ATM

ATM Overview
The cornerstone of ATM is the cell. The information flow, with different and varying bit rates, is uniformly organized into cells which consist of a cell header of five octets and a user part of 48 octets; 53 octets in all. ATM is a packet mode technique, but the delay in the network can be kept to a minimum because the cells have a fixed length.

The cell header is divided into different fields. The most important one is the address field, which in the form of a logical channel number (Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI)) identifies the circuit and provides a unique link address between two network nodes. The PTI (Payload Type Identifier) specifies whether the cell contains user information or information to be used by the network itself for operation and maintenance, for example. CLP (Cell Loss Priority) specifies the priority level of the cell (out of two possible levels) if there is not enough space for all cells. HEC (Header Error Control) contains a check value that is used by nodes in the network and at the receiving end to detect any distortion of the header (bit error).

Basic Functions
ATM may well be the first transfer mode capable of handling all services, which means that it must be possible to transport voice traffic as well as data and video information in cells with a fixed length of 53 bytes. The intensity of cells that belong to a specific circuit depends on the instantaneous need of bandwidth.

Labeled Multiplexing
An ATM network consists of ATM nodes and links. A constant stream of ATM cells that carry information for the corresponding services is transferred in each link. Unused space in the cell stream consists of empty cells or idle cells. See figure below.

ATM
Labeled Multiplexing Virtual Path and Virtual Channel
The ATM cell flow on a physical link is logically organized in Virtual Paths which are identified by Virtual Path Identifiers (VPI) and Virtual Channels which are identified by the combination of a VPI and a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI). A Virtual Path is a bundle of Virtual Channels, all of which are switched transparently across the ATM network on the basis of the common VPI. There are maybe one or several Virtual Channels in one Virtual Path and one or several Virtual Paths on a physical link. Figure below shows a link with Virtual Paths each containing several VCs.

ATM
Labeled Multiplexing ATM Switching Operations
Each Virtual Path contains Virtual Channels with different numbers. The fields VCI and VPI in the cell header indicate to which Virtual Channel and Virtual Path an ATM cell belongs. The VCI values are unique within a Virtual Path and the VPI values are unique within a physical link. The basic operation of an ATM switch is straightforward: the cell is received across a link on a known VCI or VPI value. The switch looks up the connection value in a local translation table to determine the outgoing port (or ports) of the connection and the new VPI/VCI value of the connection on that link. The switch then retransmits the cell on that outgoing link with the appropriate connection identifiers. Because all VCIs and VPIs have only local significance across a particular link, these values are remapped, as necessary, at each switch. The Figure below illustrates the principle showing a simple ATM switch with its corresponding local translation table. The VCI values from the table can easily be associated to the ATM cells on the different links of the switch.

ATM
Labeled Multiplexing

When both VCI and VPI values are translated in a switching node, it is called a VCswitching node. It is also possible to have VP-switching nodes where only the VPI values are changed and the VCI values are always left unchanged. Figure above shows an

example of a node with the capability to perform both VC and VP switching while figure below shows only a VP switch.

ATM
Classification of Services
The ITU-T has standardized a protocol reference model that shows similarities with the OSI model. The three lowest layers in the protocol reference model are:

Layer 1 - the physical layer Layer 2 - the ATM layer Layer 3 -the AAL layer

To enable transfer of both data and isochronous services, the information must be adapted to the network in different ways. ATM has been divided into four service classes (A, B, C and D) on the basis of three parameters. The following protocols are defined for each one of the classes.

AAL 1 AAL 2 AAL 3/4 AAL 5

The AAL is not part of the cell header.

The following three parameters are used for classification:

Isochronous or asynchronous services Constant or variable bit rate Connection-oriented or connectionless transfer

ATM
Classification of Services
Figure below shows how the information flow, corresponding to different services, is segmented and packed into the information field of different ATM cells, in order to be multiplexed into one common cell flow with a larger bandwidth. This process, which is one of the tasks of the AAL layer, may take place in a terminal adapter, for instance. Correspondingly, the information flow is demultiplexed and unpacked in another customer adapter. In the packing of services, voice and video are always given top priority since these services are the most sensitive to delays.

ATM
Classification of Services ATM Adaptation Layer, AAL
Some information being carried by cells will get lost due to noise or equipment failure, others due to congestion. Therefore, various types of traffic generators with their different requirements have to carefully prepare or 'adapt' their messages for travel over the ATM network. This is done in each case by a piece of software or firmware called AAL (ATM Adaptation Layer).

The AAL consists of a number of different protocols, each of which is specialized in the support of services found in the four service classes A, B, C and D. There are five types of adaptation layer services, designated AAL1, AAL 2, and so on. The AAL is subdivided into two sub-layers: the Convergence Sub-layer (CS) and the Segmentation and Reassemble (SAR) sub-layer. The CS assures the necessary error control and sequencing as well as the sizing of information. The SAR then chops the CS message into the 48-byte payload packets and attaches them to the five-byte header. After the preparation stage, the message is delivered to the segmentation layer, where the cells are created and sent. At the receiving side the cells go through the reassemble layer and are passed to AAL1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 for the re-creation of the original message. This message is then delivered to the video monitor, the voice receiver or the data process expecting it.

ATM
Classification of Services
AAL 0
AAL 0 is an Ericsson internal protocol. An AAL 0 connection provides applications for a pure ATM cell transport service to forward fixed size (48 octets) packets between devices. An AAL 0 connection provides bi-directional transport of user data end-toend between two AAL 0 Connection End Points (CEPs).

AAL 1
The purpose of AAL 1 is the realization of circuit-switched connections with constant bit rate and minimal delay. In other words, AAL 1 supports class A services, that is, voice and video traffic. Since voice traffic is error tolerant, no CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Control), that is, error control, is required. However, what is important in the case of voice transmission is that cells are received in the exact sequence in which they were sent, and that they arrive at a constant rate. AAL1 assures sequence numbers. User information, delivered to AAL 1 at a constant bit rate, is placed in a Segmentation and Reassemble Protocol Data Unit (SAR-PDU) that is made up of 48 octets. The information is subdivided into packets containing 47 octets and a one-octet SAR header. The packets are then forwarded to the ATM layer, where they will fill out the cells information field.

ATM
Classification of Services
AAL 2
The purpose of AAL 2 is the realization of isochronous connections with variable bit rates and minimal delay. In other words, AAL 2 supports class B services. One important application of AAL 2 is the transfer of low-bit-rate-coded voice with silence removal. Low-bit-rate coding is frequently used in corporate and cellular networks. When 64 kbit/s PCM coding and AAL 1 are employed, the cell assembly delay (the time it takes to fill a cell) is slightly more than 6 ms. In ATM systems, when conveying lowbit-rate-coded voice, each cell must be used for many voice circuits in order to limit this delay (which, without silence removal, would be about 48 ms for one 8 kbit/s voice circuit). In order to distinguish the separate voice circuits in a cell, a three-byte packet header is used for each circuit.

The receiving AAL 2 function contains an input buffer that smoothes out delay variations caused by silence removal. It also ensures that coded voice is sent to the decoder at an even pace. The mixing of packets in a cell requires more overheads but it also offers the benefits of efficient statistical multiplexing, provided the number of circuits is large preferably at least fifty. When only a few compressed voice circuits are available, data circuits can be added to obtain the desired statistical multiplexing and short cell assembly delay. Up to 256 voice circuits can be transferred in a T1 PCM system (1.5 Mbit/s). This is ten times as efficient as the capacity achieved by using 64 kbit/s PCM coding and circuit switched connections.

ATM
Classification of Services
AAL 5
AAL 5 was specified when AAL 3/4 had been found to be too complex for certain services. One disadvantage of the AAL 3/4 protocol is its relatively large overhead and the resulting low efficiency. For that reason, designers developed AAL 5, which is less complex but provides more reliable bit-error checking. Its simplicity and efficiency have led to AAL 5 being named the Simple and Efficient Adaptation Layer (SEAL).

AAL 5 is used for frame relay, LAN emulation and signaling. It is limited to the handling of message mode without the use of any retransmission mechanisms. AAL 5 defines a CS-PDU (Convergence Sub-layer Protocol Data Unit) that communicates with the SAR function. Like AAL 3/4, the CS-PDU information field can consist of a maximum of 65,532 octets.

ATM
ATM Network Interfaces
The access interface is referred to as the User Network Interface (UNI), and the interface between network nodes is referred to as the Network Node Interface (NNI). In the case of Private networks, (P-NNI) denotes the interface between nodes or between different private networks.

ATM
ATM Network Interfaces
Figure below shows the NNI interface. The VPI is extended to 12 bits for the NNI interface (8 in the UNI). This means that there can be 4096 "routes" and each route can have 65535 channels (16 bit VCI).

ATM

ATM Network Interfaces Co-Existance

A common scenario that is expected is that an operator who is setting up a WCDMA network already has an existing 2G mobile network. In order for the existing and the new network to co-exist, it is essential that they have the possibility to share the transmission resources. The problem is that the WCDMA RAN network is based on ATM while the already existing network normally is based on STM. For co-sitting of 2G and WCDMA RAN radio access products there are two possibilities to configure the transport network for the most efficient sharing of the transmission network links by using integrated functions in RBS and RNC. Existing 2G products do not need to be upgraded in order to share transmission resources with the WCDMA network.

Fractional ATM
This method will mainly be used at smaller installations in the initial phase of the WCDMA RAN introduction, when capacity requirements are low. The function ATM on fractional on E1/T1 interfaces allows for using parts of STM transmission connections (for example E1, T1 and so on) for ATM traffic. This means using the ATM ports at bit rates in increments of n*64 kbit/s (n should be >16). This gives, for example, the possibility to share E1/T1 links with second generation RBSs. Fractional ATM links can be used both when connecting to an external DXC at the site and to an DXC built-in into the existing 2G RBS. Figure below shows how fractional ATM can be used for transmission of GSM traffic and WCDMA traffic on a shared E1.

AAL2 Switching
AAL2 switching consists of the multiplexing of AAL2 connections from different incoming AAL2 VCs onto one or several outgoing AAL2 VCs. The AAL2 SSCS-SDUs are extracted from the incoming AAL2 paths (VCs carrying AAL2 traffic) and then remultiplexed onto different outgoing AAL2 paths (AAL2 VCs).

With AAL2 switching, m incoming AAL2 paths can be switched onto n outgoing AAL2 paths. The n outgoing AAL2 paths form a so-called group. During the connection setup phase, the intermediate CPP node will choose one out of the different outgoing AAL2 paths to establish the incoming connection and during the lifetime of that connection the AAL2 packets originated will be carried over that AAL2 path. The outgoing AAL2 paths can be spread over different physical interfaces. In this sense, the total available bandwidth is the sum of all individual bandwidths allocated to each AAL2 path. However, this should not be treated as a unique pipe but as the sum of some individual pipes. This implies that there is a certain limitation in the gain achievable by AAL2 switching since the bandwidth is split into the different AAL2 paths. In reality this limitation is highly dependent on the traffic model. Another advantage of the use of AAL2 switching in an intermediate node between the RBS and the RNC is the number of AAL2 muxes saved in the RNC. Since the number of n outgoing AAL2 paths is less than the number of m incoming AAL2 paths in the intermediate AAL2 switching node, the final required number of AAL2 muxes in the RNC is reduced by m-n muxes. It is recommended to use AAL2 switching in hubs in order to reduce the bandwidth required and therefore save transmission costs. It also saves VP resources in the RNC. It is also interesting to use AAL2 switching in some cascading scenarios. In low traffic cases (<1Mb/s per RBS) it could be possible to carry traffic from two RBSs in one E1. If the bandwidth is split in two separate AAL2 paths, it is very unlikely that any PS 64/384 RAB could be set up without affecting speech calls in terms of delay and delay variation. However, with AAL2 switching, both RBSs share 1 AAL2 path with double capacity and it is possible to have PS64/384 RAB with lower delays. In case the two RBSs have some

overlapping area, UEs in soft handover with PS64/384 could introduce large delay variations. It must be noted that AAL2 switching causes additional delay in the network. Investigations on this issue are ongoing. In UTRAN it is possible to have AAL2 switching in two nodes for a specific RBS (two AAL2 switching nodes between RBS and RNC) due to delay considerations. One AAL2 switching point is used to save bandwidth (close to the end RBS) and the other one is used to have redundancy (close to the RNC). If one of the links fails, all the established AAL2 connections over that physical link will be disconnected and must be established again.