This isn’t your banking machine, retard! This month I will touch base on what this is and what it does. In months to follow, I will go into it in more detail, such as routing, switching and the different layers of each. As well a write up on Frame Relay.

ATM = Asynchronous Transfer Rate, Very high speeds transmission technology. ATM is a high Bandwidth, low-delay, connection-oriented, pack-like switching and multiplexing technique. (Fast as Hell) Usable capacity is segmented into 53-byte, fixed-size cells consisting of header and information field allocated to services on demand.

Here’s some history on ATM from the Network Alliance: The ATM method of moving information is not completely new. Like most things it is an evolution of earlier methods. The key difference between ATM, “X.25 packet switching”, and the popular “Frame Relay” technologies is that the packets of the earlier technologies varied in size. Engineers realized that as the speed was dramatically increased to be able to carry “real time” voice and video, the varied length packets would become unmanageable. This is where ATM comes into play. Each ATM cell would be 53 octets long. This was done to meet the current and future demands. Networking technology and protocols have evolved to optimize network performance based on traffic characteristics. (In other words, Very Big and Damn Fast.)

Don’t worry if you’re lost. Like I said in the intro, I will touch on every aspect of this subject. For now just understand that ATM is a VERY F#$king FAST connection, nothing like the old delay of voice/video on the net. We are talking Real Time motion and voice transmissions from coast to coast.

Stay tuned to next months issue and I will be going over the different layers of ATM and what does it all means to a HaCk! See ya next time.

RuStY