Monash University’s ATM Testbed Facility and Telstra’s EBN
At Monash University’s Clayton campus, the Advanced Network Systems and Applications Group (ANSPAG) has implemented a Testbed Facility for testing ATM applications and systems using Telstra’s Experimental Broadband Network. (EBN). Telstra has been actively involved in research and standardisation of ATM technology for over a decade. Commercial ATM equipment is now sufficiently capable for its emergence from the laboratory and passing into the trial phase, not only in connectivity but with a view to developing applications.

The purposeful development of advanced Broadband applications will lead to stimulation of new communications technology as well as leading the way for a Broadband product market and this is necessary if the seamless integration of all communication media is to become a reality.

The EBN is Telstra’s research and testing ground into B-ISDN/ATM networking and service provision. Essentially it is a wide area, trial ATM network and is being implemented to provide developers with operational experience, via collaboration between customer and suppliers, and to develop applications in the ATM based public Broadband services. Basically it acts as a distribution network covering capital cities in Australia and is used to facilitate experimentation and distribute various trial applications using the ATM transmission structure (Figure 0-10). The entire network is fully ATM connected using Alcatel switches. Raw ATM access is provided at 2, 34 and 155 Mbit/s.


Figure 0-10 EBN

The EBN will allow the creation of a diversity of applications and also involve a large number of vendors of ATM equipment.

At the moment the various applications existing on the EBN include video conferencing, video on demand, and some medical practices. Future services are also in the pipeline and it is only a matter of time until services like Distance Learning, Retrieval of Multimedia Information and much more become readily available and commercially viable.

The EBN provides a test environment in which, under agreement from Telstra various groups can use the network for their own purposes, but also it provides valuable information on the services and the capabilities of Broadband ISDN ATM networks. It seems also that the application of Video on Demand can be implemented very successfully on this ATM infrastructure, and therefore investigation into this issue is a primary concern for various vendors and customers.