The cell structure of the next generation ATM

The purpose of ATM is to provide a high-speed, low-delay multiplexing and switching network to support any type of user traffic. It has not achieved this goal after 10 years of implementation. The reason may be various, but the fatal one is its low efficiency when supporting data traffic. Upgrading is the only way that ATM could keep its existence. We propose a novel architecture to improve the current ATM performance. By defining a new cell structure, the new ATM reinforces the end-to-end error control ability, and greatly increases the data transmission efficiency. The introduction of the micro cell further enhances its ability to support a low-speed real-time service. The new architecture can also support bi-directional point-to-multi-point transmission and can be used in the wireless environment directly. To verify its applicability, various simulations are carried out. We introduce our simulation tests on CBR transmission delay, Web response delay, sustained data transfer rate, and link utilization. The analysis and simulation show that, such a modification can overcome the shortcoming of the existing ATM protocol and upgrade its ability to support more services effectively