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Introduction to
PDH & SDH
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Communication Basics
Transmitter, Medium, Receiver

Network

Communication Rules Protocol

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Medium
Copper - Electrical

Wireless - Microwave / Radio

Fiber - Optical

Satellite
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Transmission Types
Asynchronous

Plesiochronous

Synchronous
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PDH
Plesiochronous
Digital Hierarchy
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Plesiochoronous Signal
If two digital signals are plesiochoronous then their
transitions occur at almost the same rate, with any
variation being constrained within tight limits. Although this
clocks are extremely accurate, there is a difference between
one clock and the other.
 GTL Limited

The PDH Multiplexing

140 Mbit/s 565
565
Mbit/s
Mbit/s
MUX & LTE

MUX & LTE

140-565

140-565
34 Mbit/s
34-140 MUX

34-140 MUX
8 Mbit/s
8-34 MUX

8-34 MUX
2 Mbit/s
2-8 MUX

2-8 MUX

Drop & Add

 GTL Limited

Limitation of the PDH

Network
Inability to identify individual channels in a higher
order bit stream.
Insufficient capacity for network management.
Most PDH network management is proprietary.
There is no definition of bit rates greater than 140
Mbit/s
There are different hierarchies in use around the
world.
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Synchronous
Digital
Hierarchy
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The Synchronous Digital

Hierarchy (SDH)
Need for extensive network management capability
within the hierarchy.
Standard interfaces between equipment.
Need for inter-working between north American and
European systems.
Facilities to add or drop tributaries directly from a high
speed signal.
Standardization of equipment management process.
 GTL Limited

History
PDH Transmission Rates
Hierarchica American European Inter-
Japanese
l Level DS-x CEPT-x national

0 64 64 64 64

1 1544 2048 1544 2048

2 6312 8448 6312 6312

3 44736 34368 32064 44736

4 139264 139264 97728 139264

COMPARISION OF SDH / PDH
PDH
The reference clock is not synchronized The reference clock is synchronized
throughout the network
Multiplexing / Demultiplexing
operations have to be performed from
one level to the next level step by step.
The payload is not transparent.
PDH system has different frame
structures at different hierarchy levels.
Physical cross-connections on the same
level on DDF are forced if any
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SDH
throughout the network.
The synchronous multiplexing results in
simple access to SDH system has
consistent frame structures throughout
the hierarchy.
The payload is transparent
SDH system has consistent frame
structures throughout the hierarchy.
Digital cross- connections are provided
at different signal levels and in different
ways on NMS

PDH
G.702 specifies maximum 45Mpbs &
140Mpbs & no higher order (faster)
signal structure is not specified
PDH system does not bear capacity to
transport B-ISDN signals.
Few services are available
Limited amount of extra capacity for
user / management
Bit - by - bit stuff multiplexing
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SDH
G.707 specified the first level of
SDH.That is, STM-1, Synchronous
Transport Module 1st Order & higher.
(STM-1,STM-4,STM-16, STM-64)
SDH network is designed to be a
transport medium for B-ISDN, namely
ATM structured signal.
It will transport variety of services.
It will transport service bandwidths
Sufficient number of OHBs is available
Byte interleaved synchronous
multiplexing.
 GTL Limited

STM-N Frame Format

STM - "Synchronous Transport / Transmission
Module"
STM-N general format
Basic frame STM-1 consists of
270 x 9 = 2430 octets
9 x 9 = 81 octets section overhead
2349 octets payload
Higher rate frames are derived from multiples of
STM-1 according to value of N
 GTL Limited

Elements of SDH
Container (C)

Virtual Container (VC)

Tributary Unit (TU)

Tributary Unit Group (TUG)

Administrative Unit (AU)

Administrative Unit Group (AUG)

Synchronous Transport Module - N (STM N)

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SDH Generalised Multiplexing

Structure
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Container
Input signals are placed into the containers

It adds stuffing bytes for PDH signals,which compensates for the

permitted frequency deviation between the SDH system and the PDH
signal

C12 (2 Mbps G.703)

C11 (1.5 Mbps)
C2 (6 Mbps)
C3 (34 / 45 Mbps)
C4 (140 Mbps)
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Container
ALIGNMENT : It is a process of adopting the incoming
PDH signals into containers i.e. PCM 30 or 2Mbps to
C12.
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Mapping (Asynchronous)
Mapping is a process used when tributaries are adapted into
VCs by adding justification bits and Path overhead
information
The 2 Mbps signals are not synchronized to the SDH
signal.It imposes no signal structure requirements, so 2
Mbps signals using this mapping do not need to be
framed.This allows easy interface with existing PDH
systems as variable bit justification occurs as part of this type
of 2Mbps mapping.
 GTL Limited

Virtual Container
It adds overheads to a container or groups of tributary units, that
provides facilities for supervision and maintenance of the end to end
paths
VCs carry information end to end between two path access points
through the SDH system
VCs are designed for transport and switching sub-SDH payloads
VC12 (C12 + POH)
VC11 (C11 + POH)
VC2 (C2 + POH)
VC3 (C3 + POH)
VC4 (C4 + POH)
 GTL Limited

Virtual Container
The AU pointer locates a higher-order VC, and the TU
pointer locates a lower-order VC. For example, an AU3
contains a VC3 plus a pointer, and a TU2 contains a VC
2 plus a pointer.
A VC is the payload entity that travels across the network,
being created and dismantled at or near the service
termination point.
 GTL Limited

Tributary Unit
It adds pointers to the VCs

This pointer permits the SDH system to compensate for phase

differences within the SDH network and also for the frequency
deviations between the SDH networks

TUs acts as a bridge between the lower order path layer and
higher order path layer
TU12 (VC12 + pointer)
TU2 (VC2 + pointer)
TU3 (VC3 + pointer)
 GTL Limited

Tributary Unit Group

It defines a group of tributary units that are multiplexed
together

As a result, a TU group could contain one of the following

combinations

Three TU-12s (TUG 2)

Seven TUG-2s (TUG 3)

 GTL Limited

Administrative Unit
It adds pointer to the HO Virtual containers (similar to the
tributary unit)
AU - 3 (VC-3 + pointer)
AU - 4 (VC-4 + pointer)

Administrative Unit Group

It defines a group of administrative units that are
multiplexed together to form higher order STM signal
 GTL Limited

Synchronous Transport
Module n
It adds section overhead (RSOH & MSOH) to a number
of AUGs that adds facilities for supervision &
maintenance of the multiplexer & regenerator sections

This is the signal that is transmitted on the SDH line

The digit n defines the order of the STM signal

 GTL Limited

STM-1 Frame Structure

 GTL Limited

STM-1 Frame Structure

As indicated, the STM n signal is multiples of frames
consisting of 9 rows with 270 bytes in each row
The order of transmission of information is first from
left to right and then from top to bottom
The first 9 bytes in each row are for information and
used by the SDH system itself.This area is divided into 3
parts
o Regenerator Section Overhead(RSOH)
o Multiplex Section Overhead(MSOH)
o Pointers
 GTL Limited

Mapping of 2Mbps into

STM N signal
 GTL Limited

Mapping of 2Mbps into

STM N signal
Stuffing bytes are added in the container one at the head
and the other at the tail of each frame
The lower order POHs are added at the head of each
frame in the VC12
Adding of pointers takes place at the head of each frame
in the TU12
Three parallel TU12s are multiplexed to form a TUG-2
Seven TUG-2s are multiplexed to form a TUG-3
Multiplexing of three TUG3s with stuffing bytes at the
header forms the input to VC4
 GTL Limited

Mapping of 2Mbps into

STM N signal
Higher order path over heads are added at this level,
which is the input to AU4
The location of the starting byte J1(VC-4) is written in
pointer bytes H1 and H2. This process is defined as pointer
processing
AUG, performs the function of concatenation in case of
higher order STMs
In STM-1,virtually there is no difference between AUG
and AU-4
 GTL Limited

Mapping of 2Mbps into

STM N signal
2.048 Mbps 1 2 3 32

(E1) 32 Bytes

Stuffing Bytes

C-12 1 23 32

34 Bytes

POH (Lower Order)

VC-12 1 23 32

35 Bytes
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Mapping of 2Mbps into

STM N signal
Pointer

TU-12
36 Bytes

TU 12 is arranged 9 Rows
Into Matrix of 9 X 4

4 Columns
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TU-12 TU-12 TU-12

9 Rows

4 Columns 4 Columns 4 Columns

Multiplexing

TUG-2 9 Rows

12 Columns
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7 TUG-2s

Stuffing Bytes X 7 TUG-2 TUG-3(Multiplexing)

TUG 3

84 Columns
86 Columns
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TUG - 3 TUG - 3 TUG - 3

86 Columns

X 3 TUG3
VC - 4
HOPOH Stuffing Bytes

258 Columns
261 Columns
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Mapping of 2Mbps into

STM N signal
VC - 4

9 rows Pay Load

261 Columns
AU 4 (Adding Pointer)

AU Pointer
4 th Row
Pay Load

9 Columns
261 Columns
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STM-1 Frame Structure

1-3 rows RSOH
4th row AU Pointer
PAY LOAD
5-9 rows MSOH

9 Columns 261 Columns

270 Columns
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SDH Over Heads

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STM-1 Section Overhead

Y Y 1 1
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Regenerator Section Overhead

A1 & A2 Framing Bytes

These two bytes indicate the beginning of the STM-N frame

J0 Regenerator Section Trace

Its used to transmit a Section Access Point Identifier so

that a section receiver can verify its continued connection to
the intended transmitter
Identifies by a number in the individual STM 1s of a higher
order STM - n
 GTL Limited

B1- Bit Interleaved parity (BIP-8)

This is a parity code (even parity), used to check for transmission
errors over a regenerator section
Its value is calculated over all bits of the previous STM-N frame
after scrambling, then placed in the B1 byte of STM-1 before
scrambling
E1 Engineering Order wire
This byte is allocated to be used as a local order wire channel for
voice communication between regenerators
This byte functionality is available at both multiplexers and
Regenerators
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Bit Interleaved parity (BIP)

Each bit in BIP will indicate the parity of all respective
bits in the previous frame.
Regenerator section BIP is calculated over the entire signal
including all RSOH,MSOH,VC-4 POH and payload of the
previous frame..The result is placed in B1 for a STM-1.
MS BIPs are calculated over the previous STM-1
frame,minus RSOH, and placed in the B2 bytes.
Path BIP are calculated over the previous frame, minus
RSOH and MSOH and are found in the B3 byte of every
STM-1.
 GTL Limited

F1 User Channel

This byte is set aside for the users purposes

D1 to D3 Data Communication Channel

These three bytes form a 192 kbps DCC for Operation &
management of the SDH System
Network management system sends / receives provisioning,
security, status / control alarm and performance monitoring command /
response by way of DCC
 GTL Limited

Multiplex Section
Overhead
B2 Bit Interleaved parity (BIP 24)

This is used to determine if a transmission error has occurred

over a multiplex section. It is even parity, and is calculated over all
bits of the MS Overhead and the STM-N frame (except the
regenerator section) of the previous STM-N frame before scrambling
The value is placed in the three B2 bytes of the MS Overhead
before scrambling. These bytes are provided for all STM-1 signals in
an STM-N signal
 GTL Limited

K1 & K2 Multiplex Section

Protection
These two bytes are used for MSP signaling between multiplex
level entities for bi-directional automatic protection switching and for
communicating Alarm Indication Signal (AIS) and Remote Defect
Indication (RDI) conditions
D4 to D12 Data Communication Channel
These nine bytes form a 576 kbps DCC for Operation &
management of the multiplexers on a SDH line
Network management system sends / receives provisioning,
security, status / control alarm and performance monitoring command
/ response by way of DCC
 GTL Limited

Automatic Protection Switching

APS is the capability of a transmission system to detect a
failure on a working facility and to switch to a standby
facility to recover the traffic.
Only the Multiplex Section in SDH is protected in this
automatic fashion.
MS protection mechanism is coordinated by K1 and K2
bytes.
Path protection is managed at a higher level by network
management functions
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Automatic Protection Switching

Protection Switching is initiated due to :
Signal failure
Signal degradation
In response to commands from a local craft terminal or a
remote network manager.
Two modes of APS are provided
1+1 Protection
1:N protection
 GTL Limited

E2 Engineering Order wire

This byte is allocated to be used as a local order wire

channel for voice communication between multiplexers
This byte is not accessible at the regenerators
M1 - Remote Error indication
It is used to indicate the MS layer remote error indication (MS-
REI)
 GTL Limited
S1 Synchronization status message
byte (SSMB)
Bits 5 to 8 of this S1 byte are used to carry
the synchronization messages
0000 Quality unknown (existing sync. network)
0010 G.811 PRC (Primary Reference Clock)
0100 G.812 transit SSU-A (Synchronisation Supply Unit - A)
1000 G.812 local SSU-B (Synchronisation Supply Unit B)
1011 G.813 Option 1 SEC (Synchronous Equipment Timing Clock)
1111 Do not use for synchronization. This message may be
emulated by equipment failures and will be emulated by
Multiplex Section AIS signal.
 GTL Limited

SDH Pointers
Use of Pointers H1 Y Y H2 1 1 H3 H3 H3

It indicates the starting position of VC H1 & H2 = VC payload pointer

H3 = Negative Justification
It is also used for justification
1 = All 1s
AU pointer is also used for concatenation Y = 1001SS11 (S bits unspecified)

SDH provides payload pointers to permit differences in the phase

and frequency of the Virtual Containers (VC-n) with respect to the
STM-N frame

Lower-order pointers are also provided to permit phase differences

between VC-12/VC-2 and the higher-order VC-3/VC-4
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Path OverHead
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Path Overhead
J1- Path trace

Starting point of VC
It is used to transmit repetitively a path access point identifier,
similar to J0

B3 Path Bit Interleaved Parity BIP- 8

Error Monitoring over the previous VC-4 frame.

Even parity is used to monitor path errors
 GTL Limited

C2 Signal Label
It is defined to indicate the composition or the maintenance
of the VC-4
G1- Path status
It is defined to send back the path status and performance to
where the path is generated

F2,F3 Path User Channels

It is assigned for user communication purposes between path
elements by the network operator

H4 Multi frame Indicator

H4 byte provides the multiframe information
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K3 Automatic protection switching(APS) channel

(b1-b4) are assigned for APS signaling for protection at the

VC-4/3 path labels

N1 Network operator Byte

The tandem connection monitoring function is currently not used

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SDH Network
Elements
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SDH Network Elements

Terminal multiplexer
Regenerator
Add / Drop Multiplexer
Cross connect
Wide-band Digital cross connect
Broad band Digital cross connect
 GTL Limited

Synchronization
Related CCITT
Clock type
recommendation
Primary Reference Clock (PRC) G.811

Slave clock (transit node) G.812

Slave clock (local node) G.812

SDH network-element clock Under definition (G.81s)

 GTL Limited

SDH Network
Management
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SDH Management
SDH management includes :
ECC management
Fault (maintenance) management :
Alarm surveillance
Testing
Performance monitoring
Configuration management
Security management
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Error Performance :- G.82X

Parameters
Errored second
Errored second ratio
Severely errored second
Severely errored second ratio
Background Block error
Background block error ratio
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Error Performance
Errored Second(ES) -A one-second period with one or more
Errored Blocks (EB) for transmission speeds below 200 Mbits/s.
Above this speed, the lowest number of errored blocks is to be
defined.

Errored Second Ratio (ESR) - The ratio of ES to the total

seconds in available time during a measurement interval.

Severely Errored Second (SES) - A one-second period with

one Errored Block Overstep (EBO) and/or one Severely Errored
Block Overstep (SEBO).
 GTL Limited

Error Performance
Severely Errored Second Ratio (SESR) - The ratio of SES
to the total seconds in available time during a measurement
interval.

Background Block Error (BBE) - An errored block,

excluding blocks during SES and unavailable time.

Background Block Error Ratio (BBER) - The ratio of

errored blocks to the total blocks, excluding blocks during SES
and unavailable time.
 GTL Limited

Anomalies and Defects in SDH

Alarms Anomalies / Defects Detection Criteria
Drop in incoming optical power level
LOS Loss of Signal
causes high causes high bit error rate
OOF Out of Frame A1, A2 errored for > 625 s
If OOF persists for > 3ms (to be
LOF Loss of Frame
defined)
Mismatch of the recovered and
Regenerator Section BIP Error
RS BIP Error computed BIP-8
(B1)
Covers the whole STM-N frame
Regenerator Section Trace Mismatch of the accepted and expected
RS-TIM
Identifier Mismatch Trace Identifier in byte J0
Mismatch of thr recovered and
MS BIP Error Mulitplex Section BIP Error (B2) computed N x BIP-24 Covers the
whole frame except RSOH
 GTL Limited

Anomalies and Defects in SDH

Alarms Anomalies / Defects Detection Criteria

HP-UNEQ HO Path Unequipped C2 = 0 for > 5 frames

HO Path Trace Identifier Mismatch of the accepted and expected
HP-TIM
Mismatch Trace identifier in byte J1
Number of detected B3 errors in the
HP-REI HO Path Remote Error Indication sink side enc0ded in byte G1 (bits 1, 2,
3, 4) of the source side
HO Path Remote Defect G1 (bit 5) = 1 for > Z frames
HP-RDI
Indication (Z = 3, 5 or 10)
Mismatch of the accepted and expected
HP-PLM HO Path Payload Label Mismatch
Payload Label in byte C2
H4 (bits 7, 8) multiframe not recovered
TU-LOM Loss of Multiframe
for X ms where X = 1 to 5
 GTL Limited

Anomalies and Defects in SDH

Alarms Anomalies / Defects Detection Criteria
Tributary Unit Alarm Indication All ones in the TU pointer bytes V1 and
TU-AIS
Signal V2
8 to 10 NDF enable
TU-LOP Tributary Unit Loss of Pointer
8 to 10 invalid pointers
Mismatch of the recovered and
computed BIP-8 (B3) or BIP-2 (V5 bit
LP BIP Error LO Path BIP Error
1,2)
Covers entire VC-n
VC-3: C2 = 0 for > 5 frames
LP-UNEQ LO Path Unequipped VC-m (m=2, 11, 12) : V5 (bits 5, 6, 7)
= 000 for > 5 multiframes
LO Path Tracr Indentifier Mismatch of the accepted and expected
LP-TIM
Mismatch Trace identifier in byte J1(VC-3) or J2
 GTL Limited

Anomalies and Defects in SDH

Alarms Anomalies / Defects Detection Criteria
VC-3: G1 (bit 5) = 1 for > Z frames
LO Path Remote Defect
LP-RDI VC-m (m=2, 11, 12): V5 (bit 8) = 1 for
Indication
> Z multiframes (Z = 3, 5, 10)
Mismatch of the accepted and expected
LP-PLM LO Payload Label Mismatch Payload Label in byte C2 or V5 (bits 5,
6, 7)