A strategic guide to the practical business applications of optical networking technologies Optical Networking A Wiley Tech Brief Optical networks are spreading outward from Internet backbones to cities to corporations and even to the home. Cities are in a strategic position to create a leading-edge optical infrastructure that will drive economic growth. Optical technologies can cost-effectively meet corporate bandwidth needs today and tomorrow, from optical Internet connections offering bandwidth on demand to fiber on the LAN. Fiber to the home can provide true broadband connectivity for telecommuters as well as converged multimedia offerings for consumers. The ever-expanding need for bandwidth can only be met by optical networks and their phenomenal data capacity. In this book, the real-world applications driving optical networking deployments are explored. You'll get a detailed look inside the markets for fiber, bandwidth supply and demand, and optical networking technology. Both traditional architectures, such as SONET, and emerging paradigms, such as IP over DWDM and Gigabit Ethernet, are examined. This book provides practical information, insight, and case studies about the business benefits and broad range of optical networking technologies and applications available today, including: * Optical internets that run IP directly over fiber without intervening layers of ATM and SONET * Municipal optical networks and their ability to transform local economies * Corporate optical networking deployments, from LAN to WAN to Internet connections * Gigabit Ethernet and bandwidth on demand * Fiber to the home-and why pseudobroadband alternatives such as DSL and cable modems are inadequate * Why wireless is not an alternative to fiber Wiley Tech Briefs Focused on the needs of the corporate IT and business manager, the Tech Briefs series provides in-depth information on new or emerging technologies, solutions, and vendor