Diversity reservation ALOHA

A multiaccess protocol suitable for packet-switched satellite broadcast channels is considered. The proposed protocol, called diversity reservation ALOHA (DRA), combines the essential features of announced retransmission random access (ARRA), reservation ALOHA, and diversity ALOHA to achieve the goals of improved delay-throughput characteristics and high channel utilization. Two versions of DRA protocols differentiated by the requirement of a global queue distributed at users' terminals are analyzed. Important system performance measures, such as activity-factor-throughput characteristics of DRA, are compared with those of ARRA. Examples of numerical results show that with system parameters properly chosen, substantial increases in attainable channel utilization are possible. Furthermore, the use of diversity for reservation allows a smaller packet delay, especially under light traffic conditions.<
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