NETWORK CONFIGURATION IDENTIFICATION FOR ATM-LAN

This paper discusses a way of identifying the network configuration of ATM-LANs, which are composed of a number of ATM hubs. In general, a Network Management System (NMS) sets and gets the necessary data to and from the network elements. In managing an ATM-LAN, the ATM connection between the NMS and each network element, namely the ATM hub, must be established in order to get and set the necessary data. This forms a remarkable contrast with conventional LANs such as the IEEE802.3 LAN, which is a shared media network and enables broadcast communication without setting up any connection. This paper proposes a new protocol and a procedure that establishes the ATM connection between the NMS and each ATM hub, while identifying the overall network configuration. First, this paper makes clear the peculiarity of the ATM-LAN in terms of automatically identifying the network configuration. Next, the identification protocol that achieves the required properties is precisely explained. Then, the proposed identification protocol is evaluated in terms of required bandwidth and identification time.