ATM Adaptation Layer 5

ATM Adaptation Layer 5 (AAL5) is an ATM adaptation layer used to send variable-length packets up to 65,535 octets in size across an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network.

Unlike most network frames, which place control information in the header, AAL5 places control information in an 8-octet trailer at the end of the packet. The AAL5 trailer contains a 16-bit length field, a 32-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and two 8-bit fields labeled UU and CPI that are currently unused.

Each AAL5 packet is divided into an integral number of ATM cells and reassembled into a packet before delivery to the receiving host. This process is known as Segmentation and Reassembly (see below). The last cell contains padding to ensure that the entire packet is a multiple of 48 octets long. The final cell contains up to 40 octets of data, followed by padding bytes and the 8-octet trailer. In other words, AAL5 places the trailer in the last 8 octets of the final cell where it can be found without knowing the length of the packet; the final cell is identified by a bit in the ATM header (see below), and the trailer is always in the last 8 octets of that cell.

When an application sends data over an ATM connection using AAL5, the host delivers a block of data to the AAL5 interface. AAL5 generates a trailer, divides the information into 48-octet pieces, and transfers each piece across the ATM network in a single cell. On the receiving end of the connection, AAL5 reassembles incoming cells into a packet, checks the CRC to ensure that all pieces arrived correctly, and passes the resulting block of data to the host software. The process of dividing a block of data into cells and regrouping them is known as ATM segmentation and reassembly (SAR).

By separating the functions of segmentation and reassembly from cell transport, AAL5 follows the layering principle. The ATM cell transfer layer is classified as "machine-to-machine" because the layering principle applies from one machine to the next (e.g., between a host and a switch or between two switches). The AAL5 layer is classified as "end-to-end" because the layering principle applies from the source to the destination - AAL5 presents the receiving software with data in exactly the same size blocks as the application passed to the AAL5 on the sending end.

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