A fair and efficient bandwidth allocation algorithm for high-speed local area networks

With the advent of broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN), there is the increasing need for high-speed multimedia systems also in the area of local area networks (LANs). It is obvious that the conventional systems such as CSMA/CD or token ring cannot cope with those requirements. At present, several new access control methods are proposed for slotted ring (or bus) LANs suited to transmission rates above 155 Mbps. This paper reviews the characteristics of those methods in a systematic way and proposes a new access control method called distributed reset algorithm (DRA). DRA can provide high throughput while maintaining the almost strict access fairness by using a new control called "access bit control" in addition to the already known window control.