Computers have revolutionized the factory floor as well as the office environment. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of information constantly exchanged between shop-floor computers that control and monitor plant equipment and among myriad office workers with individual desk-top computers. This widespread use of distributed processing has naturally led to the need for reliable data communication links. A unique approach has been developed which permits the networking of broadband data over optical fiber. This Local Area Network is a broadband network which utilizes analog techniques for communications. Analog methods allow for the use of multiple carrier frequencies and thus multiple services. For example, multiple networks such as the Manufacturing Automation Protocol, Broadband Ethernet, and the PC Network can coexist on the same optical fiber in addition to other broadband services such as video.

Date Published: 14 December 1988
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 0991, Fiber Optic Datacom and Computer Networks, (14 December 1988); doi: 10.1117/12.960018

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0991:
Fiber Optic Datacom and Computer Networks
James E. Hayes; James Pazaris, Editor(s)