Multipoint connection management in high speed networks

A connection management access protocol (CMAP) for managing multipoint connections in high-speed packet switched networks is described. The protocol is targeted to broadband integrated services digital networks (BISDN) using the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication standard. To establish a multipoint connection, a client first creates a call between itself and the network. The client creating a call is designated the owner of the call. Immediately after creation, the owner is the only endpoint participating in the call. Additional endpoints are added either by invitation from the owner, invitation from another client of the network, or by explicitly requesting to be added. These three modes are sufficient for supporting point-to-point communication (for example, a telephone call), many-to-many communication (for example, a conference call), one-to-many communication (for example, broadcast video), and many-to-one communication (for example, error logging)