Method and apparatus for providing optical internetworking to wide area networks, metropolitan area networks, and local area networks using modular components

An arrangement providing optical internetwork to Wide Area Networks (WAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN), and/or Local Area Networks (LAN) as a peripheral device using modular components. WANs can be defined to include wireless, SONET/SDH, or DWDM networks for long haul applications. MANs can be defined to include wireless, Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), or Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) networks for Metro applications. The exemplary apparatus comprises of a printed circuit board (PCB) with a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connector, which provides the interface to a WEB, DataBase (DB), General-Purpose (GP) server, workstation, or PC. The SCSI Optical Device (SOD) provides gateway functionality to WAN, MAN, or LAN. SOD's processing is accomplished by one, two, or four processors depending on the OC rate of the optical (fiber) connection. Buffering of data is done by RAM memory located on the circuit board. The data is transmitted on the fiber using standard WAN or MAN protocols. The fiber connection is accomplished through a Network Interface Component (NIC) that consist of an eight way multiplex optical connector to the fiber and a standard Bus connector that interfaces to the circuit board. The NIC is removable and has eight optical frequencies. The SOD also has two slots for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards. The first PCMCIA card is required and provides software/firmware instructions for execution by the gateway processor(s). Without the first PCMCIA card, the SOD will not function. The second PCMCIA card is optional and provides an interface to perform field diagnostics and/or network management for trouble analysis via a LAN or TTY port.