ATM Technology

History of ATM


ATM is a cell relay protocol designed by the ATM forum and adopted by the International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications standardization sector (ITU-T) in early 1990s. Information for multiple service types such as voice, video or data is conveyed in small, fixed size cells. Data rates: 155.52 Mbps (single-channel) and up to 622 Mbps (4channels multiplexed together) Preferable transmission media is Fiber optic, but copper media also can be used. Used for high speed traffic between switched nodes spread over a large geo-graphical area (users are unaware of its existence)

Need for ATM ?



The ATM has been designed based on the six challenges faced:  Need for a transmission system to optimize the use of high-datarate transmission media optical fiber.  Need for a fast data transmission system that can interface with the existing systems.  Inexpensive implementation low cost availability.  Support for the existing telecom hierarchies (e.g. DS0, DS1, DS3, E1, E3 etc.)  Accurate and predictable packet delivery connection oriented .  More functions to be implemented by hardware than software to achieve fast data rates.

Limitations of packet switched networks



Packet switched networks:  Larger packet sizes due to increased header size.  Co-existence of large packets (65,545 bytes) along with shorter packets (200 bytes).  Variety of packet sizes makes traffic unpredictable.  The devices must incorporate elaborate software systems to manage various sizes of packets.  No consistency in data rate delivery.

Multiplexing using different packet sizes

Delay at the multiplexer due to packets having different sizes

Advantages of using fixed size cells

No delay in multiplexing fixed size packets from different sources, extremely fast transmission possible. ATM can handle real time transmissions video streaming, video/ teleconferencing etc. The devices such as switches and terminals treat each cell as a unit rather that the stream of bits.This distinction makes network operation more efficient and cheaper.

Advantages of using fixed size cells



Problems of packet network are solved by the cell networks:

 

A cell is a small data unit of fixed size. All data are loaded into small and identical cells that can be transmitted with complete predictability and uniformity at very fast speeds. The problem of multiplexing of packets (delay) is avoided because of the small cell size.

ATM multiplexer

Similar to Asynchronous multiplexing (slot is not transmitted empty)

ATM architecture


   

Combines the benefits of circuit switching (guaranteed capacity and constant transmission delay) with those of packet switching (flexibility and efficiency for intermittent traffic). It provides scalable bandwidth from a few megabits per second (Mbps) to many gigabits per second (Gbps) The user access devices, called the end points are connected through a user-to-network interface (UNI) to the switches The switches are connected through network-to-network interface (NNI) A connection between two points is accomplished through transmission paths (TPs), virtual paths (VPs), and virtual circuits (VCs)

Architecture of ATM network

ATM architecture (continued)

Virtual circuits All cells belonging to a single message follow the same virtual circuit and remain in their original order until they reach their destination.  Identifiers The identifiers in ATM are hierarchical with two levels Virtual path identifier (VPI) Virtual circuit identifier (VCI)

Example of VPs and VCs

Virtual identifiers in UNI and NNI

VPIs in NNI are more since switching of Virtual paths is carried out within the network switches.

Routing using VP and VPC switch

Routing is done by two types of switches:VP switch andVPC switch. VP switch routes the cell using only the VPI (e.g. VPI of 153 arrives on interface 1, it checks the switching table, finds correspondingVPI, changes theVPI number in the header and sends it through interface 3) VPC switch routes the cell using bothVPI andVCI.14

ATM Layers


Physical layer, ATM layer and Application Adaptation Layer (AAL)

ATM layers in end point devices and switches

ATM Layers: Physical Layer

Physical Layer:  Physical layer can be Fiber optic cable, Copper cable such as Cat-5  Includes SDH/SONET, DS-3/E3, 155 Mbps over multimode fiber (MMF) or shielded twisted pair (STP) cabling. TC sub-layer:
   

Cells are converted into stream of bits at the transmission side. Stream of bits received from PMD sub-layer are converted back into ATM cells. Header checksum generation & verification. Identify beginning and end of a cell. Bit timing Physical network access

PMD sub-layer:
 

ATM Layer
ATM Layer:  Provides routing, traffic management (congestion control), switching, multiplexing functions.  Deals with establishment and release of Virtual circuits.  It accepts 48-byte segments from Application Adaptation (AAL) sublayers, adds 5-byte header, transforming them in 53-byte cells

ATM Layer (continued)



ATM layer uses two formats for header depending on UNI or NNI interface.

ATM Layer (continued)



Generic Flow Control (GFC): 4-bit

 

Provides flow control at UNI level This level of flow control is not necessary at NNI level as per ITU-T, hence this field is absent for NNI cell. For UNI, 8-bit field is sufficient For NNI, since more virtual paths may be involved for switching 12-bit field is provided. 16-bit field for both UNI and NNI cells First bit defines whether payload is data or control information and the second bit indicates congestion.

Virtual Path Identifier (VPI): 8-bit / 12-bit

 

 

Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI): 16-bit



Payload type (PT): 3-bit



ATM Layer (continued)

ATM Layer (continued)



Cell Loss Priority (CLP): 1-bit

 

Provided for congestion control. CLP bit of 1 gets less priority, than CLP bit of 0. Provided for error control. It provides a checksum (CRC) for correction of 1-bit or multiple bit errors.

Header Error Correction (HEC): 8-bit

 

Application Adaptation Layer (AAL)

Application Adaptation Layer (AAL):  Provides compatibility of different data types for ATM transport.  It accepts any type of payload, such as data frames or streams of bits (e.g. Internet, multimedia, video streams etc.)  It can break continuous streams of bits so that they can fit in an ATM cell for transport through ATM network.  AAL contains two sub-layers:  Convergence sub-layer (CS)  Segmentation & Reassembly (SAR) sub-layer  AAL defines four versions: AAL1, AAL2, AAL3/4 and AAL5 depending on constant bit data rate, variable bit data rate, connection-oriented and connection-less data services.

AAL Layer (continued)

Convergence sub-layer (CS):  Provide interface to different services/ applications (e.g. TCP, IP and streaming video may have different requirements for error handling)  It divides the bit streams into 47-byte segments and passes them to SAR sub-layer below.  It does not add a header. Segmentation & Reassembly sub-layer (AAL):  Breaks packets into cells on the transmission side and adds 1-byte header to the 47-byte data / payload.  Reassembles cells back to packets and then hands them over to CS sub-layer at the destination side.

AAL Layer (class of service)

AAL1: connection-oriented, supports applications that have constant bit rate (e.g. T1/T3 lines, voice, video conferencing) AAL2: supports applications that have variable bit rate streams (e.g. compressed or packetized audio/video such as video streaming, mobile telephony services) AAL3/4: supports connection-oriented and connection-less services (e.g. TCP, IP, SMDS) AAL5:supports AAL3/4 but with simple adaptation (no rigorous error checking and sequencing)

AAL1 Layer

AAL1 Layer
  

Constant bit stream of data is chopped into 47-byte data segments by CS sub-layer and passed on to SAR sub-layer. It does not add a header. (implemented in SONET which supports clocking). SAR sub-layer adds 1-byte of header and passes the segment to the ATM layer. Fields of this 1-byte header are as below, Sequence Number (SN): 4-bit - Used for ordering of the bits (like frame/ packet number) - First bit is used for timing and remaining 3-bits for sequencing Sequence Number Protection (SNP): 4-bit - Used for protection of Sequence Number (SN) - First 3-bits automatically correct the SN field. - Last bit is a parity bit and detects error over all 8 bits.

AAL2 Layer

AAL2 Layer (continued)

Supports variable data rate bit streams (e.g. video, mobile telephony)  It allows multiplexing of short frames into one cell.  CS layer overhead is 3-byte (or 24 bits) and has following fields, Channel Identifier (CID): 8-bit - Defines the channel (user) of the short frame Length Indicator (LI): 6-bit - Indicates how much of the final packet is data Packet Payload Type (PPT): 2-bit - Defines the type of the data packet User to User Indicator (UUI): 3-bit - Used by end-to-end users Header Error Control (HEC): 5-bit - Used to correct errors in header


AAL3/4 Layer

AAL3/4 Layer (continued..)

 

AAL3/4 supports both connection-oriented and connectionless data. Used to transmit Switched Multi-megabit Data Service (SMDS) packets over ATM network. CS sublayer creates a protocol data unit (PDU) by prepending a beginning/end tag header to the frame and appending a length field as a trailer. SAR sublayer fragments the PDU and prepends a header to it. - Header consists of Type, Sequence Number, and Multiplexing Identifier fields. - Type fields identify whether a cell is the beginning, continuation or end of a message. - Sequence number fields identify the order in which cells should be reassembled - Multiplexing Identifier field determines which cells from different traffic sources are interleaved on the same virtual circuit connection (VCC) so that the correct cells are reassembled.

AAL3/4 Layer (continued)

 

SAR sublayer also appends a CRC-10 trailer to each PDU fragment for error control Completed SAR PDU becomes the Payload field of an ATM cell to which the ATM layer prepends the standard ATM header.

AAL5 Layer

AAL5 Layer (continued)

AAL5 is also known as the simple and efficient adaptation layer (SEAL) because SAR sublayer accepts the CS-PDU and segments it into 48-byte SAR-PDUs without reserving any bytes in each cell.  Suitable for classical IP traffic over ATM. STEPS :  CS sublayer appends a variable-length pad and an 8-byte trailer to frame.  Pad field ensures that the 48-byte boundary of an ATM cell  Trailer includes the length of the frame and a 32-bit CRC computed across the entire PDU.  This allows the AAL5 receiving process to detect bit errors, lost cells or cells that are out of sequence.  A header and trailer are not added (as is in AAL3/4) so messages cannot be interleaved in same VCC.


ATM Layers, sub-layers and their functions

ATM services


ATM supports three types of services

Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVCs):

 

Allows direct connectivity between sites (similar to a leased line). Guarantees availability of a connection and does not require call setup procedures between switches. Static connectivity and manual setup is required (e.g. each piece of equipment between the source and the destination must be manually provisioned for the PVC). No network flexibility is available with PVC.

Switched Virtual Circuits (SVCs):



SVC is created and released dynamically and remains in use as long as data is being transferred.

ATM services
  

Call needs to be setup automatically by networking devices (e.g. signaling protocol required between ATM endpoint and the ATM switch). Flexibility in case of breakdown of a device or network path. Delay and overheads involved during connection set-up.

Connection-less service:


Similar to Switched Multi-megabit Data Service (SMDS). Its a Highspeed, packet-switched, datagram based WAN networking technology used for communication over public data networks (PDNs).

Benefits/ capabilities of ATM

  

 

Flexibility and versatility: voice, data, images, video can be transmitted simultaneously over a single, integrated network. Supports various upper layer protocols/services (IP, IPX, TCP, ISDN). Supports higher transmission capability, network resource management, Quality of Service parameters. Adaptability to a variety of physical media: Twisted Pair, Fiber optic (even wireless access possible). ATM network can span across larger geo-graphical area. Support for qualitative as well as quantitative changes in the corporate landscape. Offers multi-service platform handling range of services (such as video-ondemand, streaming/ packetized video, video conferencing). Supports virtual circuits, secured, guaranteed, delivery of data (since connection-oriented and provides error checking mechanisms ).

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