What is vPin and why should you be interested?

NIGERIANS ONLY

Nigerians are a very confident people who believe in themselves. We see success in our lives in the form of individuals overcoming innumerable odds. However, if there is one thing the re-
branding campaign,
introduced in march 2009 by Dora
Akunyili, reinforces, it is that
Nigerians do not have much
faith in their government. That is understandable because
over time the government
has not fulfilled its duties to
the people, many of whom
remain poor or lack basic
infrastructure and necessities. Since its launch, the "Nigeria.
Good People, Great Nation'
project hit a few bumps along
the way and faced criticism,
constructive and otherwise.
Although many non-Nigerians and nigerians alike may disagree, I believe that it is an effort worthy of support because Nigeria's image definitely needs an upgrade. That said, i do believe that this rebranding project cannot reach its projected heights if it is seen as the sole responsibility of our government. Weather we choose to agree or not, as far as nigeria is concerned, the corruption that has tainted us so is not the sole responsibility of our government, even though it might have constituted the greater part. This country is ours and we can't run away from that fact. The turnouts of the recent elections is a proof that our government is going to live up to its promises. Now we can either do something positive today and join this wave of change and prosperity to help upgrade our great nation's image, or sit behind with folded arms and expect a miracle. Let us move nigeria forward.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)

DEFINITION OF ATM (ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE)

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a means of digital communications that is capable of very high speeds; suitable for transmission of images or voice or video as well as data; ATM is used for both LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network).  ATM is a standardized digital data transmission technology that is implemented as a network protocol and was first developed in the mid-1980s. It dynamically allocates bandwidth and uses a fixed-size data packet. Large files are broken into small standard sized units that are transmitted to the receiving computer where the packets are reassembled into a copy of the original file. The next sub-heading deals with the new applications that are enabled by ATM.

NEW APPLICATIONS ENABLED BY ATM

ATM has enough flexibility to provide transport for a wide range of services including audio, video and raw data. Not only may it accommodate any one of these, but also it may successfully accommodate a mixture of data types. Each type however has its own optimum transmission characteristics. Transfers such as video and audio transmissions are ideally served by a system offering low delays or more importantly, a low delay variation. One illustration of this is the transmission of human voice, which has a latency of around 250ms and the delay can be observed over a long distance satellite link. The human ear is also sensitive to the continuity of speech implying that for audio information, the ATM needs to provide a transmission as close to continuous as possible.
Due to the large cost of many ATM applications, it is ideally suited to large-scale transmissions such as long haul telephone calls. The initial investment of expensive switching equipment and optical fibres make ATM less feasible for a small scale communications solution which may be more ideally served by a high speed Local Area Network (LAN). With the rapid growth of telecommunications and the Internet, applications for video transmissions include services such as Movies on Demand (MoD), News on Demand (NoD), World Wide Web access, Video Telephony and Video Conferencing, all of which require transmission of at least one variety of data. ATM may also become crucial in the medical field where remote diagnosis will become feasible due to the ability to perform high-speed transfers of medical images between different geographical locations. All of these applications require different network characteristics in order to transfer the information optimally leading towards need to characterise and budget for the expected traffic types. ATM was chosen as the transport for B-ISDN as it promised to be flexible enough to accommodate all of the features mentioned above whilst also providing high speed access.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ATM AND EXISTING NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES

1.     Efficient transmission system.

Let us firstly consider the efficiency issue of a transmission system. In the transfer of data, whether it be voice, video or computer data, it is common to use some form of compression technique in order to use the transmission medium efficiently. These data compression techniques commonly include some form of Run Length Encoding (RLE) to remove redundancy within a signal and thus reduce the bandwidth consumed by the transmission. Although, data compression is performed at a much higher level, ATM achieves its efficiency by making use of small, compact packets with a small header field, maximising the user information to system overhead ratio leading to higher data rates than other transmission mechanisms.

2.     Connection

One reason ATM works well with disparate kinds of data is that it is connection-oriented. A sender and receiver on a network set up a fixed path between each other before sending data, and the information arrives in the order it was sent. Other protocols, such as TCP/IP, are connectionless. That is, they don't have fixed connections, so individual data packets may go to different destinations and they may be delayed or arrive in the wrong order.

3.     Optimal for Real-Time Use

According to Lawrence Orans, an analyst at Gartner Group Inc., in Stamford, Conn, Fixed-route transmission is what makes ATM optimal for real-time communication like voice and video. With proper tuning, the quality of voice traffic will equal telephone quality, and video traffic will mirror cable television, says Orans. It's also easier to track and bill network usage.

An ATM network transfers data in 53-byte cells. Cell size never varies, and cells with the same source, destination and class of service parameters always follow the same path, as long as that path meets performance criteria. To deal with congestion or network failure, there are also pre-established secondary routes. Real-time data takes precedence over non-real-time data on an ATM network. For example, if voice and e-mail traffic are sent simultaneously, the switch grabs the voice traffic before grabbing the e-mail. In addition, the small, constant cell size enables data to be forwarded through the network more efficiently. Frame relay and other connection-oriented protocols transfer data in packets of varying lengths, which makes for variable delays between packet transfers, Orans explains. With ATM, those delays are eliminated, because the switch is "always looking for 53-byte chunks," Orans says.

APPLICATION PROGRAMMES AND ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is an International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunications Standards Section (ITU-T) standard for cell relay wherein information for multiple service types (i.e. voice, video, or data), is conveyed in small, fixed-size (53 byte) cells via connection-oriented Virtual Circuits (VCs). ATM technology supported in Cisco IOS Software deals with platform-independent router functionality, including Cisco 1700, 2600, 3600, 3700, 7100, 7200, 7300, 7500, and 12000 Series Routers. This connects to standards-based ATM Switching networks.

The Cisco ATM implementation allows the design and deployment of ATM links in a variety of network applications: high-speed network access, ATM aggregation of leased lines, ATM as a transport for Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) networks, and core ATM links. The Cisco ATM implementation is based upon standards defined in the ATM Forum, ITU-T, and IETF.

WHAT THE MARKET HAS TO OFFER IN TERMS OF PRODUCTS THAT SUPPORT ATM

BT DataStream

BT DataStream consists of three components; these components are not sold separately outside the full BT DataStream service and must be used together. Service providers are responsible for providing the equipment that goes to make up the components; this is outlined below.

1.     The Customer Access link (CAL)

This is the link from the Network Termination Equipment (NTE) in your premises to a BT DataStream Point of Presence; or, alternatively, an ATM Access Port on a BT ATM switch, at a BT DataStream Point of Presence. Service providers connect to the BT ATM core network through a 155Mbit/s or 622Mbit/s CAL which is provided solely by BT or by interconnecting using ATM in-span handover. The data is then carried over dedicated virtual paths through the BT network to the End User’s local exchange. As an alternative to purchasing a Customer Access Link, a BT Wholesale ATM In-Span Handover is available.

2.     ATM In-Span Handover

          The BT Wholesale ATM ISH product enables you to connect your           premises     to           the BT broadband ATM platform under an Option 4   Local           Connection.           ATM ISH provides the aggregate link from a BT          ATM node – the point   of presence (PoP) – to your point of handover,       which is typically in a BT       footway box within 100 meters of our         building. You provide the fibre         cable from your premises into the       footway box and then “donate” the fibre to us so          that we can connect it    to the ATM access port at the PoP. You will need to        purchase an          ATM access port at your chosen BT DataStream PoP.

3.     ATM ISH can enable you to achieve cost efficiencies and flexibility by using your own network and equipment to connect at a much closer point to BT’s ATM network.

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A new day

hi,
Welcome to my blog, E-plaze. I've prepared this blog as part of my efforts to help those who are willing to optimize their knowledge of the internet, those that wish to make some extra bucks using tested and proven techniques from various experts i've had the privilege of meeting over the years.
In the coming days, i'll be posting some topics related to computing, ranging from hardwares solutions, softwares to the internet and a whole lot of interesting topics. I'll also be answering your questions on any of the above topics.
Happy surfing.
Cheers!!!