What is Asynchronous Transfer Mode?
[[File:ForeRunnerLE 25 ATM Network Interface (1).jpg|thumb|right|ATM PC network interface]] '''Asynchronous Transfer Mode''' is a set of [[protocol]]s used for [[computer network]]s. It is mostly used for [[Wide Area Network]]s (WAN). It splits the data, and encodes it into packets of a fixed size. Each packet can be routed differently, along virtual paths set up in the network. ATM has been very successful in WANs, as well as in [[Local Area Network]]s (LAN). Today, many [[ADSL]] implementations use ATM technology. Standards like [[Ethernet]] (which is used for LANs) usually are quite simple. When there is little traffic on the network they work well. However, when there is a lot of traffic it is difficult to predict how an Ethernet network will behave. For this reason, Ethernet cannot give any service guarantees. It is not possible to say that an Ethernet packet will take a maximum delay, but after that time it is guaranteed to arrive. ATM is more complex, but this complexity allows to give guarantees as to [[data rate]], maximum delay, and [[jitter]]. These are usually called [[Quality of Service]]. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) defines several types of connections and services to cater to various networking needs. == Types == * Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC) * Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC) * Point-to-Point Connection * Point-to-Multipoint Connection * Class of Service (CoS) {{tech-stub}} [[Category:Computer science]]