ATM Theory

Course Objectives:
Understand the ATM Theory

Contents
1 ATM Principle...............................................................................................................................................1 1.1 ATM Technology......................................................................................................................................1 1.2 B-ISDN ATM Protocol Model.................................................................................................................2 1.2.1 Physical Layer..........................................................................................................................3 1.2.2 ATM Layer................................................................................................................................3 1.2.3 AAL..........................................................................................................................................6 1.3 AAL Classes.............................................................................................................................................6 1.3.1 AAL1........................................................................................................................................7 1.3.2 AAL2........................................................................................................................................7 1.3.3 AAL3/4.....................................................................................................................................8 1.3.4 AAL5........................................................................................................................................8

1 ATM Principle
Key points ATM model and the functions of each layer. Structure of the ATM cell and the principles of ATM switching.

1.1 ATM Technology

ATM stands for asynchronous transfer mode. It was released by the ITU-T. Actually, in the mid-1980s, people began to make experiments on the fast packet switching and created different models. Europe focused on the image communication and called the corresponding technology asynchronous time division (ATD); USA focused on highspeed data communication and called the corresponding technology fast packet switching (FPS). In 1988, the ITU-T formally named the technology asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and recommended it be the information transmission mode of the B-ISDN. ATM is a transmission mode. In this mode, information is organized into cells. The mode is asynchronous because it is not necessary for the cells containing the information from a user to appear periodically. The ATM cell is of fixed length. It includes 53 bytes. These bytes divided into two parts: The first 5 bytes constitute the header, which implements the addressing function; the subsequent 48 bytes constitute the payload, which carries different service information from different users. All digital information (voice, data, and image) need be segmented and encapsulated into cells in unified format, and then restored to the required format at the receiving end. The ATM technology simplifies the switching process, removes unnecessary data check, and adopts the fixed cell format which is easy to process. Therefore, the switching rate of the ATM is far higher than that of the traditional data network (for example, X.25, DDN, or FR). Besides, for the data network with such a high speed, the ATM network adopts some efficient traffic monitoring mechanisms for realtime monitoring user data over the network and minimizing the possibility of network congestion. Different services are provided with

different privileges. For example, the voice service has the highest realtimeness privilege of; the ordinary data file has the highest correctness privilege. The network allocates different network resources to different services. In this way, different services can "peacefully coexist" in the network.

1.2 B-ISDN ATM Protocol Model

Fig. 1.2 -1 shows the protocol model of the B-ISDN. This model has three planes and four layers. The tree planes include user plane, control plane, and management plane. The user plane transfers user information; the control plane transfers signaling information; the management implements OAM. The four layers include the following from top down: physical layer, ATM layer, AAL, and high-layer protocol. The related ITU-T recommendation defined three layers: physical layer, ATM layer, and AAL. These layers can be further divided into sublayers. Each sublayer implements some specific functions. See Fig. 1.2 -2.

Management plane Control plane High-layer protocol AAL ATM PH

User plane High-layer protocol

Plane management

Layer management

Fig. 1.2-1 BISDN ATM Protocol Reference Model

Chapter 1 ATM Principle

SSCS CS AAL SAR CPCS

Specific service convergence sublayer Common part convergence sublayer Segmentation and reassembly

ATM

Generic flow control Cell interpretation, extraction, and insertion Cell multiplexing and demultiplexing Cell rate demodulation HEC TC Cell delimitation Transmission frame adaptation Transmission frame processing PM Bit timing Physical media connection

PH

Fig. 1.2-2 Sublayers of the Reference Model and Their Functions

1.2.1 Physical Layer

The physical layer includes two sublayers: transmission convergence (TC) layer and physical medium dependent (PMD) sublayer. The TC sublayer is responsible for embedding the ATM cell into the transmission frame of the transmission medium. It also extracts the ATM-layer cell from the transmission frame of the transmission medium. The PMD sublayer is responsible for transmitting and receiving data. It can code the data into proper electric wave and light wave. It also provides the frame adaptation function, including cell delineation, generating and processing HEC, performance monitoring, and the load rate matching different transmission formats of the physical layer. The media commonly used at the physical layer include SONET, DS3, optical fiber, twisted pair, and so on.

1.2.2 ATM Layer

ATM is a cell-based switching and multiplexing technology. The basic information carrier of the ATM is ATM cell. The ATM cell is similar to the packet in the packetswitched network, but it has its own characteristics. The ATM cell is of fixed length, and the cell is short. The ATM cell contains 53 bytes: the first five bytes constitute
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TN_SP001_E1_0 ATM Theory

header, and the subsequent 48 bytes constitute payload.

UNI cell header

NNI cell header

Fig. 1.2-3 Structure of the ATM Cell

The header in the user network interface UNI) is somewhat different with that in the network node interface (NNI) (see Fig. 1.2 -3). The header includes the following parts:

Virtual path identifier (VPI): In the NNI, it contains 12 bytes; in the UNI, it contains 8 bytes. Virtual channel identifier (VCI): It contains 16 bytes. It identifies a virtual path (VP) in a virtual channel (VC). VPI and VCI identify a virtual connection. Header error control (HEC): It contains 8 bytes. It is used to detect errored cell headers and can correct one errored bit in the cell header. It is also used for cell delimitation: The position of the cell header can be recognized according to the correlation between the HFC field and the four bytes before it. The VPI/VCI value is different in different links, so the HEC need be recalculated for each link.

Payload type identifier (PTI): It contains 3 bytes. If bit 3 is 0, it indicates a data cell; if bit 3 is 1, it indicates an OAM cell. For an OAM cell, the last two bits indicate the type of the OAM cell. For a data cell, bit 2 represents the explicit forward congestion indication (EFCI) (in case of congestion at a node, bit 2 is reset); bit 1 is used by the AAL5.

Cell loss priority (CLP): It contains 1 byte. It is used for congestion control.
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Chapter 1 ATM Principle

Generic flow control (GFC): It contains 4 bytes. It is only used for the UNI interface. Currently, it is set to 0000; in future, it might be used for traffic control or used in the media-sharing network to indicate different access modes.

The ATM layer provides cell transmission function for various services. It provides end-to-end data service. The basic element is virtual connection. The ATM layer provides these functions: cell multiplexing/demultiplexing, cell transmission, traffic control, and congestion control. The important features of the ATM technology include cell multiplexing, switching, and transmission. The cells are multiplexed, switched, and transmitted over the VC. The VC is identified by a VCI. It is a logical relationship between link endpoints in the ATM network; it is a communication path used to transfer ATM cells between two or more endpoints; it can be used to transfer information from user to user, from user to network, and from network to network. VP is a group of VPs with the same VPI at the given reference point. During the transmission, the VPs are combined together to form a VC. Fig. 1.2 -4 shows the relationship between the VP and VC. Therefore, in the ATM network, the cells of different users are transferred in different VPs and VCs, and different VPs and VCs are distinguished by VPIs and VCIs.

Physical medium

Fig. 1.2-4 Relationship Between VC, VP and Physical Channel

The

VP

switching are simple.

device The

(generally VC switching

cross-connecting device (ATM

device switch

or or

concentrator/distributor) only processes and converts the VPIs of the cells, so its functions multiplexer/demultiplexer) processes and converts both VPIs and VCIs, so its functions are complex. Both VPI and VCI are locally meaningful. Each VPI/VCI is processed at the corresponding VP/VC switching node, and the same VPI/VCI does not indicate the
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TN_SP001_E1_0 ATM Theory

same virtual connection at different VP/VC links.

1.2.3 AAL
At the top of the AAL is the convergence sublayer. The convergence sublayer provides an interface to the applications. It consists of two parts: common part convergence sublayer (in the given AAL protocol) and service specific convergence sublayer. The functions of each part are protocol dependent, but the two parts can perform the framing and error detection functions. At the transmitting end, the convergence sublayer receives the bit streams (data) or the packets of random length from the applications, and segments them into units of 44~48 bytes for transmission. The exact size of the unit depends on the used protocol, because some protocols occupy a part of the 48-byte ATM payload as the header. At the receiving end, the convergence sublayer reassembles the cell into the original packet. In general, the message delimitation (if available) need be reserved. At the bottom of the AAL is the segmentation and reassembly (SAR) sublayer. It adds a header and a tailer to the data unit received from the convergence sublayer to construct the payload of the cell. After that, the payload is sent to the ATM layer for transmission. At receiving end, the SAR sublayer reassembles the cell into packet. In general, the SAR only involves the cell, while the convergence sublayer involves the packet. For some service classes, the SAR sublayer has some other functions; especially sometimes the SAR can be used for error detection and multiplexing. The SAR sublayer is available to all service classes, but its functions depend on the specific protocol.

1.3 AAL Classes

AAL is used to enhance the capability of the ATM layer to meet the requirements of various specific services, including the user services or the functional services required by the control plane and the management plane. Many types of services can be transferred over the ATM layer. The services can be divided into four classes according to three basic parameters: timing requirement between source and destination, bit rate requirement, and connection mode. The services classes include A, B, C, and D. Fig. 1.3 -5 shows the parameters, service classes, and the corresponding AAL types.
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Chapter 1 ATM Principle

Service Parameter Source and destination timing Bit rate Connection mode AAL type Services QoS

Class A

Class B Required

Class C

Class C Not required

Constant Connection-oriented AAL 1 Circuit emulation QoS1 AAL 2

Variable Connectionless AAL 3 AAL 5 Connectionless data transmission QoS4 AAL 4

Moving picture Connection-oriented video and audio data transmission QoS2 QoS3

Fig. 1.3-5 Service Classes, AAL Types, and QoS

1.3.1 AAL1
AAL1 is used for class A transmission. Class A transmission refers to the real-time connection-oriented transmission at a constant bit rate; for example, uncompressed audio and video data. The bit streams are inputted, and no message delimitation exists. For this transmission mode, the error detection protocol like stop-wait is not used, because delay introduced by the timeout and retransmission mechanism is unacceptable. However, the loss of a cell will be notified to the application, which then (if possible) takes corresponding measures. AAL1 is designed for simple, connection-oriented, and real-time data streams. Except the mechanism for checking lost and misinserted cells, the AAL1 does not check errors. For the uncompressed pure audio or video data, AAL1 is enough.

1.3.2 AAL2
For the compressed audio or video data, the data transfer rate changes much as the time goes by. For example, in transferring video data in many compression schemes, the complete video data is periodically sent, then the difference between the two adjacent frames is sent, and finally the complete frame is sent. When the lens stand still and nothing moves, there is low difference between adjacent frames. Besides, the message delimitation must be reserved to distinguish the start of the next full frame, even when a cell is lost or the data is corrupted. Therefore, a more perfect protocol is required. AAL2 is designed for this purpose.
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TN_SP001_E1_0 ATM Theory

1.3.3 AAL3/4
At the beginning, the ITU defined different protocols for service classes C and D (service classes C and D are respectively the correction-oriented and connectionless non-real-time data transmission service classes which are sensitive to data loss or error). Later, the ITU found that it was unnecessary to define two protocols, and combined them into AAL3/4. AAL3/4 can be operated in two modes, namely, stream and message. In the stream mode, the message delimitation information is not reserved. The AAL3/4 provides a unique function, namely, multiplexing. With this function, multiple sessions (for example, remote login) from the same host can be transferred over the same virtual connection and be separated at the destination. All the sessions over the same virtual connection have the same QoS, which is a property of the virtual connection. Different from AAL1 and AAL2, the AAL3/4 consists of convergence sublayer and SAR sublayer. The message from the application to the convergence sublayer can be of up to 65535 bytes. The convergence sublayer first fills bytes to ensure the number of the filled bytes is a multiple of 4, and then adds the header and tailer. The convergence sublayer reconstructs the message, adds the header and tailer, and then transfers the message to the SAR sublayer. Then the SAR sublayer segments the message into fragments of up to 44 bytes. The AAL3/4 has the overhead of the two layers: 8 bytes are added to each message, and 4 bytes are added to each cell. In a world, the AAL3/4 requires a high overhead, especially fro the short messages.

1.3.4 AAL5
The AAL5 provides several types of services for the application, such as reliable service and unreliable service. With the reliable service, the flow control is used to protect the transmission and avoid overload; with the unreliable service, no measure is taken to protect the data transmission, and the errored or lost cell to the application (but the cell is labeled "damaged") through options. The AAL5 supports two transmission modes: point to point and multicast. It does not take measure to protect the multicast. As with AAL3/4, the AAL5 supports message mode and stream mode. In the message mode, the application can transfer the data of 1~65535 bytes to the AAL. The convergence sublayer fills the message in the payload and adds the tailer, and then selects the filling data (0~47 bytes) to ensure that the number of the bytes in the whole
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Chapter 1 ATM Principle

message (including the filled data and tailer) is a multiple of 48. The AAL5 has no convergence sublayer header; it only has an 8-byte tailer. Compared with AAL3/4, the AAL5 has a high efficiency. The AAL3/4 only adds a 4byte header to each message, but it also adds a 4-byte header to each cell. Therefore, the payload contains only 44 bytes. For a long message, the invalid data accounts for 80%. In AAL5, each message contains an 8-byte tailer, and each cell has no additional overhead. The cell contains no sequence number. However, the long checksum can be used to detect lost, misinserted, and errored cells.