In
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
, an isochronous signal is a
signal
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The '' IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing' ...
in which the
time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
interval separating any two significant instants is equal to the
unit interval
In mathematics, the unit interval is the closed interval , that is, the set of all real numbers that are greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 1. It is often denoted ' (capital letter ). In addition to its role in real analysis ...
or a multiple of the unit interval. Variations in the time intervals are constrained within specified limits.
"
Isochronous
A sequence of events is isochronous if the events occur regularly, or at equal time intervals. The term ''isochronous'' is used in several technical contexts, but usually refers to the primary subject maintaining a constant period or interval ( ...
" is a characteristic of one signal, while "
synchronous
Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchronou ...
" indicates a relationship between two or more signals.
See also
*
Synchronization in telecommunications
Many services running on modern digital telecommunications networks require accurate synchronization for correct operation. For example, if telephone exchanges are not synchronized, then bit slips will occur and degrade performance. Telecommunic ...
*
Synchronous network
Many services running on modern digital telecommunications networks require accurate synchronization for correct operation. For example, if telephone exchanges are not synchronized, then bit slips will occur and degrade performance. Telecommunic ...
*
Mesochronous network
In telecommunication, a mesochronous network is a network in which the clocks run with the same frequency but unknown phases. Compare synchronous network.
See also
*Synchronization in telecommunications
*Isochronous signal
*Plesiochronous system
...
*
Plesiochronous system
In telecommunications, a plesiochronous system is one where different parts of the system are almost, but not quite, perfectly synchronised. According to ITU-T standards, a pair of signals are plesiochronous if their significant instants occur at ...
*
Asynchronous system
The primary focus of this article is asynchronous control in digital electronic systems. In a synchronous system, operations ( instructions, calculations, logic, etc.) are coordinated by one, or more, centralized clock signals. An asynchron ...
References
Telecommunications engineering
Synchronization
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