CONTENTS ix

4.3.3 The NRT-VBR Service 91

4.3.4 The UBR Service 91
4.3.5 The ABR Service 91
4.3.6 The GFR Service 91
4.3.7 ATM Transfer Capabilities 92
4.4 Congestion Control 92
4.5 Preventive Congestion Control 92
4.6 Call Admission Control (CAC) 93
4.6.1 Classes of CAC Algorithms 93
4.6.2 Equivalent Bandwidth 95
4.6.3 The ATM Block Transfer (ABT) Scheme 98
4.6.4 Virtual Path Connections 99
4.7 Bandwidth Enforcement 100
4.7.1 The Generic Cell Rate Algorithm (GCRA) 102
4.7.2 Packet Discard Schemes 105
4.8 Reactive Congestion Control 106
4.8.1 The Available Bit Rate (ABR) Service 106
Problems 110
Appendix: Simulation Project: ATM Traffic Characterization of An
MPEG Video Source 111

5 Signaling in ATM Networks 115

5.1 Introduction 115
5.2 The Signaling Protocol Stack 116
5.3 The Signaling ATM Adaptation Layer (SAAL) 117
5.3.1 The SSCOP 117
5.3.2 Primitives 121
5.4 The Signaling Channel 123
5.5 ATM Addressing 123
5.6 The Format of the Signaling Message 126
5.7 The Signaling Protocol Q.2931 127
5.7.1 Information Elements (IE) 127
5.7.2 Q.2931 Messages 128
Problems 130

6 The Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Architecture 131

6.1 The Internet Protocol (IP): A Primer 131
6.1.1 The IP Header 132
6.1.2 IP Addresses 133
6.1.3 ARP, RARP, and ICMP 135
6.1.4 IP Version 6 (IPv6) 136
6.2 The Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Architecture 136
6.2.1 Label Allocation Schemes 141
6.2.2 The Next Hop Label Forwarding Entry (NHLFE) 142
6.2.3 Explicit Routing 143
6.2.4 An Example of the Use of the Label Stack 144
6.2.5 Schemes for Setting up an LSP 145