Satellite full mesh ATM LAN:: interconnection, satellite access scheme, signaling and performance

This paper presents the main results of a study which investigated the opportunities to use the geostationary satellite for the interconnection of ATM LAN's in a meshed configuration. The strategical aspects in terms of user requirements, infrastructure evolution and ATM equipment availability are first analyzed. Both short and long term scenarios are considered in this paper. For the short term, a configuration involving only minor modifications to existing equipment is proposed while for the long term a more efficient configuration is outlined. Several satellite access schemes are compared and one scheme is selected respectively for the short term and the long term scenario. The modifications to ATM equipment available today for the satellite gateway are evaluated together with the issues related to the set-up of a connection. The elements of the system which affect the overall performance are analyzed.