A security protocol providing QoS in ATM networks

ATM networks are not more or less secure than other networks, but the demand for secure communications is increasing. The ATM forum has defined the Security Specifications using the Three-Way and Two-Way Security Message Exchange Protocols (SME) to support the negotiation and establishment of security services, mechanisms and other parameters needed for a secure connection. Different security mechanisms may degrade the guaranteed QoS through additional delays, error propagations and throughput limitations. The purpose of this paper is to overcome these negative influences of security operations on QoS. A new Three-Way SME_Q Protocol is introduced. It provides the simultaneous capability of implementing required security services, while still offering the user requested QoS parameters during an ATM connection. The Three-Way SME_Q protocol calculates and considers the impact of the security operations on the QoS parameters. This way, only security mechanisms are chosen, which fit into the QoS range requested.