ATM and IP integration by built-in IP handling capability in an ATM switching system

The rapid growth of the Internet impacts ATM networks to be furnished with IP handling capability. This paper discusses networking issues for IP and ATM integration. First, it considers function allocation at the boundary of an ATM backbone network and the Internet. As a result, the paper explains the necessity of built-in IP handling capability in an ATM switching system, and summarizes functional requirements for the system architecture. According to the discussion, the authors propose a system architecture for IP/ATM integration in the ATM switching system. The implementation of the proposed architecture is evaluated, and the wire-speed IP handling capability in the ATM switch is confirmed.