To encourage third-party development of ATM interface products and to enable customers to purchase ATM solutions with more confidence, Microsoft has launched the first ATM LAN Emulation testing and logo certification program. Initially emulation is being tested for Ethernet LANs, with emulation for token ring LANs to be added soon.
The Ethernet LAN Emulation testing and logo certification program was launched with the release of Windows NT 4.0 and will soon be available for Windows® 95. ATM interface products, including Madge Network Systems, Adaptec, and others, have already passed this logo testing process and are now identified in the Windows Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) accessible from the Microsoft Web site. In addition, the drivers for these vendors' ATM cards are accessible and downloadable from the HCL. In the future, these ATM drivers, like other drivers which adhere to the relevant HCL requirements, will be included in the box with the operating system. (The drivers for Madge Network Systems and Adaptec are included in the box for Windows NT Server 4.0.) LAN Emulation supports ATM speeds of 25 Mb/s and OC3 (155 Mb/s).
The logo testing process is rigorous, involving stress tests at both the user-mode and kernel-mode levels. The ATM card vendor chooses the processor type or types (Intel, Alpha MIPS, etc.) for which its devices will be tested in the logo program. Tests are performed with single and multiple instances of the adapter installed in the test machine.