The layered approach to describing ATM stresses the interactions between the many layers and sub layers and the passing of service data units up and down the layered stack. This kind of approach explains how ATM software and hardware components come together to form an ATM node.
The peer approach to describing ATM addresses the peer-to-peer operations between ATM devices. This approach stresses the functions provided by ATM hardware and software and how these functions interact to support an ATM network.
Relevant ATM Characteristics
- Connection-oriented, point-to-point
- Integrated services - voice, video, data
- Supports quality of service (QOS)
- Scales to gigabit speeds
- Uses 20-byte addressing
