It is my understanding that ATM can indeed scale to more than 10 Gbps (OC-192)in the core as required. There are three levels of architecture - ATM LAN, ATM WAN and ATM Public Core. Each box carries the requisite capacity and port density as needed by the demand.
Remember ATM was developed by the telcos in the 80's to provide broadband service (voice, video, data) over the public carrier network. By its nature, it is a 'heavy lifting' technology.
I just returned from a Lucent seminar where they discussed their vision for the network of the future. Its interesting to note that while photonics was very important, the underlying architecture was comprised of IP/ATM backbone with an optical core.
On another topic, I read a piece today by robby/steph on Networld/Interop. One of the impressions they took away from the networking vendors was the requirement that their component suppliers work towards an "expansion of their technology base" in order to supply more than one area of expertise. As networks and boxes become more integrated (combinations of analog, digital, optical, protocols, switching, routing etc.), communication IC makers must be able to have expertise in many areas. PMC's moves in the Ethernet space are right down this alley. Combine their SONET, SDH, T1/E1 and ATM expertise and you're looking at a nice portfolio of chips to offer a customer.
Bulldozer |
