The `policing function´ to control user access in ATM networks-definition and implementation

The authors define a policing function to be any mechanism that controls subscriber access to network capacity during exchange of information in a virtual circuit. While little is needed in circuit-switched networks, a policing function is of fundamental importance in future communication networks using asynchronous transfer modes (ATM), a new packet-oriented transmission principle for multiservice digital broadband networks providing connections in a wide range of bandwidth. The authors define parameters that can be used to specify the demand for both static and dynamic bandwidth allocation and define the practical form of the access to a network to ensure an acceptable grade of service. They present and compare some techniques that control subscriber access to a network to prevent an individual subscriber from exceeding the permitted bandwidth