Introduction

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is an International Telecommunication Union Telecommunications Standards Section (ITU-T) standard for cell relay wherein information for multiple service types, such as voice, video, or data, is conveyed in small, fixed-size cells. ATM networks are connection-oriented. Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is a technology that has its history in the development of broadband ISDN in the 1970s and 1980s. Technically, it can be viewed as an evolution of packet switching. Like packet switching protocols for data (e.g., X.25, frame relay, Transmission Control Protocol and Internet protocol (TCP IP]), ATM integrates the multiplexing and switching functions, is well suited for bursty traffic (in contrast to circuit switching), and allows communications between devices that operate at different speeds. Unlike packet switching, ATM is designed for high-performance multimedia networking. ATM technology has been implemented in a very broad range of networking devices. The most basic service building block is the ATM virtual circuit, which is an end-to-end connection that has defined end points and routes but does not have bandwidth dedicated to it. Bandwidth is allocated on demand by the network as users have traffic to transmit. ATM also defines various classes of service to meet a broad range of application needs. This lesson provides an overview of ATM protocols, services, and operation.

Benefits of ATM

The high-level benefits delivered through ATM services deployed on ATM technology using international ATM standards can be summarized as follows:

·         Dynamic bandwidth for bursty traffic meeting application needs and delivering high utilization of networking resources; most applications are or can be viewed as inherently bursty, for example voice is bursty, as both parties are neither speaking at once nor all the time; video is bursty, as the amount of motion and required resolution varies over time.

·         Smaller header with respect to the data to make the efficient use of bandwidth.

·         Can handle Mixed network traffic very efficiently: Variety of packet sizes makes traffic unpredictable. All network equipment’s should incorporate elaborate software systems to manage the various sizes of packets. ATM handles these problems efficiently with the fixed size cell.

·         Cell network: All data is loaded into identical cells that can be transmitted with complete predictability and uniformity.

·         Class-of-service support for multimedia traffic allowing applications with varying throughput and latency requirements to be met on a single network.

·         Scalability in speed and network size supporting link speeds of T1/E1 to OC–12 (622 Mbps).

·         Common LAN/WAN architecture allowing ATM to be used consistently from one desktop to another; traditionally, LAN and WAN technologies have been very different, with implications for performance and interoperability. But ATM technology can be used either as a LAN technology or a WAN technology.

·         International standards compliance in central-office and customer-premises environments allowing for multivendor operation.

ATM Devices and the Network Environment

ATM is a cell-switching and multiplexing technology that combines the benefits of circuit switching (guaranteed capacity and constant transmission delay) with those of packet switching (flexibility and efficiency for intermittent traffic). It provides scalable bandwidth from a few megabits per second (Mbps) to many gigabits per second (Gbps). Because of its asynchronous nature, ATM is more efficient than synchronous technologies, such as time-division multiplexing (TDM).

                                    Normal TDM operation

With TDM, each user is assigned to a time slot, and no other station can send in that time slot as shown in Fig. 4.6.1. If a station has much data to send, it can send only when its time slot comes up, even if all other time slots are empty. However, if a station has nothing to transmit when its time slot comes up, the time slot is sent empty and is wasted.

                                                     Asynchronous multiplexing of ATM

Because ATM is asynchronous, time slots are available on demand with information identifying the source of the transmission contained in the header of each ATM cell. Figure 4.6.2 shows how cells from 3 inputs have been multiplexed. At the first clock tick input 2 has no data to send, so multiplexer fills the slot with the cell from third input. When all cells from input channel are multiplexed then output slot are empty.

ATM Devices

An ATM network is made up of an ATM switch and ATM endpoints. An ATM switch is responsible for cell transit through an ATM network. The job of an ATM switch is well defined. It accepts the incoming cell from an ATM endpoint or another ATM switch. It then reads and updates the cell header information and quickly switches the cell to an output interface towards its destination. An ATM endpoint (or end system) contains an ATM network interface adapter. Examples of ATM endpoints are workstations, routers, digital service units (DSUs), LAN switches, and video coder-decoders (Codec’s).

ATM Network Interfaces

An ATM network consists of a set of ATM switches interconnected by point-to-point ATM links or interfaces. ATM switches support two primary types of interfaces: UNI and NNI as shown in Fig. 4.6.3. The UNI (User-Network Interface) connects ATM end systems (such as hosts and routers) to an ATM switch. The NNI (Network-Network Interface) connects two ATM switches. Depending on whether the switch is owned and located at the customer’s premises or is publicly owned and operated by the telephone company, UNI and NNI can be further subdivided into public and private UNIs and NNIs. A private UNI connects an ATM endpoint and a private ATM switch. Its public counterpart connects an ATM endpoint or private switch to a public switch. A private NNI connects two ATM switches within the same private organization. A public one connects two ATM switches within the same public organization.

                                       UNI and NNI interfaces of the ATM

ATM Cell Format

ATM transfers information in fixed-size units called cells. Each cell consists of 53 octets, or bytes as shown in Fig. 4.6.4. The first 5 bytes contain cell-header information, and the remaining 48 contain the payload (user information). Small, fixed-length cells are well suited to transfer voice and video traffic because such traffic is intolerant to delays that result from having to wait for a large data packet to download, among other things.

                                                 ATM cell Format

An ATM cell header can be one of two formats: UNI or NNI. The UNI header is used for communication between ATM endpoints and ATM switches in private ATM networks. The NNI header is used for communication between ATM switches. Figure 4.6.5 depicts the ATM UNI cell header format, and the ATM NNI cell header format. Unlike the UNI, the NNI header does not include the Generic Flow Control (GFC) field. Additionally, the NNI header has a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) field that occupies the first 12 bits, allowing for larger trunks between public ATM switches.

                  Figure (a) UNI Cell Format                           Figure (b) NNI Cell Format

ATM Cell Header Fields

The following descriptions summarize the ATM cell header fields shown in Fig.

·         Generic Flow Control (GFC)—Provides local functions, such as identifying multiple stations that share a single ATM interface. This field is typically not used and is set to its default value of 0 (binary 0000).

·         Virtual Path Identifier (VPI)—In conjunction with the VCI, identifies the next destination of a cell as it passes through a series of ATM switches on the way to its destination.

·         Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI)—In conjunction with the VPI, identifies the next destination of a cell as it passes through a series of ATM switches on the way to its destination.

·         Payload Type (PT)—Indicates in the first bit whether the cell contains user data or control data. If the cell contains user data, the bit is set to 0. If it contains control data, it is set to 1. The second bit indicates congestion (0 = no congestion, 1 = congestion), and the third bit indicates whether the cell is the last in a series of cells that represent a single AAL5 frame (1 = last cell for the frame).

·         Cell Loss Priority (CLP)—Indicates whether the cell should be discarded if it encounters extreme congestion as it moves through the network. If the CLP bit equals 1, the cell should be discarded in preference to cells with the CLP bit equal to 0.

·         Header Error Control (HEC)—Calculates checksum only on the first 4 bytes of the header. HEC can correct a single bit error in these bytes, thereby preserving the cell rather than discarding it.