Next Generation SONET/SDH : Voice and Data

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I bought the book hoping to use it as an introductory text for GFP, VCAT and LCAS. After all that's what the "next-generation" SONET is about. The author first starts with explaining the T-carrier hierarchy (which is OK as a general introduction to TDM networks), but each section looks totally out of the context and no relationship is established with the rest of the text. Similar case is with the next chapter on packet networks. Finally, come the chapter on GFP. At the first glance it looks like the entire chapter dedicated to GFP may contain a lot of information, but when one starts reading it's completely disappointing. Most of the sections are incomplete, some are not even technically correct. Most of the sections are random excerpts from tutorial papers that author lists at the end of the chapter. One would be much better off getting the May 2002 issue of IEEE Communication Magazine and reading all the papers that have been published in that issue (the issue was dedicated to GFP). In the next chapter (where one would expect detailed technical tutorial on VCAT and LCAS), there is very little information. I was able to Google out more material on VCAT and LCAS then what I was able to find in this book. This is about a point where I stopped reading and regretted the money spent on the book. I do not recommend it at all.