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

P!SE C"DE M"D!#T$"%

PCM is the most commonly used techni&ue in digital

communications

A 'rimary building block for advanced communication systems

sed in many a''lications(

Telephone systems

Digital audio recording

D laser disks

digital video etc

P!SE C"DE M"D!#T$"%

Based on the sam'ling theorem

Each analog sam'le is assigned a )inary code

#nalog sam'les are re*erred to as 'ulse am'litude modulation

(P#M) sam'les

The digital signal consists o* )loc+ o* n )its, ,here each n-

)it num)er is the am'litude o* a PCM 'ulse
!" #$#TE" %LO& DIA'(A"
#ample )
*old
omparator
(amp
'enerator
%inary
ounter
!arallel to
#erial
onverter
All pulses have same
height and +idth,
f(t)
-
.
/
0
t
12t3
!ulse ode "odulation
2!"3
onsider the analog #ignal 12t3,
-
.
/
0
n
14n5
!ulse ode "odulation
2!"3
The signal is first sampled
.#%T$/#T$"%

Is the process of converting the

sampled signal to a binary value

Each voltage level +ill correspond to a

different binary number

The magnitude of the minimum step

si6e is called the resolution,

The error resulting from 7uanti6ing is

called the 7uanti6ation noise, Its value
is .8/ the resolution
-
.
/
0
t
192t
3
:uanti6ed #ignal
It is 7uite apparent that the 7uanti6ed signal
is not e1actly the same as the original
analog signal, There is a fair degree of
7uanti6ation error here, *o+ever; as the
number of 7uanti6ation levels is increased
the 7uanti6ation error is reduced and the
7uanti6ed signal gets closer and closer to the
original signal
!ulse ode "odulation
2!"3
!" O< #!EE* #I'NAL# 2=E($>
I"!O(TANT3

"ost of the significant spectral components of speech

signals are contained in the range 0-->0?-- *6

Ny7uist (ate @ /10?-- @ A,B k*6

!ractical #ampling (ate f

s
@ B k*6 2C*$,,DDD3

Number of 7uanti6ation levels @ /EA

Number of %its8#ample n @ B 2log
/
/EA 3

Data (ate @ nf
s
@ B1B--- @ A? kbps
!" O< #!EE* #I'NAL# 2=E($>
I"!O(TANT3

Bandwidh R!"ui#!$!n
ommunication theory tells us that we can transmit errorfree at
most two pieces of information per second per hertz bandwidth
(lathi pg. 260)
Therefore the minimum re7uired band+idth for transmission of a
!" speech signal %C
min
@ A?8/ @ 0/ k*6
Ce may re7uire more band+idth but the signal is no+ digital and
+e no+ have the ability to manipulateF storeF regenerate the data,
2see advantages of Digital ommunication pg /A0 of lathi3
!" %A#ED TD" #$#TE"#

!" is +idely used in transmission of speech signals in fi1ed line

telephone system,

An e1ample !"F the T. carrier system +hich +as developed at

%ell labs in the U#, And is still in use today in the U# and Gapan,

A similar scheme called the E. is used in Europe and !akistan,

These schemes are used to multiple1 the speech from multiple

subscribers and transmit them to their destinations over a common
HTime #haredI channel, *ence the name time division multiple1ing
2TD"3,
.
0
!(I"A($ "ULTI!LEJIN'
T(UN& NETCO(& 2T. @ %ELL D/3
Digital
switch
Digital
switch
n*23*64 Kb/s
n*1544 Kb/s
!" %A#ED TD" #$#TE"# T.

The sampling rate used for voice @ B--- samples8sec

ThereforeF #ampling Interval @ .8B--- @ ./EKs

This means that the time bet+een t+o consecutive samples

2from the same source3 is ./EKs, TD" systems e1ploit this fact
and utili6e this interval to sample signals from other subscribers,
In T. systems the signals from /? subscribers is sampled in
./EKs,

The samples are 7uanti6ed and then converted into a bitstream

for transmission over the channel,
!" %A#ED TD" #$#TE"# T.

As mentioned previouslyF sampling rate used for voice @ B---

samples8sec

Every sample is represented by B bits

ThereforeF
Data rate of . voice channel @ B1B--- @ A?kbps

In the T. system /? voice channels are multiple1ed in time

thereforeF
Data rate of a T. stream %h&uld b! @ /?1A?kbps @ .,E0A "bps
*o+everF the a'ual daa #a! @ .,E??"bps
The e1tra ())) b*% 2.,E??>.,E0A@,--B"bps3 result from the overhead bits
+hich are inserted alongside the data 2details ahead3,
!" %A#ED TD" #$#TE"# T.

The T. carrier system multiple1es binary code +ords corresponding to

samples of each of the /? channels in a se7uence, A segment containing
one codeword (corresponding to one sample) from each of the 24
channels is called a FRAME.

Each frame has +,-( . 1/+ daa bi% and takes ./EKs,

At the receiver it is also necessary to kno+ +here a frame starts in order

to separate information bits correctly, <or this purposeF a F#a$in0 bi is
added at the beginning of each frame,
ThereforeF
T&al nu$b!# &1 bi%2 1#a$! . 1/3
!" %A#ED TD" #$#TE"#
T. <(A"E <O("AT

Along +ith voice dataF frames should also containL <raming bits and
#ignaling bits,

F#a$in0 Bi%3 Indicate start of frames,

Si0nalin0 Bi%3 ontain control information such as (outing

InformationF On>*ook8 off>*ook signalsF Alarm signals etc,
!(I"A($ "ULTI!LEJIN' E.

The international standard for primary rate

telephone multiple1ing uses /-?B &b8s 2E.3
links, Each E. link carries 0/ channels at A?
&b8s each, 0- channels are used for carrying
voiceF one for signaling and one for
synchroni6ation and link management,
.
M
!(I"A($ "ULTI!LEJIN'
T(UN& NETCO(& 2E. @ E!T0-3
Digital
switch
Digital
switch
n*30*64 Kb/s
n*2048 Kb/s
/
-
*I'*E( O(DE(
"ULTI!LEJIN'
Optical Fiber or Microwave Link
Digital
switch
Digital
switch
/
.
#$N*(ONOU#
"ULTI!LEJIN'
O< AL"O#T #$N*(ONOU# DATA <LOC#
D C B A E
S R Q P T
F
E S T D C B A R Q P 0 1 F
1 Frame
S C
f
!t
" n * #$%&f
in
'
Primary rate dataflows to be multiplexed
can be derived from independent clocks !
P!ES$"CH0"%"S D$1$T#! H$E0#0CH2
(PDH)

The Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) is a

technology used in telecommunications net,or+s to
trans'ort large &uantities o* data o3er digital trans'ort
e&ui'ment such as *i)re o'tic and micro,a3e radio systems.
The term 'lesiochronous is deri3ed *rom 1ree+ 'l4sios,
meaning near, and chronos, time, and re*ers to the *act that
PDH net,or+s run in a state ,here di**erent 'arts o* the
net,or+ are nearly, )ut not &uite 'er*ectly, synchronised.

PDH is ty'ically )eing re'laced )y Synchronous Digital

Hierarchy (SDH) or Synchronous o'tical net,or+ing
(S"%ET) e&ui'ment in most telecommunications net,or+s.

PDH allo,s transmission o* data streams that are nominally

running at the same rate
/
0

!LE#IO*(ONOU# DI'ITAL
*IE(A(*$

Each multiple1ed section has its o+n clock

Each level of multiple1ing has its o+n clock

<rame structure from multiple1ed signals is not

e1plicitly present in the multiple1ed stream
N <ull demultiple1ing re7uired at each node O
!D* !(INI!LE
If +e +ant yet higher ratesF +e can mu1 together TD" signals
2tributaries3
Ce could demu1 the TD" timeslots and directly remu1 them

but that is too comple1

The TD" inputs are already digitalF so +e must

insist that the mu1 provide clock to all tributaries

2not al+ays possibleF may already be locked to a net+ork3
4R

someho+ transport tributary +ith its o+n clock

across a higher speed net+ork +ith a different clock
2+ithout spoiling remote clock recovery3
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! +,
!D* *IE(A(*IE#
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! +7
A? kbps
/,-?B
"bps
.,E??
"bps
.,E??
"bps
A,0./
"bps
A,0./
"bps
B,??B
"bps
0?,0AB "bps
.0M,/A?
"bps
??,P0A "bps 0/,-A?
"bps
MP,P/B
"bps
/P?,.PA
"bps
E!T N,A, Gapan
?
0
/
.
-
level
Q 0-
Q /?
Q /?
Q ?
Q ?
Q ?
Q ?
Q P
Q A
Q ?
Q E
Q 0
E.
E/
E0
E?
T.
T/
T0
T?
G.
G/
G0
G?
<(A"IN' AND O=E(*EAD
In addition to locking on to bit>rate
+e need to recogni6e the frame structure
Ce identify frames by adding Frame Alignment Signal
The <A# is part of the frame overhead (which also includes "!bits"" #A$"
etc.)
Each layer in !D* hierarchy adds its o+n overhead
<or e1ample

E. R / overhead bytes per 0/ bytes R overhead 89+7 :

E/ R ? E.s @ B,.M/ "bps out of B,??B"bps

so there is an additional -,/EA "bps @ 0 S
altogether ?Q0-QA? kbps @ P,AB- "bps out of B,??B "bps
or /9)/: overhead
Chat happens ne1t D
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! +8
!D* O=E(*EAD
Overhead al+ays increases +ith data rate O
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! +;
(igital
signal
(ata rate
&#b)s'
*ice
channels
*erhea( )ercentage
+1 1,544 24 0,52 -
+2 6,312 .6 2,66 -
+3 44,/36 6/2 3,86 -
+4 2/4,1/6 4032 5,88 -
01 2,048 30 6,25 -
02 8,448 120 .,0. -
03 34,368 480 10,61 -
04 13.,264 1.20 11,/6 -
OA"
analog channels and A? kbps digital channels
do not have mechanisms to check signal validity and 7uality
thus

maTor faults could go undetected for long periods of time

hard to characteri6e and locali6e faults +hen reported

minor defects might be unnoticed indefinitely

#olution is to add mechanisms based on overhead
as !D* net+orks evolvedF more and more overhead +as dedicated to
4perationsF Administration and Maintenance 2OA"3 functions
includingL

monitoring for valid signal

defect reporting

alarm indication8inhibition 2AI#3

5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! +(
LI"ITATION# O< !D*

Three incompatible !D* standards are used globally 2North

AmericanF GapaneseF European3

No +orld+ide optical interface standard 2vendor specific3

Insufficient capacity for net+ork management

omple1 de>multiple1ing structure to e1tract a particular

tributary signal 2e,g e1tracting E. from E?3

!D* based net+orks do not meet present ) future telecom

demands 2ma1imum %C offered by !D* is E?3

Overhead percentage increases +ith rate

Inability to identify individual channels in a higher>order bit

stream,
#ONET8#D*
"OTI=ATION AND *I#TO($
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! 3)
O"!A(IN' LO&#
A clock is said to be isochronous 2isos@e7ualF chronos@time3
if its tic%s are e7ually spaced in time
/ clocks are said to be synchronous 2syn@same chronos@time3
if they tic% in timeF i,e, have precisely the same fre7uency
/ clocks are said to be plesiochronous 2plesio@near chronos@time3
if the same fre7uency but are not loc%ed
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! 31
IDEA %E*IND #ONET
Synchronous 4ptical NET+ork

Designed for optical transport 2high bitrate3

Di#!' mapping of lo+er levels into higher

ones

arry all !D* types in &n! universal

hierarchy

ITU version @ Synchronous Digital

Hierarchy

different terminology but interoperable

Overhead doesnUt increase +ith rate

OA" designed>in from beginning

5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! 3+
S5NCHR4N4<S DI=ITA> HIERARCH5
(SDH)

Synchronous o'tical net,or+ing (S"%ET) and

synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) are standardi5ed
multi'le6ing 'rotocols that trans*er multi'le digital )it
streams o3er o'tical *i)er

!o,er data rates can also )e trans*erred 3ia an electrical

inter*ace

Di11!#!n'! 1#&$ PDH

S"%ET7SDH are tightly synchroni5ed across the entire net,or+

1reatly reducing the amount o* )u**ering

S"%ET and SDH can )e used to enca'sulate earlier digital

transmission standards
0
?
#$N*(ONOU# DI'ITAL
*IE(A(*$
STM-1 STM-1
' to 89 channels at : M)7s
1
+he entire tr!n2 netwr2 has ne clc2
1
#!lti)le3e( stream base( n 125 S frames
1
Different channels can each ha*e their wn
as4nchrn!s clc2,
1
$((5(r) m!lti)le3ers
STANDARDS AND
APP>ICATI4NS 4F SDH
V Chy #ONET8#D*D
V #ONET8#D* solution
V #D* format
V #D* mapping8multiple1ing
V #D* pointer application
WH5 S4NET2SDH
V #ONET8#D*Us goal
simplify interconnection bet+een net+ork operators
e1pand the compatibility
V Imperfection of !D*
Three different regional digital hierarchies
(ate ) <ormat conversion induces e1tra high cost to customers
V Demanding broadband services
To the high speed signalsF the processing time for performing
conversion bet+een !D* region is not long enough
B#S$C %$T "; ;0#M$%1 $% SDH

The )asic unit o* *raming in SDH is a STM-1 (Synchronous

Trans'ort Module, le3el 1), ,hich o'erates at 1<<.<: mega)its 'er
second (M)it7s). S"%ET re*ers to this )asic unit as an STS-9c
(Synchronous Trans'ort Signal 9, concatenated) or "C-9c,
de'ending on ,hether the signal is carried electrically (STS) or
o'tically ("C), )ut its high-le3el *unctionality, *rame si5e, and )it-
rate are the same as STM-1
S4NET2SDH S4><TI4N
V
"odularity
O>.
O>.M/
O>./
O>0
O>?B
#T">.
#T">?
#T">.A
#T">A?
E.,B?
.EE,E/
A//,-B
/?BB,0/
MME0,/B
.EE,E/
A//,-B
/?BB,0/
MME0,/B
#peed Unit 2"bps3
S4NET2SDH S4><TI4N (DS3)
V <i1ed percentage overhead
"u1 "u1 "u1
D#. O>. O>0 O>./
/B 0 ?
O*
E.,B?"bps .,E??"bps .EE,E/"bps A//,-B"bps
V
Overhead insertion for !D* signals
"u1 "u1 "u1
=oice D#/ D#0
/? ? P
O*.
A?&bps A,0./"bps ??,P0A"bps
O*/ O*0
D#.
.,E??"bps
S4NET2SDH BENEFITS
V (educe costs
simplified standard interfaces
eliminate vendor proprietary interfaces
V Integrated net+ork elements
enhanced operations capabilities
V #urvivability
grants upgradability 2modularity3
V No band+idth bottlenecks
#ONET8#D*
A(*ITETU(E
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! ,1
LA$E(#
#ONET +as designed +ith definite layering concepts
!hysical layer R optical fiber 2linear or ring3

+hen e1ceed fiber reach R regenerators

regenerators are not mere amplifiersF

regenerators use their o+n overhead

fiber bet+een regenerators called section 2regenerator

section3
Line layer R link bet+een #ONET mu1es 2Add8Drop Multiple1ers3

input and output at this level are ?irtual Tributaries 2?Cs3

actually / layers

lo+er order = 2for lo+ bitrate payloads3

higher order = 2for high bitrate payloads3

!ath layer R end>to>end path of client data 2tributaries3

client data 2payload3 may be

!D*

AT"

packet data
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! ,+
#ONET A(*ITETU(E
#ONET 2#D*3 has at 0 layersL
path R end>to>end data connectionF mu1es tributary signals path section
there are #T# paths W =irtual Tributary 2=T3 paths
line R protected multiple1ed #ONET payload multiple1 section
section R physical link bet+een adTacent elements regenerator section
Each layer has its o+n overhead to support needed functionality
#D* terminology
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! ,3
Pah
T!#$inai&n
Pah
T!#$inai&n
>in!
T!#$inai&n
>in!
T!#$inai&n
S!'i&n
T!#$inai&n
path
line line line
AD" AD" regenerat
or
secti
on
section secti
on
section
#T#F OF ET,
A #ONET signal is called a Synchronous Transport Signal
The basic #T# is #T#>.F all others are multiples of it > #T#>N
The 2optical3 physical layer signal corresponding to an #T#>N is an
O>N
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! ,,
SONET Optical rate
S+S51 6C51 51,84#
S+S53 6C53 155,52#
S+S512 6C512 622,080#
S+S548 6C548 2488,32#
S+S51.2 6C51.2 ..53,28#
Q 0
Q ?
Q ?
Q ?
#ONET8#D* T(I%UTA(IE#
E0 and T0 are carried as *igher Order !aths 2*O!s3
E. and T. are carried as Lo+er Order !aths 2LO!s3
2the numbers are for di#!' mapping3
5(6)S
S4NET
Slid! ,7
SONET SDH T1 T3 E1 E3 E4
S+S51 28 1 21 1
S+S53 S+#51 84 3 63 3 1
S+S512 S+#54 336 12 252 12 4
S+S548 S+#516 1344 48 1008 48 16
S+S51.2 S+#564 53/6 1.2 4032 1.2 64
NO O""ON #TANDA(D

%efore #D* there +ere no standards to

ensure that e7uipment from different
vendors inter+orked on the same system,

=endors can have their o+n uni7ue

designs +hich means +e have to buy the
same vendorUs e7uipment for both ends
of the line,

Ideally +e +ould like to shop around for

the most suitable e7uipmentF +ithout
having to keep to the same supplier,
AD=ANTA'E# O< #D*
Designed for cost effectiveF fle1ible telecoms net+orking R
based on direct synchronous multiple1ing,
!rovides built>in signal capacity for advanced net+ork
management and maintenance capabilities,
!rovides fle1ible signal transportation capabilities R designed
for e1isting and future signals,
Allo+s a single telecommunication net+ork infrastructure R
interconnects net+ork e7uipment from different vendors
AD=ANTA'E# O< #D*

#D* integrates three maTor digital hierarchies of the +orld

#D* offers standard optical interfaces 2ITU>T based3

#imple and direct multiple1ing 8 de>multiple1ing method for

adding or dropping electrical signals

(ich overhead bytes 2OA"@?S3 for managementF

maintenanceF and operation, #upports po+erful net+ork
management system,

#upport fle1ible and self>healing net+orks 2protection3

AD=ANTA'E# O< #D*

%oth synchronous and plesiochronous operations

are possible,

%it rates e1ceeding .?-"b8s are standardi6ed on

a +orld+ide basis,

All current !D* signals can be transmitted +ithin

the #D* e1cept B "b8s 2E/3 +hich has no
container,

A reduction in the amount of e7uipment ) an

increase in net+ork reliability,
DI#AD=ANTA'E# O< #D*

%and+idth utili6ation is comparatively poor than

!D* 2+aste of %C due to various management
overhead bytes3

#D* e7uipments are complicated to deal +ith

due to variety of management traffic types and
options,

#D* adopts large>scale soft+are control +hich

makes it vulnerable to man>made mistakesF
soft+are bugsF configuration problemsF etc,
,
C*E(E I# #D* U#ED D

#D* can be used in all of the traditional

net+ork application areas,

A single #D* net+ork infrastructure is

therefore possible +hich provides an efficient
direct interconnection bet+een the three
maTor telecommunication net+orks,
E
/
#D* (IN'#
9= M)7s
: M)7s
E
0
#D* (IN'#
E
?
#D* (IN'#
E
E
#D* (IN'#
CT >
NOTE# ON #D* (ATE#

The most common #D* line rates in use

today are .EE,E/ "bpsF A//,-B "bpsF /,E
'bpsF .- 'bps,

#D* is a structure that is designed for the

futureF ensuring that higher line rates can be
added +hen re7uired,
#U""A($
!" is +idely used in transmission of speech signals in fi1ed line telephone
system, E1ample of is !"F the T. and E.
The nominal data rate on the multiple1ed 2T.3 link is .E?? &b8s +hich is the
result of multiple1ing /? channels at A? &b8s
Each E. link carries 0/ channels at A? &b8s each, 0- channels are used for
carrying voiceF one for signaling and one for synchroni6ation and link
management,
Digital #ignal 0 2D#03 is a digital signal level 0 T> arrier, It may also be referred
to as a T0 line, The data rate for this type of signal is ??,P0A "bit8s,
PDH allo,s transmission o* data streams that are nearly running at the same rate re'laced )y SDH
Synchronous o'tical net,or+ing (S"%ET) and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) are
standardi5ed multi'le6ing 'rotocols that trans*er multi'le digital )it streams o3er o'tical *i)er
@<ESTI4NSA