On the amount of bandwidth allocated to virtual paths in ATM networks

The virtual path (VP) concept in asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks is introduced to minimize the network management and control costs. A VP provides a logical connection between two end nodes. VPs have their own allocated bandwidth and each VP is mapped on to a set of physical links connecting the two nodes. Virtual channels (VCs), on the other hand, provide a logical connection between two users. Accordingly, a number of VCs are multiplexed on a VP and a number of VPs are multiplexed on physical links. The effect of multiplexing traffic on the amount of bandwidth allocated to VPs is investigated.<<ETX>>