Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

References:
High-Performance Communication Networks by Jean Walrand; Morgan Kaufmann ATM foundation for Broadband Networks by Uyless Black; Prentice Hall Leon-Garcia, Communication Networks; McGraw Hill

ATM vs. TCP/IP

Before we start discussing details of ATM let us discuss/compare/contrast in general for Telephone and Internet networks. ATM is based on telephone network while TCP/IP is based on Internet. Comparison table for these two technologies is shown in the next page. Based on comparison chart shown below the objective of ATM is to combine the flexibility of Internet with per-user QoS guarantees of the telephone network. Following are the main features of ATM:
Service is connection oriented, with data transferred over a VC Fixed-size packet (53-Bytes packets called cells) Statistical multiplexed data over same channel or link The QoS attributes of ATM allow it to carry voice, data, and video, thus making ATM suitable for an integrated services. Figure below shows different types of data which are processed through ATM adaptation layer
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Comparison of Telephone Network with Internet Network

Telephone Network
Internet

Circuit-switching
Connection-oriented Intelligent network Reliable Connection Dumb end-system Designed for voice QoS

Packet Switching
Connectionless Dumb network Unreliable connection Intelligent end-system Designed for data No QoS
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[Reference 2]

Fixed cell size advantages

Simpler buffer hardware Avoids memory fragmentation problem Variable length packets require contiguous memory blocks of different sizes Easier to synchronize. Cell boundaries can be determined easily as explained below and shown in the attached figure
For a fixed size cell CRC can be used to determine cell boundaries as explained below. Note that CRC is used just for header error. Take 4 bytes out-of 48 Bytes and compute CRC and match with the fifth byte. If it matches we are synchronized if not take the next 48 bits (shift the window by a bit) and repeat the process. A match occurs in at most N steps if the cell contains no errors. Once the cell boundary is identified, subsequent boundaries are found by counting bits. Conversely, if CRC errors are detected in several consecutive cells, this can be taken to indicate loss of synchronization (loss of cell boundary location).
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Fixed cell size advantages/Disadvantages

Simpler packet scheduling (advantages): 1. Easier to allocate different bandwidths and delays to different VCs. Packet delay estimation shown below

2.
3.

Easier to implement priority

Fixed sized cells can be switched in parallel in synchronous fashion (Q Elaborate on advantages)

Processing overhead as messages are segmented into cells (Disadvantages)

The relatively short size of the ATM cells implies a large overhead that takes up approximately 5/53 or 9.4% of the bandwidth of every link. Doubling the cell size will reduce the overhead to under 5%. (Disadvantage; TE= (Li)/(Li+Lo))

Segmentation mismatch: 1. The last cell in a fragmented message may not be fully used. This effect will decrease as the message length increases

Why 48 Byte cells

Europe was opting for a cell size of 32- octets + 4-octet header while US and Japan opted for 64-Octets with 5-Octet header. This difference was split and a compromise of 48Octet was selected at the 1989 Group XVIII meeting at Geneva. Some technical justification follows:
For 64-kbits/sec voice loosing traffic for 1 or 2 msec is annoying (acts as a click noise). Loosing speech for 32 to 64 msec is quite disruptive. On the other hand, cell loss of a duration of 4-16 ms is not very noticeable or disturbing to the listener or viewer. Therefore, a cell size of anywhere around 32 to 64 octets would be acceptable. [ 32 Octets = 32 x 8 = 256 bits; 256/64,000 = 0.004 sec or 4 msec. Similarly, 48 Octets equals 6 ms and 64 equals 8 msec. Thus, 6 ms is not so bad]
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A ( 7) consecutive incorrect HECs Synchronized

Hunt Error Correct HEC

Presynchronized B ( 6) consecutive correct HECs

Information stream SAR convergence

6 VPI

GFC VCI VCI HEC UNI header

VPI VCI PT CLP

AAL

48-byte cells ATM layer 8 53-byte ATM cells VPI Physical layer VCI Signals that encode bit stream 7 6

VPI VCI VCI PT HEC NNI header CLP

Delay Computation for 53-Octet cell

Total cell delay is shown in Figure below. Calculations are:
Packetization delay (For digital voice):
The time between sampling = 1/800 sec = 125 sec Thus, for 48 Bytes (48 samples) total delay = 48 x 125 = 6000 sec

- Transmission and propagation delay:

- For a typical 1000 Km the propagation delay = 1000 x 5 sec/Km = 5000 sec. The transmission delay 53 Bytes @ 155 Mbps = 3 sec. Thus, the transmission delay can be neglected when compared with propagation delay

- Queuing Delay: Assuming that the average buffer load is 80%. Then the average number of cells in the buffer is given by:
2 2 2 x0.8 0.82 N 0.96 / 0.4 2.4cells 2(1 ) 2(1 0.8) With transmission speed of 155 Mbps this leads to a total delay of 6.6 sec. Thus, for 10 tendom switches the total delay 70 sec
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Delay Computation
Processing delay:
Assuming that the processing of a single cell takes 10 cell times (depends upon the speed of the processor), the total processing delay @ 155 Mbps = 28 sec. With 10 switches the total processing delay = 280 sec

Depacketization delay:
Assuming that depacketization delay equals re-clocking delay to remove jitter we need additional 70 sec

Thus the total delay equals:

PD+TD+FD+QD+DD = 11,420 sec =11.4 ms
Voice ATM switch TD PD FD QD Delay PD = Packetization delay TD = Transmission delay (including propagation) FD = Fixed processing delay QD = Queuing delay DD = Depacketization delay Total delay Delay jitter TD ATM network ATM switch TD FD QD TD DD

Assumptions Voice transmission (64 Kbps) Transmission rates = 155 Mbps Length of path = 1,000 km Path goes through 5 nodes

Value in s 6,000 5,000 280 70 70 11,420 70

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Connection oriented service (VPI, VCI)

ATM connections are identified through two labels called the virtual path identifier (VPI) and virtual channel identifier (VCI) shown in the header block (Earlier figure) Cells are switched using the combined VPI/VCI value. VPI/PCI overhead values are available for use as the network administrator chooses. An example: Multiple VCI can be associated with one VPI. The approach can be to assign certain BW to VPI and then distribute among VCIs. Virtual Path Connections (VPCs): Cells can be switched based on the VPI value only
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Advantages/Disadvantages of connection oriented service ATM switches can identify different connections by their VPI/VCI designation. As a result following advantages are achieved:
Admission control: Refusing certain connections if resources are not available Congestion control: Limiting the amount of traffic from a connection Resource allocation: Negotiating the BW and buffers Policing: Monitoring the burstiness and average data rate

Disadvantages of connection-oriented service

Overhead in connection set-up. High penalty for few cells of transmission. Can be more efficient if datagram is used Link or a node failure terminates the virtual channel. Only few data packets will be lost in datagram mode

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ATM service Class

Six categories of services are specified by ATM formum (Reference to ATM Traffic Mgt Spec Version 4.1)
CBR: Constant Bit Rate Rt-VBR: Real-Time Variable Bit Rate Nrt-VBR: Non-Real-Time Variable Bit Rate ABR: Available Bit Rate UBR: Unspecified Bit Rate GFR: Guaranteed Frame Rate to ensure minimum rate gurantees for UBR services

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Traffic Descriptor
A traffic descriptor is a set of parameters that is negotiated in the contract between the service provider and the user. Parameters of the traffic are defined by an algorithm called the generalized cell rate algorithm (GCRA). The contract also includes the quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of the user The network must ensure that the user's traffic conforms to the traffic descriptor specified in the contract Traffic Parameters Peak Cell Rate (PCR)= 1/minimum inter-cell distance Sustained Cell Rate (SCR): The maximum long-term average cell rate of the user Initial cell rate: The rate at which the source transmits after an idle period Cell Delay Variation Tolerance (CDVT): Allows the user to send above PCR with a certain tolerance Burst Tolerance (BT): Implies a bound on the maximum number of back-to-back cells (at peak rate) that can be sent by the user before it is forced to send at the rate SCR Minimum cell rate: Is the reciprocal of the maximum time between two cells
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QoS
The quality of service (QoS) parameters (attributes) are:
Cell loss ratio (CLR), Cell delay variation (CDV), peak-to-peak cell delay variation (peak-to-peak CDV) maximum cell transfer delay (Max CTD), mean cell transfer delay (Mean CTD).

Service parameters are negotiated between end systems and the network when a connection of a particular service category is being set up. There also are "non-negotiated" QoS attributes including cell error ratio (CER). The service categories specify the traffic and QoS parameters according as discussed below and shown in the attached table
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Real-time Services CBR (Constant Bit Rate)

Connections require static amount of bandwidth that is reserved throughout the connection lifetime Generally strict QoS requirements Characterized by Peak Cell Rate (PCR),Cell delay variation and peak-to-peak cell delay variation (CDV, Pk-to-Pk CDV) E.g.: voice, video, circuit emulation Rt-VBR (Variable Bit Rate) - Transmission rate varies with time -"bursty. Characterized by PCR, SCR,CDVT, and BT - Strict QoS requirements achieved by specifying: CLR, CDV and Pk-to-pk CDV
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Non-real-time services
Nrt-VBR (Non-real-time VBR) Bursty characteristics, e.g., non-real-time video Characterized in terms of PCR, SCR,MCR, CDVT QoS: characterized by Low cell loss ratio, but loose delay requirements ABR (Available Bit Rate) Closed-loop flow control mechanism is used to control the source rate in response to changing ATM layer transfer characteristics Feedback is conveyed in Resource Management (RM) cells Source adapts its traffic in accordance with feedback: Expects to achieve low cell loss and fair share of available bandwidth Source specifies PCR and MCR Network guarantees maximum and minimum source transmission rate UBR (Unspecified Bit Rate) Loose delay requirements E.g., file transfer, email No traffic related service guarantees

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