Book details of 'Ip Applications With Atm (Computer Communications)'

Title	Ip Applications With Atm (Computer Communications)
Author(s)	John J. Amoss, Daniel Minoli, John J. Amos
ISBN	0070423121
Language	English
Publisher	McGraw Hill Text

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Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
The preface indicates that the target audience is corporate and carrier planners considering the use of ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) in their enterprises. These are, presumably, technically literate people, and so the book can be expected to deal with high level concepts and a minimum of tutorial content. Even so, the text is very demanding (and verges on the obtuse) for relatively little return of understanding. Chapter one appears to be either promotional material for ATM or an explanation of its current growth. Whatever the intent, the result is a confusing piece that drags in other technologies at random, without making much of anything clear. A terse overview of the various ATM layers is given in chapter two. While the material is clear enough if you work at it, the content is presented baldly without any background. Some of the text is confusing, such as the implication that SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) is the preferred physical layer when the preface has just informed us that ATM is seen as a solution to speed limitations in SONET. Chapter three is a review of the different standards documents and groups involved in ATM development. Chapter four looks at different architecture considerations for ATM switches. One assumes that this discussion is intended to present the strengths and weaknesses of these various systems so that planners can make informed decisions on the purchase or use of a particular switch as appropriate to their needs. Again, though, the foundational material is brief and presents little explanation. Readers are not helped by the book's propensity for creating acronyms that are 1) minimally explained prior to use, 2) non-standard, and 3) used for different terms at different times. (CSF is used for both Cell Switching Functions and Cell Switching Fabric, which have significantly differing meanings, particularly when used in respect of architecture.) The lack of a glossary, and the fact that acronyms are infrequently used in the index, and never as primary listings, doesn't help. Two specific ATM switches are looked at in some detail in chapters five and six. Chapter seven, for the first, and only, time, addresses the titular subject of the book and looks at a variety of options for carrying Internet Protocol (IP) traffic over ATM. The economics of ATM implementation presents a good outline of factors to be considered, some rough hardware prices, and a few other factors, but almost no consideration of the replacement of existing systems in chapter eight. A number of factors to consider when designing a network are listed in chapter nine, but there is little practical help. The same is true for carrier concerns in chapter ten. Chapter eleven closes out the book with a look at voice service over ATM, and then voice service over frame relay. I find it hard to think of a reason why IP was included in the title of this book other than as a marketing hook. I also find it hard to find to determine a purpose or audience for this book: it is difficult to find any logical flow to the included topics. Hardest of all is to find a recommendation for this book: the information provided is valid, but pretty much all the content is provided, better, in other works. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998
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