Trunks Definition Trunks are a large-bandwidth communication channels connecting switching centres, forming the core of the telephone network. A trunk comprises of a cluster of broadcast frequencies that are suitable for long haul communication of many voice and data signals simultaneously. Features The characteristic features of a trunk are − They carry digital information as opposed to analog signals carried by local loops. They are designed for both voice and data transmission. They can carry millions of calls simultaneously over long distances. They have very high bandwidth. They generally comprise of a cluster of fiber optic cables bundled together ... Read More

DefinitionPassive Optical Network (PON) is a FTTH (Fiber to the Home) technology deployed in both domestic and commercial consumers. It is called a passive network since it does not require a power equipment to amplify or process signals. A PON implements point – to – multipoint architecture, where a single optical line is divided into many optical splitters to serve multiple customers. It is used in the last mile of the network connection between an ISP and a user.ArchitectureThe passive optical network has three parts −Optical Line Terminator (OLT) − This is the end office of the service provider.Optical Distribution ... Read More

Definition Fiber to the home (FTTH) is a technology to deploy optical fibers in the local loop of the telephone networks to the users’ home for providing high-speed data connectivity. It replaces the existing copper wires as telephone lines to the customer premises by optical fibers that allow much greater bandwidth and less noisy connectivity. FTTH Council The FTTH Council is a non-profit organization to provide advanced FTTH solutions. Its members comprise of manufacturers, organizations and municipalities who build and install equipments for FTTH systems. The purpose of the Council is to share knowledge and build industry consensus on FTTH. ... Read More

DefinitionDigital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a communication technology that offers high – bandwidth digital communication over standard telephone lines formed of copper wires.FeaturesDSL is a family of technologies under the general name of xDSL, for various x, like ADSL, HDSL, and RADSL. Originally, it was a part of the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and was called IDSL.DSL technology is used in the local loop of the telephone network, i.e. the part of the telephone network that connects the customer premises with the end office of the telephone company.Some DSL services provide more than the standard bandwidth of the telephone lines. ... Read More

Debugging is the process of finding the problems in a computer system and solving them. There are many different ways in which operating systems perform debugging. Some of these are −Log FilesThe log files record all the events that occur in an operating system. This is done by writing all the messages into a log file. There are different types of log files. Some of these are given as follows −Event LogsThese stores the records of all the events that occur in the execution of a system. This is done so that the activities of all the events can be ... Read More

A bootstrap program is the first code that is executed when the computer system is started. The entire operating system depends on the bootstrap program to work correctly as it loads the operating system.A figure that demonstrates the use of the bootstrap program is as follows −In the above image, the bootstrap program is a part of ROM which is the non-volatile memory. The operating system is loaded into the RAM by the bootstrap program after the start of the computer system. Then the operating system starts the device drivers.Bootstrapping ProcessThe bootstrapping process does not require any outside input to ... Read More

A command interpreter allows the user to interact with a program using commands in the form of text lines. It was frequently used until the 1970’s. However, in modern times many command interpreters are replaced by graphical user interfaces and menu-driven interfaces.Purpose of Command InterpretersCommand interpreters serve many purposes and are more useful than graphical user interfaces in some cases. Details about these cases are given as follows −Command interpreters have a large range of commands and queries available for different operations. Also, it is much faster to type than to click as is done using graphical user interfaces..There are ... Read More

Solaris is a Unix based operating system that was developed by Sun Microsystems and after its acquisition by Oracle it is known as Oracle Solaris. It is known for its scalability and its innovative features such as DTrace, ZFS, Time Slider etc.Solaris KernelThe kernel is the core of the operating system as its main function is to manage the hardware by allocating resources appropriately. Solaris is a microkernel design and it is not possible to create a monolithic Solaris kernel.Booting the kernel from a local disk in Solaris can be done using the following steps −Loading the bootblockReading and loading ... Read More

The Mac OS is a graphical operating system developed by Apple Inc. The tenth version of the Mac OS is the Mac OS X which was launched in 2001.The structure of the Mac OS X includes multiple layers. The base layer is Darwin which is the Unix core of the system. Next layer is the graphics system which contains Quartz, OpenGL and QuickTime. Then is the application layer which has four components, namely Classic, Carbon, Cocoa and Java. The top layer is Aqua, which is the user interface.A diagram that demonstrates the structure of Mac OS X is as follows ... Read More

Unix is a multiuser, multitasking operating system that was developed by Bell Laboratories in 1969. In a multiuser system, many users can use the system simultaneously. A multitasking system is capable of doing multiple jobs. Each user interacts with their own shell instance in this type of operating system and can start applications as required.An image that demonstrates the structure of the Unix operating system is −As seen in the image, the main components of the Unix operating system structure are the kernel layer, the shell layer and the application layer.Details about these are given as follows −KernelThe kernel provides ... Read More