Flow of ATM Cells Hardware Specifications
4-2
Centillion 1200N ATM Switch User Manual
NTP 297-8103-903
Network management system interface
This unit exchanges maintenance information with the network management
system.
Flow of ATM Cells
The flow of ATM cells is as follows:
1. Cells sent over lines are received by the line cards.
2. The line cards generate switching information from the VPI, VCI, and PT in
the cell header.
3. The switch/CPU card outputs cells to the line cards corresponding to the
destination lines.
4. A line card that receives a cell conver ts the VPI, VCI, and PT in t he cell header .
5. Cells are sent to the destination lines.
As an ATM switch, the switch /CPU card time-di vision multipl exes ATM cells from
the four line cards, uses AFs (address filters) to sort the inpu t ATM cells according
to the destinations in their headers, then sends the ATM cells to the line cards. In
addition, the switch/CPU card is equipped with a CPU and has an interface with
MAT or NMS to perform hardware control, path connection control, and protocol
control.
Figure 4-1: ATM Switch