Fiber optic networks
Introduction
Fiber optic networks are used in telecommunications and communications networks or computer networks.
Laser emission systems are used in fiber optic (FO) communications networks. Light waves have a high frequency and the ability of a signal to carry information increases with frequency.
In the early days of the FO, LED emitters were also used, although since 2007 they have practically fallen into disuse.
Applications
FO Local Area Networks (commonly abbreviated LAN) are widely used for long-distance communication, providing transcontinental and transoceanic connections, since an advantage of fiber optic systems is the great distance a signal can travel before needing a repeater or regenerator to regain its strength. Currently, repeaters in FO transmission systems are spaced about 100 km apart, compared to approximately 1.5 km in electric systems. Recently developed optical amplifiers can further increase this distance.
An increasingly widespread application of FO is LANs. LANs are made up of a group of computers that can share data, applications and resources, for example printers. Computers on a LAN are separated by distances of up to a few kilometers, and are typically used in offices or college campuses. A LAN enables the rapid and efficient transfer of information between a group of users and reduces operating costs. This system increases the performance of the equipment and easily allows the incorporation of new users to the network. The development of new electro-optical and integrated optics components will further increase the capacity of fiber systems.
Other connected computing resources are wide area networks (WAN) and private branch exchanges (PBX). WANs are similar to LANs, but they connect computers separated by greater distances, located in different short-lived data locations used by most computing applications.
When connecting the WANs it is done through their serial interfaces, to connect router with PC through Ethernet interfaces.