ATM and the Internet: a perfect match?

Summary form only given. The transformation of the Internet from what was once considered to be an academic adventure to a large-scale commercial data network is now complete. The original Internet structure which consisted of a hierarchy of regional networks interconnected by the NSF-funded backbone has now been fully replaced by a more complex interconnection of commercial ISP networks providing a broad range of services to consumers and businesses in addition to research, government and educational institutions supported by the earlier Internet. The invention of the World Wide Web and the rapid proliferation of Web based applications, tools, and services has led to an explosion of traffic growth on the Internet. Statistics show a doubling of bandwidth demand on the Internet every 3 to 4 months. Compounding the traffic growth are the demands created by emerging real-time voice, video, and multimedia applications that are pushing the envelope of today's Internet technologies. ATM, the multimedia networking technology considered by its proponents to be the networking industry's nirvana, may have finally found its elusive killer application-the Internet! Or has it? Will ATM with its intrinsic speed and quality of service (QoS) advantages be able to displace routers as the core Internet switching engine, or will the resurgence of gigabit routing, RSVP, and packet over-SONET technologies once again thwart ATM's attempt to dethrone the incumbent? This article examines the role that ATM can play in providing the appropriate infrastructure for scaling the Internet well into the next century.