Cedell Adam Alexander

Large-scale LAN emulation networks

The ATM Forums LAN emulation (LANE) specification has now been available for more than two years, and LANE products have matured sufficiently that enterprises have deployed production LAN Emulation networks. However, the scaleability of LANE is still frequently debated, as is its applicability in wide-area networks (WANs). This paper examines design features and supporting applications that can enhance the scaleability and manageability of LAN Emulation networks. The design features include techniques for distributing the LANE Services to provide load balancing and robustness, mechanisms for managing broadcast and multicast traffic (which have been a classical problem with large LAN networks), approaches for controlling signaling rates during power-up and failover situations, and extensions that exploit the distributed routing capabilities provided by the next hop resolution protocol (NHRP). Issues associated with WAN deployment of LAN Emulation are also explored, including requirements for carrier-based service environments, where conservation of network resources, security capabilities, and monitoring applications are especially important. The paper is concluded with an assessment of LANEs status/prospects as a technology for building large-scale networks.