ABSTRACT
In ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) based communication networks information is transmitted under the form of fixed-length packets, referred to as ATM cells [1]. The cells generated by a source are typically sent over the network to their destination via several network nodes and interconnecting links, which do not necessarily operate at the same transmission speeds [2]. Consequently, if at some point in the network, the speed of the incoming link exceeds the speed of the outgoing link, it may happen that more cells arrive in a given time interval than can be transmitted. In this case, if excessive cell loss is to be avoided, a so-called rate adaptation buffer must be provided for the temporary storage of incoming cells.
