) One of the first attempts to provide subscribers with high-speed digital servicesProvides digitized voice and data over conventional (twisted-pair copper) wiring The ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) is (2B + D) channels 

• B channels: operate at 64 Kbps, intended for digitized voice, data or compressed video

• D channel: operate at 16 Kbps, intended as a control channel Note: Both B channels can be bonded to form a single 128 Kbps channel.

Note: ISDN sounded promising when it was proposed, but never was widely used and is now obsolete.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Technologies DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is also a technology for providing digital services across the local loop. There are several variants of of DSL which differ by the first word in their title, so they are collectively, xDSL.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) • Most popular xDSL technology• Asymmetric service (downstream service higher bit rate than upstream service)• Maximum downstream rate is ~8 Mbps• Maximum upstream rate is 576 Kbps (640 Kbps – 64 Kbps control channel)*• Does not require any changes in local loop wiring• Can run simultaneously with standard phone service

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Technologies (cont’d) Researchers noticed that many local loops can support frequencies higher than those used by the telephone system. ADSL technology is complex

• No two local loops have identical electrical characteristics.• Designers were nor able to pick only on set of carrier frequencies (or modulation

techniques) that would work in all cases. ADSL is adaptive

• When a pair of ADSL modems are powered on, they probe the line to find its characteristics and agree to communicate using optimal techniques.

 ADSL uses Discrete Multi Tone modulation (DMT)

• it combines frequency division multiplexing and inverse multiplexing techniques. FDM in DMT is implemented by dividing the bandwidth into 286 separate frequencies called sub-channels

• 255 sub-channels allocated for downstream data transmission• 31 allocated for upstream data transmission

 Note: Other DSL Technologies also exist. For example, Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) provides symmetric bit rates in both directions.

Cable Modem Technologies A variety of wireless and wired technologies have been developed for use in the local loop. An alternative access technology that uses the wiring already in place for cable television. It is also known as Community Antenna TeleVision (CATV). Coaxial cable has higher bandwidth and is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference than twisted pair. How fast can a cable modem operate?

• In theory, a cable system can support data rates of 52 Mbps downstream and 512 Kbps upstream.*

• In practice, the rate can be much less. The bandwidth is shared among a set of N subscribers (the size of the set is controlled by the cable provider).

Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) HFC can provide high-speed data communications

• Uses a combination of optical fibers and coaxial cables• Fiber is used for central facilities and coax is used for connections to individual

subscribers An HFC system is hierarchical.

• It uses fiber optics for the portions that require the highest bandwidth• It uses coax for parts that can tolerate lower data rates

 A trunk to refers to the high-capacity connections between the cable office and each neighborhood area 

Feeder circuits to refer to the connection to an individual subscriber.• Trunk connections can be

up to 15 miles long.• Feeder circuits are

usually less than a mile.

Access Technologies that use Optical Fiber Fiber To The Curb (FTTC)• Uses optical fiber for high capacity trunks• Runs optical fiber close to the end subscriber• Uses copper for the feeder circuits• Utilizes additional media in each feeder circuit to allow the cable system to

provide an additional service (for example, voice) Fiber To The Building (FTTB)• Use optical fiber to allow high upstream data rates for businesses Fiber To The Home (FTTH)• Uses optical fiber to deliver higher downstream data rates to residential

subscribers• Many channels for entertainment and video Fiber To The Premises (FTTP)• A generic term, FTTP, encompasses both FTTB and FTTH

Wireless Access Technologies

The Internet Core

Access technologies handle the “last mile problem”.

• Where the last mile is defined as the connection to a typical residential subscriber or a small business.

An access technology provides sufficient capacity for a residential subscriber or a small business.

• the term Small Office Home Office (SOHO) is used

The “core” refers to the backbone of Internet.

• Core technologies are high-speed technologies.

High Capacity at the Internet Core

What technology can a provider use to move data a long distance at a high data rate (~10 Gbps)?

• Point-to-point digital circuits leased from a telephone company.

• High-capacity digital circuits for transferring data are available for a monthly fee.

Telephone companies have the authority to install wiring that crosses municipal streets.

• A circuit can extend between two buildings, across a city, or from a location in one city to a location in another.

• The fees charged depend on the data rate of the circuit and the distance spanned.

Telephone Standards for Digital Circuits

Highest Capacity Circuits (STS Standards)  Defn: Telephone companies use the term trunk to denote a high-capacity circuit, and have created a series of standards for digital trunk circuits Synchronous Transport Signal (STS) standards specify the details of high-speed connections:

Optical Carrier Standards TELCOs define an equivalent set of Optical Carrier (OC) standards.One should observe a distinction between the STS and OC terminology:• STS standards refer to the electrical signals used in the digital circuit interface (i.e.,

over copper)• OC standards refer to the optical signals that propagate across the fiber

The C Suffix  The STC and OC terminology described above has one additional feature:

• an optional suffix of the letter C, which stands for concatenated The suffix denotes whether inverse multiplexing is used on the circuit:

• OC-3 consists of three OC-1 circuits operating at 51.840 Mbps each• OC-3C (STS-3C) consists of a single circuit that operates at 155.520 Mbps

 

Q: Is a single circuit operating at full speed better than multiple circuits operating at lower rates? A: It depends on how the circuit is being used. In general, having a single circuit operating at full capacity provides more flexibility and eliminates the need for inverse multiplexing equipment.