FDDI and BWN backbone networks: a performance comparison based on simulation

An analysis is conducted of two multiple-token-ring protocols serving as backbone networks, namely the fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) and the backbone wideband network (BWN) developed in the framework of an European research project (ESPIRIT 73). The traffic on the local area network comprises file transfer as well as interactive traffic. The performance of both media-access-control strategies is evaluated with respect to buffer space requirements and packet/file delays, and the sensitivity of the FDDI protocol is studied for several target token rotation times. Both protocols are shown to work very well for typical numbers of stations (>