Introduction to ATM

This one-day seminar is designed to provide an overview of ATM for those completely new to the subject; it assumes no prior knowledge of ATM theory. The intention of the seminar is to convey the functional aspects of ATM without going into the mechanisms behind that functionality any more than is necessary to understand the concepts involved. As such this course is more of a 'what can be done' approach rather than 'how is it done'. It covers the basic mechanics of the technology: cells, channels, paths and connections, and explains the principles of ATM network design in both the local and wide area. The addressing structure for establishing ATM connections is described from a functional perspective and the amount of configuration required to implement an ATM network is explained. We describe the types of connection that are available and the concepts of quality of service so far as to describe how ATM networks are able to carry multimedia applications and handle a mixture of data types at the same time. The main ATM applications are then examined: LAN emulation, video conferencing and video distribution, also voice over ATM, again from a functional perspective.

The notes that accompany this seminar are comprehensive, and provide a textual explanation that contains much more detail than is covered in the seminar itself. The objective is to give delegates sufficient follow-up material to enable them to read further on any subject of particular interest to them.