Core and Metro Networks

The book gives an overview of the status, the challenges, the architectures, and technological solutions for core and metropolitan networks aiming to support broadband services. It describes the current state of fixed telecommunication networks and the drivers and motives behind the current paradigm shift in the telecommunications industry. The book also explains how systems for point-to- point optical networks should be designed taking into account the analogue nature of the transmission channel as well as the migration from point-to-point to multi-hop optical networks, from static to dynamic networks, the migration towards data-centric networks and the role of optics in switching.

• Comprehensive coverage of all aspects of core and metro networks supporting future broadband services.

• Describes the state-of-the-art of fixed communication networks.

• Covers hot topics such as multi-hop optical networks, dynamic networks as well as data-centric networks.

• Shows how current systems will need to evolve over the next years, summarizing challenges and issues to be investigated in future research.

• Provides results, best practices and guidelines to various technical problems, including numerous hands-on examples.

• Written by authors from cutting-edge companies such as Alcatel, Siemens, Lucent, France Telecom, BT, Telefonica etc.