What is ABR?
When you assign an ATM virtual circuit to the ABR service category it configures a router to transmit at a rate that varies with the amount of bandwidth available in the network or along the end-to-end transmission path. When the network is congested and other source devices are transmitting, there is little available or leftover bandwidth. However, when the network is not congested, bandwidth is available for use by other active devices. ABR allows end-system devices like routers to take advantage of this extra bandwidth and increase their transmission rates. Therefore, ABR uses mechanisms that allow ABR VCs to make use of any bandwidth available in the network at any point in time. An ABR VC binds a source router to a contract with the ATM switch network. As part of this contract, a source router agrees to examine information that indicates whether or not the network is congested and, in turn, adapt the source transmission rate if required. In return, the ATM switch network agrees to
