ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a technology that has transport, switching,
network management, and customer services built into it right from the start.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a protocol originally conceived by the
telecommunication industry to handle multimedia traffic over wide area networks (WANs).
The protocol is a connection-oriented cell-switched protocol developed for fiberoptic
systems which have nearly error-free performance characteristics.
The NASA Glenn ATM testbed.
The main features of ATM are guaranteed quality of service, ease of switching, and
multimedia compliance. ATM can be easily switched because all switching and routing is
performed by using only a 5 byte header. Thus, the switching can be performed with hardware.
ATM is multimedia compliant because of the small cell size - a 5-byte header and a 48-byte
payload. The small size allows cell delay (jitter) to be readily controlled - a necessity
for multimedia transmission such as voice and video.
The main requirements of ATM are: a nearly error-free link, fixed cell size, and maintenance of
cell order. These requirements directly affect the design of satellite and wireless
networks that wish to use ATM. The following interrelated issues must be addressed for
ATM to be used over satellite (and other wireless) links:
- Quality of Service
- Traffic Management and Congestion Control
- Routing
- Handoff
- Signaling
- Multicasting
- Security
We perform research directed at these issues and actively participate with
the satellite communication industry in various standards-making bodies to ensure interoperability
with terrestrial networks.
Links
Presentations
MPEG 2 over ATM over Satellite Experiments: Status of Laboratory Tests (available in
Post Script,
Acrobat, and
Power Point formats)
Publications
MPEG-2 Over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Over Satellite Quality of Service (QoS) Experiments
: Laboratory Tests (available in Post Script and
Acrobat formats)
ATM Quality of Service at 45 Mbps Using a Satellite Emulation: Laboratory Measurements (available in
Post Script and Acrobat formats)
ATM Quality of Service Tests for Digitized Video Over ATM Over Satellite: Laboratory Tests (available in
Post Script and Acrobat formats)
MPEG-2 Over ATM Over Satellite Quality of Service Experiments: Laboratory Tests (available in
Post Script and Acrobat formats)
