Extending the range of high-speed servers

It is pointed out that the increasing speeds of fiber-optic data networks provide the ability to move large quantities of data into and out of very-high-speed computers. The emerging IEEE 802.6 standard on metropolitan area networks will provide high-speed access over full metropolitan areas without limitations imposed by the use of private fibers, data rates of 310 Mb/s with full-time bidirectional transmission on 155-Mb links. It is expected that its availability will widen the scope of larger computer servers and database servers. Enterprises with sites scattered around metropolitan areas will have better access to these resources than users have today over Ethernet in the same building. The compatibility achieved with broadband ISDN will facilitate seamless integration of metropolitan and wide area networks to route the data anywhere in the world at fiber-optic speeds