THE NEXT-GENERATION ATM SWITCHING ARCHITECTURE FOR MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS

The Internet is expected to see a rapid growth in multimedia services in the next few years. Network traffic will increase dramatically for many different services, so it will be necessary to have high-speed br oadband backbone networks capable of supporting wide-area coverage. Su ch networks are expected to be built on ATM technology. This paper des cribes the next-generation ATM switching node architecture for multime dia communications, the enhancement of system capability and functions , and improved system maintainability. The goal is an ATM switching sy stem for Multimedia Communications switching systems; we call it a Mul timedia Handling Node for ATM (MHN-A). MHN-A is based on the concept o f a unified architecture for circuit switching, packet switching, and ATM switching. Various functions are provided as options that can be e conomically added or deleted according to customers' requirements.