ATM Basics
ATM is based on switching fixed-sized cells
Works in the Data Link layer of the OSI model
Connection oriented
- Permanent Virtual Circuit/Channel (PVC)
- Switched Virtual Circuit/Channel (SVC)
Small, fixed-size (53 octets) cells make hardware implementa-tions fast, reliable and (in large quantities) inexpensive
ATM does not define the MAC tai Physical layer => it can easily adapt to new transmission speeds and systems
The same technology in LAN, MAN and WAN => seamless integration of services
ATM systems in WANs will mainly be based on SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) or SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) infrastructure