Designing a tactical ATM network integrating performance engineering and design

The Department of Defense is in the initial stages of developing its next-generation communications infrastructure, with the aim of capitalizing on the high-bandwidth commercial infrastructure currently being put in place worldwide. The military system, like the commercial system, will eventually provide Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN) services using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching technology. ATM was originally developed for the very-high-bandwidth, very-low-noise environment provided by fiber optics. Since the tactical arena, with its radio-based transmission facilities, can provide nothing that even approximates this environment, there is a significant mismatch. This paper outlines a design concept which integrates the design of the network with the design of its transmission and switching components, coupling protocol design trade-offs at the physical, data-link, and network layers with trade-offs in radio and antenna design (within the constraints of transmission-path characteristics). This integration is enabled by joining system design with performance engineering