ATM transport systems based on flexible, non-stop architecture

ATM is the key to the creation of the next generation of telecommunication networks, or B-ISDN. The paper describes the ATM transport systems based on a flexible, non-stop architecture, focusing on its basic network and equipment architectures and hardware/software technologies. Flexibility and high reliability are the most important issues for B-ISDN transport networks consisting of trunk and subscriber access networks based on the virtual path (VP) concept. A flexible, non-stop architecture, featuring a flexible network architecture, survivable network architecture, and hitless switching architecture, are proposed. Based on these architectures, prototype transport systems consisting of ATM trunk systems (cross-connect system and STM-ATM converter) and ATM subscriber access systems (add-drop multiplexer, subscriber line terminal, and network terminal) are developed and evaluated. Experimental results fully satisfy the system requirements and confirmed the feasibility of the system´s commercial applications