Providing straightforward practical guidance, this highly accessible resource presents today?s most advanced topics on optical communications and networking. You get the latest details on 5th generation photonic systems that can be readily applied to your projects in the field, Moreover, the book provides valuable, time-saving tools for network simulation and modeling. You find in-depth coverage of optical signal transmission systems and networks. In addition to optical communications fundamentals with detailed description of the optical components and optical signal properties (modulation, propagation and detection), the book includes coverage of a wide range of critical methods and techniques, such as MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) by employing spatial modes in few-mode and multicore optical fibers, OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) utilized to enhance the spectral efficiency and to enable elastic optical networking schemes, and advanced modulation and coding schemes to approach the Shannon?s channel capacity limit. You find detailed discussions on the basic principles and applications of high-speed digital signal processing. The book also describes the most relevant post-detection compensation techniques, including linear equalizers, adaptive equalizers, maximum-likelihood sequence detectors, blind equalizers, turbo equalizers, digital back-propagation, Wiener filtering, and Volterra series based equalization. Other key topics include advanced concepts on coded-modulation, LDPC-coded turbo equalization, polarization-time coding, spatial-domain-based modulation and coding, and multidimensional signaling. This comprehensive book includes a complete set of problems at the end of each chapter to help you master the material.