Implementation Pros and Cons Between Asynchronous Tranfer Mode (ATM) and Gigabit Ethernet(GbE)

Growing demands for bandwidth spurred by increasing numbers of users and data-intensive office, intranet and multimedia applications are adding a significant burden to backbones in many of today’s networks. Several technologies have emerged to meet these demands. The two dominant technologies competing for dominance in the network backbone are Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Designed to offer higher performance and scalability, Gigabit Ethernet will be
implemented in general-purpose LANs of all sizes. The technology will provide dramatic increases in the bandwidth available for users to access servers and applications. When a backbone is upgraded to gigabit throughput, a network can support a marked increase in the numbers of segments and nodes it supports without degrading performance. It’s a bi-directional, full-duplex switched technology. The greatest advantages of ATM are its speed and flexibility. ATM boasts gigabit-per-second transfer rates. However with the growing speed of other protocols, ATM’s biggest selling point is that it can transport all VIViD information over a single medium.
Another feature is that bandwidth is provided on the fly, providing enough to support any given application and is only assigned until transmission is complete. No single user can monopolize an ATM channel.
In reality, ATM and Gigabit Ethernet are not equal substitutes for each other and should not be considered as such. Each technology is appropriate for specific applications. Simply stated, Gigabit Ethernet will be deployed in areas where Fast Ethernet and other technologies like FDDI are no longer able to provide the bandwidth needed for pure data traffic. In other words, Gigabit Ethernet will be used in areas where high data throughput is required, but quality of service is not a main concern. ATM will be used in environments where video, voice and other delay sensitive traffic exist. Some applications for ATM are also starting to be implemented in the WAN. This could lead to networks that use ATM in the LAN and WAN, or possibly networks that use Gigabit Ethernet to carry LAN traffic and ATM to carry WAN traffic.