multipoint-to-multipoint communications

A multipath communication is a multipoint-to- multipoint connection. It is a collection of associated virtual paths( VP) or virtual channels( VC) in an ATM network and the nodes connected to them, the endpoints.

Endpoints are characterized by the fact that all nodes in a link act as routing nodes and communicate with the remaining endpoints via point-to-multipoint links. In addition, each endpoint can send information directly to any other endpoint. The receiving endpoints cannot distinguish from which endpoint they received information without additional information.