Moving towards ATM: LAN/WAN evolution and experimentation at the University of Oregon

Between April of 1994 and March of 1995 the University of Oregon worked with U S WEST and a number of other participants in an extensive technical trial of ATM equipment and services. This paper shares experiences and lessons learned during that trial. A primary area of emphasis during the trial was a complex mixture of ATM LAN and WAN capabilities. ATM connectivity was extended to high-end desktop workstations as well as to routers which were located at participating institutions across Western Oregon. IP networking was stressed, along with a mixture of ATM PVCs and SVCs, both local and remote. This was accomplished within an environment which combined highend routers and customer-owned ATM switches from two different vendors at the local level with public ATM services provided by U S WEST over the wide area. In addition, existing legacy LANs were also supported. This unique combination of legacy LANs, ATM LANs/WANs, IP networking, and ATM SVCs/PVCs placed the University of Oregon at the leading edge of these activities during 1994 and early 1995. This paper discusses the evolution of local networking capabilities at the University of Oregon over the past decade which led to the current need for ATM connectivity over the local and wide area. It then describes the related trial activities which were performed in the area of ATM LANs, WANs, PVCs and SVCs within the IP-based environment at the University of Oregon.