This article addresses key issues related to the administration of ATM backbones based on virtual paths with embedded restoration capabilities. The concept of logical subnetworking according to the required reliability of service (RoS) is presented. This is followed by an investigation into alternative protocols for activating preplanned backup VPs with shared capacity protection, whereby speed and robustness are of special interest. Finally, a method for rerouting VPs by translation table alteration is presented.