MADE BY

AMIT BHATI
ECE
SEMINAR
 ATM networking is filled with a lingo of its very
own, many of which are acronyms, and many of
which are quite fundamental to an understanding
of what is going on in an ATM network
 Examples: VCI, VPI, PVC, SVC, AAL, CBR, VBR,
ABR, PCR, SCR, QOS, CDV
 ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode
 ATM is a statistical multiplexing technique
for high speed integrated services networks,
based on the fast packet switching of small
fixed size (53 byte) packets called cells
 ATM is a connection-oriented low-layer
networking concept
 An end-to-end path called a virtual channel must
be set up in advance, using an ATM signalling
(control) protocol, before any data cells can be
sent
 All cells of a virtual channel travel on the same
path
 Cells arrive in the order that they were sent
 Switches must maintain state about the virtual
channels passing through them
 Virtual Channel (VC)
a connection between two communicating ATM
entities (e.g., host-switch, switch-switch)
 set up at time of call arrival
 provides a certain grade of service
(negotiated at time of call arrival)
 cell sequence is preserved
 Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI)
 the label associated with a VC
 16-bit integer in UNI ATM cell format
 carried in ATM cell header for identification
 note that VCI’s are locally significant only
(i.e., assigned on a per link basis by the ATM
devices at either end of that link)
 Virtual Path (VP)
a group of virtual channels (VC’s) all travelling
between the same two points in ATM network
 used by the network to simplify provisioning, resource
management, providing different grades of service,
etc.
 “bundles up” traffic heading to same destination
 Virtual Path Identifier (VPI)
 the label associated with a VP
 8-bit integer in UNI ATM cell format
 carried in ATM cell header for identification
 part of two level addressing scheme in ATM
 note that VPI’s are locally significant only
(i.e., assigned on a per link basis by the ATM
devices at either end of that link)
 VP switch: an ATM switch that deals only
with the VPI’s in cell headers (e.g., a core
switch in middle of a large ATM network)
 VC switch: an ATM switch that deals only
with the VCI’s in cell headers (e.g., access
switch at the edge of an ATM network)
 VP/VC switch: an ATM switch that deals with
both VPI’s and VCI’s in cell switching
 Permanent Virtual Channel (PVC)
a virtual channel connection (virtual channel)
that is set up on a long term basis (e.g., hours,
days, months, years) by a human operator
 involves statically configuring the “routing
table” in ATM equipment
 done as part of network provisioning in current
ATM network testbeds
 supported by all ATM switch vendors
 Switched Virtual Channel (SVC)
a virtual channel connection (virtual channel) that is
set up by the ATM signalling protocol between two
communicating ATM entities
 set up on an as needed basis, and torn down when
complete
 short term basis (e.g., seconds, minutes)
 involves dynamically configuring the “routing
table” in ATM equipment
 supported by very few ATM switch vendors
 ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL)
a protocol for converting between higher layer
protocol data units (PDU’s), such as TCP packets, IP
packets, or JPEG images, and ATM cells for
actual transmission
 defines procedures for segmentation and reassembly
(SAR)
 segmentation: packets to cells (done by sender)
 reassembly: cells to packets (done by receiver)
 Traffic Descriptors
a numerical specification of the statistical
characteristics of an ATM traffic flow
 used by ATM switches at time of call setup
 specifies Peak Cell Rate (PCR), Sustained Cell Rate
(SCR), Maximum Burst Size (MBS), etc.
 different calls can specify different values for their
traffic descriptor
 e.g., voice: PCR = SCR = 1000 cells/sec
 e.g., data: PCR = 10,000 cells/sec, SCR = 1000
 Quality of Service (QOS)
a specification of the desired (or acceptable) grade
of service required for a traffic flow
 some traffic is delay-sensitive (e.g., voice)
 some traffic is loss-sensitive (e.g., data)
 some traffic is both (e.g., compressed video)
 some traffic is neither (e.g., LAN emulation)
 QOS requested at time of call setup
 ATM network tries to provide requested QOS
 QOS Parameters
 the parameters that can be specified as part of the
QOS request at time of call setup
 examples: cell loss ratio (CLR), mean cell delay,
maximum tolerable cell delay, cell delay
variation (CDV)
 different calls can specify different values for their
QOS parameters
 e.g., voice: delay < 50 msec, CLR < 0.001
 e.g., data: delay < 1 sec, CLR < 0.000001
 QOS Classes
 generic service classes for ATM traffic
 used to help simplify the management and support of
QOS requirements in ATM networks
 currently there are five proposed classes: CBR, rt-
VBR, nrt-VBR, ABR, and UBR
 class specification determines the order of service
for cells of different VCI’s
 Constant Bit Rate (CBR)
 simplest type of traffic: constant bit rate (e.g.,
voice traffic, T1 circuit emulation)
 this is the highest priority class because of the delay-
sensitive (i.e., time-dependent) nature of the traffic
carried
 suitable for periodic (isochronous) traffic
 need to specify only PCR (which equals SCR)
 supported by some ATM switch vendors
 Variable Bit Rate (VBR)
 more complicated type of traffic: the bit rate varies
with time (e.g., compressed video)
 peak bit rate (i.e., short term) may be much higher
than the mean bit rate (i.e., long term)
 must specify PCR, SCR, and burstiness
 next highest priority class(es)
 versions: real-time (rt) and non-real-time (nrt)
 supported by some ATM switch vendors
 Available Bit Rate (ABR)
 unpredictable type of traffic: traffic is willing to use
as much or as little bandwidth as is available (e.g.,
Internet traffic, LAN emulation)
 usually variable bit rate, delay-insensitive
 referred to as “elastic traffic” (e.g., ftp)
 next lowest priority class
 supported by few ATM switch vendors
 still under discussion by ATM Forum
 Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR)
 the “bottom feeder” in the ATM food chain
 Minimum Cell Rate (MCR) is zero; guaranteed
nothing, but may get more than this if there
happens to be extra bandwidth available
 lowest priority class
 much discussion at ATM Forum
 may become Guaranteed Frame Rate (GFR)?
 Call Admission Control (CAC)
a control function in ATM switches that makes the
decision on whether or not to accept a newly
incoming call
 considers traffic descriptor (TD) and quality of
service (QOS) parameters, as well as impact on the
QOS of existing calls in the network
 can be statistical or deterministic
 still an active research topic
 Usage Parameter Control (UPC)
a control function performed in switches to
“police” ATM traffic flows
 monitors traffic on a VCI basis, to make sure that
it conforms to the declared traffic descriptor
(TD)
 in case of violation, can tag cells with a violation
tag (CLP = 1), discard cells, or abort the
connection
 Cell Loss Priority (CLP)
a single bit in ATM cell headers for denoting the
cell loss priority (e.g., violation cells)
 in the event of congestion, drop tagged cells
before dropping any untagged cells
 not to be confused with “delay priority”
(i.e., the service classes)
 ATM has much confusing terminology, and an
endless (growing) list of TLA’s (three letter
acronyms)
 Get used to it!
 Soon you will be speaking it too!!!