1. A method of aligning a series of bytes comprising a plurality of instances of a pre-determined sequence of N consecutive alignment bytes, N being an integer number, the pre-determined sequence of N consecutive alignment bytes being a frame alignment signal (FAS), the method comprising: comparing the series of bytes to the FAS to identify locations of FASs within the series of bytes; generating a match vector in accordance with the locations of the FASs, the match vector having components indicative of the location of an FAS match, the components having a FAS match value; dividing the match vector into sections; searching, in the sections, in one section at a time, for a first instance of an FAS match value; determining, in accordance with a pre-determined frame length and in accordance with a position of the first instance of the FAS match value within the match vector, a location of a next expected instance of the FAS; and verifying that the location of the next expected instance of the FAS match value has an FAS match value.