Dual bus MAN's with multiple-priority traffic

A protocol with strictly preemptive priorities that does not admit low-priority traffic if the load from high-priority traffic exceeds the capacity of the transmission channel in a MAN is presented. The protocol guarantees fairness for transmissions at the highest priority level. By introducing a general characterization of bandwidth allocation schemes for dual bus networks, existing priority mechanisms can be categorized according to the provided quality of service. The unique existence of a bandwidth allocation scheme for multiple priority traffic is shown with a full utilization of the channel capacity, with a fair distribution of bandwidth respective to traffic from a particular priority level, and with preemptive priorities. The performance of the presented protocol is compared to existing proposals for multiple priority mechanisms. It is shown that adopting the new protocol results in shorter access delays for high-priority transmissions. The protocol allows the stations of the network to react quickly to load changes. It is shown that the effectiveness of the priority scheme, compared to priority schemes using the bandwidth-balancing mechanism, is less dependent on increasing the transmission speed of the network.<
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