In data transmission, a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) is a unique identifier which indicates a particular virtual circuit on a network. It is a 16-bit field in the header of an asynchronous transfer mode cell. The VCI, together with the Virtual Path Identifier (VPI), is used to identify the next destination of a cell as it passes through a series of ATM switches on its way to its destination.
ATM switches use the VPI/VCI fields to identify the Virtual Channel Link (VCL) of the next network that a cell needs to transit on its way to its final destination. The function of the VCI is similar to that of the data link connection identifier (DLCI) in frame relay and the Logical Channel Number & Logical Channel Group Number in X.25.
Famous quotes containing the words virtual and/or channel:
“Neither dead nor alive, the hostage is suspended by an incalculable outcome. It is not his destiny that awaits for him, nor his own death, but anonymous chance, which can only seem to him something absolutely arbitrary.... He is in a state of radical emergency, of virtual extermination.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“Children belong in families, which, ideally, serve as a sanctuary and a cushion from the world at large. Parents belong to society and are a part of that greater world. Sometimes parents are a channel to the larger society, sometimes they are a shield from it. Ideally they act as filters, guiding their children and teaching them to avoid the tempting trash.”
—Louise Hart (20th century)