cuarter 16 ATM Protocots the work on narrowband ISDN, asynchronous is re id u th est important contbuon athe BaBDNetog, OTM ‘We begin this chapter with an examination of the details of the ATM protocol and formats. Next, we look at the manner in which ATM cells are actually iene for transmission across the user-network interface. Finally, we examine the requirement for mapping various applications onto ATM and consider the ATM adaptation layer (AAL). ay J: as frame relay is the most important technical advance stemming from Synchronous versus Asynchronous Transfer When the standards work on B-ISDN began in the mid-1980s, it was gener- ally assumed by most participants that some form of synchronous time- division multiplexing (TDM) technique would be used, as is the case with the basic- and primary-rate access methods for ISDN. Under this approach, the interface structure that was proposed was jXH4+kxH2+/XH1+mx HO+nXB+D where D, B, HO, and H1 (HI or 12) are narrowband ISDN channels and H2 and H4 are new B-ISDN fixed-rate channels. H2 would be in the range of 30 to 45 Mbps and H4 in the range of 120 to 140 Mbps. 4 Alth ‘the synchronous TDM approach is a natural extension of nar- ‘not provide the best model for B-ISDN, There are two ‘synchronous approach [MINZ89b]. Firs, it does not ; for meeting a variety of needs. At the high data e could be a wide variety of applications, and need to be switched, One or two fixed-rate Scanned with CamScannerae ie ede 432. CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS channel types do not provide a structure that can casily ee this. ee ment. Furthermore, many data (as opposed to voice or video) applications are bursty in nature and can be handled more efficiently with some sort of packot-sviehing approach. A final aspect of the inflexibility ofthe synchronous approach i Hiatt does not lend itself to rate adaptation, We have seen that rate adaptation wen Te OX kbps channel is quite complex. One can imagine the complexity gud ie peo extending this concept to channels in the tens and hundreds of megabits pet fovenke: ‘The second disadvantage of the synchronous approach for high-speed trans- mission is that the use of multiple high data rates (c.g., a number of H2 and H4 chan- nels) complicates the switching system. We would require switches that can handle data streams of multiple high data rates. This is in contrast to narrowband ISDN, which has just the 64-kbps data stream to switch. } Thus, synchronous TDM has been rejected. However, it is still possible to multiplex several ATM streams using synchronous TDM techniques to achieve transmission interfaces that exceed the rate of operation of ATM switches and multiplexers. We examine this topic in Section 16.2. ATM Overview ATM is similar in concept to frame relay, which we examined in Chapter 12. Both frame relay and ATM take advantage of the reliability and fidelity of modern di tal facilities to provide faster packet switching than X.25. ATM, at its higher data rate, is even more streamlined in its functionality than frame relay, as we shall see. ATM is a packet-oriented transfer mode. Like frame relay and X.25, it allows multiple logical connections to be multiplexed over a single physical interface. The information flow on each logical connection is organized into fixed-size packets, called cells. As with frame relay, there is no link-by-link error control or flow control. Figure 16.1 shows the overall hierarchy of function in an ATM-based net- work. This hierarchy is seen from the point of view of the internal network func- tions needed to support ATM as well as the user-network functions. The ATM layer consists of virtual channel and virtual path levels; these are discussed in the next subsection. The physical layer can be divided into three functional levels: * Transmission path level: Extends between network elements that assemble and disassemble the payload of a transmission system, For end-to-end ‘communication, the payload is end-user information, For user-to-network com- munication, the payload may be signaling information. Cell delineation and header error-control functions are required at the endpoints of each trans- mission path. * Digital section: Extends between network elements that assemble and disas- semble a continuous bit or byte stream. This refers to the exchanges or signal transfer points in a network that are involved in switching data streams. * Regenerator section level: A portion of a digital section. An example of this, level is a repeater that is used simply to regenerate the digital signal along @ transmission path that is too long to be used without such regeperation; no switching is involved, a a Scanned with CamScanner \i ‘ Figure Scanned with CamScanner434 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS Figure 16.3 Call Establishment Using Virtual Paths. Several advantages can be listed for the use of virtual paths: * Simplified network architecture: Network transport functions can be separated into those related to an individual logical connection (virtual channel) and those related to a group of logical connections (virtual path). * Increased network performance and reliability: The network deals with fewer, aggregated entities, + Reduced processing and short connection setup time: Much of the work is done when the virti ath is set up. By reserving capacity on a virtual path connection in anticipation of later call arrivals, new virtual channel connec- tions can be established by executing simple control functions at the endpoints of the virtual path connection; no call processing is required at transit nodes. ‘Thus, the addition of new virtual channels to an existing virtual path involves minimal processing. Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScannera 436 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS vis Viewal ira channel channel es level ps Z \ B Z Virtual path connection _\. E] viru z < | path levet Transmission path Transmission path level £3 G Digital section level —_—_e Regenerator section level o—o © Connection endpoint ofthe corespondng levels © Connecting point ofthe corresponding levels Figure 16.4 Hierarchical Layer-to-Layer Relationship (1.311) interface, the concepts of virtual path and virtual channel are defined in the ITU-T recommendations with reference to both the user-network interface and the inter- nal network operation Figure 16.4 may help to clarify the relationship among the various terms. A ! VCC provides end-to-end transfer of ATM cells between ATM users (usually the ATM adaptation layer). The endpoints may be end users, network entities, or an end user and a network entity. Each endpoint associates a unique virtual channel identi- fier (VCI) with each VCC; as with X.25, the two endpoints may employ different ‘VCs for the same VCC, In addition, within the network, there may be a number of Points at which virtual channels are switched, and at those points the VCI may be changed. Thus, a VCC consists of a concatenation of one or more virtual channel links. with the VCI remaining constant for the extent of the VC link and changing at the VC switch points. A scat a Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner438 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS: VCI values remain unchanged. VC links. A VC switch must therefore both VPI and VCI translation \VPls according to the destination of the VPC; switches terminate VC links and necessarily VP switch both virtual paths and virtual channels, and 50 is performed. Virtual Channel Connection Uses network entities, or an end user and a rity is preserved within a VCC: That it. Let us consider exam- ‘The endpoints of a VCC may be end users, network entity, In all cases, cell sequence inte is, cells are delivered in the same order in which they are sen ples of the three uses of a VCC: = Between end users: Can be used to carry end-to-end user data; can also be used to carry control signaling between end users, as explained later. A VPC between end users provides them with an overall capacity; the VCC organiza- tion of the VPC is up to the two end users, provided the set of VCCs does not exceed the VPC capacity. + Between an end user and a network entity: Used for user-to-network control signaling, as discussed later. A user-to-network VPC can be used to aggregate traffic from an end user to a network exchange or network server. ‘© Between two network entities: Used for network traffic management and rout- ing functions. A network-to-network VPC can be used to define a common route for the exchange of network management information. Virtual Path/Virtual Channel Characteristics Recommendation 1.150 lists the following as characteristics of virtual channel connections: * Quality of service: A user of a virtual channel is provided with a quality of service specified by parameters such as cell loss ratio (ratio of cells lost to cells transmitted) and cell delay variation. * Switched and semipermanent virtual channel connections: Both switched connections, which require call control signaling, and dedicated connections can be provided. * Cell sequence integrity: The sequence of transmitted cells within a virtual channel is preserved, + Traffic parameter negotiation and usage monitoring: Traffic parameters can be negotiated between a user and the network for each virtual channel. The input of cells to the virtual channel is monitored by the network to ensure that the negotiated parameters are not violated. ‘The types of traffic parameters that can be negotiated would include average rate, peak rate, burstiness, and peak duration, The network may need a number of Strategies to deal with congestion and to manage existing and requested virtual channels. At the crudest level, the network may simply deny new requests for virtual ‘channels to prevent congestion. Additionally, cells may be discarded if negotiated Scanned with CamScanner hScanned with CamScannerPome ee. a ae 440 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS For virtual paths, three methods are defined in 1.150: + A virtual path can be established on a semipermanent basis by prior agree- ment, In this case, no control signaling is required * Virtual path establishment/release may be customer controlled. In this case, the customer uses a signaling virtual channel to request the virtual path from the network. * Virtual path establishment/release may be network network establishes a virtual path for its own conve network-to-network, user-to-network, or user-to-user. controlled. In this case, the nience. The path may be ATM Cells ‘The asynchronous transfer mode makes use of fixed-size cells, consisting of a 5-octet header and a 48-octet information field (Figure 16.6). There are several advantages to the use of small, fixed-size cells. First, the use of small cells may reduce queuing delay for a high-priority cell, because the call wails less if it arrives slightly behind a lower-priority cell that has gained access to a resource (e.g., the transmitter), Second, it appears that fixed-size cells can be (a) User-network interface Figure 16.6 ATM Cell Format. (b) Network-network interface Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScannerbit, known as the service data unit (SDU)! type bit, is a one-bit field that can be used to discriminate two types of ATM SDUs associated with a connection. The term SDU refers to the 48-octet payload of the cell A value of | in the first bit of the payload type field indicates that this cell carries network management or maintenance information. This indication allows the insertion of network management cells onto a user's VCC without impacting the user's data. Thus, it can provide inband control information. ‘The cell loss priority (CLP) bit is used to provide guidance to the network in the event of congestion. A value of 0 indicates a cell of relatively higher priority, which should not be discarded unless no other alternative is available. A value of 1 indicates that this cell is subject to discard within the network. The user might employ this field so that extra cells (beyond the negotiated rate) may be inserted into the network, with a CLP of 1, and delivered to the destination if the network is not congested. The network may set this field to 1 for any data cell that is in viola- tion of an agreement concerning traffic parameters between the user and the net- work. In this case, the switch that does the setting realizes that the cell exceeds the agreed traffic parameters but that the switch is capable of handling the cell. At a later point in the network, if congestion is encountered, this cell has been marked for discard in preference to cells that fall within agreed traffic limits. The header error-control field is used for both error control and synchroniza- tion, as explained subsequently. Generic Flow Control CCT 1.150 specifies the use of the GFC field to control traffic flow at the user- network interface (UNI) in order to alleviate short-term overload conditions, The actual flow-control mechanism is defined in 1.361. GFC flow control is part of a pro- posed controlled cell transfer (CCT) capability intended to meet the requirements of non-ATM LANS connected to a wide area ATM network [LUIN97]. In particular, CCTiis intended to provide good service for high-volume bursty traffic with variable Jength messages. In the remainder of this subsection, we examine the GFC mecha- nism, which has already been standardized. ie When the equipment at the UNI is configured to support the GFC mechanism, two sets of procedures are used: uncontrolled transmission and controlled trans- mission. In essence, every connection is identified as either subject to flow control OF not. Of those subject to flow control, there may be one group of controlled con- nections (Group A) that is the default, or controlled traffic may be classified into ‘wo groups of controlled connections (Group A and Group B); these are known respectively as the I-queue and 2-queue models. Flow control is exercised in the direction from the subscriber to the network by the NT2 function. mp we cule the operation of the GFC mechanism when there is only one Broup of controlled connections. The controlled equipment (TE) initializes two vari ables: TRANSMIT is a flag initialized to SET (yam GO.CNTR, which is a cre counter, is initialized to 0. A third variable, GO_VALUE, is either initialized to 1 "This is the term used in ATM Forum documents. In ITU-T this bit is referred to as the ‘ATM-user‘o-ATM-uset (AAU) indication bit The meaning Se eee # r ies, Oe. ae Scanned with CamScanner a eS a eS ee ee 442 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLSScanned with CamScanner(q)paonuos ()pauienues ‘Ao)patresva0oun ‘Ao)pattosiwosun st woudinbg st quouidinba x ° o 0 1g quanog a dnoin 203 (OTINNAD) LAS o o 1g par '¥ dno15 40) CoyTION(D Las (OTIANAD LAS © iq Puosos (OLTVE-ON(O).LIVE (WsaVE-ONAOLIVE o iq 1804 [pow ananb-z Pppou ananb-1 Papfonuosuy, Pajonues < Suypossu0) Supod Plats (Q4D) (onUOD-moLy 22025 EOF AgeScanned with CamScanner446 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS Incoming, cell ‘Apparently valid cell with errored header (unintended serviee (intended service) Figure 168 Effect of Error in Cell Header. calculated in the usual fashion because the HEC function is a physical-layer rather than an ATM-layer function, Figure 16.10 shows the general format of preassigned cell header values. Bits 5 through 28 of the cell header are set to 0; all other header bits can be used by assigned cells. Note that the least significant bit of octet 4 is always set to 1 for physical-layer cells; this bit is therefore not available for use in the cell loss priority (CLP) mechanism. Of course, because the CLP function is an ATM-layer and not a physical-layer function, the CLP bit is not needed for physical-layer cells, Several specific preassigned physical-layer cell header values have been defined. Some of these relate to operation and maintenance (OAM) functions. Another assignment is for the idle cell. When there are no ATM or OAM cells avail- able for transmission, an idle cell is inserted to adapt the rate of valid ATM cells to the payload capacity of the transmission system. Such cells can be discarded at the ws EE ee Scanned with CamScanner2 Scanned with CamScanner448 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS Table 16.4 OAM Actions (1.610) Name Action Result Performance monitoring ‘Normal functioning of the Maintenance event information ‘managed entity is monitored by | is produced ‘continuous or periodic checking ‘of functions. Defect and failure detection Malfunctions or predicted Maintenance event information or malfunctions are detected by various alarms are produces ‘continuous or periodic checking. System protection Effect of failure of amanaged _| The failed entity is excluded from ‘entity is minimized by blocking or | operation. changeover to other entities. Failure of performance Failure information is given to _| Alarm indications are given to information other management entities. ‘other management planes. Response to a status report request is also given. Fault localization Determination by internal or external test system of a failed entity if failure information is insufficient trative actions, including supervision actions, intended to retain an item in, or restore it to, a state in which it can perform a required function.” Table 16.4 lists the five phases, or types, of actions that are used by ITU-T in specifying an OAM capability. The last phase, fault localization, has not been addressed for B-ISDN and is a subject for further study. OAM functions are implemented as bidirectional information flows that are defined on five hierarchical levels, associated with the ATM and physical layers. Figure 164 shows the relationship between the flows, labeled F1 through F5, and the hierarchical structure of the B-ISDN protocol reference model.” As an example of an OAM flow, cited in [HAND91], two endpoints could monitor a VPC by means of a loopback test. During the monitoring phase, each cell received at one endpoint could be repeated back to the sender. Table 1655 lists the OAM functions at the ATM layer. Monitoring of avail- ability is done at the virtual path level and monitoring of performance at the virtual path and virtual channel levels. These OAM flows are provided by cells dedicated to ATM-layer OAM functions. The implementation of these cells is for further study. One possibility mentioned in 1.610 is that the ATM-layer OAM cells could be identified by the payload type field in the cell header and by VPI/VCI. OAM functions at the physical layer are examined in the next section. *For cell-based transmission, flows FI FS ly; fe ransmission, H00ehPS op Tene me dl ceaaieone CR EEE ee Si is a wi Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner450 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS Bit by bit Cell by cell Figure 16.12 Cell Delineation State Diagram. header error-control (HEC) field in the cell header. The procedure is as follows (Figure 16.12): 1. In the HUNT state, a cell-delineation algorithm is performed bit by bit to determine if the HEC coding law is observed (i.e., match between received HEC and calculated HEC). Once a match is achieved, it is assumed that one header has been found, and the method enters the PRESYNC state. 2. In the PRESYNC state, a cell structure is assumed. The cell-delineation algo- rithm is performed cell by cell until the encoding law has been confirmed 5 times consecutively; then there is a transition to the SYNC state. 3. In the SYNC state, the HEC is used for error detection and correction (see Figure 16.7). Cell delineation is assumed to be lost if the HEC coding law is recognized as incorrect a times consecutively. The values of a and 6 are design parameters. Greater values of 8 result in Jonger delays in establishing synchronization but in greater robustness against false delineation. Greater values of a result in longer delays in recognizing a mi ment but in greater robustness against false misalignment. Figures 16.13 and 16.14 show the impact of random bit errors on cell-delineation performance for various values of a and 8, The first figure shows the average amount of time that the receiver will maintain synchronization in the face of errors, with a as a parameter. The second figure shows the average amount of time to acquire synchronization as a function of error rate, with 8 as a parameter. ‘The advantage of using a cell-based transmission scheme is the simplified interface that results when both transmission- and transfer-mode functions are based on a common structure. Scanned with CamScanner5 2 £ § § a £ 8 & s = 2 £ 8 a sean yao ay COPE mag UKs452. CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS ‘Table 16.6 OAM Functions of the Cell-Based Physical Layer Defect/Failure Detection Level Function i foseazee OA M) cell Regenerator Seation | Physical layer OAM (PLOAM) | Loss of PLOAM cell recognition recog Loss of PLOAM cell recognition Degraded error performance Digital Section PLOAM cell recognition Seetion error monitoring Section error reporting Degraded error performance Customer network (CN) status ‘monitoring, tion signal Transmission Path CN alarm indi Cell delineation Loss of cell synchronization Header error Uncorrectable header detection/correction Degraded header error Header error performance performance ‘monitoring, Failure of insertion and Cel ae decoupin re suppression of idle cells OAM Functions Finally, ATM cells are used to convey operations. administration, and main- tenance (OAM) information (see Figure 16.10). : Table 16.6 is an overview of OAM functions for the cell-based physical layer. The OAM cells are identified by preassigned cell header values, one for each level of information flow, SDH-Based Physical Layer ‘The SDH-based physical layer imposes a structure on the ATM cell stream. In this section, we look at the 1.432 specification for 155.52 Mbps; similar structures are used at other data rates. Framing For the SDH-based physical layer, framing is imposed using the STM-1 (STS-3) frame. Figure 16.15 shows the payload portion of an STM-1 frame. This payload may be offset from the beginning of the frame, as indicated by the pointer in the section overhead of the frame. As can be seen, the payload consists of a 9-octet path overhead portion and the remainder, which contains ATM cells. Because the pay- oad capacity (2340 octets) is not an integer multiple of the cell length (53 octets), a cell may cross a payload boundary. ‘The H4 octet in the path overhead is set at the sending si indi ing side to indicate the next Occurrence of a cell boundary, That is, the value in the Hé field indicates the num- ber of octets to the first cell i i Or talues edging ltstcell boundary following the H4 octet The permissible range ae” eee ssl Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner484 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS Table 16.7 OAM Functions of the SDH-Based Physical Layer Level Function Defect/Failure Detection Regenerator Section | Frame alignment Loss of frame Section error monitoring Degraded error performance Digital Section Frame alignment Loss of frame Section error monitoring Degraded error performance Section error reporting Degraded error performance ‘Transmission Path Customer network (CN) status | CN alarm indication signal ‘monitoring. Cell delineation Loss of cell synchronization VC-4 offset Loss of AU-4 pointer Path error monitoring Degraded error performance Path error reporting Degraded error performance Cell rate decoupling Failure of insertion and suppression of idle cells /A6.3 ATM ADAPTATION LAYER The use of ATM creates the need for an adaptation layer to support information transfer protocols not based on ATM. Two examples are PCM (pulse-code modu- lation) voice and LAPD. PCM voice is an application that produces a stream of bits from a voice signal. To employ this application over ATM, it is necessary to assem- ble PCM bits into cells for transmission and to read them out on reception in such a way as to produce a smooth, constant flow of bits to the receiver. LAPD is the ‘standard data link control protocol for ISDN and B-ISDN. It is necessary to map LAPD frames into ATM cells; this will usually mean segmenting one LAPD frame into a number of cells on transmission and reassembling the frame from cells on reception. By allowing the use of LAPD over ATM, all of the existing ISDN appli- cations and control-signaling protocols can be used on B-ISDN. Services 1.362 lists the following general examples of services provided by AAL: * Handling of transmission errors ‘+ Segmentation and reassembly, to enable larger blocks of data to be carried in the information field of ATM cells ‘* Handling of lost and misinserted cell conditions * Flow control and timing control Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner‘woneauoyur Aiwoud so] Jo BuNpuRH woneuuoya vonss8009 jo SunpueH + | woueuoyur kwoud $80] Sump « wonesado paunssy « Suippea + | wowewiozu vonsaues jo SunpurH « sous9s 9pou-Funueans « oypoey poe wors919p 19153 ‘qquasse21 pue vore wou ag 6 2214198 2pousaeS8244 « Funadopoy «| ‘vo1esad painsseUON « Aout souanbog « vonezado painssy « 8 vontaoqe 394 JO voRNENPOY vonDotap 404g « ‘>1as apour eas « ogpeey poe vosisa=p 20113 ‘ygeasseos pur won sousdag + 22141 apouaBessoy4 « onde aaza109 ajgisod pur s1o119 11q 10) wonewsoyar ssn o SuuOWHOW, ‘sous nq sone ‘ue s9peay yo Bunpuey pur SuuoHwoyy » sane0a4 218 ‘amonns wep somos ayn jo Aiznoney «| Zadki Aq parorooos ou vonewsoyur | voneunsep ‘zou 10 801 Jo wonespuy « | adi 28 Kzsno021Kouanbayy3p0P 251N0§ ‘vonteunsop pue 201905 waning si pauosusu pue 01 Jo SuNpoeH « ‘woneuoyur Funan yo s9puesy « woneiues Kej9p 139 Jo Buypuey « (aga) ‘pes sagan 30 Apne sony 30 ‘qua2ese21 pu voneuauit9s « Ssere magreg ‘onze eaipei09 ayqmod pur stows 11926} woneasoju 950 Jo Savoy « 1@ 194 J0 Spey pue BuUOHUOGS » sys souewoqiod puz-or-pue wodey « son 1 haonoaas 209 saHAs38 2uN04 304 « ‘29 peusosurmw pur 30% Jo BuupueH « ‘Wonees Keep 22 Jo Suupury © naaavs ue Niaa'$> woomiea uddey « ‘woreies Ae 19> J0 BuypuEH « ‘Atgu2sse01 pur vorenoauos « suonsung $3 suopoung YVS ab Suopouny [81240 sadé Joooroig 19%eT-uoneidepy WLY 91 218. g all Saal olen Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner460 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS has been withdrawn, and the specification for the type 2 protocols (SAR and w : Sp nd functions shown in Table 168, current version of 1.363 simply lists the services a AAL Type ¥4 The initial speci ‘of PDU format and functionality. Accordingly, it was d bine the two into a single protocol specification at the SAR and CS known as type 3/4 The types of service provided by AA dimensions tions of AAL type 3 and type 4 were very similar in terms jecided within ITU-T to com- sublayers, L type 3/4 can be characterized along two 1. The service may be connectionless or connection oriented. In the former case, each block of data presented to the SAR layer (SAR service data unit, or SDU) is treated independently. In the latter case, it is possible to define multiple SAR logical connections over a single ATM connection. 2. The service may be message mode or streaming mode. Message-mode service transfers framed data. Thus, any of the OSI-related protocols and applications ‘would fit into this category. In particular, LAPD or frame relay would be message mode. A single block of data from the layer above AAL is transferred in one or more cells, Streaming-mode service supports the transfer of low- speed continuous data with low delay requirements. The data are presented to AL in fixed-size blocks, which may be as small as one octet. One block is transferred per cell. The type 3/4 AAL provides its data-transfer service by accepting blocks of data from the next higher layer and transmitting each to a destination AAL user. Because the ATM layer limits data transfer to a cell payload of 48 octets, the AAL layer must provide, at minimum, a segmentation and reassembly function. ‘The approach taken by type 3/4 AAL is depicted in Figure 16.19. A block of data from a higher layer, such as a PDU, is encapsulated into a PDU at the CS sub- layer. In fact, this sublayer is referred to as the common part convergence sublayer (CPCS), leaving open the possibility that additional, specialized functions may be performed at the CS level. The CPCS PDU is then passed to the SAR sublayer, where it is broken up into 44-octet payload blocks. Each payload block can fit into an SAR PDU, which includes a header and a trailer for a total length of 48 octets. Each 48-octet SAR PDU fits into a single ATM cell. To understand the functioning of the two sublayers within AL type 3/4, let us look at the respective PDUs. The CPCS PDU is shown in Figure 16.20a. The header consists of three fields: * Common part indicator (1 octet): Indicates the interpretation of the remain- ing fields in the CPCS PDU header. Currently, only one interpretation is defined: A CPI value of 0 indicates that the BASize field defines the buffer allocation requirement in octets and that the Length field defines the length of the CPCS PDU payload in octets, ‘ 4 * Beginning tag (1 octet): A number associated with a particular CPCS PDU: ‘The same value appears in the Btag field in the header and the Etag field in the ce io lll tf Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner462. CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS (eeone] eames wera a | [=lm>o=] = [of me | CPL = common part indicator (1 octet) beginning tag octet) fe allocation size (2 octets) ignment (I octet) Fiag = end tag (I octet) Length = length of CPCS-PDU payload (2 octets) (a) AAL Type 34 aera | CPCS user-to-user indication (1 octet) common part i octet) Length = length of CPCS-PDU payload (2 octets) CRC = cyclic redundancy check (4 octets) (b) AL Type 5 Figure 16.20 CPCS PDUs. * Alignment (1 octet): A filler octet whose only purpose is to make the length of the CPCS PDU equal to 32 bits. * End tag (1 octet): Used with the Btag field in the header. * Length (2 octets): Length of the CPCS PDU payload field. Thus, the purpose of the CPCS layer is to alert the receiver that a block of data is coming in segments and that buffer space must be allocated for the reassembly. This enables the receiving CPCS function to verify the correct reception of the entire CPCS PDU. Figure 16.18b shows the format for the type 3/4 SAR PDU. Information from the next higher layer, the CS, arrives in blocks referred to as SAR service data units (SDUs). Each SDU is transmitted in one or more SAR PDUs. Each SAR PDU. in turn, is transmitted in a single ATM cell. The SAR PDU header fields are used for the process of segmenting SDUs on transmission and reassembling them on reception: wf Scanned with CamScannerScanned with CamScanner464 CHAPTER 16 / ATM PROTOCOLS ‘Type 5 was introduced to * Reduce protocol processing overhead. * Reduce transmission overhead. + Ensure adaptability to existing transport protocols. Figures 16.18 and 16.20b show the SAR PDU and CPCS PDU formats for type 5. Compared with type 3/4, we have the following amounts of overhead: Type 4 Type 5 Soctets per AAL SDU_ | Soctets per AL SDU G octets per ATM cell | O octets per ATM cell To understand the operation of type 5, let us begin with the CPCS level. The CPCS PDU includes a trailer with the following fields: * CPCS user-to-user indication (1 octet): Used to transfer user-to-user infor- mation transparently. + Common part indicator (1 octet): Indicates the interpretation of the remaining fields in the CPCS PDU trailer. Currently, only one interpretation is defined. + Length (2 octets): Length of the CPCS PDU payload field. + Cyclic redundancy check (4 octets): Used to detect bit errors in the CPCS PDU. Note that the BASize facility has been eliminated. If tis felt necessary for the receiver to preallocate a buffer to do reassembly, this information must be passed ata higher layer. And, in fact, many higher-layer protocols set or negotiate a max- imum PDU size; this information can be used by the receiver to allocate buffers. A 32-bit CRC protects the entire CPCS PDU, whereas for AL type 3/4, a 10-bit CRC is provided for each SAR PDU. The type 5 CRC provides strong protection against. bit errors. In addition, [WANG92] shows that the 32-bit CRC provides robust detec- tion of cell misordering, a fault condition that might be possible under network fail- ure conditions, The payload from the next higher layer is padded out so that the entire CPCS PDU is a multiple of 48 octets, ‘The SAR PDU consists simply of 48 octets of payload, carrying a portion of the CPCS PDU. The lack of protocol overhead has several implications: * Because there is no sequence number, the receiver must assume that all SAR PDUs arrive in the proper order for reassembly. The CRC field in the CPCS PDU is intended to guarantee that. * The lack of MID field means that it is not possible to interleave cells from dif- feat CPCS PDUs. Therefore, each successive SAR PDU carries a portion of asi ce CPCS PDU or the first block of the next CPCS PDU. To distin- the ATH can hese two cases, the SDU type bit in the payload type field of cell header is used (Figure 16.6). A CPCS PDU consists of zero or ail. 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