Abstract: Within an ATM node, a cell handling unit (CHU) receives incoming ATM cells from an ATM switch and provides outgoing ATM cells back to the ATM switch. The cell handling unit consults a combined or consolidated table to obtain ATM parameters (e.g., VCI) for use in headers of outgoing ATM cells. The combined table can be utilized both for ATM cells with AAL2 protocol and ATM cells of a second type AAL protocol. The second type AAL protocol is preferably AAL2 prime, which requires that AAL2 packets carried in the ATM cell payload be whole packets and that the ATM payload not have an AAL2-type start field. The combined table is structured to have plural intervals, including a first interval for AAL2 protocol connections and plural other intervals for the second type AAL protocol connections. Each row for the AAL2 protocol interval associates (1) a unique incoming VCI value; (2) an output link value; (3) an outgoing VCI value; and (4) an offset value.

Abstract: An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch (20) has plural switch ports (24) connected by respective bidirectional links (27, 28) to a switch core (22). Connected to each switch port is a corresponding row column unit (40), each row column unit managing the writing of service cells to one row of cross point units (32) and the reading of service cells from one column of cross point units. The bidirectional links between each switch port and its corresponding row column unit of the switch core carry both service cells and control cells. Cells of differing sizes are carried on the bidirectional links between the switch core and the switch ports. Service cells have a differing cell size than the control cells, and the cell size of the service cells need not necessarily be uniform. Differing types of control cells—link connection control (LCC) cells and link synchronization control (LSC) cells are provided. The link connection control cells (LCC) are used e.g.

Abstract: A multi-stage ATM node (20) comprises plural ATM switches (22) connected together in cascading fashion. A tagging unit (BP/TU) appends a tag (82) to a cell which is to be routed through the ATM node. The tag comprises, e.g., a transfer list (88) of destination addresses for switching of the cell through the ATM node. For monitoring purposes, a node performance monitoring manager (60) defines one or more segments of monitored cell travel through the plural ATM switches of the ATM node, and then selectively starts and stops monitoring with respect to the defined segment. A terminating monitoring unit at a terminating end of the segment uses the tag of a received cell to determine whether the received cell is subject to performance monitoring, and also prepares a termination unit report. The node performance monitoring manager further causes generation of monitoring management cells which also bear a tag, including a monitoring activation cell; a response cell; and a monitoring result cell.

Abstract: A method of indicating the length of a mini cells in a mobile telephony network. Non linear coding of a short fixed length field in the header of the mini cell is described. Either an extension bit method or an extension code method is used to extend the length field so as to increase the number of length values available for coding of the mini cell sizes. The length of a mini cell is indicated in the individual mini cell or is indicated indirectly using a CID/length mapping table. Mini cell sizes are changed during a connection and methods are described for doing this. Cell header reading devices for extracting user information of individual mini cells are described. A mobile telephone network using the cell header reading devices is described.