Author :
Biagioni, Edoardo ; Cooper, Eric ; Sansom, Robert
Author_Institution :
Fore Systems, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Abstract :
The adaptor cards and driver software for workstations and local asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches and switch control software used in an ATM local area network (LAN) system are discussed. It is shown that the ATM hardware and software components together provide services that are essential for ATM to be considered a realistic alternative to current shared-media LANs. These services include: completely transparent support for the TCP/IP protocol suite, an application programming interface for full access to the underlying ATM capabilities, support for AAL5, AAL3/4, and the null AAL, both connection-oriented and connectionless service, dynamic connection establishment or switched virtual circuits, resource reservation of guaranteed bandwidth and quality of service, full-bandwidth multicast and broadcast, virtual path and channel routing among multiple switches, automatic configuration and failure recovery, dynamic address assignment and internetwork address resolution, and network management via the simple network management protocol (SNMP).<>
Keywords :
asynchronous transfer mode; computer communications software; internetworking; local area networks; protocols; telecommunication network management; telecommunication network routing; telecommunications computer control; AAL3/4; AAL5; ATM LAN; TCP/IP protocol; adaptor cards; application programming interface; asynchronous transfer mode; broadcast; channel routing; connection-oriented service; connectionless service; driver software; dynamic address assignment; dynamic connection establishment; failure recovery; full-bandwidth multicast; internetwork address resolution; local area network; local switches; network management; null AAL; quality of service; resource reservation; simple network management protocol; switch control software; switched virtual circuits; virtual path routing; workstations; Asynchronous transfer mode; Dynamic programming; Local area networks; Multicast protocols; Quality management; Resource management; Routing protocols; Switches; Switching circuits; Workstations;
