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ATM networks employ traffic control as an important mechanism for assuring QoS levels, while also achieving economical resource usage. Current ATM networking equipment incorporates rather elementary Traffic Control Algorithms (TCAs), hardwired into the software controlling the devices. This arrangement does not allow upgrading to more advanced control schemes, as these become available. Considering this problem, the paper proposes a software infrastructure for portably and transparently embedding advanced traffic control functionality in ATM switches. In the proposed infrastructure, there are abstract software entities and programmable interfaces between entities, both complied with the emerged P1520 reference model. Given that current signaling standards do not support externally defined traffic control functionality, the paper discusses in detail an appropriate for the presented infrastructure signaling protocol, called Virtual Signaling Protocol (VSP). The examination of VSP messages that run through the L interface (of the P1520 model) constitutes one of the main objectives of this paper. The functionality of the presented infrastructure (as well as VSP) is tested by means of an implemented prototype system.