Packet over SONET/SDH
Packet over SONET/SDH, abbreviated POS, is communications protocol for transmitting packets over SDH or SONET, which are both circuit switched protocols.
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Applications of POS
The most important application of POS is to support the sending of IP packets across Wide Area Networks. Much of the traffic on the Internet is carried over POS links.
POS is also one of the link layers used by the IEEE 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring standard.
History of POS
Cisco was involved in the making POS an important Wide Area Network protocol. PMC-Sierra produced an important series of early semiconductor devices which implemented POS.
Pronounciation
POS is pronounced as "pause". A communication link which uses POS is sometimes referred to as a "POS-link".
Complementary Interfaces
The System Packet Interface series of standards from the Optical Internetworking Forum including SPI-4.2 and its predecessor PL-4 are commonly used by framer devices that implement POS. The acronym PL-4 means POS-PHY Layer 4.
External links
Categories: Computer stubs | Network protocols