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11-2
C
11: ATM N
HAPTER
ETWORKS
short, repetitive needs of voice transmission. ATM thus allows a free
mixture of data and voice or video within the same application.
Scalable technology — ATM accommodates a wide range of transmission
rates and applications.
Seamless connectivity — ATM is the first technology that can be deployed
in local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), and wide
area networks (WAN).
ATM Basics
ATM architecture differs fundamentally from IEEE 802-style LANs like
Ethernet, FDDI, and token ring. LANs provide connectionless services,
meaning that data is transmitted without the need for a prior connection
setup between the sender and receiver. LAN data is transmitted using the
Media Access Control (MAC) addresses in each packet to identify end-
stations.
ATM is a connection-oriented transport service. The device attached to an
ATM network must first establish a connection, called a Virtual Connection
(VC), with another device attached on the network before information can
be transmitted. See "Virtual Connections in ATM" on page 11-109 for more
information.
ATM Network
ATM standards specify two network interface types for ATM networks:
Interfaces
The user-to-network interface (UNI). Typically, the UNI is the interface
between the user and the user's (private) network ATM switch.
The network-to-network interface (NNI). The NNI is an interface between ATM
switches or networks.
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