Evaluating performance of high-speed multiaccess networks

An overview of high-speed multiaccess networks is presented, and their potential roles are discussed. It is shown that network response time sufficiently characterizes network performance under a number of scenarios and that more invaluable performance information, like end-to-end throughput, can be derived from these results. Examples based on the operating fundamentals of token-passing (e.g. FDDI), slotted (e.g. DQDB), and other approaches to high-speed networking are given. These approaches are compared for scenarios that require different measures of performance, and it is shown that their performance matches the needs of the environment from which they come.<>