The number of networks that must support data, voice, and video is growing swiftly, and supporting such networks requires colossal amounts of bandwidth and throughput. The solution believed to be leading the way is Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switching.
IT data network technologies are very capable of handling the clogged highways, but voice and video do not work well in a clogged environment, resulting in garbled and unintelligible noise and visuals. Enter ATM.
ATM is the preferred network protocol for piping data, voice and video over networks. Although it is expensive and technologically complicated, it promises high speed, high quality and high reliability.
A few years ago, ATM was considered bleeding-edge technology and early adopters had to contend with unsettled standards and proprietary equipment.
But today, the main attraction is ATM`s support for voice, data and video, a capability that enables end-to-end networks to handle information traffic from the desktop all the way to the wide area network (WAN) with guaranteed quality of service (QoS). What makes it likeable is its fast, reliable delivery to the desktop, its quality of service and the fact that its bandwidth is deterministic in the face of ever-increasing bandwidth demands with the pressure to streamline the management of data.
ATM is at home in the broadcast enterprise or local area network of an organisation. Its greatest success has, however, been documented in the wide area network (WAN), the case of which is strengthened by long-distance carriers` support for the technology, which was insignificant a few years ago but, according to Gartner, has grown to $150 million.
At the heart of ATM technology lies the market need to deliver high quality content, driven by the proliferation of broadband networks and the expansion of the Internet. Those using ATM today are companies that depend on fast and worry-free delivery of high-end, multimedia transmissions.
The broadcast industry in particular is seeing the widespread deployment of Video over ATM, offering the perfect environment for point-to-point delivery and allowing broadcasters to pick up and edit video in studio streamed from different locations. But ATM holds advantages for a number of enterprises.
Companies in numerous industries must today run multiple cables to each desktop to support networking, telephony, and video applications - each technology requiring a separate back-end infrastructure. Consolidating to a single data, voice and video delivery device not only diminishes installation costs, but also promises to significantly reduce operational and support costs.
A lot of companies are also looking at ATM as a backbone technology. Not only because it provides dramatic advantages over switching, but also because it is an investment in the future that offers true multimedia networking, is highly scaleable and is increasing the QoS standard for WAN providers.
A final advantage of ATM is that by reducing the cost of wide area networking and increasing flexibility and bandwidth, it allows for a truly seamless network.
Although companies were initially faced with drawbacks such as complicated configuration and high costs, ATM has established itself as the leading video, voice and data transmission protocol today. As it continues to mature, it will achieve cost and performance stability.
The fact remains that ATM works and works well, provided it`s deployed to meet the data, voice and video traffic needs of an organisation.
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Graphic Image Technologies is a media focused company operating in the Digital Video, advanced Web and Multimedia environment.
The GIT Multimedia Bureau produces presentations, CD-ROMs and kiosks. In addition, it develops Web applications and provides database and e-commerce integration.
In the video arena, GIT is focused on offering a vast array of solutions, ranging from broadcasting video over satellite and ATM, to multicast applications for use in the corporate LAN and WAN and Internet streaming environments.
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