An integrated scheme for establishing dependable real-time channels in multihop networks

The issue of providing fault-tolerance in real-time communication has been a problem of growing importance. There are two basic approaches for satisfying fault-tolerant requirements in real-time communication: (i) the forward error recovery approach, and (ii) the detect and recovery approach. The first approach is well-suited for hard real-time communication, whereas the second approach is well-suited for soft real-time communication. Neither of these basic approaches is well-suited for applications which involve both hard and soft real-time communication. In this paper, we propose an integrated scheme that combines the benefits of both the basic approaches. The proposed scheme not only caters to such mixed communication requirements, but also improves the call acceptance rate significantly due to its efficient resource allocation mechanisms such as traffic dispersion and backup multiplexing. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme has been evaluated through extensive simulation studies.