ATM PROTOCOL

Contents

 Introduction to ATM
 Protocol Reference Model

 Physical Layer
 Functionalities
 Sublayers
 Protocol Specifications

 ATM Layer
 Functionalities
 Sublayers
 Protocol Specifications

 ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL)

 Functionalities
 Sublayers
 Protocol Specifications

DCW ATM-Protocol-1
 ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is a packet switching transfer mode in

which the information is organized into cells. It is asynchronous in the sense
that the recurrence of cells containing information from an individual user is
not necessarily periodic.

ATM is a method of formatting, multiplexing, transporting and switching user

information in fixed length (53 bytes) cells. The user information may be
voice, data, or video.

ATM is a connection-oriented technique. The connection can be set up either

using signaling or manually. Signalling and user information are carried on
separate ATM layer connections.

DCW ATM-Protocol-2
 WHY SMALL AND FIX-SIZED CELLS?

The choice of small cells is a compromise between the needs of data transfer
and voice applications.

Data transfer applications are better served with long cells which reduce the
overhead and have better bandwidth efficiency. However, long cells take long
time to transmit and may suffer larger delay variation.

Voice and video applications require low delay and low delay variation (i.e.,
delay jitter). Thus, voice and video applications prefer small cells.

ATM network has to support data transfer applications as well as voice and
video applications, and ATM network will operate at high bandwidth. Thus,
the choice is small cells.

Fix-sized cells provide the following advantages:

 Less delay variation (i.e., no delay variation due to cell size variation).
 Better and easier cell synchronization.
 Easier switch buffer management.
 Better fit to self-routing switching mechanism.

The choice of 53 byte cells is a standards-body comprise.

 Europeans wanted a 32-byte cell with header,

 North Americans wanted a 64-byte cell with a header
 The compromise is 48 bytes (i.e., (32+64)/2) with a 5-byte header.

DCW ATM-Protocol-3
 ATM TRANSPORT NETWORK MODEL

Broadband-Integrated Service Digital Network (B-ISDN) is a transport

network using ATM technology. An ATM end-to-end connection consists of
an end device that receives higher layer information and generate ATM cells,
ATM switches and cross-connects that switch the ATM cells, another end
device that receives the ATM cells and passes the information to the higher
layer, and the physical transmission links that connect these devices. The end-
to-end connection is called a virtual channel connection (VCC), or called a
virtual circuit. It is called virtual, because unlike the circuit switching
technique where a physical circuit is dedicated to a connection, ATM
connections share the network’s physical resources

Network layering and layer-to-layer relationship are as follows:

Virtual Channel Connection

Virtual
VC Link
Channel
ATM Layer

Level

Virtual Virtual Path Connection

Path VP Link
Level

Transmission Path
Transmission
Path
Physical Layer

Level

Digital Digital Section

Section
Level

Regeneration Regeneration
Section Section
Level

End Point
Connecting Point

DCW ATM-Protocol-4
 ATM TRANSPORT NETWORK MODEL
(CONTINUE)

The transport network model divides the network into two layers: ATM layer
and physical layer. The physical layer provides services to the ATM layer,
which in turn provides services to the upper layer, the ATM adaptation layer.
Each layer is further subdivided into levels. Each level consists of four
transport elements: (1) connection, (2) link, (3) connecting point, and (4)
endpoint. Links are concatenated to form a connection. A connection is
identified by two end-points. Endpoints are located at the boundary between
two levels where information is exchanged and transport service is provided
to the next higher layer.

An example is terminal equipment corresponding to the endpoint in the VC-

level connection. Another example is a VC switch which corresponds to the
endpoint in the VP-level connection.

A virtual channel identifier (VCI) identifies a particular VC link for a given

VP connection. A VC link is originated or terminated by the assignment or
removal of the VCI value in the cells. VC routing is performed at the VC
connecting point (e.g., VC switch or VC cross-connect), which translates the
VCI values of the incoming VC links into the VCI values of the outgoing VC
links.

A virtual channel connection (VCC) is established by concatenating VC links.

At the VCC endpoint, the cell information field is exchanged between the
ATM layer and the user of the ATM layer service (i.e., AAL). At the VC
connecting point, the VP connection (VPC) supporting the incoming VC links
are terminated first and a new VPC is created.

A virtual path identifier (VPI) identifies a collection of VC links that share the
same VPC. A VP link is originated or terminated by the assignment or
removal of the VPI value in the cells. VP routing is performed at the VP
connecting point (e.g., VP cross connect, VP switch), which translates the
VPI values of the incoming VP links into the VPI values of the outgoing VP
links.

DCW ATM-Protocol-5
A virtual path connection (VPC) is established by concatenating VP links. At
the VPC endpoint, the VPC is terminated and the VCIs are originated,
translated, or terminated.

The physical layer is subdivided into three levels: transmission path level,
digital section level, and regeneration section level.

A transmission path is defined between points where the ATM layer accesses
the physical layer. The end points of a transmission path perform functions,
such as cell delineation (i.e., to find out the beginning of the cell), cell header
error control, and assembly and disassembly of the payload of the
transmission system (e.g., SONET payload).

A digital section extends between network elements that assemble and

disassemble continuous bit streams.

A regeneration section is between two points of signal regeneration. An

example is between two repeaters.

DCW ATM-Protocol-6
 ATM PROTOCOL REFERENCE MODEL

In the ATM protocol architecture, three layers are specified. They are (1)
physical layer, (2) ATM layer, and (3) ATM adaptation layer.

Physical layer provides the physical transport of the ATM cells. Functions
performed include cell delineation, header error control, insertion and
removal of cells from the physical medium

ATM layer is common to all services and provides cell transfer

functionalities, such as VC/VP (virtual circuit/ virtual path) routing and
multiplexing.

ATM adaptation layer (AAL) is service independent and supports higher

layer functions of user, control, and management functionalities, such as cell
segmentation and reassembly, timing control, flow control.

The boundary between the ATM layer and the AAL corresponds to the
boundary between functions in the cell header and functions in the cell
information field.

ATM protocol separates control and information transfer functions. During

VCC setup, only the control plane is active, and during the data transfer, only
the user plane is active.

DCW ATM-Protocol-7
 Cell Relay Video
CBR Low Bit SMDS SNMP Frame B-ISUP
Higher

MPEG Q.2931 PNNI

Layer

Service Services Rate Voice SIP L3 ILMI Relay

TS MTP3

Null SSCF SSCF SSCF

SSCS Null SSCS SSCS
Adaptation

AAL3/4
SSCOP

AAL5

SAAL
CS CPCS
AAL0

SSCS CPCS
AAL1

AAL2
Layer

CPCS
ATM

Null
SAR CPS SAR SAR SAR
Layer
ATM

ATM
Cell

Direct Direct Fibre 25.6Mb/s

TC

PLCP TAXI Private

Mapping Mapping Channel
T3 Block
Physical

Block UNI
Layer
PMD

Fibre Twisted
SONET STS-12C FDDI
SONET STS-3C Pair Cable
T1 T3 SONET STS-1 SDH STM-3 PMD Channel
SDH STM-1 PMD
PMD

DCW ATM-Protocol-8
 ATM INFORMATION TRANSPORT

User/ Switch/Network User/

Edge switch Edge switch

Higher Layer Higher Layer

AAL AAL

ATM Layer ATM Layer ATM Layer

Physical Layer Physical Layer Physical Layer

To achieve high speed transport capability, the ATM network offers

minimum functions required to transfer cells.

Inside the network, functions performed by the switches for user data
transport are limited at ATM layer. AAL functions are provided by the user
end devices or the edge switches of the network. In another word, at the user
end devices or the edge switches, the higher layer data is adapted into ATM
payload by the ATM adaptation layer (AAL) and ATM cells are generated.
Inside the network, the switches only examine the ATM cell header and
perform ATM layer functions to be discussed later. The information field is
transported transparently.

DCW ATM-Protocol-9
 ATM PHYSICAL LAYER

 Physical Layer Functionalities

 Sublayers

 Protocols
 SONET (OC-3, OC-12, OC48, OC192)
 DS-3
 DS-1

DCW ATM-Protocol-10
 PHYSICAL LAYER FUNCTIONALITY

The main function of the physical layer is to transport the ATM cells
accurately to the destination.

Functions performed by the physical layer include:

 cell rate decoupling:

The transmit side physical layer adapts the cell rate arriving
from the ATM layer by inserting unassigned or idle cells when
assigned cell are not available from the ATM layer. The
receive side receives and filters unassigned and idle cells.
 header error control (HEC) sequence generation/verification
The transmit side physical layer generate the HEC value, and
the receive side verifies the header accuracy by using HEC.
 cell delineation
The receive side identifies the boundary of the cells.
 transmission frame adaptation
Mapping ATM cells into and from the transmission frame
payload.
 transmission frame generation/recovery
Generation and recovery the transmission frames.
 bit timing
Keeping the bit timing in sync with the timing source.
 line coding
Encoding and decoding the bits according the line code
adopted.
 physical medium (electrical, optical, etc.)

DCW ATM-Protocol-11
 PHYSICAL LAYER - SUBLAYERS

Two Sub-Layers:

 Transmission Convergence (TC):

This sublayer performs physical layer convergence

protocol functions, such as mapping of the ATM cells
to the transmission systems used, cell delineation.
Functions performed by this sublayer vary according
to the physical media used.

 Physical Media Dependent sublayer (PMD):

This sublayer is responsible for accurate transmission

and reception of bits on the physical medium.
Examples of physical media are:
SONET (single mode fiber)
DS-3
Multimode Fiber
Twisted pair wire

DCW ATM-Protocol-12
 SONET STS-3C PHYSICAL LAYER
FUNCTIONS

The physical layer consists of the physical media dependent sublayer

(PMD) and the transmission convergence sublayer (TC).

TC sublayer functions are divided into (1) B-ISDN specific TC sublayer

functions and (2) B-ISDN independent functions. B-ISDN independent
functions are the SDH (or SONET) related functions.

DCW ATM-Protocol-13
 TC SUBLAYER FUNCTIONS

1. HEC (header error control) generation/verification

- HEC is the last octet of the header and protects the header.
- At the receiver, there are two modes of operation:
- single-bit error correction
- multiple-bit error detection, and errored cell discard

2. Cell scrambling and descrambling

Cell payload is scrambled before transmission and descrambled

by the receiver. Scrambling increases randomization of the cell
payload to
- avoid continuous non-variable bit pattern
- improve the efficiency of the cell delineation algorithm

3. Cell mapping

Aligning by row, the byte structure of every cell with the byte
structure of the SONET-3C payload capacity (Synchronous
Payload Envelope, SPE). The entire STS-3c payload capacity is
filled with cells.

4. Cell delineation

Identification of cell boundaries. It uses HEC field in the cell

header.

DCW ATM-Protocol-14
 CELL MAPPING TO STS-3C SPE

Each STS-3c frame consists of 9 rows and 270 columns, i.e.,

9*270=2430 octets. The first 9 columns are the section and line
overheads. Each frame is repeated every 125 seconds (i.e.,
8000/second).

ATM cells are mapped into SONET STS-3c payload directly as

following:

 STS-3c signal rate: 9 x (9+261) x 8 / 125sec =155.52 Mb/s

 STS-3c payload rate: 9 x 260 x 8 /125sec = 149.76 Mb/s

 SONET Efficiency = 149.76/155.52 = 96.3%

 149.76 Mb/s x (48/53) 135.63 Mb/s ATM cell payload capacity

DCW ATM-Protocol-15
 SONET OVERHEAD BYTES

Overhead Coding Definition

A1, A2 A1:11110110, A2: 00101000 Framing bytes

C1 00000001-00000010- STS-1 identifier (ID)

00000011

B1 BIP-8 Section error monitoring (previous

STS-3)

B2 BIP-24 (STS-3c) Line error monitoring

H1 (bits 1-4 ) 0110 (norm), 1001 (act) New data flag (indicates change
in pointer value)

H1-H2 (bits 0000000000 -1100001110 Pointer value

7-16)

H1*, H2* 10010011, 11111111 Concatenation indication

B3 BIP-8 Path error monitoring

C2 C2=00010011 if ATM Path signal label

C2=00010101 if FDDI

J1 Path trace

In 1996, ITU-T had renamed the three C1 bytes and changed their
functions. The first C1 byte is now denoted as J0 byte and is used as
section trace. The second and third C1 bytes are denoted as z0 bytes,
and the functions are not defined. The J0 byte is used to transmit
repetitively a Section Access Point Identifier so that a section receiver
can verify its continued connection to the intended transmitter.1

1. ITU-T G.707, Network node interface for the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH), March
1996.

DCW ATM-Protocol-16
 CELL DELINEATION

The TC sublayer uses HEC field to identify the cell boundaries. Cell
payload is scrambled to improve security and robustness of the HEC
cell delineation mechanism. The cell delineation algorithm is as
follows:

The Cell Delineation Process is:

1) In the HUNT state, the delineation is performed by checking bit
by bit whether the HEC coding law is respected for the assumed
header field. Once such an agreement is reached, it is assumed
that one header has been found, and the method enters the
PRESYNC state.
2) The process repeats until the encoding law has been confirmed
DELTA times consecutively.
3) In the SYNC state, the cell delineation will be assumed to be lost
if the HEC coding law is recognized incorrectly ALPHA times
consecutively.

Default value for ALPHA = 7, for DELTA = 6.

To increase the robustness of the cell delineation method, the cell

payload is scrambled. In the HUNT state, the descrambler is disabled.
In the PRESYNC and the SYNC states, the descrambled is enabled
for the number of bits equal to the length of the information field (48*8),
and disabled for the following assumed header.

DCW ATM-Protocol-17
 DS-3 PHYSICAL LAYER FUNCTIONS

Just like STS-3c, the physical layer of using DS3 consists of the
physical media dependent sublayer (PMD) and the transmission
convergence sublayer (TC). The functions performed by these two
sublayers are as follows:

HEC generation/verification

PLCP framing and cell delineation

Transmission
Convergence Path overhead utilization
Sublayer PLCP timing (125sec clock recovery)

Nibble stuffing

Physical Bit timing

Media Line coding
Dependent Sublayer
Physical medium

DCW ATM-Protocol-18
 DS-3 PLCP FRAME FORMAT

ATM cells are transported in DS-3 using two possible methods:

physical layer convergence protocol (PLCP) and direct mapping. The
PLCP format is as follows:
PLCP
framing POI POH PLCP Payload
A1 A2 P11 Z6 ATM cell
A1 A2 P10 Z5 ATM cell
A1 A2 P9 Z4 ATM cell
A1 A2 P8 Z3 ATM cell
A1 A2 P7 Z2 ATM cell

A1 A2 P6 Z1 ATM cell
A1 A2 P5 X ATM cell
A1 A2 P4 B1 ATM cell
A1 A2 P3 G1 ATM cell
A1 A2 P2 X ATM cell
A1 A2 P1 X ATM cell
A1 A2 P0 C1 ATM cell Trailer

Octets 1 1 1 1 53 13-14 nibbles

Object of BIP-8 Calculation

A1, A2: framing bytes (A1=11110110, A2=00101000)

B1: Bit interleaved parity
C1: Cycle/stuff counter
G1: PLCP path status
Px: Path overhead identifier
Zx: Growth octets

In PLCP, 12 cells per 125sec  96,000 cells per second or 36.864

Mb/s of cell payload

Direct mapping of ATM cells in DS3 is similar to that for DS1.

DCW ATM-Protocol-19
 DS-1 PHYSICAL LAYER FUNCTIONS

The transmission convergence (TC) sublayer:

 HEC generation/verification
 Cell delineation
 Transmission frame generation/recovery

Physical media dependent (PMD) sublayer:

 Bit timing
 Line coding
 Physical medium

The physical layer bit rate at the DS1 ATM UNI is 1.544Mb/s. The bit
rate for transport of ATM cells is 1.536Mb/s. The DS1 ATM UNI is
symmetric. And the physical medium line code is bipolar 8 zero
substitution (B8ZS).

The DS1 transport format is the 24 frame multiframe extended

superframe (ESF) format.

The framing bits of the 24 frame ESF are used for:

 Detection of loss of frame alignment
 Performance monitoring (CRC-6)
 Transmission of remote defect identification (RDI)
 Performance reporting

DCW ATM-Protocol-20
 DS-1 PHYSICAL LAYER TC SUBLAYER

ATM cells are carried in the DS1 payload (i.e., bits 2 to 193). The cells
are directly mapped into the DS1 payload as shown in the following.
193bits/125sec

F Cell Header

F Cell Header

F Cell Header

ATM Cell Mapping Field: 24 Octets

At the transmit side and receive side, the DS1 physical layers perform
cell rate decoupling.

The cell delineation is performed using the HEC mechanism. ATM

Forum af-phy-0016.000 specifies that payload scrambling shall not be
used.

DCW ATM-Protocol-21
 ATM LAYER

 ATM Layer Functionalities

 ATM Protocol Data Unit Format

-- UNI: User Network Interface
-- NNI: Network-Node Network Node Interface

 ATM Layer Management

DCW ATM-Protocol-22
 ATM LAYER SERVICE

The ATM layer provides for the transparent transport of fixed sized ATM
layer service data units (ATM_SDUs) between communicating upper layer
entities (e.g., ATM Adaptation Layer). This transport occurs on a pre-
established ATM connection according to a traffic contract. A traffic contract
is comprised of a quality of service (QoS) class, a vector of traffic parameters,
a conformance definition, and other information. The ATM layer receives
services from the physical layer.

Functions performed by ATM layer are:

ATM_SDU Encapsulation and Extraction:

The transmitting ATM-entity encapsulates an ATM_SDU into an
ATM_PDU. The receiving ATM-entity extracts the ATM_SDU form the
ATM_PDU received.

Cell Multiplexing:
The ATM entities will perform cell multiplexing. ATM connections with
different QoS requirements are multiplexed.

Cell Relaying:
The ATM entity will perform cell relaying.

Cell Traffic Management:

To ensure that all ATM peer-to-peer (APP) connections receive their
requested levels of service, ATM entities usage parameter control (UPC)
and network parameter control (NPC). These functions monitor individual
ATM peer-to-peer (APP) connection for conformance with their
negotiated connection parameters. Actions may be taken if these
parameters are exceeded in the connection.

Cell Copying:
ATM entities may need to copy the payload of the received cells and send
it to the ATM Management entity for management functions.

Connection Assignment and Removal:

DCW ATM-Protocol-23
 Each ATM layer entity will be able to create and remove its local portion
of an ATM user-to-user (AUU) connection.

Generic Flow Control:

Within the customer premises, a specific protocol, called the generic flow
control protocol, may be used between CPN equipment. Two modes of
operation have been defined: "uncontrolled access" and "controlled
access".

Cell Rate Decoupling:

The cell rate decoupling functions at the sending entity adds unassigned
cells to the assigned cell stream (i.e., cells with valid payload) to be
transmitted, transforming a non-continuous stream of assigned cells into
continuous stream of assigned and unassigned cells. At the receiving
entity, the opposite operation is performed.

DCW ATM-Protocol-24
 VIRTUAL CHANNEL AND VIRTUAL PATH

Two levels of virtual connections are supported at the UNI:

 A point-to-point or point-to-multipoint Virtual Channel Connection

(VCC) which consists of a single connection established between two
ATM VCC endpoints.

 A point-to-point or point-to-multipoint Virtual Path Connection (VPC)

which consists of a bundle of VCCs carried transparently between two
ATM VPC endpoints.

From a single source, the relay of cells within a VPC/VCC in the network will
preserve cell sequence integrity.

VPCs and VCCs are identified by Virtual Path Identifiers (VPIs) and Virtual
Channel Identifiers (VCIs). Cells can be switched at the VP or VC levels. The
VPIs and VCIs are only significant link by link.

VP switch is analogous to digital cross connect.

DCW ATM-Protocol-25
 ATM CELL FORMAT (UNI)
The format of ATM cells at User Network Interface is as follows:

GFC: Generic Flow Control

VPI: Virtual Path Identifier
VCI: Virtual Circuit Identifier
PTI: Payload Type Indicator
CLP: Cell Loss Priority
HEC: Header Error Control

Number of VPs available = ?

Number of VCs available = ?

DCW ATM-Protocol-26
 ATM CELL FORMAT (NNI)

The format of ATM cells in NNI is as follows:

VPI: Virtual Path Identifier

VCI: Virtual Circuit Identifier
PTI: Payload Type Indicator
CLP: Cell Loss Priority
HEC: Header Error Control

Number of VPs available at NNI = ?

Number of VCs available at NNI = ?

DCW ATM-Protocol-27
 CELL STRUCTURE DESCRIPTION
Generic Flow Control (GFC):
GFC field has 4 bits. For uncontrolled access, this field is zero.

VPI/VCI Field:
The VPI/VCI field is used to identify an ATM link. In the UNI format, a
24-bit field is used; while in the NNI format, a 28-bit field is used.

Payload Type Identification (PTI) Field:

A 3-bit field to identify the payload type.
PTI Coding Interpretation
000 User_Data_Cell, Congestion_Experienced=False, SDU_Type=0
001 User_Data_Cell, Congestion_Experienced=False, SDU_Type=1
010 User_Data_Cell, Congestion_Experienced=True, SDU_Type=0
011 User_Data_Cell, Congestion_Experienced=True, SDU_Type=1
100 Segment OAM F5 flow cell
101 End-to-End OAM F5 flow cell
110 ABR RM cell
111 Reserved
SDU_Type is used by AAL5 to distinguish between cells which contains
the last segment of an AAL5_PDU and those which do not.

Cell_Loss_Priority (CLP) field:

CLP field is 1 bit long. It is used to indicate the cell loss priority within a
ATM peer-to-peer connection. A CLP bit equal to zero indicates higher
priority. Upon entering the network, a cell with CLP value equals to 1 may
be subject to discard depending on network traffic condition.

Header Error Check (HEC) field:

The HEC is an 8-bit field. The generator polynomial used is X8+X2+X+1.

DCW ATM-Protocol-28
 ATM CELL TYPES

Cells are identified by (1) their VPIs and VCIs and (2) Payload Type
Identification (PTI).

 Unassigned Cells

 Assigned cells (VP/VC Traffic Cells)

- user data
- meta-signaling (VCI=1)
used to set up the signaling channel
- broadcasting signaling (VCI=2)
used to set up the broadcasting channels
- point-to-point signaling (VCI=5)
used to set up point-to-point channels
- OAM cells
network operation, administration and maintenance cells

DCW ATM-Protocol-29
 ATM LAYER MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
Metasignaling
The ATM layer management entity manages various types of signaling.

Fault Management
Functions include alarm surveillance, loop back and continuity check
of ATM peer-to-peer connections.

Performance Management
The ATM layer management performs performance monitoring and
reporting.

Connection Management
The ATM layer management performs the establishment and
termination of ATM peer-to-peer connections.

Resource Management
Used by ABR.

Security Management

DCW ATM-Protocol-30
 ATM ADAPTATION LAYER

 ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL) Functionalities

 AAL Classes Supported and AAL Types

 AAL Protocol Data Unit Formats and Functionalities

AAL1
AAL2
AAL3/4
AAL5
SAAL

DCW ATM-Protocol-31
 ATM ADAPTATION LAYER (AAL)
FUNCTIONALITIES

According to CCITT I.362, the ATM adaptation layer (AAL) enhances

the services provided by the ATM layer to support the functions
required by the next higher layer. The AAL performs functions required
by the user, control and management planes and support the mapping
between the ATM layer and the next higher layer. The functions
performed in the AAL depend upon the higher layer requirements. The
AAL supports multiple protocols to fit the needs of the different AAL
service users.

The AAL isolates the higher layer from the specific characteristics of
the ATM layer by mapping the higher layer PDUs into the information
field of the ATM cell and vice versa. The AAL entities exchange
information with the peer AAL entities to support the AAL functions.

DCW ATM-Protocol-32
 ATM ADAPTATION LAYER (AAL)
SERVICE CLASSES AND AAL TYPES

Currently, the ATM standards specifications define that AAL supports

four classes of services for users.

Class A Class B Class C Class D

Timing between
source & Related Not Related
destination
Bit rate Constant Variable
Connection Connection Oriented Connectionless
Mode
Examples of Circuit variable bit connection- connectionless
services emulation, rate video oriented data data transfer
voice transfer
AAL Type 1 2 3,5 4,5

The purpose of AAL is thus to accommodate all possible services.

Thus, the AAL is service dependent. The classes of services and AAL
types are specified during call establishment. Once a connection has
been setup, its class and type are identified by the VPI/VCI of the
connection.

AAL type used in a connection is specified during the connection set

up.

DCW ATM-Protocol-33
In general, the services can be categorized into constant bit rate
(CBR), variable bit rate (VBR), available bit rate (ABR), unspecified bit
rate (UBR), and guaranteed frame rate (GFR) services. The VBR
services can be real-time (rt-VBR) and non-real-time (nrt-VBR).

In CBR, users are transmitting data periodically to the network and the
rate of data transmission is constant. In VBR, users’ data is bursty.
Users may send a large amount of data at one time; while at other
time, some users may not send anything at all. When a user is sending
a large amount of data, he can not exceed the maximum rate that he
has subscribed to.

ABR services are similar to VBR services. In ABR, users’ data is also
very bursty. However, unlike VBR, the ABR users do not specify the
maximum rate. The network will use whatever bandwidth it has to
transmit ABR users’ data. If the network has little bandwidth, ABR
users’ data may be dropped. The network will guarantee a minimum
cell rate for the user. This is also sometimes called the best effort (BE)
service. UBR service is similar to ABR service, except there is no
guarantee of any minimum cell rate.

We can define the following:

PCR: peak cell rate (the maximum cell rate a user can send to the
network)
SCR: sustained cell rate (the average cell rate)
LCR: line cell rate (the rate if cells are sent at the line speed, such as
96,000 cells/second for DS-3)
ECR: effective cell rate that a user would experience
MCR: minimum cell rate

Then, for CBR ECR = PCR = SCR  LCR

for VBR ECR  SCR < PCR  LCR
for ABR MCR  ECR  LCR
for UBR ECR  LCR

DCW ATM-Protocol-34
 AAL1 SERVICES AND FUNCTIONS
The services provided by AAL1 to the higher layer are:
 transfer of service data units (SDUs) with a constant source bit
rate and the delivery of them with the same bit rate;
 transfer of timing information between source and destination;
 indication of lost or errored information, which is not recovered
by AAL1.

Functions performed by AAL1 in order to provide the above services

are:
 segmentation and reassembly (SAR)
 handling of cell delay variation
 handling of lost and mis-inserted cells
 source clock frequency recovery at the receiver
 monitoring of AAL protocol control information (PCI) for bit error
 handling of AAL1-PCI bit errors

Two types of AAL1 user layer data transfer can be supported:

- Unstructured Data Transfer (UDT):
With this, AAL1 treats AAL1 user information as a bit stream with an
associated service clock. Examples are transferring the whole T1 or
DS-3.
- Structured Data Transfer (SDT):
This capability supports the transport of constant bit rate service
with octet-based block structure. An example is the transport of N X
64Kb/s (or N X DS0).

DCW ATM-Protocol-35
 AAL1 SUBLAYERS

The functions of AAL1 are grouped into two sublayers: AAL1-SAR

(segmentation and reassembly) and AAL1-CS (convergence
sublayer).

 Generation of 47-octect AAL1_SAR_SDUs and the

values of convergence sublayer indicator (CSI)
subfield and sequence count (SC) subfield at the
sending AAL1 entity
AAL1-CS  Detection of missing AAL1_SAR_SDUs at the
receiving AAL1 entity
 Detection of a starvation condition at the receiving
AAL1 entity
 Maintenance of bit-count integrity to the AAL1 user
by the receiving entity through the generation of
dummy information triggered by the detection of
missing AAL1_SAR_SDUs or a starvation condition
 Recovery of service clock at the receiving entity
 Generation of 48-octect AAL1_SAR_PDUs at the
sending AAL1 entity
AAL1-SAR  Transfer of AAL1_SAR_PDUs to the ATM layer and
monitoring for the discard of AAL1_SAR_PDUs to
relieve congestion
 Receiving ATM_SDUs at the receiving AAL1 entity
 Processing of received ATM_SDUs as 48-octect
AAL1_SAR_PDUs and passing the results to the
AAL1-CS at the receiving AAL1 entity

DCW ATM-Protocol-36
 AAL1_SAR_PDU FORMAT (UDT)

The AAL1_SAR_PDU consists of 1-octect header followed by 47-

octect payload (AAL1_SAR_SDU). The AAL1_SAR_PDU becomes
the 48-octect ATM_SDU.

SN (Sequence Number)
CSI: Convergence Sublayer Indicator (1 bit)
CSIs of the odd numbered cells are used to carry the time
stamping information for clock recovery. CSIs of the even
numbered cells are used to indicate P-format cell (used for
SDT).
Sequence Count (3 bits)
The SC subfield is used for the transport of a binary
encoded sequence count value between peer AAL1-CS
entities.

SNP (Sequence Number Protection)

CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check (3 bits)
Parity (1 bit)

These SAR_PDUs are called non-P formatted.

DCW ATM-Protocol-37
 AAL1_SAR_PDU FORMAT (SDT)
The structured data transfer (SDT) AAL1_SAR-PDU format is similar
to that of the unstructured data transfer (UDT). However, SDT uses
both non-P and P-formatted PDUs. The P-formatted AAL1_SAR_PDU
is one of the even SAR-PDUs with CSI bit set to 1. (Note that the CSI
bits of the odd number cells are used to carry time stamp information.)

When the PDU is P-formatted, the first octet in the 47-octet payload is
used as a pointer which contains the offset, in octets, between the end
of the pointer field and the first start of the structured block in the 93
octet payload (i.e., 46 octets of this SAR_PDU and the 47 octets of the
next SAR_PDU). The format of the P-formatted AAL1_SAR-PDU is

SN field SNP field SP field Payload

(4 bits) (4 bits) (1 octet) (46 octets)

Sequence Even
CSI CRC Parity Offset field
Count Parity AAL1_CS_PDU (46 octets)
(1 bit) (3 bits) (1 bit) (7 bits)
(3 bits) Bit

The P-format is used exactly once in every cycle of eight consecutive

SAR-PDUs with sequence count values 0 to 7. The P-format is used at
the first available opportunity in the cycle to point to a start of a
structure boundary. Since the P-format payload only occurs in the
even numbered cell, the offset ranges between 0 and 93 inclusive. The
offset value 93 is used to indicate that the end of the 93 octet payload
coincides with the end of a structured block. If neither a start nor the
end of a structured block is present in a cycle, then the P-format with
offset value=127 is used at the cell with sequence count value of 6.

The size of the structured block is declared during the connection

establishment in the SETUP message of Q.2931. It is one of the AAL1
parameters.

DCW ATM-Protocol-38
 SENDING AAL1 ENTITY PROCESSES

SRTS: Synchronous Residual Time Stamp

SN: Sequence Number
SNP: Sequence Number Protection

DCW ATM-Protocol-39
 RECEIVING AAL1 ENTITY PROCESSES

DCW ATM-Protocol-40
 AAL 2 OVERVIEW

The AAL type 2 (AAL2) provides for the bandwidth-efficient

transmission of low-rate, short, and variable length packets in delay
sensitive applications. More than one AAL type 2 user information
stream can be supported on a single ATM connection. Examples of
applications are cellular telephone, compressed voice, wireless data,
etc.

The goals for AAL2 are:

- To shorten cell-assemble time to reduce delay for the low rate
applications,
- To increase bandwidth usage efficiency in the network.

AAL2 protocol structure is specified in ITU I.363.2. As shown in the

following figure, AAL2 consists of two parts: common part sub-layer
(CPS) and service specific convergence sub-layer (SSCS). SSCS
varies according to the higher layer user data, and may be null. CPS is
user data and application independent, and provides common
functions to all AAL2 applications. Other elements of AAL2 are AAL2
Negotiation Procedures (ANP) and Operation and Maintenance (OAM)
functions.

User Data
AAL Service Access Point

SSCS (may be null)

AAL2
CPS

ATM Service Access Point

ATM

DCW ATM-Protocol-41
 AAL2 FUNCTIONS AND SERVICES
Issues of low bit rate voice over ATM:

The following figure shows cellular phone connections over an ATM

network. The voice is encoded at 8Kb/s. Thus, it takes about 50
milliseconds for each voice channel to fill up the ATM cell payload.
This is a very long delay.

Base
Station
ATM switch
User 3 (A) Leased line (e.g.,T1, DS-3)
(B)
User 2 ATM cell assembler/disassembler
User 1

10 ms
(A) Low bit rate voice
per channel (e.g.,
8Kbps)
10 octets
(B) ATM cells
ATM cell
ATM cell Payload
header
(48 octets)

On the other hand, if the base station does not wait for more voice
samples to fill out the whole payload in an ATM cell, then the
bandwidth is wasted. In the figure above, it maybe only ten octets of
voice are in an ATM cell, the other 38 bytes in the ATM cell payload
are not used. The efficiency is
10/53 (=19%).

DCW ATM-Protocol-42
Issues with low bit rate applications and the solution:

As noted earlier, it takes a long time for a single low-bit-rate application

to fill up an ATM cell payload. However, there are usually many users
accessing the network at the same time. One way to save bandwidth
is to multiplex the data (e.g., voice, data packets) from various users
into one ATM cell.

User Data (e.g., voice) User 1 User 2 User 3 User 1 User 3

Header Payload

ATM Adaptation Layer Type 2

(AAL2)

48 octets
CPCS Packet

ATM Layer

ATM cell

By doing this, we do not need to wait for one single user to fill up the
payload of an ATM cell (which takes a long time), and instead, we fill
up the payload with data from several other users. Thus, we can use
the bandwidth more efficiently.

Since a cell now may contain data from more than one user, data from
each individual user needs to be clearly identified, and their
boundaries need to be marked. The marking of the data from different
users, the delineation of the boundaries, and the multiplexing of the
data into 48-byte payload are the functions of AAL2.

DCW ATM-Protocol-43
 AAL2 PROTOCOL FORMAT
The following figure shows how the user data packet is passing
through various sub-layers of the AAL2. In this figure,
PDU: Packet data unit
SDU: Service data unit
CPS-PH: CPS-packet header
CPS-PP: CPS-packet payload
STF: Start field

User Packet

AAL-SDU
SSCS

SSCS-PDU
SSCS-PDU SSCS-PDU
Header payload
(If present) Trailer (If present)

CPS-SDU
AAL

CPS-PH CPS-PP
CPS

From other user packet

CPS-Packet
STF CPS-PDU Payload CPS-PDU Payload

CPS-PDU (48 octet)

Cell Cell payload

ATM header
ATM cell (53 octet)

The CPS-packet format is as follows:

CID LI UUI HEC CPS-INFO

CPS-Packet Header CPS-Packet Payload

(3 Octets) (Variable Length)

CPCS-Packet

Where: CID: Channel identifier (8 bits)

LI: Length indicator (6 bits)
UUI: User-to-user indication (5 bits)
HEC: Header error control (5 bits)
CPS-INFO: Information (1 to 45/64 octets)

DCW ATM-Protocol-44
CPS-Packet header is 3-octets long and consists of four fields.

Channel Identifier (CID)

To identify SSCS PDU
0 not used
1 reserved for layer management (e.g. ANP)
2-7 reserved
8-255 identification of SSCS entity

Length Indicator (LI)

One less than CPS-packet payload length

Maximum CPS-packet payload length

Default – 45 octets optional – 64 octets

User-to-User Indication (UUI)

- To convey specific information transparently between the CPS
users, SSCS entities or layer management
- To distinguish between the SSCS entities and layer
management users
0 – 27 for SSCS entities
28-29 reserved for future standardization
30-31 for layer management

Header Error Control (HEC)

Used for error detection only

CPS-INFO
CPS-packet payload has a variable length

DCW ATM-Protocol-45
The CPS-PDU format is as follows:
ATM
Cell S P CPS- CPS- CPS-
OSF Packet Packet Packet PAD
Header N
Start Field
(1 oct.) CPS-PDU Payload (47 oct.)

CPS-PDU (48 octets)

The start field consists of three fields:

Offset Field (OSF)

- To indicate the position in octets of the first CPS-packet
- 0 –46 first CPS-packet boundary (o means next to OSF)
- 47 means no CPS-packet boundary

Sequence Number (SN)

- modular 2

Parity (P)
- Odd parity of STF field
- For error detection

A CPS-packet may be splitted and carried by two CPS-PDU.

Note that if the CPS-packets can not fill the whole 48-octets ATM cell
payload, pad is used. Padding field is set to all “0”.

Error Detection:
- CPS-packet HEC error detected, discard the rest of CPS-PDU
- CPS-PDU STF parity error detect, discard the whole CPS-
PDU.

DCW ATM-Protocol-46
 AAL3/4 SUBLAYERS

The AAL type 3/4 (AAL3/4) consists of two parts, a common part (CP)
and a service specific part (SSP). The SSP is used to provide those
additional capabilities, beyond those provided by the CP, that are
necessary to support the user of the AAL3/4. For some applications,
the SSP will be null.

The functions of the AAL3/4 common part have been grouped into two
sublayers, the segmentation and reassembly (CPAAL3/4_SAR)
sublayer and the convergence sublayer (CPAAL3/4_CS).

DCW ATM-Protocol-47
 SERVICE PROVIDED TO UPPER LAYER BY
AAL3/4

The CPAAL3/4 provides for sequential and transparent transfer of

variable length, octet-oriented CPAAL3/4_SDUs from one CPAAL3/4
user to one or more CPAAL3/4 users.

AAL3/4 began as two separate AAL types, AAL3 for connection-

oriented variable-rate data service and AAL4 connectionless variable-
rate data service. As the protocol specifications evolved, the same
procedures turned to be necessary for both types, and the
specifications were merged to become the AAL3/4 type.

This layer provides two services:

 Message Mode Service:

In this service mode, the CPAAL3/4_SDU passed across the
CPAAL3/4 interface is exactly equal to one CPAAL3/4 Interface
Data Unit (CPAAL3/4_IDU).

 Streaming Mode Service:

In this service mode, the CPAAL3/4_SDU passed across the
CPAAL3/4/ interface uses one or more CPAAL3/4_IDUs. (In
another word, the CPAAL3/4_SDU consists of higher layer
SDUs.) The transfer of these CPAAL3/4_IDUs across the
CPAAL3/4 interface may occur separated time. This service may
pipeline the CPAAL3/4_SDU.

DCW ATM-Protocol-48
 CPAAL3/4 FUNCTIONS

AAL3/4 common part performs the following functions:

 Data transfer
Transfer of CPAAL3/4 user information (CPAAL3/4_SDUs)
between CPAAL3/4 users

 Preservation of CPAAL3/4_SDUs
Delineation and transparency of CPAAL3/4_SDUs.

 CPAAL3/4_SDU segmentation
Segmentation of CPAAL3/4_SDU into segments of up to 44
octets.

 CPAAL3/4_SDU reassembly
Construct CPAAL3/4_SDUs from the CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDUs
delivered by the ATM layer

 Error detection
Detect and handle bit errors, lost or gained information and
incorrectly reassembled CPAAL3/4_SDUs.

 Multiplexing an demultiplexing
Multiplexing and demultiplexing of multiple CPAAL3/4
connections or interleaving of CPAAL3/4_CS_PDUs. The
number of connections supported over an AUU connection as
well as message identifier is defined at the connection
establishment (for SVC) or provisioning (for PVC).

 CPAAL3/4_SDU abort
Abort partially transmitted or received CPAAL3/4_SDU.

 Pipelining
Forward partial PDUs to the next functional unit before the full
PDU has been collected.

DCW ATM-Protocol-49
COMMON PART AAL3/4_SAR_PDU FORMAT

ST: Segment Type (2 bits)

Indicates whether a CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDU is the beginning of a
message (BOM), the continuation of a message (COM), the end
of a message (EOM) or a single segment message (SSM).

ST Encoding
BOM 10
COM 00
EOM 01
SSM 11

SN: Sequence Number (modulo 16) (4 bits)

Used to identify the sequential position of the
CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDU.

MID: Message Identifier (10 bits)

Used to identify CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDUs on a given AUU
connection that are part of the same CPAAL3/4_CS_PDU.

User Information

FILL:
Padding to make the CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDU payload field equal
to 44 octets.

DCW ATM-Protocol-50
LI: Length Indicator (6 bits)
Used to indicate the length of the user information field.
In the message mode service, if CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDU ST=BOM
or COM, the value of the length indicator (LI) field is always 44.
In the streaming mode service, the value of LI could be less than
44 for ST=BOM or COM CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDUs.

CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check (10 bits)

CRC calculation performed over the entire
CPAAL3/4_SAR_PDU.

DCW ATM-Protocol-51
 COMMON PART AAL3/4_CS_PDU FORMAT

CPI (Common Part Indicator)

Used to identify the message type (i.e., to interpret the
subsequent fields in the header and trailer) and to indicate the
counting unit for the values specified in BASize and Length.

Btag:
Used to detect misassembling error conditions through
correlation with the Btag in the trailer.

BASize:
Used to indicate the maximum buffering requirements to receive
a CPAAL3/4_CS_PDU. This field value shall be greater or equal
to the length of the user information.

User Information:
The maximum length of this field is 65,535 octets.

Pad:
Used to force the CPAAL3/4_CS_PDU payload field to be 32-bit
aligned.

AL:
Used as a filler to achieve 32-bit alignment in
CPAAL3/4_CS_PDU trailer.

Length:
Used to indicate the length of the user information contained in
the CPAAL3/4_CS_PDU payload field. Used by the receiver to
detect the loss or gain of information.

DCW ATM-Protocol-52
 AAL5 SERVICES AND FUNCTIONS

The services provided by AAL type 5 (AAL5) to the higher layer are
similar to those by AAL3/4. It provides for sequential and transparent
transfer of variable length, octet-oriented CPAAL5_SDUs from one
CPAAL5 user to one or more CPAAL5 users. However, it does not
perform multiplexing/demultiplexing as AAL3/4 does.

Like AAL3/4, AAL type 5 provides both message mode service and
streaming mode service. Both modes of service may offer the following
peer-to-peer operational procedures:

 Assured operation:
Every assured AAL5_SDU is delivered with exactly the data
content that the user sent.
 Non-assured operation:
Integral AAL_SDUs may be lost or corrupted.

The functions performed by AAL5 are also the same of those

performed by AAL3/4.

DCW ATM-Protocol-53
 AAL5 SUBLAYERS

AAL type 5 is called simple efficient adaptation layer (SEAL).

The AAL type 5 (AAL5) consists of two parts, a common part (CP) and
a service specific convergence sublayer (SSCS). The SSCS is used to
provide those additional capabilities, beyond those provided by the
CP, that are necessary to support the user of the AAL5. For some
applications, the SSP will be null.

The functions of the AAL5 common part have been grouped into two
sublayers, the segmentation and reassembly (CPAAL5_SAR) sublayer
and the convergence sublayer (CPAAL5_CPCS).

AAL5
Primitive

Null
SSCS SSCS

Common
Part
AAL5
Primitive

Convergence Sublayer
(CPCS)
Common Part
Segmentation &
Reassembly (SAR)

DCW ATM-Protocol-54
 COMMON PART AAL5_PDU FORMAT

The CPAAL_CS_PDU consists of the payload and the trailer.

UU: User-User field

CPI: Common Part Indicator
Length: Length of CPAAL5_SDU

DCW ATM-Protocol-55
 COMMON PART AAL5_PDU FORMAT
User Data:
This field carries the CPAAL5_SDU. This field is octet-aligned
and can range from 0 to 65535 octets in length.

Pad:
This field is used to align the entire CPAAL5_PDU (including the
trailer) on 48-octet boundary.

User-User:
This field contains one octet user-user information.

CPI:
This common part indicator (CPI) is 1 octet and is reserved for
supporting future CPAAL5 functions.

Length:
This field indicates the length of the CPAAL5_SDU in the
CPAAL5_PDU. The receiver uses this field to determine the
boundary between the user data and the PAD field.

CRC32:
CRC32 calculation is performed over the entire
CPAAL5_CS_PDU.

DCW ATM-Protocol-56
 CPAAL5_SAR_PDU FORMAT

The sending AAL5 entity segments the CPAAL5_PDU into 48 segment

units and transmits them to the ATM layer.

The receiving AAL5 entity reassembles the CPAAL5_SAR_PDUs into

the CPAAL5_PDU.

The CPAAL5_SAR_PDU format is as follows:

AAL-user Information
(48 octets)

DCW ATM-Protocol-57