The term Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) is used instead of Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) throughout this Guide. However, these two terms are somewhat interchangeable. The Cisco 12000 Manager (C12kM) application handles both SDH and SONET in the same manner. The Cisco 12000 series internet routers support both SDH and SONET.
SONET was defined by the American National Standards Institution (ANSI) and is used in North America.
SDH was defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and is now used everywhere outside of North America and Japan. SDH was standardized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).