ATM ADAPTER PORT FOR CONSTANT BIT RATE (CBR) DATA

A constant bit rate adapter for use with an ATM switch so that CBR source data of any type can be transmitted via an ATM system. The CBR data is converted into one or more words of an ATM data cell. Clock information for the CBR sources and data type information are also converted to words of an ATM data cell. The words are stored in a shared buffer memory (Buffer Memory) of the ATM switch. When transmission is available, the ATM data cell, including the CBR data, is retrieved from the buffer memory and transmitted. When such ATM data cells are received, they are decoded to recover the CBR data.