The LAN emulation standard and multiprotocol over ATM is being developed by the
ATM Forum, while classical IP-over-ATM is being designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
I-PNNI is based on the
ATM Forum Private Network-to-Network Interface (PNNI) Standard.
The
ATM forum calls for the use of Q.93B, but several vendors use their own proprietary signaling protocols.
The
ATM Forum has designed LAN emulation carefully so that LANE clients and ATM interfaces can be added to existing devices (e.g., LAN servers) without disrupting installed applications or network operating systems.
We have identified the detailed methods of key distribution that are transparent to call setup in both the host and network based on the
ATM Forum User Network Interface 3.0 standard.
Rate control with feedback control information, one of the most promising means of adaptive congestion control, is now being studied intensively in the
ATM Forum. Backpressure control is combined with rate-based control to solve the problem of cell losses in a heavily loaded situation that arises when rate-based control alone is used.
And implementations that comply with the
ATM Forum specification for MPOA (which requires LANE 2.0 and UNI 4.0) are still several months away.
The
ATM Forum and ITU (International Telecommunications Union) defined several adaptation layers to meet the requirements of various applications.
The Internet and ATM will come together, but not until the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) and the
ATM Forum are forced to resolve their differences.
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ATM Forum standards for MPOA are nearly complete, with only minor administrative issues remaining.
In either case, the calling user initiates a setup request message and forwards the request, using
ATM Forum UNI signaling procedures, to the network.