An efficient approach for token-ring LAN emulation over ATM

The LAN emulation service defined by the ATM Forum provides a mechanism for running existing LAN applications in the ATM environment. Each Emulated LAN (ELAN) is one of two types: Ethernet/IEEE-802.3 or IEEE-802.5 token-ring. The interaction of the LAN Emulation with the 802.5 Source Routing protocol may lay heavy broadcast load over the ATM backbone. The paper presents an efficient scheme for connecting remote 802.5 token-ring LANs through an ATM backbone. The proposed scheme uses intelligence at the ATM-bridges in order to minimize the ATM broadcast load.