Short for
Multiprotocol Over ATM, a specification that enables
ATM services to be integrated with existing
local-area networks (LANs) that use
Ethernet,
token-ring or
TCP/IP protocols. The goal of MPOA is to allow different LANs to send
packets to each other via an ATM
backbone. Unlike other techniques, such as
LAN Emulation (LANE), which operates at level 2 of the
OSI Reference Model, MPOA operates at Level 3.