This thesis ends with a summary of conclusions stated at the end of each chapter. The result of this work is an overview of all the relevant protocols and specifications required for an implementation of IP multicasting over ATM. An implementation of the extensions required for IP multicasting in the current Linux-ATM package will be seriously impaired by the limited support for point-to-multipoint VCCs in the signalling entity. Alternative, non-standard, solutions could be considered if inter-operability is not of prime importance. Using a non-standard solution, it is possible to create a RFC 2022 implementation on the Linux-ATM system with an emulated multicast (using multiple unicasts, see chapters 3 and 7).
If the logical operation of the protocol described in RFC 2022 needs to be researched, the non-standard implementation could be considered. For performance analysis and a fully functional inter-operable system, the Linux-ATM stack must first be extended with point-to-multipoint support in the signalling entity.