Term-paper Synopsis

Registration Number:11114202 Names(s) of Student: Anuj Kumar

Term Paper Topic: ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) Estimated duration: 15 Hours Nature of Paper: Soft copy Paper Description: ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is the cell relay protocol designed by the ATM Forum and adopted by the ITU-T. The combination of ATM and SONET will allow high-speed interconnection of all the world's networks. In fact, ATM can be thought of as the "highway" of the information superhighway. Design Goals Among the challenges faced by the designers of ATM, six stand out. 1. Foremost is the need for a transmission system to optimize the use of high-data-rate Transmission media , in particular optical fiber. In addition to offering large bandwidths, newer transmission media and equipment are dramatically less susceptible to noise degradation. A technology is needed to take advantage of both factors and thereby maximize data rates. 2. The system must interface with existing systems and provide wide-area interconnectivity between them without lowering their effectiveness or requiring their replacement . 3. The design must be implemented inexpensively so that cost would not be a barrier to adoption. If ATM is to become the backbone of international communications,

as intended, it must be available at low cost to every user who wants it. 4. The new system must be able to work with and support the existing telecommunications Hierarchies (local loops, local providers, long-distance carriers, and so on). 5. The new system must be connection-oriented to ensure accurate and predictable delivery . 6. Last but not least, one objective is to move as many of the functions to hardware as Possible (for speed) and eliminate as many software functions as possible (again for speed) .

Evolution
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) represents a relatively recently developed communications technology designed to overcome the constraints associated with traditional, and for the most part separate, voice and data networks. ATM has its roots in the work of a CCITT (now known as ITU-T) study group formed to develop broadband ISDN standards during the mid-1980s. In 1988, a cell switching technology was chosen as the foundation for broadband ISDN, and in 1991, the ATM Forum was founded. The first ATM Forum standard was released in 1992. Various ATM Forum working groups are busy defining additional standards required to enable ATM to provide a communications capability for the wide range of LAN and WAN transmission schemes it is designed to support. This standardization effort will probably remain in effect for a considerable period due to the comprehensive design goal of the technology, which was developed to support voice, data, and video on both local and wide area networks.

The Rationale and Underlying Technology

ATM can be considered to represent a unifying technology because it was designed to transport voice, data, and video (including graphics images) on both local and wide area networks. Until the development of ATM, networks were normally developed based on the type of data to be transported. Thus, circuit-switched networks, which included the public switched telephone network and high-speed digital transmission facilities, were primarily used to transport delaysensitive information, such as voice and videoNetwork users can select a networking technology to satisfy a specific communications application, but most organizations support a mixture of applications. Thus, most organizations are forced to operate multiple networks, resulting in a degree of inefficiency and escalating communications costs. By combining the features from both technologies, ATM enables a single network to support voice, data, and video. ATM is designed to be scalable, enabling its 53-byte cell to be transported from LAN to LAN

via WAN, as well as for use on public and private wide area networks at a range of operating rates. On LANs, ATM support is currently offered at 25 and 155Mbps, whereas access to WANbased ATM carrier networks can occur at T1 (1.544Mbps), at T3 (45Mbps). The use of a fixed-length cell enables low-cost hardware to be developed to perform required cell switching based on the contents of the cell header, without requiring more complex and costly software. Thus, ATM can be considered to represent a unifying technology that will eventually become very economical to implement when its development expenses are amortized over the growing production cycle of ATM communications equipment. Although many organizations merged voice and data through the use of multiplexers onto a common circuit, this type of merger is typically not end-to-end. For example, traffic from a router connected to a LAN might be fed into a port on a high-speed multiplexer with another connection to the multiplexer from the company PBX. Although this type of multiplexing enables a common WAN circuit to be used for voice and data, it represents an interim and partial solution to the expense associated with operating separate voice and data networks. In addition, the emergence of multimedia applications requiring the transmission of video can wreak havoc with existing LANs and WANs due to their requirement for high bandwidth for short periods. ATM represents an emerging technology designed to provide support for bandwidth-on-demand applications, such as video, as well as voice and data. A comparison of the key features associated with each technology can give you an appreciation for ATM technology in comparison to conventional data communications- and telecommunications-based technology. In a data communications environment, the network can range in scope from a token-ring LAN to an X.25 or Frame Relay WAN. Thus, although some features are common to both LAN and WAN environments, there is also some variability. In general, a data communications network transports data by using variable-length packets. Although many WAN protocols are connectionoriented, some are connectionless. Similarly, many LAN protocols are connectionless, whereas others are connection-oriented. Because data communications networks were designed to transport files, records, and screens of data, transmission delay or latency, if small, does not adversely affect users. In comparison, in a telecommunications network, a similar amount of latency that is acceptable on a data network could wreak havoc with a telephone conversation. Recognizing the differences among voice, video, and data transportation, ATM was designed to adapt to the time sensitivity of different applications. It includes different classes of service that enable the technology to match delivery to the time sensitivity of the information it transports.

ATM Standards
The following are some of the basic ATM standards.
ITU-T I.361 Defines the ATM Layer functions.

ITU-T I.363 Defines the ATM Adaptation Layer protocols.

ITU-T I.610 Defines the ATM Operation and Maintenance (OAM) functions.

The ATM Network

The technology allows both public (i.e., RBOC or carrier) and private (i.e., LAN or LAN-tointernal switch) ATM networks. This capability gives a seamless and transparent (to the user) connection from one end user to another end user, whether in the same building or across two continents. The basic network structure is as shown on the following page.
.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. .-----------. | .--------. 2 .--------. | |End User 1 |-----|-| ATM |-------| ATM | | `-----------' 1 | | Switch | | Switch |---|-------+ | `--------' `--------' | | | ATM Network 1 | | `vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv' | 3 | | .^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. | .-------------. | .--------. 2 .--------. | | | Private ATM |---|-| ATM |-------| ATM | | | | Switch | 1 | | Switch | | Switch |--|--------+ `------+------' | `--------' `--------' | 1 | | ATM Network 2 | .-----+------. `vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv' | End User 2 | `------------'

Three types of interfaces exist in this diagram:

1. User-to-Network Interface (UNI) 2. Network-to-Network Interface (NNI) 3. Inter-Carrier Interface (ICI)

The UNI exists between a single end user and a public ATM network, between a single end user and a private ATM switch, or between a private ATM switch and the public ATM network of an RBOC. The NNI exists between switches in a single public ATM network. NNIs may also exist between two private ATM switches. The ICI is located between two public ATM networks

References to be Used:

Books (Author, title, publisher chapter / page number) 1.Behrouz A. Forouzen,Virtual-Circuit Networks: Frame Relay and ATM,18,523 2.____________________________________________ 3.____________________________________________

Web references: 1.http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb726929.aspx 2.http://www.techfest.com/networking/atm/atm.htm 3.____________________________________________ 4.____________________________________________

Papers / publications references: 2. 3.____________________________________________ 4.____________________________________________

: Date Comments/ Observations by Faculty Advisor: _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

Recommended: No

Yes