Bandwidth allocation, traffic control and topology design in ATM overlay networks

The virtual path (VP) feature of ATM allows the implementation of " virtual" overlay networks which can be used for various applications. The design of these overlay networks poses new challenges in the areas of bandwidth allocation, congestion control and topology design. In the paper the authors examine two specific examples of overlay networks: broad-band virtual private networks (BVPNs) and connectionless server (CLS) networks. For BVPNs, the authors attack the problem of bandwidth allocation and congestion control, and compare two different policing strategies. For CLS nets, they pose the problem of topology design, and propose a heuristic solution.