A Management Platform for Global Area Atm Networks

1998 International Zurich Seminar on Broadband Communications. Accessing, Transmission, Networking. Proceedings (Cat. No.98TH8277), 1998

The emerging Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology provides an end-to-end Quality-of-Service (QoS) for communication services. However, within the local communication area traditionally stochastic network technology like Ethernet has been utilized. Therefore, an alternative approach to provide end-to-end ATM services without a complete replacement of traditional local area networking equipment, has been developed. ATM services are offered over Ethernet, where end-systems are attached via an Ethernet segment to an Ethernet-ATM Attachment Device (ASHMEN). Applications use common ATM signaling and ATM protocols, such as the ATM Adaptation Layer 5 (AAL 5) protocol, to setup and maintain end-toend ATM connectivity. The developed protocol architecture includes a protocol mapping from AAL 5 frames into Ethernet frames which has been efficiently implemented in a UNIX-based workstation environment. QoS guarantees can be provided within the ATM network as usual and are offered additionally within the Ethernet segment which is made possible with Ethernet switching technology and a resource management module implemented in the Ethernet-ATM Attachment Device.

1995

This paper presents the Performance management platform of the BETEUS network. Beteus performs multimedia application trials in a testbed based on an ATM WAN interconnection of local ATM nodes. Sophia-Antipolis (F), Lausanne (CH), Zurich (CH), Geneva (CH), and Stockholm (SE) are interconnected over the European ATM Pilot. The BETEUS application platform allows geographically separated participants to actively take part in group discussions from their personal workstations equipped with audio and video capabilities. Therefore the Beteus application platform is a typical example of the future multimedia applications with its complexity with regard to numerous factors such as the information type, the distribution of users and their interactions, the information flow, and the stringent Quality of Service requirements. The multimedia high transfer rates place important constraints on networks and hosts at several levels. Statistics are collected during the multimedia sessions and analysed off line in order to evaluate the Grade of Service. The management platform focuses more specifically on measurement and statistics of network utilisation in order to understand what Quality of Service means for end user applications in a real environment, how network management can be used to influence end to end application servicing, and in which respect the ATM technology fits the needs of end user applications. The management activity permits a better understanding of the nature of the performance problems encountered by multimedia applications at different level during this earliest phase of ATM network deployment.

1995

Abstract Asnychronous Transfer Mode (ATM) has emerged as the most promising technology in supporting future broadband multimedia communication services. To accelerate the deployment of ATM technology, the ATM Forum, which is a consortium of service providers and equipment vendors in the communication industries, has been created to develop implementation and specification agreements.

Proceedings of International Conference on Protocols for Multimedia Systems - Multimedia Networking

Multicast Service support in today's networks will be crucial for the evolution of new Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) applications. In order to consolidate ATM as the future Wide Area Network technology it is required that it provides an efficient support for this service. In this article we are going to describe a new proposal of a network structure based on WAN-ATM that provides an efficient workgroup communication and which has been tested in real environments. We are going to focus on network structure, functional switching and resource allocation issues.

ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 1995

At the data-link layer, ATM offers a number of features, such as high-bandwidth and per-session quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees, making it particularly attractive to multimedia applications. Unfortunately, many of these features are not visible to applications because of the inadequacies of existing higherlevel protocol architectures. Although there is considerable effort underway to tune these protocols for ATM networks, we believe that a new ATM-specific protocol stack is essential to effectively exploit all the benefits of ATM. In this paper, we describe the semantics of such a protocol stack, and discuss its advantages over traditional protocol architectures from the perspective of multimedia applications. The performance impact of the new protocol architecture is experimentally demonstrated on a video conferencing testbed built around IBM RS/6000's equipped with prototype hardware for videolaudio processing, and connected via ATM links.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1996

In this paper, we present the design and implementation of the BETEUS (Broadband Exchange for Trans-European Usage) communication and application platform. BETEUS is a European project aiming at developing generic, stable, flexible and scalable communication and application platforms which provide support for a collaborative work environments. In terms of collaborative work, BETEUS concentrates on distributed classroom, tele-seminar, multimedia document archival and retrieval and tele-tutoring. The problems found during the realization of the BETEUS platform are outlined and the proposed solutions explained. The follow-up of BETEUS in Switzerland through the TELEPOLY project which concerns operational teleteaching between the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (EPFL and ETHZ) is also presented. ‡ The material is based upon work support by the CEC under grant Project Number M1010. EPF Lausanne and ETH Zürich have been supported by the "Bundesamt für Bildung und Wissenschaft" under contract number 94.0069.

Proceedings of 19th Conference on Local Computer Networks, 1994

The asynchronous transfer mode ATM is expected to be the multiplexing and switching technique for future broadband integrated service digital networks BISDNs which can transport almost all types of tra c including bursty data tra c and continuous voice video frames. However, this capability cannot be realized without a proper congestion-control scheme. This paper discusses the suitability of the real-time channel approach 1 for congestion control in ATM networks. A new message-transmission scheme is proposed which is suitable for ATM networks and has a numb e r o f a d v antages over existing schemes. The achievable quality o f service with this scheme would make A TM networks capable of supporting real-time services which h a ve been promised but not yet successfully realized.

IBM Systems Journal, 2000

A new generation of networking requirements is fueling the growth of a cell-based communications technology known as the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM). ATM technology allows the integration of voice, video, traditional data, and other traffic types on a single network. ATM offers a unique opportunity to deploy the same standardized networking technology in both the wide-area and local-area environments. IBM has introduced a family of products that provides a complete ATM solution for customers. The products support ATM standards, allowing the products to interwork with devices from other vendors. This paper provides a tutorial on ATM technology and an overview of the IBM ATM product family. The IBM 8260 Intelligent SWitching Hub is described as a representative ATM product. T he past few years have brought rapid growth to the Internet and a variety of private online computer services. Usenet and the World Wide Web have attracted a new community of casual network users. Increasing interest in personal videoconferencing, entertainment on demand, remote robotics, intelligent transportation systems, and other applications is placing new demands on communication networks. There has been a parallel growth in the popularity of multimedia computing, driven in part by the development of CD-ROM technology. Users increasingly expect the same high-quality multimedia service across a network as they receive locally. A proposed new communications infrastructure, known as the "information superhighway," is aimed at meeting these requirements. The concept of the superhighway is receiving wide attention in the press and by governmental organizations.

High-Speed Networking for Multimedia Applications, 1996

Advanced applications, such as distributed multimedia applications, require efficient communication subsystems providing a variety of services. Existing communication systems face increasing difficulties in fulfilling these requirements. In particular, the efficient provision of reliable group communication services in ATM-Networks remains a major unresolved issue. This paper presents a novel framework for support of multipoint communication in ATM networks. Two adaptation layer protocols are presented that provide reliable multicast services. The first one, called RLMCP (Reliable Lightweight Multicast Protocol), is a simple and efficient adaptation layer protocol for the Service Specific Convergence Sublayer of AAL5. It uses a frame-based ARQ scheme and is suitable for virtual connections with low cell loss rates. The second one, called RMC-AAL (Reliable Multicast ATM Adaptation Layer), features cell-based ARQ and cell-based FEC. A new network element, called the Group Communication Server (GCS), is presented for implementing the adaptation layer protocols in network nodes. It allows for hierarchical multicast error control and support of heterogeneous scenarios. The framework permits to select the combination of error control mechanisms most suitable for the requirements of a specific communication scenario. The functionality of end systems and group communication servers is described, and a basic implementation architecture is presented. Based on this architecture, approximations for the processing delays are presented when the different error control schemes are applied. Finally, the influence of the different error control schemes onto the selection of an appropriate memory management strategy is investigated.

IX Jornadas TELECOM I+ D' …, 1999

This paper surveys novels and/or sophisticated concepts which are included in the development of the new protocols to provide current networks with the high performance that the multimedia applications need for their definitive implantation. We pay special attention to the concept of native-mode ATM (i. e. N 3 , CONGRESS and kStack) and transport protocols developed for ATM technology (i. e. SHiPP). SMART, MCMP or MWAX are the most representative examples of many-to-many (multicast) ATM protocols. We also shall present several proposals to support IP over ATM technology (classical IP-over-ATM, EPD, RED, IP switching, MPOA, etc). This work concludes with a discussion of new research or new trends such as the active (programmable) networks, or mobile agents.