An ATM multimedia architecture: Design, implementation, and performance

This paper describes the design, implementation, and performance of an ATM multimedia architecture for the UNIX environment. An ATM card has been designed for the EISA bus and provides host connectivity to an ATM network. The network architecture has been built from scratch and supports applications that use standard protocols such as TCP/IP as well as other applications that require a raw AAL5 service. To support continuous media applications such as digital video/audio, a kernel module has been implemented and incorporated into the UNIX operating system. The kernel module improves application performance by providing an in-kernel data path which allows direct streaming of digital video/audio between an ATM network adapter and the display device.