ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a cell-based transport mechanism for carrying network traffic. It is becoming somewhat more popular in companies that are on the leading edge of technology, replacing Ethernet (10-base, 100-base, and Gigabit). It is very efficient, particularly for carrying mixed media traffic (voice, video and data), and is best used where very high bandwidth is required.
I doubt if Bid.com has an ATM connection to the Internet, which is not typically ATM except in some parts of the backbone. Leading edge companies run ATM inside their company, though some of the largest do contract with WAN providers for ATM connections on private networks.
Most commonly, a low end dedicated connection to the Internet for a company is a T-1, 1.5 megabits per second (for comparison, Ethernet, like your Local Area Network in your office, is 10 megabits). Next up is T-3, 45 megabits (skipping E-1, which isn't often used in North America). Next up is OC-3, 155 megabits, then OC-12, 622 megabits ... which only the very largest ISP's would ever consider. For example, much of the Internet backbone, the main pipes, is OC-48 (2.48 gigabits), but many of the off-branches will be OC3 or T-3. [Edit: a standard Web site can serve 5000+ users over a T-3, according to a tech note from Microsoft]
AS I mentioned earlier, they likely have a few T-1's or maybe a T-3 if they host themselves, or a large outsourced hoster might have multiple T-3's or an OC-3. CIBC's banking site, I understand, runs over three T-1's, though it isn't running streaming video like Bid.com does now.
WUWT |
