BROAD-BAND MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS USING ATM NETWORKS - HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING, HIGH-CAPACITY STORAGE, AND HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATION

Multimedia applications constitute a significant future market, introduce new complex demands and concepts to communications, and will have a strong impact on network technology. To satisfy the diversity and dynamics of multimedia communication, flexibility at several levels is required. Here, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) multiplexing and switching promise to contribute to a proper solution. The paper discusses the classification of a large variety of multimedia communication applications (with the emphasis on broadband and hypermedia applications), the requirements at user and network levels, multimedia communication concepts with suitable platforms, and the modular standardization of multimedia teleservices as well as the corresponding technical systems. Appropriate technologies for meeting the multimedia challenges comprise public and private networks, servers for information storage and processing, intelligent user and system agents, and multimedia terminals, e.g., workstations. The complexity of broadband multimedia communication can only be met by flexible networks. The paper deals with the question of service-specific or service-integrated networks, the architecture, components and functions of ATM switching systems for broadband ISDN (integrated seniors digital network) and ATM-based signaling and management for controlling connectivity and interactivity. With the approach of a multimedia infrastructure, network evolution aspects, pilot applications, and coordinated standardization need to be considered as well.