far end receive failure (ATM) (FERF)

Far End Receive Failure (FERF) cells are cells that propagate failure information across the network.

If one direction of a full- duplex connection between two switches is faulty, FERF cells are generated. Traffic then continues, but only in one direction. The switch closest to the fault then generates an Alarm Indication Signal( AIS) to determine the location of the fault. The FERF cell generated by the sending station notifies the destination station of the error condition, thus creating the conditions for an alternate path.