This work examines the tricks and traps awaiting service providers in the Metro Area space, detailing the technological challenges and opportunities. It covers: Metro networking with Ethernet and Optical; Metro with Bluetooth, InfiniBand, DWDM and more; VPN implications; and support services.

Author Steven Shepard's text explains what's what, who's who and how it all works together in the speed-of-light world of optical networking. Covering everything from technologies and equipment to companies and competitors, he delves into business strategies, future applications, and convergance opportunities.

This volume examines the three components of the convergence phenomenon - technologies, companies and services - in order to help the reader understand how the fundamentals of customer service are created.

Increasingly, the use of fiber optic cable as a transport for voice, data, video, and Internet traffic is becoming the norm. SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) and SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) are being used with high-speed data transmission. Although SONET/SDH was originally intended for use in broadband ISDN and support leased line services like DS-1 and DS-3. SONET/SDH expansion is being fuelled by many of today's biggest industries such as Boeing, Disney and AT&T as these companies move their internal global networks to a SONET/SDH infrastructure.