An integrated multicast connection management solution for wired and wireless APM networks

With the prospect of commercializing wireless ATM networks fast becoming a reality, and ATM becoming one of the main network technologies for multimedia computing, the design of ATM connection management solutions has to take into consideration these recent developments. Unfortunately, current ATM signaling solutions standardized by the ATM Forum have to be modified extensively in order to support wireless ATM. Furthermore, these solutions have not delivered a suitable multicast service which can support the communication requirements found in today's computer-based multimedia applications. The work described here therefore addresses these shortcomings by proposing a new multicast connection service architecture and its related algorithms. Some of the important concepts elaborated in the design include the notion of open signaling, the use of logical multicast groups to handle all connections, and seamless support for host mobility.