Requirements for success in gigabit networking
Samir Chatterjee · Communications of the ACM · 1997
The article focuses on some of the important criteria for the gigabit technology to succeed. Advances in telecommunications and networking have been particularly notable in recent times. People have witnessed intense research resulting in fundamental information theory, coding and modulation, signal processing, flow and error control, packet and circuits witching, compression standards, local-area networks (LANs), distributed computing, Internet working, and finally, the World-Wide Web. The Internet, Public Telephone Switched Network (PSTN) and cable TV networks continue to deliver people's data, voice and video information as separate infrastructures. In the 1990s, a fundamental question remains that how can one integrate diverse network types and information types into a single gigabit/sec network. Performance is pushing network evolution that, in turn, is enabling creative new applications for its users. With the rapid introduction of fibre optics into telecommunication networks, a huge amount of potential bandwidth can be utilized.