An ATM protocol for local access and control of internal/external traffic

A new protocol is proposed to regulate the local media access to a private asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch as well as to control the flow of traffic that is either internal or external to such a switch. A mechanism, which guarantees a certain bandwidth by providing a fixed number of credits per timeslot to competing terminals, is modified to permit intermediate resets for those unsatisfied terminals. The intermediate resets are issued by a "master" that provides extra credits depending on the state of the total local network. These intermediate resets, together with a defined advanced granting procedure, are shown to significantly improve performance while guaranteeing an acceptable bandwidth provided by the wide area network. This work and related simulation results use only the emerging star configuration in local ATM networks.<
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