SDH Hierarchy: STM Levels and Bit Rates Explained

This article explains the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and its different levels, including STM-0, STM-1, STM-4, STM-16, STM-64, and STM-256, focusing on their bit rates and their relationship with E1 and E4 carrier systems.

SDH Terminology and Bit Rates

The following table outlines the various SDH terms, their corresponding bit rates, abbreviated bit rates, and SDH capacity in terms of E1 and E4 channels.

SDH Terminology	Bit rate	Abbreviated bit rate	SDH capacity
STM-0	51.84 Mbits/sec	51 Mbps	21 E1
STM-1	155.52 Mbits/sec	155 Mbps	63 E1 or 1 E4
STM-4	622.08 Mbits/sec	622 Mbps	252 E1 or 4 E4
STM-16	2488.32 Mbits/sec	2.4 Gbps	1008 E1 or 16 E4
STM-64	9953.28 Mbits/sec	10 Gbps	4032 E1 or 64 E4
STM-256	39813.12 Mbits/sec	40 Gbps	16128 E1 or 256 E4

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SDH Hierarchy: STM Levels and Bit Rates Explained

SDH Terminology and Bit Rates

Continue Learning SDH PDH SONET

Compare SDH

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