Contrary to the belief that many would like to have, SONET and SDH are far from dead. They are among the most widely deployed transmission systems, and are deeply embedded in long distance, enterprise access, and even metro transport and access networks. The current direction seems to indicate that these technologies will enjoy a long, slow decline to retirement as more capable optical technologies replace them. However, this will take the form of a slow evolution, not a slash-cut revolution. As the demand grows for more flexible bandwidth allocation, the technology will see to it that the available bandwidth exceeds the demand. The network will grow and evolve to accommodate the changes in the user and application profiles, creating enormous opportunities for emerging optical transmission technologies. The downside, of course, is that this evolution brings with it a rise in complexity as additional network elements are added, placing greater demands on network management systems to ensure that they are up to the task of meeting the unwavering demands of an increasingly exacting and technically competent customer.