4 AAL functions

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4.1 Overview ....................................................................................... 3

4.2 Quality of Service ......................................................................... 4
4.3.1 ATM Adaptation Layers (1/2) .................................................... 5
4.3.1 ATM Adaptation Layers (2/2) .................................................... 6
4.3.2 Service Classes ......................................................................... 7
4.3.3 AAL1 (1/5) .................................................................................. 8
4.3.3 AAL1 (2/5) .................................................................................. 9
4.3.3 AAL1 (3/5) ................................................................................ 10
4.3.3 AAL1 (4/5) ................................................................................ 11
4.3.3 AAL1 (5/5) ................................................................................ 12
4.3.4 AAL 2 (1/2)................................................................................ 13
4.3.4 AAL 2 (2/2)................................................................................ 14
4.3.5 AAL 3/4 (1/3)............................................................................ 15
4.3.5 AAL 3/4 (2/3)............................................................................ 16
4.3.5 AAL 3/4 (3/3)............................................................................ 17
4.3.6 AAL-Type 5 (1/3) ...................................................................... 18
4.3.6 AAL-Type 5 (2/3) ...................................................................... 19
4.3.6 AAL-Type 5 (3/3) ...................................................................... 20
4.4 Label Switching (1/2).................................................................. 21
4.4 Label Switching (2/2).................................................................. 22

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4.1 Overview

In this module we will look at the functionality of the ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL) from the
point of view of service. We will discuss the following topics:

Quality of service (QoS): the different types of user data have to be treated
differently. Some data, for example, can be variable and connectionless, wheareas
speech is constant and connection-oriented. To be able to offer adequate services,
ATM must set some standards as far as priority and the QoS are concerned.
ATM Adaptation Layers (AALs): speech, video and data traffic are fed into the
network in different ways. Thus, each traffic type must be adapted to ATM differently.
Therefore ATM has four adaptation layers.

ATM switching: each switch routes cells to different destination switches. It reads the
incoming cell header, forwards the cell to the exit port so it is forwarded in the correct
direction, and then changes the channel and path identifiers as far as necessary.

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4.2 Quality of Service

To be able to guarantee a certain quality of service, or QoS, there are standardized

procedures for dealing with irregularities in data transmission. The following aspects must be
considered:
Data types can have differing tolerance levels.
There is a mechanism to delete delayed cells.
Virtual channels can be handled as required.
Data types can have high or low priority.
The ITU-T defined a series of QoS parameters:
Latency indicates the nominal delay within a network.
Jitter indicates slight deviations in this delay.
Capacity indicates the average peak data throughput.
Errors tells the number of incomplete or damaged cells.
Losses indicates the number of lost cells.
Misinsertions indicates the number of misrouted cells.
A channel's QoS parameters can indicate a lower or, at most, an equal, but never a higher
quality of service compared to the path. This means that a channel cannot stand out from its
group.

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4.3.1 ATM Adaptation Layers (1/2)

The ITU defined different service classes for ATM. The classes differ in their relation to time,
bit rates and connection type. An example for class A could be circuit-switched speech
transmission; or for example video applications for class B, or connection-oriented or
connectionless data transmission at a variable bit rate for class C and D. Each service type
has a specific AAL assigned to it. Let's look a bit closer at the ATM Adaptation Layer
architecture.
Data packets from higher protocol layers reach the AAL via the Service Access Point (SAP)
and are first passed down to the appropriate Service Specific Convergence Sublayer
(SSCS). The sublayer is optional. It can be used e.g. to set up or clear down a connectionoriented channel if several channels can be multiplexed onto the same cell stream.

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4.3.1 ATM Adaptation Layers (2/2)

The Common Part Convergence Sublayer (CPCS) adds additional Protocol Control
Information (PCI) as headers and/or trailers, thus forming a CPCS data packet. This is not
required for AAL1. The Segmentation and Reassembly Sublayer (SAR) splits this CPCS data
packet into segments, with headers and/or trailers to form the 48 byte long payload sections
of an ATM cell. These segments are reassembled at the destination's peer layer. Please note
that none of the AAL protocols retransmits missing cells, though they are able to identify
them. If any cells are missing, the complete CPCS data packet is deleted.

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4.3.2 Service Classes

Service classes can cover a range of applications:

Class A: A traffic is real-time traffic with a constant bit rate, such as uncompressed
speech and video data.
Class B: B traffic is also real-time traffic, but with a variable bit rate across the
network and a constant one end-to-end, for example compressed voice and video
data.
Class C: C traffic is connection-oriented, as we know from X.25 networks.
Class D: D traffic is connectionless, as in LANs and TCP/IP networks.
Class X: This class is not specified. It is used e.g. for signalling and control data.

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4.3.3 AAL1 (1/5)

AAL1 handles real-time connection-oriented transmissions with constant bit rates. This
concerns uncompressed speech and video transmission. Let's look at the transmission
process at bit level. In the transmitting direction, a uniform bit stream containing data
arranged in a fixed sequence, is segmented into cells. These cells, however, have a variable
delay. To guarantee the service, however, the bit stream must be restored in the receiving
direction. Let's zoom in on the AAL Layer to understand the processes that are going on.

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4.3.3 AAL1 (2/5)

Within the AAL, the Segmentation and Reassembly Sublayer (SAR) is of particular
importance. At the transmitting end, the SAR sublayer receives a 47 octet long data block
from the above-lying Convergence Sublayer (CS). It adds a 1 octet long SAR PDU header to
this data block. This 48 byte long data unit is called an SAR Packet Data Unit (SAR PDU).
Let's look a bit closer at the header. It cosists of a 4 bit long Sequence Number field (SN),
and an equally sized Sequence Number Protection (SNP).

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4.3.3 AAL1 (3/5)

The SN field consists of the actual sequence number, which is 3 bits long, and of another bit,
the CS indicator bit. This depends on the payload type and indicates whether the
Convergence SubLayer transmits synchronization information. The default value of this bit is
0.
The SNP field contains a 3 bit CRC control field, plus a parity bit to detect and correct errors
in the SAR PDU header. The SNP field protects the integrity of the sequence number and
contains a 3 bit CRC control field and a parity bit for error detection and correction of the
SAR PDU-header. The receiver transmits the sequence number, the CSI bit and the CRC's
error status to the Convergence Sublayer, and can use this control information to detect and
correct single bit errors in the SAR PDU header.
A receiving switch can use the sequence number to detect missing cells and generate a null
bit stream. Eight consecutive lost cells are a problem, since they will not be detected from the
sequence number.

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4.3.3 AAL1 (4/5)

There are methods for clock recovery which allow AAL1 to keep up real-time conditions. One
way to do this is Synchronous Residual Time Stamp, or SRTS. Here the sender and the
receiver have a nominal clock in common. The difference in frequency between the actual
and the nominal clock is measured on the sender's side with the help of the Residual Time
Stamp (RTS) and then sent to the receiver, who then can restore the clock relevant for the
real-time transmission.

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4.3.3 AAL1 (5/5)

Another method is Adaptive Clock. The information received is stored in a buffer and is
fetched from there by the receiver. The buffer must be half-filled. If the information arrives at
a higher speed than the receiver can fetch, the amount of information in the buffer increases.
This means the clock at the receiving end is too slow. If the buffer exceeds two-thirds, the
receiver speeds up its clock. If the buffer falls below one-third, the receiver is instructed to
reduce it. Control is based on continuously measuring the amount of information in the
buffer, which should be about half-full. This method allows at least an approximate
regeneration of the original bit stream.

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4.3.4 AAL 2 (1/2)

AAL type 2 handles real-time traffic with variable bit rate. The payload traffic is compressed
on its way across the network and therefore will have a variable bit rate. This applies, for
example, to compressed video transmission. This data type is usually transmitted as packets
of variable length. The packet length of 45 bytes can be extended to 64 bytes.
First, the variably sized data packets are provided with a 3 byte header. This contains an 8
bit long Channel Identifier (CID), which allows the multiplexing of 248 channels onto one cell
stream. Furthermore, it contains a 6 bit Length Indicator to indicate the size of the data
packet, a 5 bit User-to-User Indication (UUI), which is transmitted transparently end-to-end,
and a 5 bit checksum for error detection in the header. This is called Header Error Control, or
HEC checksum.

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4.3.4 AAL 2 (2/2)

The resultant CPS data units, which are named after the Common Part Sublayer (CPS), vary
in length, depending on their payload section. In the next step, the data units are
standardized in their length. The information is packaged into 47 byte cells and provided with
a 1 byte AAL2 header. Any surplus data is packed into the next cell.
The AAL2 header is also known as Start Field and contains a 6 bit Offset Field (OSF), which
marks the beginning of the first packet in the cell. Furthermore, a 1 bit Sequence Number
(SN) to indicate whether it is the first or the second part of a payload unit, as well as a parity
bit to detect transmission errors in the AAL2 header.
The 47 byte long payload field can contain one or more complete CPS data packets, or bits
of them. Empty payload fields are filled up with padding octets whose value is 0. The header
and the payload form the 48 byte payload section of the cells at the ATM Layer.

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4.3.5 AAL 3/4 (1/3)

AAL type 3/4 handles non-real-time traffic of variable bit rate. It is a bundling of formerly two
separate types, i.e. type 3 for connection-oriented, and type 4 for connectionless services.
Both are supported by type 3/4. AAL type 3/4 has three sublayers:

The Service Specific Convergence Sublayer: this is optional and provides specific
functions for the service to be adapted.
The Common Part Convergence Sublayer (CPCS): it provides functions shared by all
the type 3/4 services.
The Segmentation And Reassembly Sublayer (SAR): this standardizes the packet
sizes for further transmission and prepares the formatting of the packets before they
are passed on to the ATM Layer.

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4.3.5 AAL 3/4 (2/3)

At the Convergence Sublayer, further information is added to the payload which has been
handed down from higher layers. This is to allow the destination host to reassemble
transmitted data. This additional information is composed of several parts, allocated to the
header and the trailer.
The 1 byte Common Part Indicator (CPI) identifies the type of the following payload
unit CPCS PDU. That is the data packet from the Convergence Sublayer.
The Beginning Tag (Btag) and the End Tag (Etag), which are the same size, i.e. 1
byte, define the beginning and end of the CPCS PDUs.
The 2 byte Buffer Allocation Size (BASize) field informs the receiver of the buffer
space required to assemble this message.
The Padding field (PAD) expands the CPCS PDU payload by up to 3 empty octets to
form a whole number multiple of 4 octets. The Padding fields are used exclusively for
padding and don't contain any information. Their value is always set to 0 and is
ignored by the receiver.
The 1 byte Alignment field (AL) expands the CPCS PDU trailer to 32 bits, i.e. 4
octets. Like the padding field, this octet also doesn't contain any information, and its
value is set to 0.
The header, trailer and CPCS payload field form the CPCS PDU.

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4.3.5 AAL 3/4 (3/3)

The Segmentation and Reassembly Sublayer (SAR) organizes the CPCS PDUs into 44 byte
payload sections for further data processing at the ATM Layer. Of the remaining 4 bytes, two
bytes are required for the SAR header and the other two for the SAR trailer. These provide
individual cell transport functions. Let's look at the header:
The 2 bit Segment Type field (ST) indicates whether the CPCS PDU is to make up
one or more SAR PDUs. There are several types of segments: Single Segment
Message (SSM), Beginning of Message (BOM), Continuation of Message (COM), or
End of Message (EOM).
The 4 bit Sequence Number field (SN) identifies all SAR PDUs belonging to one
specific CPCS PDU. If the End SAR PDU, i.e. the EOM type, is smaller than 44
bytes, a padding bit is added.
The 9 byte long Multiplex Identifier is used to multiplex several SAR connections onto
one ATM Layer virtual circuit. It identifies all the SAR PDUs belonging to the same
CPCS PDU or SAR Service Data Unit (SAR SDU).
Now let's look at the trailer:
The 6 bit Length Indication field (LI) indicates the number of octets carrying PDU
information contained in the SAR PDU payload field. The value is usually 44, except
in the EOM type.
Finally, a 10 bit CRC field detects errors in the SAR PDU.

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4.3.6 AAL-Type 5 (1/3)

Finally, let's examine AAL type 5, which, like type 3/4 is used for transmission at variable bit
rates. AAL5 has the same sublayer structure as type 3/4. It consists of the optional SSCS,
the CPCS and the SAR. Type 5 has considerably less network overheads: the SAR sublayer
has neither header nor trailer, and the CPCS PDU is only to be divided into 48 byte blocks.
The cell may contain padding octets to guarantee that packet alignment is maintained. Let's
take a closer look.

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4.3.6 AAL-Type 5 (2/3)

At the Convergence Layer, a trailer containing control information is attached to the data
packet, so that a CPCS PDU with one payload field is formed, which can be between 1 and
65 535 octets long. The trailer contains the following elements:

A padding field fills up between 0 and 47 octets as required, making the CPCS PDU
divisible by 48.
In the User-to-User Indication field (UU), CPCS user-specific information is
transmitted transparently between users.
The Common Part Indicator field (CPI) expands the trailer to the 64 bit alignment and
can identify layer management information.
The Length field is used to encode the CPCS PDU payload length.
Finally, a 32 bit CRC is used to detect bit errors in the CPCS PDU.

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4.3.6 AAL-Type 5 (3/3)

So the SAR sublayer receives data packets of variable length, which is a whole number
multiple of 48 octets, from the Convergence Layer. Then it segments them into SAR PDUs
that are 48 octets long. The SAR Layer adds no header or trailer. To indicate the last cell of a
data unit, SAR uses a specific parameter of the ATM Layer. The last bit of the Payload Type
Identifier (PTI), which is part of the ATM header, is set to 1 to mark the last cell of a data unit.
Let's compare the AAL types 3/4 and 5. We will see that the structure of type 5 is much
simplified, since multiplexing or sequencing are left to other layers. Therefore it is possible to
implement the CPCS functions of this type into the hardware. Thus, type 5 is the preferred
layer for high-performance data applications and is preferably used in LAN emulations.

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4.4 Label Switching (1/2)

Label switching is a technique which enhances the routing performance, especially in the
backbone of IP networks. This technique is used in a variety of network systems, such as
X.25 or Frame Relay, and has also been chosen for ATM. The basis of it is that each circuit
is given an identifier which is unique to and valid for the particular link used.
In a single switched network, the VPI/VCI values for one specific channel are different on
either side of the switch. Any cell enters a switch on a link with a specific VPI/VCI associated
to it, and leaves it on another link with another VPI/VCI value. The switch must thus swap the
VPI/VCI values and calculate a new Header Error Check during the switching process.
The switch does this by checking the incoming labels with the VPI/VCI values and by
comparing them with the entries in a table for incoming links. Let's take a closer look at this
table.

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4.4 Label Switching (2/2)

After checking the incoming link, the table entries specify the outgoing link and thus the
appropriate label the header of the cell at the output is to be provided with. The tables can be
implemented via software or they can be directly configured on the switch's hardware. They
can be configured by the network manager via a switch management system to set up
Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVCs) or are generated dynamically at call set-up, as is the case
with Switched Virtual Circuits (SVCs).
When using label switching, transmission is transferred to circuit level, compared to prefix
search for addresses on the network level, and can be accelerated particulary with hardware
support.
Routers between high-capacity lines are often overloaded, because the routing tables grow
longer and longer. Label switching offers a remedy to that. Data flows with similar QoS
requirements are bundled into larger units, for example to virtual paths, and are provided with
their own labels, which are sufficient as routing information for transmission through the
backbone and ease the routing tables.

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