41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book on Optical Networks, June 27, 2000
By A Customer
Over the past year, I've been involved in a project which required me to learn a lot more about optical networks. In addition to reading the papers from ANSI T1X1 and the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), I purchased several books on the subject, including Siller and Shafi's "SONET/SDH," Goralski's "SONET" and Laches' "Fiber Optic Communications". Ramaswami and Sivarajan's book "Optical Networks" is definitely the best of the group. "SONET/SDH" gives a good overview, but you need to already know something about SONET in order to understand it. Goralski's "SONET" is too basic, while "Fiber Optic Communications" is too theoretical. "Optical Networks" is "just right" (to quote a famous young lady's comments about a baby bear's porridge). Whenever I need to know something about optical networks, this is the book I turn to. The only problem is that the field of optical networks is moving quite fast right now and this book provides a snapshot of the 1997-1998 timeframe. I wish the authors would put up a web site discussing some of the recent activity in the field, but I suppose it's a bit much to ask them to devote their lives to the book. All in all, if you want an excellent introduction to optical networks, this is the book for you.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It needs UPDATE!, April 18, 2000
By A Customer
This was a very nice book, however, written in 1997. In a rapid progressive space like optical network, this book quickly fells into legacy and can only be rendered as college entry-level textbook in said subject. Many new initiatives and tests have been launches and reviewed. Even Rajiv's new exciting micro-mirror technology (of Xeros) is not covered, not mentioning tunable laser application in mesh architecture. It was a five-star book until mid-1999. In spring 2000, I can only give a honost three-star rating as an encouragement for the author to update his book. It is overdue!
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AN INVALUABLE BOOK ON OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS., November 29, 1999
An excellent and comprehensive book on Optical Networks for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Electrical and Computer Science/Engineering.The book consists of two parts. The first part consisting of six chapters, dwells upon technological developments in optical components and transmission systems. The first chapter throws light on the state-of-the-art optical communication technology. The second chapter describes the features of optical fiber and its superiority over other communication media such as copper wire. The third chapter is an overview of the optical components viz., transmitters, receivers, switches, amplifiers etc., while the fourth chapter explains the process of Modulation and Demodulation in converting electrical signals to optical signals and vice-versa. The fifth chapter deals with the design of the physical layer. The concepts explained in all these chapters are clear and lucid. This part is particularly useful for students of Electrical Engineering.
The second part of this book deals with optical network architecture and algorithms. The sixth chapter emphasizes the necessity of optical fiber and includes the architecture of SONET/SDH. The seventh chapter illustrates the Broadcast and Select Wavelength Division Multiplexing Networks widely used in LANs and WANs, while the next chapter covers the architecture and algorithms employed in Wavelength Routed Networks for WANs. Chapter nine introduces the notion of Virtual topology design which is useful in integrating IP and ATM networks over the Optical layer. Control and management, that is, configuration, equipment, fault, failure, safety, management form the crux of the tenth chapter. Chapter eleven describes the on going research activities of various testbeds on Wavelength Routed Networks. Chapter twelve provides optical network solutions for Fiber-to-the-home access network applications. The thirteenth chapter emphasizes the issues faced by the network operators in upgrading the existing networks. The last chapter explores Packet Switched Optical Networks. This portion of the book is useful for students of Computer Science and Engineering.
The authors have covered a wide range of topics, from physics of the optical fiber to the networking aspects. The book is very simple to read, easy to absorb, and exceptionally exciting in the world of optical networks. The authors have taken lot of care to design the book for an academic curriculum without sacrificing the depth of the topics and it is a very useful book for research students.
The book is an admirable piece of work, eminently scientific in concept, and elegant in style. It is an exceedingly stimulating book with theoretical rigor and practical in approach which is too often lacking in works on optical communication. The results are profound and enlightening. There is a smooth flow of the concepts from the beginning to the end. The exercises in the chapter enables the student to check his understanding of the concepts. A number of useful references for further reading are included at the end of the chapters. It is indeed a competent work signaling a definitive contribution to optical communication. No future student of the fortunes of optical communications can afford to overlook it. This book deserves to be read and reread by each and every student of optical communications.
Venugopal K. R. Department of Computer Science and Engineering. University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. K. R. Circle. Bangalore - 560 001.
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