icbnet

This paper presents an architecture for combining the Internet approach for the support of multimedia services with switched ATM network technology. As the idea is to avoid changes on the underlying technologies, we introduce an Edge Devise (ED) which provides all functionality required for the efficient support of Internet Integrated Services (IntServ) through switched ATM networks. Core functions of the ED are the interoperability between RSVP (Resource Reservation Protocol) and broadband signaling at the control plane, the synergy between RSVP and DiffServ (Differentiated Services) at the User plane, the support of multicast services and address resolution via VC management, as well as charging and billing. Compared to proposed Internet routers the ED presents increased functionality both at the user and Control plane as it fully exploits the advantages of IP to ATM and vice versa. The paper proposes a set of RSVP / signaling scenarios for efficiently using the control capabilities of both networks towards the support of IP based multimedia applications.