Virtual channel

From Hill2dot0

Two levels of virtual connections are defined at the ATM Layer: virtual channels and virtual paths. The most basic type of connection, a virtual channel (VC) refers to a unidirectional communications capability for the transport of cells. A virtual channel link is a point-to-point connection between two ATM switching points, and a virtual channel connection (VCC) is the end-to-end concatenation of a series of VC links.

Typically a VC represents the connection between end-user equipment (e.g., between two B-ISDN multimedia terminals or between two telephones). Routing information and service parameters are associated with a VC at the time it is created. A VC, then, is like the individual circuit connecting two end-user devices.