Peter Polasek wrote:
Several people questioned the use of ATM on WAN. We are not running
ATM anywhere within the internal LAN and do not need voice or video. The
ATM interface is being deployed on the WAN because it is the only option
for 155Mbps connectivity - almost. Cisco provides a relatively
new 'Packet over Sonet' (POS) option that more effectively uses the
OC-3 bandwidth because it eliminates the ATM encapsulation overhead.
We are considering this option but are a little hesitant because it is
not terribly mature at this point. I would be interested in hearing
about any real-world experience with POS from those who are using
it in a mission critical production environment.
Peter, POS works fine, it eliminates a whole switching layer which may or
may not be suitable for your environment. Your network size and design
will dictate your needs. We have virtually 100% uptime on POSIP links with no
i/f problems. Its pretty mature, we have been using it for around 18 months
now.
Regards
Tony