Performance Parameters of ATM Networks with Bursts of Errors

In this paper we present the calculation of the error performance of a point-to-point ATM connection transported on an STS-3c SONET (SDH STM-1) interface. The ATM layer performance parameters calculated are Cell Loss Ratio (CLR), Cell Error Ratio (CER), and Severely Errored Cell Block Ratio (SECBR). Statistics of consecutive errored and lost cells are also calculated for each run of the simulation. The physical layer performance parameters such as Bit Error Ratio (BER), Errored Second Ratio (ESR), and Severely Errored Second Ratio (SESR) are compared with corresponding objective values in G.826. The bursty nature of errors in physical communication channels is described by the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) which is obtained from the experimental data. The importance of using this model is demonstrated by the simulation results. The ATM performance for channels with independent errors differs significantly from the ATM performance for channels with bursts of errors and equal bit error ratios.