icbnet

The Access Network (AN) part of the B-ISDN aimsat concentrating the traffic of a number of differentUser Network Interfaces (UNIs) and routing this trafficto the appropriate Service Node (SN) through a broadbandV interface (referred as VB). Naturally, the emphasis onAN design is to provide cost-efficient implementationswithout degrading the agreed Quality of Service (QoS).This is both the reduction of the AN physical equipmentand in the limitations imposed on the AN functionalitysuch as the inability to interpret signalinginformation. The lack of connection-related informationforces the establishment of several AN internalmechanisms that compensate for the effects of trafficconcentration. In our attempt to generalize and extendresults and experiences obtained from out in the specification, design and implementationof an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)-based AN, weintroduce the concept of a real-time VB interfaceControl Protocol (V-CP). We demonstrate the V-CP abilityto serve for a number of AN internal functions whilepreserving the highest possible degree of transparencyto the SN. The V-CP services provide for the dynamicoperation of the AN by conveying all thoseconnection-related parameters required for dynamicresource allocation, traffic policing and routing in theAN, as well as information on the status of the ANbefore a new connection is accepted by the SN. The V-CPoperates in real time on a connection by connectionbasis. This is reflected in its simple design making itconsiderably faster than usual managementprotocols.