Monthly Archives: December 2010

What Is Asynchronous Transfer Mode – Definition, Application And Examples



Asynchronous transfer mode or ATM is a cell based switching technique which has brought an evolution in the communication systems of today and are related to networking. This includes a lot of great features and can run on both LAN and WAN connections.

Most of us are familiar with the word ATM but we hardly know anything about its functionality or how it works. We hardly even know what this abbreviation stands for. Well ATM particularly stands for asynchronous transfer mode and can be defined as a typically cell based switching technique which specifically makes the use of asynchronous time division multiplexing that enables encoding of specific data into definite sized cells or cell relay and provides particular data link layer services which specifically run on OSI Layer 1 physical links. Well most often people confuse it with packet switched networks like the Internet Protocol or Ethernet where different sized small packets are used for data transfer.

ATM or asynchronous transfer mode typically possesses properties of both types of networking, meaning it can be used in both circuit switched as well as packet switched networking which may act as the best means of a wide range of data transfer. It is also very suitable for real time media transport. The model which is particularly used in this particular mode of data transfer is mainly connection oriented, thus easily joins the two end points with virtual circuit even before the data starts transferring.

Asynchronous transfer mode-technology can easily be used for both LAN and WAN connections. ATM also has some other distinctive features which are discussed in brief and as follows:

It has the potential of providing a data transfer speed of up to 2.5 GBps which easily helps to enable high bandwidth distributed applications. This is mainly useful for video-on-demand techniques or video conferencing which are typically based on new distributed applications. It also helps to get access to remote databases including multimedia data.
It easily provides high transmissions seeds for both LAN and WAN connections by simply enabling distributed applications of high power which previously could only be used in LAN connection but failed to work on WAN networks.
It uses the basic techniques to switch between single integrated switching mechanisms. Thus, it is specifically suitable for those distributed applications which typically generate constant bit rate traffic or CBR traffic and also useful for variable bit rate or VBR.
As far as traffic is concerned asynchronous transfer mode specifically uses virtual network for driving traffic within different locations. Besides point to point communications, it is also useful where a single sender and multiple receiver services are concerned due to its multicasting facility.

Asynchronous transfer mode is a relatively modern concept in the field of communication technology and it is evolving every day to provide new means to improve modern day networking.

By: George Yee

About the Author:
George Yee is a consultant for asynchronous transfer mode. To learn more about this topic, visit www.T1Market.com for free information in finding the best technical solution for your requirements.



Virtualization Problems? Some Issues and Solutions



Everyone knows the benefits of using virtualized environments. However, as with using any new technology, there can be some growing pains and problems. This may require you to change your processes, or perhaps use some new tools. Whatever the case may be, using virtualization will prove beneficial once you are able to work the kinks out.

Performance Problems:

Switching to virtual network environments over traditional ones should be a straightforward process. Unfortunately, sometimes these changes can lead to network performance issues. This can be caused by virtual machines requiring more of your traffic utilization than expected. One way to avoid this problem is to leverage a network management solution so you can configure your system better.

Network Congestion

This is something that happens in every network, but when your VMs are dependent on having a certain degree of latency, you can start to have some problems until you can fix this. The best thing to do in this situation is to get on top of your NetFlow analysis. You may be surprised to find out that it is you’re VMs that are actually causing the problems.

VM Sprawl

VM Sprawl occurs when you are adding so many new virtual machines that perform very specific tasks you start to realize that you are quickly consuming all your IP addresses. As if managing IP addresses in a traditional system were not difficult enough, now you have virtual systems hogging up IP addresses. This makes the old fashioned way of address management in a spreadsheet obsolete. If you aren’t yet using an address management tool that actively helps your IP address space, you should start now.

Application Performance…

…is Lagging. There are headaches that may occur when migrating over to VMs and that is no joke. You may discover that the application performance that you previously enjoyed somehow acts differently once it is put on a VM. This happens from time to time, and the best way to overcome this is to be using application performance monitoring to keep an eye on what is going on, as well as alerting you when things get really bad. Taking a proactive approach to this it the best way to get one top of whatever issues there may be.

Storage Allocation

When you move things to VMs, you have many environments that are taking resources from your SAN, more so than ever before. Because of this, your users may start to see some serious problems with storage. They’ll simply thing there is something wrong with the server when in reality the problem is that you’ve got dozens of VMs taking resources from your SAN. With this type of issue, it is best to go in and use some tools to allocate resources better for each environment, if you aren’t doing so already. Using the right tools for virtualization is key as VMs can save you on hardware costs, time and other benefits, but the reality is that you’ve got to stay on top of what is going on very closely to make everything seamless on your network in order to make virtualizing your system components successful.

By: Sukhdeep S Singh

About the Author:
Sukhdeep Singh

[[http://www.solarwinds.com]]



Wireless Service Providers



Wireless service providers are also called wireless carriers, mobile phone operators, or cellular companies. Simply put, their main function is to provide mobile phone services to subscribers.

Wireless service providers need to obtain a license to be able to operate in a certain country. The license is used to acquire a radio spectrum. The radio spectrum varies depending on the types of services that the provider intends to offer. Usually, radio spectrum licenses can be bought through an auction.

An emerging type of wireless service providers is called mobile virtual network operators (MVNO). They operate very much like regular service providers do. The main difference is that MVNO do not have a network of their own. They only lease a network from an existing wireless service provider. The first MVNO was launched in United Kingdom in 1999.

The terms and conditions of the MVNOs with the regular wireless service provider vary depending on the contract they have agreed upon. But in general, MVNOs still reserve the right to modify their own tariff structures. While they may not own their own wireless infrastructure, some MVNOs have a home location that enables them to use the services of several cellular companies.

Traditional wireless service providers agree to partner with MVNOs for three major reasons. First, MVNOs may help them reach a larger market. Not all traditional cell companies are capable of reaching out to all segments of the market. Through MVNOs, they can expand their market. Second, MVNOs may also help cell companies to better utilize their networks by generating larger economies. This way, they can better promote new services such as 3G. Lastly, MVNOs can be helpful in reaching customers with highly-specialized needs.

Today, there are about 200 MVNOs worldwide. These can be found in different countries such as the Netherlands, Finland, Australia, and Belgium. In other countries like France and Austria, MVNOs are also beginning to emerge. Those countries that already have several MVNOs can expect lower growth in terms of new MVNOs because the market in such places has already become highly saturated.

By: Josh Riverside

About the Author:
Wireless Services [http://www.e-WirelessServices.com] provides detailed information on Wireless Services, Wireless Internet Services, Prepaid Wireless Services, Wireless Service Providers and more. Wireless Services is affiliated with Wireless Phone Services [http://www.e-WirelessPhones.com].