Using LAN Emulation to Integrate Legacy LANs with ATM

摘要

When industry pundits, vendors, and users discuss asyn-chronous transfer mode (ATM) these days, they often mention the word migration, In reality, the issue for these users is not so much migration from one network to another: migration implies a move away from the existing infrastructure and suggests that all existing equipment and systems would either be discarded or modified to accommodate the new network. Rather, the key issue is integration of existing technologies, products, and systems with ATM. Most network managers today have Ethernet or Token Ring environments or sometimes a mixture of the two. They are faced with somehow relieving network bottlenecks, while future-proofing their network for the eventual integration of ATM. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that users can increase available bandwidth in their networks now, while ensuring a cost-effective path to ATM.