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2 Dell PowerVault 7x0N Systems — Connecting to ATM and FDDI Networks
You can use ATM in two ways on a Dell PowerVault 720N, 740N, or 760N filer (hereaf-
ter referred to as a filer):
ATM local area network emulation (LANE), which provides the services of an
Ethernet LAN (ELAN) to higher-level network application software
FORE/IP over Simple Protocol for ATM Network Signaling (SPANS) with perma-
nent virtual circuits (PVCs)
The filer can simultaneously support FORE/IP over SPANS as well as LANE over user
network interface (UNI) 3.0 or 3.1 on the same physical interface.
Many organizations use a LAN for their internal data communications needs. Exam-
ples of these LANs include Ethernet/IEEE 802.3 and IEEE 802.5 (Token Ring).
However, LANs typically offer a connectionless service, while ATM is always
connection-oriented.
NOTE: To use LAN-based applications with ATM, some form of LANE is required.
In addition to the issue of connection-based versus connectionless service, LANs dif-
fer from ATM in the following ways:
The shared medium approach of LANs make them ideal for broadcast and multi-
cast messages.
The media access control (MAC) addresses used to identify a network interface
are typically based on the manufacturer’s serial numbers.
This means that the address is constant, independent of the network to which
the interface is connected.
LANE is an ATM service that offers the following services:
The capability to run LAN-based application software on an ATM network.
The capability for ATM networks to be interconnected with conventional LANs by
means of existing bridging methods.
This permits application programs running on ATM-connected end systems to
interoperate with those running on traditional LAN-based devices. These LAN-
based end systems can also communicate with each other across the ATM
network.
The capability of running more than one ELAN on the same ATM network, with
each ELAN independent of the others.
This means that users cannot communicate between ELANs without the appro-
priate routing or bridging methods.
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