Broadband ISDN

Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) is an extension of the original ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network) technology, designed to support higher data rates and a wider range of services,
including high-speed data, video, and multimedia applications. B-ISDN was developed to meet
the growing demand for bandwidth-intensive applications and to provide a more flexible and
scalable network infrastructure.
Key Features of Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN)
1. High Data Rates:
o B-ISDN supports much higher data rates compared to narrowband ISDN, ranging
from 155 Mbps to several Gbps.
o Enables the transmission of high-quality video, multimedia, and large data files.
2. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):
o B-ISDN uses ATM as its core technology for data transmission.
o ATM is a cell-based switching technology that uses fixed-size cells (53 bytes) for
efficient and high-speed data transfer.
3. Support for Multiple Services:
o B-ISDN can handle a wide range of services, including voice, video, data, and
multimedia, on a single network.
o Supports both real-time (e.g., video conferencing) and non-real-time (e.g., file
transfer) applications.
4. Scalability:
o B-ISDN is designed to be scalable, allowing it to adapt to future increases in
bandwidth demand.
5. Quality of Service (QoS):
o B-ISDN provides mechanisms for ensuring QoS, such as prioritizing traffic and
managing network resources to meet the requirements of different applications.
B-ISDN Services
B-ISDN supports a wide range of services, categorized into two main types:
1. Interactive Services:
o Conversational Services: Real-time communication, such as video conferencing
and VoIP.
o Messaging Services: Email and multimedia messaging.
o Retrieval Services: On-demand access to information, such as video-on-
demand.
2. Distribution Services:
o Broadcast Services: One-way transmission of audio and video, such as TV
broadcasting.
o Multicast Services: One-to-many transmission, such as live streaming.
Advantages of B-ISDN
1. High Bandwidth: Supports high data rates, making it suitable for bandwidth-intensive
applications.
2. Flexibility: Can handle a wide range of services and applications on a single network.
 3. Quality of Service (QoS): Provides mechanisms for ensuring reliable and high-quality
communication.
4. Scalability: Designed to accommodate future increases in bandwidth demand.
Disadvantages of B-ISDN
1. Complexity: Requires sophisticated equipment and protocols, such as ATM.
2. Cost: High implementation and maintenance costs.
3. Limited Adoption: B-ISDN was largely overshadowed by other broadband technologies,
such as DSL, cable, and fiber-optic networks.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) in Computer
Network
Last Updated : 02 Nov, 2021


Why ATM networks?

1. Driven by the integration of services and performance requirements of both telephony and
data networking: “broadband integrated service vision” (B-ISON).

2. Telephone networks support a single quality of service and are expensive to boot.

3. Internet supports no quality of service but is flexible and cheap.

4. ATM networks were meant to support a range of service qualities at a reasonable cost-
intended to subsume both the telephone network and the Internet.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):

It is an International Telecommunication Union- Telecommunications Standards Section
(ITU-T) efficient for call relay and it transmits all information including multiple service
types such as data, video, or voice which is conveyed in small fixed-size packets called cells.
Cells are transmitted asynchronously and the network is connection-oriented.
ATM is a technology that has some event in the development of broadband ISDN in the
1970s and 1980s, which can be considered an evolution of packet switching. Each cell is 53
bytes long – 5 bytes header and 48 bytes payload. Making an ATM call requires first sending
a message to set up a connection.
Subsequently, all cells follow the same path to the destination. It can handle both constant
rate traffic and variable rate traffic. Thus it can carry multiple types of traffic with end-to-
end quality of service. ATM is independent of a transmission medium, they may be sent on a
wire or fiber by themselves or they may also be packaged inside the payload of other carrier
systems. ATM networks use “Packet” or “cell” Switching with virtual circuits. Its design
helps in the implementation of high-performance multimedia networking.
ATM Cell Format –
As information is transmitted in ATM in the form of fixed-size units called cells. As known
already each cell is 53 bytes long which consists of a 5 bytes header and 48 bytes payload.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode can be of two format types which are as follows:

1. UNI Header: This is used within private networks of ATMs for communication between
ATM endpoints and ATM switches. It includes the Generic Flow Control (GFC) field.

2. NNI Header: is used for communication between ATM switches, and it does not include
the Generic Flow Control(GFC) instead it includes a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) which
occupies the first 12 bits.

Working of ATM:
ATM standard uses two types of connections. i.e., Virtual path connections (VPCs) which
consist of Virtual channel connections (VCCs) bundled together which is a basic unit
carrying a single stream of cells from user to user. A virtual path can be created end-to-end
across an ATM network, as it does not rout the cells to a particular virtual circuit. In case of
major failure, all cells belonging to a particular virtual path are routed the same way through
the ATM network, thus helping in faster recovery.
Switches connected to subscribers use both VPIs and VCIs to switch the cells which are
Virtual Path and Virtual Connection switches that can have different virtual channel
connections between them, serving the purpose of creating a virtual trunk between the
switches which can be handled as a single entity. Its basic operation is straightforward by
looking up the connection value in the local translation table determining the outgoing port
of the connection and the new VPI/VCI value of connection on that link.
ATM vs DATA Networks (Internet) –

 ATM is a “virtual circuit” based: the path is reserved before transmission. While Internet
Protocol (IP) is connectionless and end-to-end resource reservations are not possible.
RSVP is a new signaling protocol on the internet.

 ATM Cells: Fixed or small size and Tradeoff is between voice or data. While IP packets
are of variable size.

 Addressing: ATM uses 20-byte global NSAP addresses for signaling and 32-bit locally
assigned labels in cells. While IP uses 32-bit global addresses in all packets.

ATM Layers:
1. ATM Adaption Layer (AAL) –
It is meant for isolating higher-layer protocols from details of ATM processes and
prepares for conversion of user data into cells and segments it into 48-byte cell payloads.
AAL protocol excepts transmission from upper-layer services and helps them in mapping
applications, e.g., voice, data to ATM cells.

2. Physical Layer –
It manages the medium-dependent transmission and is divided into two parts physical
medium-dependent sublayer and transmission convergence sublayer. The main functions
are as follows:
 It converts cells into a bitstream.
 It controls the transmission and receipt of bits in the physical medium.
 It can track the ATM cell boundaries.
 Look for the packaging of cells into the appropriate type of frames.
3. ATM Layer –
It handles transmission, switching, congestion control, cell header processing, sequential
delivery, etc., and is responsible for simultaneously sharing the virtual circuits over the
physical link known as cell multiplexing and passing cells through an ATM network
known as cell relay making use of the VPI and VCI information in the cell header.

ATM Applications:

1. ATM WANs –
It can be used as a WAN to send cells over long distances, a router serving as an end-
point between ATM network and other networks, which has two stacks of the protocol.

2. Multimedia virtual private networks and managed services –

It helps in managing ATM, LAN, voice, and video services and is capable of full-service
virtual private networking, which includes integrated access to multimedia.

3. Frame relay backbone –

Frame relay services are used as a networking infrastructure for a range of data services
and enabling frame-relay ATM service to Internetworking services.

4. Residential broadband networks –

ATM is by choice provides the networking infrastructure for the establishment of
residential broadband services in the search of highly scalable solutions.

5. Carrier infrastructure for telephone and private line networks –

To make more effective use of SONET/SDH fiber infrastructures by building the ATM
infrastructure for carrying the telephonic and private-line traffic.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) in Computer Networks

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a high-speed, cell-based switching and multiplexing

technology designed to handle voice, video, and data communication over a single network. It
was developed as part of the Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) standard to support high-bandwidth
applications and provide Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees.

Key Features of ATM

1. Cell-Based Transmission:
o ATM uses fixed-size cells (53 bytes) for data transmission.
o Each cell consists of a 5-byte header and a 48-byte payload.
o Fixed cell size ensures predictable performance and efficient switching.
2. Connection-Oriented:
o ATM establishes a virtual connection between source and destination before data
transfer.
o Uses Virtual Paths (VP) and Virtual Channels (VC) to manage connections.
3. High Speed:
o Supports data rates ranging from 155 Mbps to several Gbps.
o Ideal for high-bandwidth applications like video conferencing and multimedia
streaming.
4. Quality of Service (QoS):
o Provides QoS guarantees for different types of traffic (e.g., voice, video, data).
o Supports traffic management and prioritization.
5. Scalability:
o Can be used in both local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs).
o Suitable for small-scale and large-scale networks.

ATM Protocol Architecture

ATM follows a layered architecture, similar to the OSI model:
1. Physical Layer:
o Defines the physical medium and transmission rates.
o Common standards: SONET/SDH, T1/E1, and fiber-optic cables.
2. ATM Layer:
o Handles cell switching, routing, and multiplexing.
o Manages Virtual Paths (VP) and Virtual Channels (VC).
 Adds/removes ATM cell headers.
o
3. ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL):
o Adapts higher-layer protocols to the ATM layer.
o Divided into two sublayers:
 Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR): Breaks data into cells and
reassembles them.
 Convergence Sublayer (CS): Provides service-specific functions (e.g.,
error detection, timing).
o Different AAL types (AAL1, AAL2, AAL3/4, AAL5) are used for different traffic
types.

ATM Cell Structure

 Header (5 bytes):
o Contains control information, such as Virtual Path Identifier (VPI), Virtual Channel
Identifier (VCI), and QoS parameters.
 Payload (48 bytes):
o Carries user data.

Advantages of ATM
1. High Performance: Supports high data rates and low latency.
2. QoS Guarantees: Ensures reliable delivery for time-sensitive applications.
3. Flexibility: Handles multiple traffic types (voice, video, data) on a single network.
4. Scalability: Suitable for both small and large networks.

Disadvantages of ATM
1. Complexity: Requires sophisticated equipment and configuration.
2. Cost: Expensive to implement and maintain.
3. Overhead: Fixed cell size can lead to inefficiency for small data packets.

Applications of ATM
 Multimedia Streaming: Supports high-quality video and audio.
 Telecommunications: Used in backbone networks for voice and data.
 Enterprise Networks: Connects remote offices and supports cloud services.
 ATM LANs: Provides high-speed connectivity in local networks.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) in Computer

Network


Why ATM networks?

1. Driven by the integration of services and performance requirements of both telephony and
data networking: “broadband integrated service vision” (B-ISON).

2. Telephone networks support a single quality of service and are expensive to boot.

3. Internet supports no quality of service but is flexible and cheap.

4. ATM networks were meant to support a range of service qualities at a reasonable cost-
intended to subsume both the telephone network and the Internet.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM):

It is an International Telecommunication Union- Telecommunications Standards Section
(ITU-T) efficient for call relay and it transmits all information including multiple service
types such as data, video, or voice which is conveyed in small fixed-size packets called cells.
Cells are transmitted asynchronously and the network is connection-oriented.
ATM is a technology that has some event in the development of broadband ISDN in the
1970s and 1980s, which can be considered an evolution of packet switching. Each cell is 53
bytes long – 5 bytes header and 48 bytes payload. Making an ATM call requires first sending
a message to set up a connection.
Subsequently, all cells follow the same path to the destination. It can handle both constant
rate traffic and variable rate traffic. Thus it can carry multiple types of traffic with end-to-
end quality of service. ATM is independent of a transmission medium, they may be sent on a
wire or fiber by themselves or they may also be packaged inside the payload of other carrier
systems. ATM networks use “Packet” or “cell” Switching with virtual circuits. Its design
helps in the implementation of high-performance multimedia networking.
ATM Cell Format –
As information is transmitted in ATM in the form of fixed-size units called cells. As known
already each cell is 53 bytes long which consists of a 5 bytes header and 48 bytes payload.
Working of ATM:
ATM standard uses two types of connections. i.e., Virtual path connections (VPCs) which
consist of Virtual channel connections (VCCs) bundled together which is a basic unit
carrying a single stream of cells from user to user. A virtual path can be created end-to-end
across an ATM network, as it does not rout the cells to a particular virtual circuit. In case of
major failure, all cells belonging to a particular virtual path are routed the same way through
the ATM network, thus helping in faster recovery.
Switches connected to subscribers use both VPIs and VCIs to switch the cells which are
Virtual Path and Virtual Connection switches that can have different virtual channel
connections between them, serving the purpose of creating a virtual trunk between the
switches which can be handled as a single entity. Its basic operation is straightforward by
looking up the connection value in the local translation table determining the outgoing port
of the connection and the new VPI/VCI value of connection on that link.
ATM vs DATA Networks (Internet) –

 ATM is a “virtual circuit” based: the path is reserved before transmission. While Internet
Protocol (IP) is connectionless and end-to-end resource reservations are not possible.

 ATM Cells: Fixed or small size and Tradeoff is between voice or data. While IP packets
are of variable size.

 Addressing: ATM uses 20-byte global addresses for signaling and 32-bit locally assigned
labels in cells. While IP uses 32-bit global addresses in all packets.

ATM Layers:
1. ATM Adaption Layer (AAL) –
It is meant for isolating higher-layer protocols from details of ATM processes and
prepares for conversion of user data into cells and segments it into 48-byte cell payloads.
AAL protocol excepts transmission from upper-layer services and helps them in mapping
applications, e.g., voice, data to ATM cells.

2. Physical Layer –
It manages the medium-dependent transmission and is divided into two parts physical
medium-dependent sublayer and transmission convergence sublayer. The main functions
are as follows:
 It converts cells into a bitstream.
 It controls the transmission and receipt of bits in the physical medium.
 It can track the ATM cell boundaries.
 Look for the packaging of cells into the appropriate type of frames.
3. ATM Layer –
It handles transmission, switching, congestion control, cell header processing, sequential
delivery, etc., and is responsible for simultaneously sharing the virtual circuits over the
physical link known as cell multiplexing and passing cells through an ATM network
known as cell relay making use of the VPI and VCI information in the cell header.

ATM Applications:

1. ATM WANs –
It can be used as a WAN to send cells over long distances, a router serving as an end-
 point between ATM network and other networks, which has two stacks of the protocol.

2. Multimedia virtual private networks and managed services –

It helps in managing ATM, LAN, voice, and video services and is capable of full-service
virtual private networking, which includes integrated access to multimedia.

3. Frame relay backbone –

Frame relay services are used as a networking infrastructure for a range of data services
and enabling frame-relay ATM service to Internetworking services.

4. Residential broadband networks –

ATM is by choice provides the networking infrastructure for the establishment of
residential broadband services in the search of highly scalable solutions.

5. Carrier infrastructure for telephone and private line networks –

To make more effective use of SONET/SDH fiber infrastructures by building the ATM
infrastructure for carrying the telephonic and private-line traffic.

Frame Relay
Frame Relay is a packet-switching network protocol that is designed to work at the data link
layer of the network. It is used to connect Local Area Networks (LANs) and transmit data
across Wide Area Networks (WANs). It is a better alternative to a point-to-point network for
connecting multiple nodes that require separate dedicated links to be established between
each pair of nodes. It allows transmission of different size packets and dynamic bandwidth
allocation. Also, it provides a congestion control mechanism to reduce the network
overheads due to congestion. It does not have an error control and flow management
mechanism.
 Frame Relay Network

Working:
Frame relay switches set up virtual circuits to connect multiple LANs to build a WAN.
Frame relay transfers data between LANs across WAN by dividing the data in packets
known as frames and transmitting these packets across the network. It supports
communication with multiple LANs over the shared physical links or private lines.
Frame relay network is established between Local Area Networks (LANs) border devices
such as routers and service provider network that connects all the LAN networks. Each LAN
has an access link that connects routers of LAN to the service provider network terminated
by the frame relay switch. The access link is the private physical link used for
communication with other LAN networks over WAN. The frame relay switch is responsible
for terminating the access link and providing frame relay services.
For data transmission, LAN’s router (or other border device linked with access link) sends
the data packets over the access link. The packet sent by LAN is examined by a frame relay
switch to get the Data Link Connection Identifier (DLCI) which indicates the destination of
the packet. Frame relay switch already has the information about addresses of the LANs
connected to the network hence it identifies the destination LAN by looking at DLCI of the
data packet. DLCI basically identifies the virtual circuit (i.e. logical path between nodes that
doesn’t really exist) between source and destination network. It configures and transmits the
packet to frame relay switch of destination LAN which in turn transfers the data packet to
destination LAN by sending it over its respective access link. Hence, in this way, a LAN is
connected with multiple other LANs by sharing a single physical link for data transmission.
Frame relay also deals with congestion within a network. Following methods are used to
identify congestion within a network:
1. Forward Explicit Congestion Network (FECN) –
FECN is a part of the frame header that is used to notify the destination about the
 congestion in the network. Whenever a frame experiences congestion while transmission,
the frame relay switch of the destination network sets the FECN bit of the packet that
allows the destination to identify that packet has experienced some congestion while
transmission.
2. Backward Explicit Congestion Network (BECN) –
BECN is a part of the frame header that is used to notify the source about the congestion
in the network. Whenever a frame experiences congestion while transmission, the
destination sends a frame back to the source with a set BECN bit that allows the source to
identify that packet that was transmitted had experienced some congestion while reaching
out to the destination. Once, source identifies congestion in the virtual circuit, it slows
down to transmission to avoid network overhead.
3. Discard Eligibility (DE) –
DE is a part of the frame header that is used to indicate the priority for discarding the
packets. If the source is generating a huge amount of traffic on the certain virtual network
then it can set DE bits of less significant packets to indicate the high priority for
discarding the packets in case of network overhead. Packets with set DE bits are
discarded before the packets with unset DE bits in case of congestion within a network.

Types:

1. Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC) –

These are the permanent connections between frame relay nodes that exist for long
durations. They are always available for communication even if they are not in use. These
connections are static and do not change with time.
2. Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC) –
These are the temporary connections between frame relay nodes that exist for the duration
for which nodes are communicating with each other and are closed/ discarded after the
communication. These connections are dynamically established as per the requirements.

Advantages:

1. High speed
2. Scalable
3. Reduced network congestion
4. Cost-efficient
5. Secured connection

Disadvantages:

1. Lacks error control mechanism

2. Delay in packet transfer
3. Less reliable
 WLAN Full Form – Wireless Local Area Network

WLAN stands for Wireless Local Area Network. WLAN is a local area network that uses
radio communication to provide mobility to the network users while maintaining the
connectivity to the wired network. A WLAN basically, extends a wired local area network.
WLAN’s are built by attaching a device called the access point(AP) to the edge of the wired
network. Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless network adapter which is similar
in function to an ethernet adapter. It is also called a LAWN is a Local area wireless network.
The performance of WLAN is high compared to other wireless networks. The coverage of
WLAN is within a campus or building or that tech park. It is used in the mobile propagation
of wired networks. The standards of WLAN are HiperLAN, Wi-Fi, and IEEE 802.11. It
offers service to the desktop laptop, mobile application, and all the devices that work on the
Internet. WLAN is an affordable method and can be set up in 24 hours. WLAN gives users
the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the
network. Most latest brands are based on IEE 802.11 standards, which are the WI-FI brand
name.
History
A professor at the University of Hawaii who’s name was Norman Abramson, developed the
world’s first wireless computer communication network. In 1979, Gfeller and u. Bapst
published a paper in the IEE proceedings reporting an experimental wireless local area
network using diffused infrared communications. The first of the IEEE workshops on
Wireless LAN was held in 1991.
WLAN Architecture
Components in Wireless LAN architecture as per IEEE standards are as follows:
1. Stations: Stations consist of all the equipment that is used to connect all wireless LANs.
Each station has a wireless network controller.
2. Base Service Set(BSS): It is a group of stations communicating at the physical layer.
3. Extended Service Set(ESS): It is a group of connected Base Service Set(BSS).
4. Distribution Service (DS): It connects all Extended Service Set(ESS).
 WLAN Architecture

Types of WLANs
As per IEEE standard WLAN is categorized into two basic modes, which are as follows:
1. Infrastructure: In Infrastructure mode, all the endpoints are connected to a base station
and communicate through that; and this can also enable internet access. A WLAN
infrastructure can be set up with: a wireless router (base station) and an endpoint
(computer, mobile phone, etc). An office or home WiFi connection is an example of
Infrastructure mode.
2. Ad Hoc: In Ad Hoc mode WLAN connects devices without a base station, like a
computer workstation. An Ad Hoc WLAN is easy to set up it provides peer-to-peer
communication. It requires two or more endpoints with built-in radio transmission.
 WLAN (Wireless LAN)
In computer networks, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is primarily used
for providing wireless internet access to devices like laptops, smartphones, and
tablets within a local area, allowing them to connect to the internet without physical
cables, with the most common example being Wi-Fi used in homes, offices, and
public spaces.
Key applications of WLANs include:
 Home and office networking:
Connecting multiple devices like computers, printers, and smart TVs to the internet
within a home or office space.
 Mobile device connectivity:
Enabling seamless internet access for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets
while moving around within a coverage area.
 Guest access networks:
Providing internet access to visitors in hotels, restaurants, or public spaces.
 Hotspots:
Setting up temporary wireless networks in public areas like airports, cafes, or
conferences to provide internet access to users.
 Industrial applications:
Monitoring and controlling industrial equipment wirelessly in factory settings.
 Retail environments:
Enabling point-of-sale systems, inventory management, and customer interaction
through wireless devices.
 Healthcare facilities:
Connecting medical devices and patient monitoring systems wirelessly.
Key features of WLANs that enable these applications:
 Mobility: Users can move around within the network coverage area while
maintaining connectivity.
 Flexibility: Easy to set up and expand wireless networks compared to wired LANs.
 Convenience: Eliminates the need for physical cables to connect devices.
Important aspects of WLANs:
 Access Point (AP): A central device that manages wireless communication
between devices on the network.
 Infrastructure mode: The standard WLAN setup where all devices communicate
through an AP.
 Ad-hoc mode: A peer-to-peer connection between devices without a central AP,
useful for temporary connections.

WLAN Requirements
The requirements for a wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network)
include hardware, software, and security.
Hardware
 Wireless router: The core hardware for a wireless network
 Network switch: Connects all devices on a network
 Antennas: Help transmit and receive radio waves
 Cables and connectors: Ethernet cables connect the router to the switch, and
devices connect to the router
 Modem: Part of the core hardware for a wireless network
Software
 Network management software: Helps manage the network
Security
 Security measures to protect the network and user data
Other requirements Efficient use of the wireless medium, Low power consumption,
and Long battery life on mobile devices.
How to set up a wireless network
You can rent the core hardware from your internet service provider (ISP). You can
also use network management software to manage the network.

How does WLAN work?

WLAN uses radio waves to connect devices in a limited area, such as a home or
office. This allows users to communicate, access the internet, and share resources
without using physical cables.

Wireless Application Protocol(WAP) Services

Wireless application services include:
 Mobile phone communication: Making calls and sending text messages through
cellular networks.
 Internet access via Wi-Fi: Connecting to the internet wirelessly using a Wi-Fi
network.
 Bluetooth connectivity: Pairing devices like headphones, speakers, and
smartwatches for data transfer and hands-free operation.
 GPS navigation: Locating your position using Global Positioning System
technology.
 Streaming media: Watching videos and listening to music wirelessly through
services like Netflix or Spotify.
 Wireless sensor networks: Monitoring environmental conditions or tracking assets
using sensor devices connected wirelessly
 Satellite communication: Accessing internet or making calls via satellites,
especially in remote areas.
 Near-field communication (NFC): Making contactless payments or transferring
data between devices in close proximity.
 Internet of Things (IoT): Connecting various smart devices to the internet for
automated control and data collection
 Wireless data transfer: Sending files between devices without cables