Book excerpt: Optical network design and modelling is an essential issue for planning and operating networks for the next century. The main issues in optical networking are being widely investigated not only for WDM networks but also for optical TDM and optical packet switching. This book aims to contribute to further progress in optical network architectures, design, operation and management and covers the following topics in detail: OAM functions and layered design of photonic networks; network planning and design; network modelling; analysis and protocols of optical LANs; network availability and performance modelling. This book contains the selected proceedings of the International Working Conference on Optical Network Design and Modelling, sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and was held in February 1997, in Vienna, Austria. The valuable book will be essential rading for personnel in computer/communication industries, and academic and research staff in computer science and electrical engineering.