NIST's asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) simulator widely used for ATM performance analysis

NIST's ATM simulator continues to have a major impact on industry and the research community as an effective tool for ATM analysis. In April 1998 NIST started to track requests for the ATM simulator to assess its continuing value to industry and the research community. During the first 6 weeks of monitoring, more than 500 copies of the software were downloaded. About a dozen major U.S. companies and four government laboratories retrieved copies of the software. The majority of the copies were retrieved by university students doing network research.

In 1994, a NIST scientist developed the ATM simulator software to analyze the performance of various ATM protocols without the expense of building a real network. Ongoing improvements to the tool continue to increase its effectiveness. For more than 4 years, this technical and specialized product has been available for download through the Internet at http://www.hsnt. nist.gov/misc/hsnt/prj-atm-sim.html.

NIST actively participates in the development of protocols and test suites through the ATM Forum, an industry group that develops specifications for ATM cell switched networks.

CONTACT: Nada Golmie, [phone]; nada. golmie nist.gov.