(1) (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) A technology that uses multiple lasers and transmits several wavelengths of light (lambdas) simultaneously over a single optical fiber. Each signal travels within its unique color band, which is modulated by the data (text, voice, video, etc.). WDM has dramatically increased the carrying capacity of the fiber infrastructure of the telephone companies and other carriers. Also known as "dense WDM" (DWDM), vendors have introduced systems that can support hundreds of wavelengths, each carrying 10 Gbps. That means terabits of data per second can travel over one optical strand, thinner than a human hair. Contrast with TDM. See CWDM and fiber optics glossary. See also FDM.
(2) (Win32 Driver Model) A device driver architecture from Microsoft that consolidates drivers for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT/2000/XP. It allows a hardware vendor to write one driver for its peripheral device that works with all 32-bit versions of Windows. See driver.
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