Alcatel Canada Inc.

Roxana Hamedani

Jason T Sterne

Nutan Behki

Stanko Vuleta

A method and apparatus for supporting virtual path aggregations (VPAs) in a communications network is presented. To establish a VPA in the network, a request for the VPA is received, where the request indicates a desired data path between a source switch and a destination switch. Based on the request, it is determined whether or not there are resources available to create the VPA. If the resources are present, the VPA is created. Once created, connections may be established using the VPA by first determining whether or not the needs of the connection are satisfied by the capabilities of the VPA. If the VPA is capable of supporting the connection, the connection is established using the VPA. If the VPA is not capable of supporting the connection, the connection may either be established using other resources or rejected.

Method and apparatus for virtual path aggregation (VPA) connection admission control (CAC)

A method and apparatus for converting UBR and nrt-VBR connections to ABR connections in an ATM network is presented. In response to receiving a connection set-up message for a UBR or nrt-VBR connection, it is determined it is determined whether the port contemplating conversion is commissioned as a conversion port, which enables it to perform such conversions. If the port is a conversion port, it is determined whether or not the port type of the ingress port and the port type of the egress port support connection format conversion. If the port types support connection format conversion, it is determined whether or not the set-up message for the connection indicates that the connection is conversion enabled. If the connection is conversion enabled and the ports are of the right configuration, the set-up message is converted from the nrt-VBR or UBR format to an ABR format for transmission. Upon determination that the connection has successfully been established, the data packets for the connection are converted to ABR format and transmitted through the data communications network.

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Ottawa, Canada

Roxana Hamedani