Broadband public network and switch architecture

The authors present a view of public network and switch architecture evolution to broadband capabilities, driven by the applications evolutions and built on a synchronous fiber transmission infrastructure such as SONET (synchronous optical network). The scenario is based on the partitioning of broadband network functions between synchronous fiber transmission systems and cell-based transport. The first stage of evolution incorporates frame-based switching to support increasing data traffic for LAN (local area network) interconnections. Cell-based technology appears first in the form of point-to-point high-speed data trunks and then as switched high-speed access. Centralized cell switching will provide interconnect between cell-based trunks and shared access lines. Remote cell multipliers will provide traffic concentration when the number of customers further increases. Since cell transport will first be introduced in the network as an extension of frame transport to higher speed, interworking between cells and frames will be necessary.<>