Cisco Cisco IOS Software Release 12.0(11)S

This document describes the Cisco IOS Inverse Multiplexing for ATM (IMA) features available with 
the introduction of Multiport T1/E1 ATM port adapters with IMA for the Cisco 7200 series routers and 
Cisco 7500 series routers.

This document includes the following sections:

Configuration Examples, page 16

The inverse multiplexing over ATM (IMA) port adapter is a single-width port adapter that allows 
Cisco 7200 series and Cisco 7500 series routers to support inverse multiplexing over ATM. These port 
adapters allow WAN uplinks at speeds ranging from 1.544 Mbps to 12.288 Mbps for T1 connections 
and from 2.048 Mbps to 16.384 Mbps for E1 connections. (For details, see the “Bandwidth 
Considerations” section on page 4.) 

With Cisco’s scalable ATM IMA solution, network designers and managers can deploy only the 
bandwidth they need, using multiple T1 or E1 connections instead of more expensive T3 or OC-3 lines 
to bridge LANs and ATM WAN applications. Enterprises and branch offices can aggregate traffic from 
multiple lower-bandwidth physical transmission media, such as T1 or E1 pipes, to transmit voice and 
data at high-bandwidth connection speeds.