ATM Theory and Application

This book is packed with everything. It is the definitive reference on ATM. If you just want an overview, the book is not for you. If you want to understand ATM in depth, this is it. It is valuable not only for network engineers, but also for product engineers designing new equipment or software. However, McDysan has also come out with a new book titled ATM & MPLS Theory and Application. Unless you are certain you will never need to know about MPLS, I would suggest getting the newer book. I haven't had a chance to read that one yet, but I would expect it is the excellent equivalent of this book with additional coverage of MPLS.

If you work with ATM or need to design networks for ATM, you need to have this book on your shelf. It is the argument-settler and really the best reference on ATM available (that can be understood). Matter of fact, I would go as far to say that this is the only ATM book worth buying.

cover everything new in ATM by 1999 such as UNI4.0 and so on.The examples are concise and helpful to understand the complicated concept. An excellent job! However, if you are a new comer to ATM, you should read some other basic books first.

This book is "The Book" to grab an excellent perspective of ATM Technology from Designers / Engineers point of view. Someone having general knowledge of ATM can reach almost an intermediate-expert level after completing this book. It provides a smooth flow in reading and understanding of the subject. The frequently defined acronyms, easily-reachable cross-references and detail comparison of products of ATM vendors certainly add value to the book. A little off-date but it certainly is a "must read".

The introduction to ATM is quite long but worth reading. ATM basic concepts are well illustrated. The text is dense (even for a 800 page book). The higher level layers are well documented. This book explains is great details but does not get to the protocols. For this you need technical specs. I recommend it to designers and planners.