What is DS3?
DS3 or Digital Signal level 3 is a standardized TDM service offering
a bandwidth of 45 Mbps. It may be delivered over SONET fiber optic
service or over copper coaxial cable. When delivered over copper,
the line is generally referred to as a T3 line.
Medical Imaging Transmission
Bandwidth
Medical images, such as those generated by Teleradiology equipment,
have large file sizes due to high resolution. Rapid transmission
between hospitals and medical centers requires high availability,
high bandwidth telecommunication services. For smaller offices
or infrequent use, a T1 data line or bonded T1 lines might suffice.
For medium and larger facilities, DS3, Fast Ethernet and OCx fiber
optic services are recommended.
Applications Demanding DS3
Bandwidth
DS3 transport is often used for real time video transport, high
resolution images, large engineering files, and data backups to
remote data centers. You can get this bandwidth through fiber
optic delivery or over copper coaxial lines, called T3 lines.
DS3 as Ethernet Transport
DS3 bandwidth at 45 Mbps can easily transport 10 Mbps Ethernet
over SONET or T3 line, even with the additional overhead needed
to convert from packet to TDM back to packet protocol. For Fast
Ethernet transport, an OC3 service at 155 Mbps would be required.
The Importance of DS0
DS0 and DS3 are part of the same set of digital signal standards.
DS0 is 64 Kbps, the bandwidth required to support one telephone
call of 8 bits at a sampling rate of 8 Kbps. DS3 has a speed
of 44,736 Kbps, commonly referred to as 45 Mbps. This speed level
was chosen so that 672 DS0s could be multiplexed into one DS3.
One DS3 can also multiplex 28 DS1 services. DS1 is the signal
level transmitted on a T1 line.