Mechanism and method dynamically allocating ATM connections between exchanges
AssigneeEricsson Inc.
InventorLars A. Tovander
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An ATM connection (45) and call connection equipment 22 can be dynamically allocated between exchanges (20, 30). The connection is setup and released by a master switch (20) on one side of the connection. The slave 30 is controlled using standard signaling protocols and the physical connections (45) between the interworking units (40, 50) use circuit-emulation according to AAL1. The master (20) controls the ATM connection (45) with standard signaling and the slave (30) with normal trunk signaling. The ATM connection 45 and connection 26 can be setup between the nodes (40, 50) when needed based on the traffic needs of the network (10).
Claims13
A communications system for dynamically allocating asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) connections between nodes in a network comprising:
- a master exchange switch for controlling a slave exchange switch through one or more trunk signaling links, wherein said master exchange switch is configured for:
- pooling all devices available to the master exchange switch into groups of virtual devices;
- determining if a new connection is needed in the network;
- and
- allocating groups of virtual devices to provide said new connections, if needed, by first grouping a number of virtual devices into a route used to carry network traffic;
- first and second interworking units (IWUs) coupled to said master exchange switch and said slave exchange switch through first and second physical connections, respectively;
- and
- an ATM connection forming a signal pathway between said first IWU and said second IWU, wherein said master exchange is configured to control the slave exchange and sets up said ATM connection through said first and second IWUs to dynamically create traffic routes extending from the master exchange to said slave exchange.
In a network comprising a master exchange switch that controls a plurality of slave exchange switches through one or more trunk signaling links, a method of dynamically allocating asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) connections between nodes in the network comprising the steps of:
- pooling all devices available to the master exchange switch into groups of virtual devices;
- determining if a new connection is needed in the network;
- allocating groups of virtual devices to provide said new connections, if needed, by first grouping a number of virtual devices into a route used to carry network traffic;
- and
- forming a signal pathway between said first IWU and said second IWU utilizing an ATM connection, wherein said master exchange is configured to control the slave exchange and set up said ATM connection through said first and second IWUs to dynamically create traffic routes extending from the master exchange to said slave exchange.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.