ABSTRACT
Desktop computing power has been increasing steadily over the past decade, literally putting the power of a supercomputer in the office. Through the use of networks, multiple computers within a building or across a campus can efficiently share and store large volumes of local data or create powerful virtual systems for distributed processing. Networks also provide the data conduit for connections to the outside world. As the demand for data has grown, the transmission rates required by these networks has similarly increased to a point where the use of fibre optic physical layers must be seriously considered as a competitive alternative to copper, based on performance and the ability for future upgrades. Indeed, the use of short-distance optical interconnects is on the verge of proliferating local area network (LAN) applications. In addition, technology that has traditionally been thought of as exclusively used in the LAN environment (specifically Ethernet), has recently been proposed for use in distances of tens to hundreds of kilometres for WAN applications. In short, the boundary between LAN and WAN and the components used for each has blurred and will continue to do so in the coming years.
