High-speed network security. I. SMDS and Frame Relay

There is a growing interest in the development of broadband services and networks for commercial use in both local area and wide area networks. In particular, connectionless Switched Multilmegabit Data Service (SMDS) and connection-oriented Frame Relay-based broadband services are beginning to be offered by a number of major operators in the US and Europe. This paper considers the issues that need to be addressed in the design of security services for such high-speed networks. First the relevant characteristics of broadband network interfaces are discussed, some of the existing security protocols for TCP/IP and OSI networks are reviewed, and their suitability for providing security in broadband networks assessed. Then the developed arguments are applied to design security services for the connectionless LAN and SMDS networks and connection-oriented Frame Relay networks. The paper concludes with a discussion on the establishment of secure Switched Virtual Connections (SVCs).