Inventors:
Rodney Witel - Rohnert Park CA
Jason Dove - Novato CA
Paul Franceschini - Petaluma CA
International Classification:
H04J 324
Abstract:
STS-n with enhanced granularity is achieved by using an ATM cell framer which includes a plurality of cell delineators and cell assemblers for conversions between broadband STS-n which occupies at least a portion of a bandwidth of a synchronous payload envelope (SPE), such as a synchronous optical network (SONET) bandwidth, and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells. The SONET bandwidth is flexibly and efficiently allocated for transporting the broadband STS-n which carries ATM data, wherein n can be varied in small increments to allow the SONET bandwidth to be shared with narrowband STS if the broadband STS-n does not occupy the entire SONET bandwidth.