PCM , PDH AND SDH (DIFFERENCES) T1, E1, E3 AND DS3 (STANDARDS)

By Abdul Wahab

OUTLINE
Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) PCM Based TDM Systems T1,E1 etc. Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) Synchronous Digital Hierarchy

PULSE CODE MODULATION

PCM is the most commonly used technique in digital communications A primary building block for advanced communication systems Used in many applications:

Telephone systems Digital audio recording CD laser disks digital video etc

PULSE CODE MODULATION

Based on the sampling theorem Each analog sample is assigned a binary code
Analog

samples are referred to as pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) samples

The digital signal consists of block of n bits, where each nbit number is the amplitude of a PCM pulse

PCM SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

f(t)

Sample & Hold

Comparator

Binary Counter

Ramp Generator

Parallel to Serial Converter

All pulses have same height and width.

x(t) 3

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

0 t Consider the analog Signal x(t).

x[n] 3

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

0 n The signal is first sampled

QUANTIZATION
Is

the process of converting the sampled signal to a binary value Each voltage level will correspond to a different binary number The magnitude of the minimum step size is called the resolution. The error resulting from quantizing is called the quantization noise. Its value is 1/2 the resolution

Pulse Code Modulation x~(t ) (PCM) Quantized Signal

3 2 1

0 It is quite apparent that the quantized signal is not exactly the same as the original analog signal. There is a fair degree of quantization error here. However; as the number of quantization levels is increased the quantization error is reduced and the quantized signal gets closer and closer to the original signal t

PCM OF SPEECH SIGNALS (VERYIMPORTANT)

Most of the significant spectral components of speech signals are contained in the range 300-3400 Hz Nyquist Rate = 2x3400 = 6.8 kHz Practical Sampling Rate fs= 8 kHz (WHY ..???) Number of quantization levels = 256 Number of Bits/Sample n = 8 (log2256 )

Data Rate = nfs = 8x8000 = 64 kbps

PCM OF SPEECH SIGNALS (VERYIMPORTANT)

Bandwidth Requirement
Communication theory tells us that we can transmit errorfree at most two pieces of information per second per hertz bandwidth (lathi pg. 260) Therefore the minimum required bandwidth for transmission of a PCM speech signal BWm = 64/2 = 32 kHz in We may require more bandwidth but the signal is now digital and we now have the ability to manipulate, store, regenerate the data. (see advantages of Digital Communication pg 263 of lathi)

PCM BASED TDM SYSTEMS

PCM is widely used in transmission of speech signals in fixed line telephone system. An example PCM, the T1 carrier system which was developed at Bell labs in the US. And is still in use today in the US and Japan. A similar scheme called the E1 is used in Europe and Pakistan. These schemes are used to multiplex the speech from multiple subscribers and transmit them to their destinations over a common Time Shared channel. Hence the name time division multiplexing (TDM).

PRIMARY MULTIPLEXING
TRUNK NETWORK (T1 = BELL D2)
13

Digital switch

Digital switch

n*23*64 Kb/s n*1544 Kb/s

PCM BASED TDM SYSTEMS T1

The sampling rate used for voice = 8000 samples/sec

Therefore, Sampling Interval = 1/8000 = 125s

This means that the time between two consecutive samples (from the same source) is 125s. TDM systems exploit this fact and utilize this interval to sample signals from other subscribers. In T1 systems the signals from 24 subscribers is sampled in 125s. The samples are quantized and then converted into a bitstream for transmission over the channel.

PCM BASED TDM SYSTEMS T1

As mentioned previously, sampling rate used for voice = 8000 samples/sec Every sample is represented by 8 bits Therefore, Data rate of 1 voice channel = 8x8000 = 64kbps

In the T1 system 24 voice channels are multiplexed in time therefore, Data rate of a T1 stream should be = 24x64kbps = 1.536 Mbps However, the actual data rate = 1.544Mbps

The extra 8000 bps (1.544-1.536=.008Mbps) result from the overhead bits which are inserted alongside the data (details ahead).

PCM BASED TDM SYSTEMS T1

The T1 carrier system multiplexes binary code words corresponding to samples of each of the 24 channels in a sequence. A segment containing one codeword (corresponding to one sample) from each of the 24 channels is called a FRAME. Each frame has 24x8 = 192 data bits and takes 125s. At the receiver it is also necessary to know where a frame starts in order to separate information bits correctly. For this purpose, a Framing bit is added at the beginning of each frame. Therefore, Total number of bits/ frame = 193

PCM BASED TDM SYSTEMS

T1 FRAME FORMAT

Along with voice data, frames should also contain: Framing bits and Signaling bits. Framing Bits: Indicate start of frames. Signaling Bits: Contain control information such as Routing Information, On-Hook/ off-Hook signals, Alarm signals etc.

PRIMARY MULTIPLEXING E1

The international standard for primary rate telephone multiplexing uses 2048 Kb/s (E1) links. Each E1 link carries 32 channels at 64 Kb/s each. 30 channels are used for carrying voice, one for signaling and one for synchronization and link management.

PRIMARY MULTIPLEXING
TRUNK NETWORK (E1 = CEPT30)
19

Digital switch

Digital switch

n*30*64 Kb/s n*2048 Kb/s

HIGHER ORDER MULTIPLEXING

20

Digital switch

Digital switch

Optical Fiber or Microwave Link

SYNCHRONOUS MULTIPLEXING
OF ALMOST SYNCHRONOUS DATA FLOWS
Primary rate dataflows to be multiplexed can be derived from independent clocks !
21

A
T F S E

1 Frame
D 1 0 R C Q B P A

S C fout > n * MAX(fin )

PLESIOCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY (PDH)

The Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) is a technology used in telecommunications networks to transport large quantities of data over digital transport equipment such as fibre optic and microwave radio systems. The term plesiochronous is derived from Greek plsios, meaning near, and chronos, time, and refers to the fact that PDH networks run in a state where different parts of the network are nearly, but not quite perfectly, synchronised. PDH is typically being replaced by Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) or Synchronous optical networking (SONET) equipment in most telecommunications networks. PDH allows transmission of data streams that are nominally running at the same rate

PLESIOCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY

Each

multiplexed section has its own clock Each level of multiplexing has its own clock Frame structure from multiplexed signals is not explicitly present in the multiplexed stream > Full demultiplexing required at each node !

23

PDH PRINCIPLE
If we want yet higher rates, we can mux together TDM signals (tributaries) We could demux the TDM timeslots and directly remux them but that is too complex The TDM inputs are already digital, so we must

insist that the mux provide clock to all tributaries (not always possible, may already be locked to a network) somehow transport tributary with its own clock across a higher speed network with a different clock (without spoiling remote clock recovery)

OR

Y(J)S SONET

PDH HIERARCHIES
level 0
*

64 kbps 30 T1
*

24

24 J1 1.544 Mbps * 4 6.312 Mbps * 5 32.064 Mbps * 3 97.728 Mbps Japan

Y(J)S SONET

E1

2.048 Mbps * 4 8.448 Mbps * 4

1.544 Mbps * 4 6.312 Mbps * 7

E2

T2

J2

E3 34.368 Mbps
*

T3 44.736 Mbps
*

J3

4 T4

6 J4

E4

139.264 Mbps CEPT

274.176 Mbps N.A.

FRAMING AND OVERHEAD

In addition to locking on to bit-rate we need to recognize the frame structure We identify frames by adding Frame Alignment Signal The FAS is part of the frame overhead
etc.) (which also includes "C-bits", OAM,

Each layer in PDH hierarchy adds its own overhead For example E1 2 overhead bytes per 32 bytes overhead 6.25 % E2 4 E1s = 8.192 Mbps out of 8.448Mbps so there is an additional 0.256 Mbps = 3 % altogether 4*30*64 kbps = 7.680 Mbps out of 8.448 Mbps or 9.09% overhead What happens next ?
Y(J)S SONET

PDH OVERHEAD
digital signal T1 T2 T3 T4 E1 E2 E3 E4 data rate (Mbps) 1.544 6.312 44.736 274.176 2.048 8.448 34.368 139.264 voice channels 24 96 672 4032 30 120 480 1920 0.52 % 2.66 % 3.86 % 5.88 % 6.25 % 9.09 % 10.61 % 11.76 % overhead percentage

Overhead always increases with data rate !

Y(J)S SONET

OAM
analog channels and 64 kbps digital channels do not have mechanisms to check signal validity and quality thus major faults could go undetected for long periods of time hard to characterize and localize faults when reported minor defects might be unnoticed indefinitely Solution is to add mechanisms based on overhead as PDH networks evolved, more and more overhead was dedicated to Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) functions including: monitoring for valid signal defect reporting alarm indication/inhibition (AIS)

Y(J)S SONET

LIMITATIONS OF PDH
Three incompatible PDH standards are used globally (North American, Japanese, European) No worldwide optical interface standard (vendor specific) Insufficient capacity for network management Complex de-multiplexing structure to extract a particular tributary signal (e.g extracting E1 from E4) PDH based networks do not meet present & future telecom demands (maximum BW offered by PDH is E4) Overhead percentage increases with rate Inability to identify individual channels in a higher-order bit stream.

SONET/SDH MOTIVATION AND HISTORY

Y(J)S SONET

COMPARING CLOCKS
A clock is said to be isochronous (isos=equal, chronos=time) if its ticks are equally spaced in time 2 clocks are said to be synchronous (syn=same chronos=time) if they tick in time, i.e. have precisely the same frequency 2 clocks are said to be plesiochronous (plesio=near chronos=time) if the same frequency but are not locked

Y(J)S SONET

IDEA BEHIND SONET

Synchronous Optical NETwork Designed for optical transport (high bitrate) Direct mapping of lower levels into higher ones Carry all PDH types in one universal hierarchy ITU version = Synchronous Digital Hierarchy different terminology but interoperable Overhead doesnt increase with rate OAM designed-in from beginning
Y(J)S SONET

SYNCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY

(SDH)
Synchronous optical networking (SONET) and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) are standardized multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber Lower data rates can also be transferred via an electrical interface Difference from PDH

SONET/SDH are tightly synchronized across the entire network Greatly reducing the amount of buffering SONET and SDH can be used to encapsulate earlier digital transmission standards

SYNCHRONOUS DIGITAL HIERARCHY

The entire trunk network has one clock Multiplexed stream based on 125 S frames Different channels can each have their own asynchronous clock. Add-drop multiplexers
STM-1 STM-1
34

Up to 63 channels at 2 Mb/s

STANDARDS AND APPLICATIONS OF SDH

Why SONET/SDH? SONET/SDH solution SDH format SDH mapping/multiplexing SDH pointer application

WHY SONET/SDH

SONET/SDHs goal

implify interconnection between network operators expand the compatibility

mperfection of PDH

Three different regional digital hierarchies Rate & Format conversion induces extra high cost to customers

Demanding broadband services

To the high speed signals, the processing time for performing conversion between PDH region is not long enough

BASIC UNIT OF FRAMING IN SDH

The basic unit of framing in SDH is a STM-1 (Synchronous Transport Module, level 1), which operates at 155.52 megabits per second (Mbit/s). SONET refers to this basic unit as an STS-3c (Synchronous Transport Signal 3, concatenated) or OC-3c, depending on whether the signal is carried electrically (STS) or optically (OC), but its high-level functionality, frame size, and bitrate are the same as STM-1

SONET/SDH SOLUTION

Modularity
51.84 155.52 622.08 2488.32 9953.28 OC-1 OC-3 OC-12 OC-48 OC-192 STM-1 STM-4 STM-16 STM-64 155.52 622.08 2488.32 9953.28 Speed Unit (Mbps)

SONET/SDH SOLUTION (DS3)

Fixed percentage overhead

DS1 1.544Mbps 28 OC-1 51.84Mbps 3 OC-3 155.52Mbps 4 OC-12 622.08Mbps

Mux
OH

Mux

Mux

Overhead insertion for PDH signals Voice 64Kbps 24 DS1 1.544Mbps 4 DS2 6.312Mbps 7 DS3 44.736Mbps

Mux
OH1

Mux
OH2

Mux
OH3

SONET/SDH BENEFITS
Reduce costs

simplified standard interfaces eliminate vendor proprietary interfaces

Integrated network elements

enhanced operations capabilities

Survivability

grants upgradability (modularity)

No bandwidth bottlenecks

SONET/SDH ARCHITECTURE

Y(J)S SONET

LAYERS
SONET was designed with definite layering concepts Physical layer optical fiber (linear or ring) when exceed fiber reach regenerators regenerators are not mere amplifiers, regenerators use their own overhead fiber between regenerators called section (regenerator
section)

Line layer link between SONET muxes (Add/Drop Multiplexers) input and output at this level are Virtual Tributaries (VCs) actually 2 layers lower order VC (for low bitrate payloads) higher order VC (for high bitrate payloads) Path layer end-to-end path of client data (tributaries) client data (payload) may be PDH ATM packet data

Y(J)S SONET

SONET ARCHITECTURE regenerat

ADM
Line Termination Path Termination

or Section
Termination

ADM
Line Termination Path Termination

path line secti on section line section line secti on

SONET (SDH) has at 3 layers:

path end-to-end data connection, muxes tributary signals path section

there are STS paths + Virtual Tributary (VT) paths

line protected multiplexed SONET payload section physical link between adjacent elements

multiplex section regenerator section

Each layer has its own overhead to support needed functionality SDH terminology

Y(J)S SONET

STS, OC, ETC.

A SONET signal is called a Synchronous Transport Signal The basic STS is STS-1, all others are multiples of it - STS-N The (optical) physical layer signal corresponding to an STS-N is an OC-N SONET STS-1 STS-3 STS-12 STS-48 STS-192 Optical OC-1 OC-3 OC-12 OC-48 OC-192 rate 51.84M 155.52M 622.080M 2488.32M 9953.28M
*3 *4 *4 *4
Y(J)S SONET

SONET/SDH TRIBUTARIES
SONET STS-1 STS-3 STS-12 STS-48 STS-192 STM-1 STM-4 STM-16 STM-64 SDH T1 28 84 336 1344 5376 T3 1 3 12 48 192 E1 21 63 252 1008 4032 E3 1 3 12 48 1 4 16 E4

192 64

E3 and T3 are carried as Higher Order Paths (HOPs) E1 and T1 are carried as Lower Order Paths (LOPs)
(the numbers are for direct mapping)
Y(J)S SONET

NO COMMON STANDARD
Before

SDH there were no standards to ensure that equipment from different vendors interworked on the same system. Vendors can have their own unique designs which means we have to buy the same vendors equipment for both ends of the line. Ideally we would like to shop around for the most suitable equipment, without having to keep to the same supplier.

ADVANTAGES OF SDH
Designed for cost effective, flexible telecoms networking based on direct synchronous multiplexing. Provides built-in signal capacity for advanced network management and maintenance capabilities. Provides flexible signal transportation capabilities designed for existing and future signals. Allows a single telecommunication network infrastructure interconnects network equipment from different vendors

ADVANTAGES OF SDH

SDH integrates three major digital hierarchies of the world SDH offers standard optical interfaces (ITU-T based) Simple and direct multiplexing / de-multiplexing method for adding or dropping electrical signals Rich overhead bytes (OAM=4%) for management, maintenance, and operation. Supports powerful network management system. Support flexible and self-healing networks (protection)

ADVANTAGES OF SDH

Both synchronous and plesiochronous operations are possible. Bit rates exceeding 140Mb/s are standardized on a worldwide basis. All current PDH signals can be transmitted within the SDH except 8 Mb/s (E2) which has no container. A reduction in the amount of equipment & an increase in network reliability.

DISADVANTAGES OF SDH

Bandwidth utilization is comparatively poor than PDH (waste of BW due to various management overhead bytes) SDH equipments are complicated to deal with due to variety of management traffic types and options. SDH adopts large-scale software control which makes it vulnerable to man-made mistakes, software bugs, configuration problems, etc.

WHERE IS SDH USED ?

SDH can be used in all of the traditional network application areas. A single SDH network infrastructure is therefore possible which provides an efficient direct interconnection between the three major telecommunication networks.

SDH RINGS
52

34 Mb/s

2 Mb/s

SDH RINGS
53

SDH RINGS
54

SDH RINGS
55

CUT !

NOTES ON SDH RATES

The most common SDH line rates in use today are 155.52 Mbps, 622.08 Mbps, 2.5 Gbps, 10 Gbps. SDH is a structure that is designed for the future, ensuring that higher line rates can be added when required.

SUMMARY

PCM is widely used in transmission of speech signals in fixed line telephone system. Example of is PCM, the T1 and E1 The nominal data rate on the multiplexed (T1) link is 1544 Kb/s which is the result of multiplexing 24 channels at 64 Kb/s Each E1 link carries 32 channels at 64 Kb/s each. 30 channels are used for carrying voice, one for signaling and one for synchronization and link management. Digital Signal 3 (DS3) is a digital signal level 3 T- Carrier. It may also be referred to as a T3 line. The data rate for this type of signal is 44.736 Mbit/s. PDH allows transmission of data streams that are nearly running at the same rate replaced by SDH Synchronous optical networking (SONET) and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) are standardized multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber

QUESTIONS?