ATM Adapters for Linux?

Raxxon asks: "I've been working with some guys in my company laying the groundwork for our next phase of network upgrades. We're looking at having an ATM feed for the main pipe but we're unsure of the Linux ATM support. I know that the firewall code is good (and plentiful) and that for an Ether/Ether or Ether/WAN (frame, DSL, etc) it's great, but with limited knowledge of how well Linux handles ATM, I'm a bit worried about suggesting this as an interface on the router/firewall given that we can convert it back to Ethernet (and in 60% of the case, it's going to stay ether anyway). What's the current state of Linux ATM and is it really worth it?"

Comments

Possibly up to the task...

[ComputerSlicer23]

Well, I know that there have been ATM drivers in the kernel since 1.2 series at least (when I started using Linux). I believe that there are any number of comercial routers based on linux which do ATM. The old LRP (Linux Router Project), always talked about how you could use it to do anything from ATM to dialup banks, to firewalling. That it could handle a T1, or ATM if you had the proper card.

LRP died a while ago (at least thats the impression I get), and some guys followed it up with LEAF. I'd check that out. I believe it's leaf.sourceforge.net.

I have no idea where you would get cards for it, but I'd buy 3 or 4 of them (to have redundant cards, and a one in a failover machine). I'd imagine the leadtime on a part like that could be a bit brutal (it's not like you just go pick one up down at the local CompUSA). So it's at least a day out, possibly two at the soonest.

If the driver is good, Linux is easily up to the task of doing nearly anything you want it to in terms of routing. Other then the proprietary Cisco protocols, it does nearly everything other good routers can on similar hardware.

Kirby

Re:Possibly up to the task...

[MerlynEmrys67]

If the driver is good, Linux is easily up to the task of doing nearly anything you want it to in terms of routing. Other then the proprietary Cisco protocols, it does nearly everything other good routers can on similar hardware.

Well the last point is correct - on similar hardware. However many times when you start wanting to go fast (and by fast I mean multiple Gig interfaces, General Purpose Hardware just doesn't cut it... The PCI bus (and by that I mean PCI-X or PCI-EXPRESS) is not fast enough to handle the traffic, so your box can not keep up with the interfaces.

Linux works well as a replacement for low end routers, a handfull of 100Mbit interfaces... but if you are talking a real router with several 1Gbit interfaces and a couple OC-12/OC-48 connections out to the real world - General Purpose Hardware just won't cut it, and you need to get a real router from a company that has spent the bucks developing the ASICs and cross connects to handle the throughput for you

Re:Possibly up to the task...

[ComputerSlicer23]

Yeah, I just got my first set of Gigabit cards a while back... You are way out of my realm of experience. Linux can easily route a T1, probably could do a T3. It can route simple situations pretty darn fast. Two network cards, anything that comes in on one gets passed to the other, modulo a spoof filter.

I really meant it could do BGP/OSPF and get you real redundant backup links. It can easily do the Multi-homing. It can easily do all the filtering. It can easily do stateful firewalling (with 2.4 at least). It can do pretty sophisticated IP configuration (local/global IP's/Links, the same IP on several cards). It can do policy routing. It can do bandwidth shaping. It can do channel bonding. It can do redundant failover (vrrpd). It can do VLAN's. It can do VPN. It can do IPv6. I can do IPSec (with patches). It can do tunneling. It can do virtually anything you want it to, that involves relatively low bandwidth. If you are talking about slower then T3 speeds, and you trust the Linux drivers for your hardware, there is very little need for Cisco equipment. I wonder when someone will finally build out the hardware and put Linux on it, and leverate Linux as the software and give Cisco a run for their money.

Kirby

Linux ATM works

[doozer]

In later 2.4 and 2.6 kernels, alot of stuff was cleaned up, and it
works quite well now.

Interphase makes a couple of fairly nice cards (the 5575 and 5576)
that work under linux.

linux ATM driver page..

[kfuq]

Here is the "linux-atm" page.

when all else fails, try sourceforge !!!!

LOL |-)