requirements of technical sophistication. ATM's scalability can provide support for today's and
tomorrow's emerging applications needs with quality of service. ATM maps well to the existing
IP Ethernet and Frame Relay network that Distributed Learning already maintains. In addition
to connecting to workgroup ATM switches, ATM can be used to interconnect LAN switches.
ATM can bridge existing legacy Ethernet switches with ultra-high-speed networks that can
scale as high as 10 Gbps. High-speed ATM switches can be located at the core of the network.
By integrating all of these services onto a common platform and a common ATM transport
infrastructure, Distributed Learning can gain greater manageability while eliminating the need
for multiple overlay networks. The Catalyst 5500 or the Lightstream 1010 can function
effectively as an ATM workgroup switch. Workgroup ATM switches have an Ethernet switch
port and an ATM uplink to connect to a Catalyst 5500 can serve as an ATM switch. The Catalyst
5500 LAN is a 13-slot switch. Slot 1 is reserved for the supervisor engine module, which
provides switching, local and remote management, and dual Fast Ethernet uplinks. Slot 2 is
available for a second, redundant supervisor engine, or any of the other supported modules.
Slots 3 through 12 support any of the supported modules. Slot 13 can be populated only with a
LightStream 1010 ATM Switch Processor (ASP). If an ASP is present in slot 13, slots 9 through
12 support any of the standard LightStream 1010 ATM switch port adapter modules (PAMs).
The use of ATM switches minimizes potential backbone congestion while enabling the
deployment of new VLANs. See Figure 4-10.