Protocol conversion using supervisory control techniques

A protocol mismatch occurs when heterogeneous networks try to communicate with each other, and a protocol conversion mechanism is needed for proper communication. We present a systematic approach to protocol conversion using the recent theory of supervisory control of discrete event systems. We study the problem of designing a converter for a given mismatched pair of protocols, using their specifications, and the specifications for the channel and the user services. We introduce the notion of converter languages and use it to obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of protocol converter and present an effective algorithm for computing it whenever it exists.