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Fiber Distributed Data Interface

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Dual-attach FDDI board forSBus
Single-attach FDDI controller forXMIbus (PHY is on a separate bulkhead module).

Fiber Distributed Data Interface(FDDI) is a standard fordata transmissionin alocal area network. It usesoptical fiberas its standard underlying physical medium, although it was also later specified to usecoppercable, in which case it may be calledCDDI(Copper Distributed Data Interface), standardized asTP-PMD(Twisted-Pair Physical Medium-Dependent), also referred to as TP-DDI (Twisted-Pair Distributed Data Interface).

FDDI was effectively made obsolete in local networks byFast Ethernetwhich offered the same 100 Mbit/s speeds, but at a much lower cost and, from 1998 on, byGigabit Ethernetdue to its speed, even lower cost, and ubiquity.[1]

Description

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FDDI provides a 100Mbit/soptical standard fordata transmissioninlocal area networkthat can extend in length up to 200 kilometers (120 mi).[2]Although FDDI logical topology is a ring-based token network, it did not use the IEEE 802.5Token Ringprotocolas its basis; instead, its protocol was derived from the IEEE 802.4token bustimed tokenprotocol. In addition to covering large geographical areas, FDDI local area networks can support thousands of users. FDDI offers both a Dual-Attached Station (DAS), counter-rotating token ring topology and a Single-Attached Station (SAS), token bus passing ring topology.[3]

FDDI, as a product ofAmerican National Standards InstituteX3T9.5 (now X3T12), conforms to theOpen Systems Interconnection(OSI) model of functional layering using other protocols. The standards process started in the mid 1980s.[4] FDDI-II, a version of FDDI described in 1989, addedcircuit-switched servicecapability to the network so that it could also handle voice andvideosignals.[5]Work started to connect FDDI networks tosynchronous optical networking(SONET) technology.

An FDDI network contains two rings, one as a secondary backup in case the primary ring fails. The primary ring offers up to 100 Mbit/s capacity. When a network has no requirement for the secondary ring to do backup, it can also carry data, extending capacity to 200 Mbit/s. The single ring can extend the maximum distance; a dual ring can extend 100 km (62 mi). FDDI had a larger maximum frame size (4,352 bytes) than the standardEthernetfamily, which only supports a maximum frame size of 1,500 bytes,[a]allowing better effective data rates in some cases.

Topology

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Designers normally constructed FDDI rings in anetwork topologysuch as a "dual ring of trees". A small number of devices, typically infrastructure devices such asroutersand concentrators rather than host computers, were "dual-attached" to both rings. Host computers then connect as single-attached devices to the routers or concentrators. The dual ring in its most degenerate form simply collapses into a single device. Typically, a computer-room contained the whole dual ring, although some implementations deployed FDDI as ametropolitan area network.[6]

FDDI requires this network topology because the dual ring actually passes through each connected device and requires each such device to remain continuously operational. The standard actually allows for optical bypasses, but network engineers consider these unreliable and error-prone. Devices such as workstations and minicomputers that might not come under the control of the network managers are not suitable for connection to the dual ring.

As an alternative to using a dual-attached connection, a workstation can obtain the same degree ofresiliencethrough a dual-homed connection made simultaneously to two separate devices in the same FDDI ring. One of the connections becomes active while the other one is automatically blocked. If the first connection fails, the backup link takes over with no perceptible delay.

Frame format

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FDDI data frame format[7]
Preamble, PA 16 bits
Start delimiter, SD 8 bits
Frame control, FC 8 bits
Destination address, DA 48 bits
Source address, SA 48 bits
Protocol (or packet) data unit, PDU Up to 4478 × 8 bits
Frame check sequence, FCS 32 bits
End delimiter/frame status, ED/FS 16 bits

The frame check sequence uses the samecyclic redundancy checkasToken RingandEthernet.

TheInternet Engineering Task Forcedefined a standard for transmission of theInternet Protocol(which would be the protocol data unit in this case) over FDDI. It was first proposed in June 1989[8]and revised in 1990.[9]Some aspects of the protocol were compatible with theIEEE 802.2standard forlogical link control.For example, the 48-bitMAC addressesthat became popular with the Ethernet family. Thus other protocols such as theAddress Resolution Protocol(ARP) could be common as well.[9]

Deployment

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FDDI was considered an attractive campusbackbone networktechnology in the early to mid 1990s since existing Ethernet networks only offered 10 Mbit/s data rates and Token Ring networks only offered 4 Mbit/s or 16 Mbit/s rates. Thus it was a relatively high-speed choice of that era, with speeds such as 100 Mbit/s. By 1994, vendors includedCisco Systems,National Semiconductor,Network Peripherals, SysKonnect (acquired byMarvell Technology Group), and3Com.[10]

FDDI installations have largely been replaced by Ethernet deployments.[1]

Standards

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FDDI standards included:[11]

  • ANSI X3.139-1987, Media Access Control (MAC) — also ISO 9314-2
  • ANSI X3.148-1988, Physical Layer Protocol (PHY) — also ISO 9314-1
  • ANSI X3.166-1989, Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) — also ISO 9314-3
  • ANSI X3.184-1993, Single Mode Fiber Physical Medium Dependent (SMF-PMD) — also ISO 9314-4
  • ANSI X3.229-1994, Station Management (SMT) — also ISO 9314-6
  • ANSI X3.263-1995, Twisted Pair Physical Medium Dependent (TP-PMD)

Notes

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  1. ^Jumbo framescan be used to extend Ethernet's maximum frame size to 9,000 bytes or more.

References

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  1. ^abA. Selvarajan; Subrat Kar; T. Srinivas (2003).Optical Fiber Communication: Principles and Systems.Tata McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 241–249.ISBN978-1-259-08220-7.
  2. ^ANSI X3.263-1995
  3. ^Bernhard Albert; Anura P. Jayasumana (1994).FDDI and FDDI-II: architecture, protocols, and performance.Artech House.ISBN978-0-89006-633-1.
  4. ^Floyd Ross (May 1986). "FDDI - A tutorial".Communications Magazine.24(5). IEEE Communications Society: 10–17.doi:10.1109/MCOM.1986.1093085.S2CID6989611.
  5. ^Michael Teener and R. Gvozdanovic (October 10, 1989). "FDDI-II operation and architectures".[1989] Proceedings. 14th Conference on Local Computer Networks.IEEE. pp. 49–61.doi:10.1109/LCN.1989.65243.ISBN0-8186-1968-6.S2CID29459918.
  6. ^T. Boston (June 29, 1988). "FDDI-II: A High Speed Integrated Service LAN".Sixth European Fibre Optic Communications and Local Area Networks Exposition.Information Gatekeepers: 123–126.ISBN978-1-56851-055-2.Reprinted in Fiber Optic Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) 1984-1991
  7. ^Wolfgang Schulte."Fiber Distributed Data Interface".RetrievedApril 20,2021.
  8. ^Dave Katz (June 1989)."A Proposed Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams over FDDI Networks".RFC 1103.IETF.doi:10.17487/RFC1103.RetrievedAugust 15,2013.
  9. ^abDave Katz (June 1989)."A Proposed Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams over FDDI Networks".RFC 1183.IETF.doi:10.17487/RFC1188.RetrievedAugust 15,2013.
  10. ^Mark Miller (March 21, 1994)."Wading Through Plethora of Options Poses Challenge for Life on the Fast LAN".Network World.pp. 41, 44, 46–49.RetrievedAugust 15,2013.
  11. ^"fiber distributed data interface (FDDI)".Telecommunications: Glossary of Telecommunication Terms, Federal Standard 1037C.National Communications System of the US Department of Defense. August 7, 1996. Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2016.RetrievedAugust 15,2013.