Sonet/SDH Third Edition

Rating:
Summary: An accurate, well-aimed work
Review: As an author of technical books myself, I am always looking for titles that tell the story of a particular technology in a comprehensive, clearly-written and standards-oriented fashion. Walter Goralski's books do this and do it well. I own all of his titles, and the reason I like them (besides the author's sense of humor) is the fact that they are written around the standards that govern the telecommunications industry. Many companies interpret the standards and the terminology in different ways, which is fine - that's how they are designed. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to differences of opinion about meanings or interpretations. Walter sticks to the standards, however, always ensuring the availability of a literary technological benchmark.

I strongly recommend the book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent overview of all aspects of SONET...
Review: Despite the scathing review from the person from Newport, CA above, Goralski's book is an excellent in-depth overview of all aspects of SONET. Yes, the book is long -- and there's not much filler in sight. Goralski covers this subject well, providing breadth and depth of coverage, and he's a good writer to boot. Not only does he describe the protocols, but also the equipment, historical background (great context settings), and likely future of this technology.

I really feel the need to correct the impression left by some of the reviewer's above who, in my opinion, clearly need this book. One says that Goralski is wrong referencing the "U" (unidirectional) in UPSR as transmission; instead, U refers to switching. Huh? That's just wrong; read the standard (and just about other document written about SONET). (As an aside, this reviewer has reversed the specifications -- GR-1230 is BLSR and GR-1400 is UPSR.) Another reviewer makes a big deal about what pg. 223 says about the transport of the DS-1 framing bit in a VT1.5 mapping. What the book says is that the "The DS-1 framing bit is not transported through the SONET portion of the DS-1 link..." It goes on to say that "The asynchronous mapping does not carry the DS-1 framing bit in the overhead. The framing bit is included in the VT1.5 bit stream..."

I quote these errors only because I think that the reviewers' misunderstandings should not stop people from buying an excellent reference text.

Rating:
Summary: Easily read - full of historical and technical information !
Review: Goralski certainly did his research. He presents the SONET architecture in a way that most would find comfortable. I found myself knee deep in an FOA for DSL technologies beyond the NGDLC and needed SONET information FAST ! ! The book reads almost like a great novel, I can't put it down! Most books of it's size are rarely organized well, and serve mostly for technical references. Bravo for an excellant effort Mr. Goralski ! !

Rating:
Summary: this is not your book if you want hardcore technical details
Review: I can recommend this book to everyone who wants to get an overview on SDH/SONET capabilities and/or products but does not care for the protocol itself.

But if you're looking for a good and correct description of the inner workings of the protocol you'd better not waste your time with this book. Check out the SDH/SONET bible: Broadband Networking: ATM, SDH and SONET by Mike Sexton and Andy Reid. It's expensive, but it's really worth the money.

Goralski's book doesn't keep up with the promises of it's blurb. it has, like every book, some technical errors in it; errors which are IMHO worse enough not to buy this book. i wonder how this pointer-processing-example came into this book - horrors!

...

Rating:
Summary: Big book but lots of filler and incorrect information
Review: I wish this was a good book on SONET. There's a real need for a book that explains the concepts of SONET/SDH in terms that a beginner can understand. Unfortunately, this book doesn't meet that goal.

While "SONET" is a big book, 675 pages, only a small part is devoted to explaining how SONET works, from page 162 to 276, or slightly more than 100 pages. The rest is just filler.

And even then, there are serious errors in the material, most importantly in the section explaining how pointers work. On page 274, figure 8.19, he shows how a pointer adjustment is done. However, he shows the New Data Flag (NDF, although it's labeled DNF in the diagram) being used with the "I" or "D" bits to adjust the pointer value. Not correct. The "I" or "D" bits OR the NDF are used, but not both at the same time.

On page 223, he describes asynchronous mapping and says that the DS-1 framing bits are not transported. Wrong again. In fact, in asynchronous mapping the SONET equipment simply looks at the DS-1 as a stream of bits and does not attempt to determine what the bits represent.

Now, this is the second edition of the book. You'd think that these errors would have been caught by now, especially in the very important area of pointers (which most people have difficulty understanding the first time).

He also gives very little attention to the details of virtual tributaries (his explanation runs from page 209 to page 229). Now, I realize that this is a difficult area to explain but that's what people buy a big book like this for. Goralski would have done well to devote more of the book to a detailed explanation of how SONET works, complete with diagrams, rather than just 100+ pages.

I wish I could point you at a good introductory book on SONET/SDH but I still haven't found one yet. There must be a technical author out there who can produce a good primer on SONET. One is certainly needed.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive Guide to SONET
Review: Mr. Goralski has once again taken a difficult topic and presented it in a fashion that the average networking professional can understand. His treatment of SONET is along the same lines as his ATM and APPN books, well written, technically accurate and very useful. The content of the book provides a wide range of information about optical networking equipment, applications of SONET and a unique historical perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read for non-engineers
Review: Mr. Goralski offers an excellent overview of current SONET architecture as well as future trends (i.e. integration and implications of DWDM technology) and empowers the reader to better differentiate among competing equipment vendors. I would highly recommend this book to professional investors seeking a serious and greater understanding of the telecommunications equipment market.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy e-books...
Review: The content of the book, "SONET" is rather good: it covers history, architecture, equipment, lots of technical and implementation details. However, don't buy the e-book, consider the printed version. The rating really should be 0 stars, but 0 is not allowed...

The e-book version is difficult to read, and the reader is cantankerous, lacks ALL of the advantages of a printed book, and has NO electronic advantages: it's bound to the PC it's loaded to, and cannot be moved. If your PC crashes, you're cooked. Plus, you can't return it if you find it's not the right book for you. I'll never buy another e-book!

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe everything you believe
Review: This book is far too long and contains many outrageous errors. The section on UPSR reads as total fiction. Maybe the author was thinking about FDDI. The Uni-directional in UPSR refers to the fact that switching is performed uni-directionally (i.e. both ends don't switch at the same time), not that traffic flows uni-directionally. If you want to learn about SONET, search the web for a tutorial and then get the full story by reading GR-253-CORE, GR-1230(UPSR) and GR-1400(BLSR).

Rating:
Summary: Good Book To Start Sonet Studies
Review: This is very good book for beginners, and for those who wants to understand Sonet basics, but still it very general and lacks from some shallowness.
So for designers and network operators it will be not so useful since it's not detailed enough.