BNL-NYSERNet ATM project report

In 1994, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and NYSERNet, Incorporated embarked on a joint project to develop a prototype Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Regional Network testbed. This project was funded as a three-year effort under a Cooperative Research and Development Activity (CRADA) agreement between the parties, with half the funds being provided directly by the U.S. Department of Energy and the remainder as an in-kind contribution by NYSERNet. This report documents that effort as it comes to a close, providing an account of the original goals, the accomplishments of the projects, and the results as they might apply to the future. It is useful to remember that, when the collaboration discussions first began in 1993, it was far from certain that ATM would be the technology of choice for the then-next generation of the Internet. That, of course, has turned out to be the case, which in retrospect makes this experience particularly valuable. The investigators were not totally prescient, however, and the project changed during its duration to account for changes in technology, available infrastructure, and other circumstances