Abstract: A network resource server is deployed in a convergent telecommunications network for providing traditionally service circuit type applications to both circuit switches and packet switches of the convergent network. The network resource server includes a variety of processors for accommodating specific application requests from nodes within the convergent network. Advantageously, the network resource server has a greater capacity than traditional service circuit nodes and is able to serve both the circuit-based network elements and packet-based network elements in a convergent network. For this reason, the network resource server eliminates the need for traditional service circuit nodes and various types of data servers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for interfacing ATM network packet type communications to STM frame type communications. This method and apparatus is especially useful for interfacing isochronous ATM cells to STM frames. The apparatus concerns an elastic store which receives ATM cells and sorts them in a set of FIFOs into their respective frames. The FIFO storing and retrieval method removes jitter and delay. A controlled clock within the elastic store clocks reads the information out of the FIFOs and into a STM network.