ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER

MODE
Presenters:
Shahid Iqbal & Haris
Tariq
WHAT IS ATM?
 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)
Major Advantages
Bandwidth Efficiency
Scalability
Transparency
Network Flexibility
THE ATM PROTOCOL STACK

The B-ISDN Reference Model

THE ATM PROTOCOL STACK
A 3 stage process
o Segmentation of user data into cells
o Transfer of cells through the network
o Reconstruction of the original information at
the receiving end
The ATM Adaptation layer (AAL)
Divides higher level data streams into segments
These segments are more compatible with the
requirements of the ATM Layer
The AAL process depends on the type of traffic being
transmitted
Types of traffic
5 Classes of Traffic
Class A: Constant Bit Rate
(CBR)
 Connection-oriented
 Required timing relationship
between source and
destination [constant bit-rate
video]
Class B: Variable Bit Rate (VBR)
 Connection-oriented
 Required timing relationship
between source and
destination [packet-video,
voice]
Types of traffic
Class C: Variable Bit Rate
(VBR)
 Connection-oriented
 No timing relationship
required between source and
destination [Bursty data
traffic]
Class D: Variable Bit Rate (VBR)
Connectionless
No timing relationship
required between source and
destination [Bursty datagram
traffic]
Types of traffic
 Class X: User defined
The AAL Process
Divided into two sub layers:
o The convergence sub layer (CS)
o The segmentation and reassembly sub layer (SAR)
The convergence Sub Layer (CS)
Divides the application data stream into rational, fixed
length protocol data units (PDUs)
Length of PDU depends on the nature of the traffic
being passed (such as 64 Kbytes for Class D traffic)
Appends header and trailer to the CS payload
The SAR Sub Layer
Divides CS-PDUs into small segments ranging from 44
to 48 bytes in length depending on the type of traffic
being transmitted
 To form SAR-PDU header and trailer information is

added to the basic payload segment

AAL Process
The ATM Layer
The heart of the ATM communication process
Packages data, received from the AAL into cells
The ATM layer operates between adjacent network
nodes
Physical Layer
Defines the various transmission medium used for the
transmission of the ATM cell
Divided into two parts:
o The Physical Medium Dependent (PMD) Sub layer
o The Transmission Convergence(TC) Sub layer
The PMD Sub Layer
Associated with a given media type and transmission
speed
Deals with the actual transfer of information bits
between adjacent nodes of the network
Concerned with specific characteristics of a particular
transmission technology
The TC Sub Layer
Independent of the underlying physical media
Provides necessary framing and convergence
operations required to fit the ATM cells into the
physical transport media
Calculates and inserts the header error control
information into the HEC field of the ATM cell header;
and, before passing a recovered cell to the ATM layer at
the receiving end, checks the received HEC field and
discards the cell if an error is indicated
The ATM Protocol Data Unit : The Cell
The basic unit of ATM information transfer
53-byte in length
A 5-byte header and a 48-byte payload field
The ATM Cell Structure
The ATM Cell Fields
GFC(Generic Flow control) VPI/VCI
 The last four bits of This three-byte field
byte-1 form the generic makes the ATM address
flow control First byte contains
Used to control the flow virtual path identifier
of traffic across the User- (VPI)
Network Interface (UNI) Next two bytes contain
the virtual channel
identifier (VCI)
The ATM Cell Fields
PT(Payload Type) CLP(Cell Loss Priority)
Differentiates between The first bit of byte-4
user data and control Cells with a CLP set to
messages “1” are subject to discard
Indicates if a cell has prior to cells for which
experienced congestion the CLP is “0” during
periods of network
congestion
The ATM Cell Fields
HEC(Header Error Control) PAYLOAD Field
The final byte of the ATM The remaining 48 bytes
cell header of the ATM Cell are
Detects errors in the cell reserved for the data
header but not the inserted by the AAL
Payload
provides protection
against miss-routing of
ATM cells due to
addressing errors
ATM TOPOLOGY
Defines how the various network components and
user terminal devices are interconnected
Interfaces are divided into two groups
o User-to-network interface (UNI)
o Network-to-network or node interface (NNI)
The UNI
Three variations in UNI
o Public UNI
o Private UNI
o Residential UNI
The NNI
Three versions of the NNI
o Public NNI
o Private NNI(PNNI)
o Broadband Inter-Carrier Interface (B-ICI)
ATM TOPOLOGY
THE ATM COMMUNICATIONS
PROCESS
Based on a simple and fast transport relay mechanism
Call connection, termination, addressing, sequencing,
and payload error control are handled at the trans-
mitting and receiving ends
Association between User and Network Functions
ATM Networking
Connection-oriented service
Establishes connections between adjacent Layer 2
ATM entities
Uses virtual channels and virtual paths to establish
end-to-end virtual circuit connections
ATM Transmission Path
Virtual Channel (VC)
Virtual Path (VP)
Virtual Circuit Connection (VCC)
ATM Transmission Path
ATM Switching
ATM switches operate very differently from analog or
digital switches
ATM switches use self-routing procedures
A self-routing switch relies on information contained
in the VPI/VCI fields of the cell
The switch adds a temporary routing header or “tag”
to the cell
Routing in a Switch
ATM Signaling
ATM end-users require the capability to establish
connections across the network
Two Types of End-to-End Connections
o Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC)
o Switched Virtual Circuit(SVC)
The signaling mechanism used for ATM is based on
ISDN Signaling System Number 7 (SS7)
 ATM Signaling
The Q.2931 signaling protocol with Signaling ATM Adaptation
Layer (SAAL) is adapted for ATM Signaling
Signaling ATM
Adaptation Layer (SAAL)
The SAAL provides reliable transport of signaling
messages between two ATM systems
Composed of two sub layers
o Common part
o Service-specific part
Service-Specific Part
Subdivided into
 Service-Specific Coordination Function (SSCF)
 Service-Specific Connection Oriented Protocol
(SSCOP)
Virtual Circuit Connection (VCC)
Types
4 Classes
Point-to-point (pt-pt)
Point-to-multipoint (pt-mpt)
Multipoint-to-point (mpt-pt)
Multipoint-to-multipoint (mpt-mpt)
ATM Addressing Format
ATM-connected devices use an ATM end-system address (AES)
Initial Domain Part (IDP)
This part contains
Address Format Identifier (AFI)
Initial Domain Identifier (IDI)
The IDI
o Data Country Code (DCC)
o International Code Designator (ICD)
Domain Specific Part (DSP)
Contains
High-Order Part (HO-DSP)
Lower-Order Part (LO-DSP)
THANK YOU
High-Order Part (HO-DSP)
Contains
Domain Format Identifier (DFI)
Address Authority (AA)
Routing Domain (RD)
 Area
Lower-Order Part (LO-DSP)
Contains
End-System Identifier (ESI)
 Selector (SEL)
THANK YOU