Lan Emulation Atm Networks - 3Com CoreBuilder 7000 Operation Manual

ATM Network Examples 27
Figure 5 Multiple Switch IP Routed Network
LAN Emulation ATM LAN Emulation (otherwise known as LANE or LE) provides interoperability
Networks between devices on ATM LANs and traditional LANs such as Ethernet,
and supports configurations that connect traditional LANs over an ATM
backbone. LANE is an alternative to RFC IS77 for providing
interoperability between IP and ATM.
LAN Emulation ATM Networks provide high-speed connections between
existing Ethernet or Token Ring LAN networks without making any
changes to these networks. To construct a LAN Emulation ATM network,
two kinds of ATM equipment are used: ATM edge devices and ATM
switches (core devices).
The ATM edge device interfaces between the existing Ethernet LAN and
the ATM switch. It converts the data from Ethernet format to ATM format
and initiates the ATM data transmission across the ATM network. An ATM
edge device can be a separate unit like the SuperStack II Switch 2700 or it
can be a CoreBuilder 7x00 series interface card installed in a CoreBuilder
7000 family ATM switch.
The ATM switch routes the ATM data between the source and destination
edge devices.For more information on LAN Emulation, refer to Chapter 7,
LAN Emulation.
ATM Network Core
In large-scale LAN Emulation ATM Networks, one or more ATM switches
are interconnected to form a group that performs only switching tasks.
This group of switches, called a network core, provides more efficient
high-speed switching. The switches in the core are not normally
connected directly to edge devices, although they may be connected to
external servers or multimedia devices. The CoreBuilder 7000HD is
designed to operate in an ATM core.
ATM Network over WAN
Using VP tunneling, you can establish an ATM network over an existing
public WAN network. VP tunnels serve as logical links between ATM
switches to construct large-scale ATM backbones.