In Internet system designs, routers connect networks and route information packets. While routers in access networks let businesses connect to Internet service providers (ISPs), in enterprise networks routers link tens of thousands of computers. Similarly, to link ISPs and enterprise networks with long-distance carriers, network backbone routers switch a few links at high speed. To meet the demands of today's businesses, developers of enterprise routers are building systems with many high-speed low-cost ports. To do this, router developers offer systems that use multiple crosspoint switches to route data. To interface these systems with other switches and routers in the system, data from the router can be transferred optically between systems. Here, transmit and receive optics are used to convert data so that the information can be transmitted across a fiberoptic interface. Parallel optical devices (PODs) that reside on the router perform this function. Often multiple PODs are linked with MTP connectors to backplane edge connectors such as high-density backplane MT (HBMT) connectors that can terminate multiple MTP connectors from the PODs.
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