1. Spring 2004 EE4272 The Need of Spanning Tree Algorithm

2. Spring 2004 EE4272 ATM is called a layer 2.5 protocol

3. Spring 2004 EE4272 Virtual Connections in ATM Networks Virtual channel/circuit connections (VCC) : Basic unit of switching between two end users Virtual path connection (VPC): Bundle of VCC with same end points (e.g. company sites)

4. Spring 2004 EE4272 Switching Hardware: Overview Terminology: n x m switch has n inputs and m outputs Design Goals  throughput (depends on traffic model) Ports and Fabrics: reading assignment P212-P220  ports circuit management (e.g., map VCIs, route datagrams) buffering (input and/or output)  fabric as simple as possible, “self routing” sometimes do buffering (internal)