Media Access Control for High-speed Local
Area and Metropolitan Area
Communications Networks
IZHAK RUBIN, FELLOW, IEEE AND JOSEPH E. BAKER,
Invited Paper
Medium access control (MAC) schemes, protocols, and architec-
tures for high-speed local area (LAN) and metropolitan area (MAN)
networks and modeling and analysis techniques for their perfor-
mance evaluation are reviewed and categorized. In describing the
multitude of features characterizing such MAC schemes, we iden-
tify various aspects of topological structures, including logical-bus
(broadcast) and mesh topologies, slotted and unslotted channel-
ization schemes, and frame distribution and removal methods. To
support integrated broadband services, both circuit and packet
switching procedures are considered.
MAC procedures are categorized in terms of their characteristic
structures assumed in providing for the sharing of multiple-access
communications channel over the assignment (time, frequency,
code, space) space. Four key MAC classes are identified: fixed-
assignment, random-access, demand-assignment/polling, and
demand-assignment/reservation.
A multilevel categorization of a high-speed telecommunications
network hierarchy is presented. Level-0 includes user-premises sta-
tions and LAN‘s. The level-1 MAN-1 hierarchy provides a backbone
for the interconnection of level-0 networks as well as a subscriber
local access network into higher levels. The level-2 MAN-2 network
serves to interconnect level-1 remote unit nodes as well as a MAN
access network, while a level-3 MAN-3 network is a metropolitan
trunk network. Architectural options, examples, and operational
speeds for each level are discussed. As examples illustrating the
architectures and techniques used for high-speed local and met-
ropolitan area networks, the IEEE 802.6 DQDB, FDDI, buffer inser-
tion, and other MAC schemes are presented.
Modeling and analysis techniques are then reviewed for key
classes of relevant MAC schemes, including fixed-assignment
TDMA schemes; demand-assignment reservation schemes, involv-
ing in particular pure packet-switched, pure circuit-switched, and
hybrid-switched integrated-services demand-assignment TDMA
and TDM structures; demand-assigned polling procedures; and
random-access policies.
I. INTRODUCTION
Local Area Networks (LAN’s) provide communications
services within the customer premises, enabling the user
Manuscript received February2,1989; revised June27,1989.This
work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation
under grant ECS84-06497and in part by the UCLA Academic Senate
Committee on Research.
Theauthorsarewith the Electrical Engineering Department, 6731
Boetler Hall, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
I E E E Log Number 8933915.
0018-9219/90/0100-0168$01.000 1990 IEEE
168
MEMBER, IEEE
to share efficiently local processing and computing
resources while also serving t o interconnect local user ter-
minals, workstations, and processing devices. Private-com-
pany metropolitan area networks (MAN’S) are used by an
organization to provide similar services along with inter-
communications capabilities among more widely distrib-
uted user resources; they also serve as backbone networks
that interconnect distributed user LAN’s, spanning dis-
tances of hundreds of kilometers. Public MAN’S can allow
users to share effectively the system communications and
networking assets; they provide the private organization
with a MAN system (regarded as a virtual private MAN) as
well as a metropolitan access network into regional or wide
area public telecommunications networks. A hierarchical
categorization of such a telecommunications network
architecture with regard to the role of the LAN and MAN
systems i s presented in a latter section.
Performance and cost-effective LAN and MAN system
architectures need to employ efficient methods to share the
system communications nodal and channel resources. To
facilitate the sharing of the communications medium (or
media) among the network stations, a proper medium
access control (MAC) scheme must be implemented to con-
trol, coordinate, and supervise the access of user infor-
mation tolfrom the shared communications media.
In this paper, we categorize and review the features,
architectures,and principles of key MAC schemes for high-
speed LAN and MAN systems. We relatethesearchitectures
to the hierarchical structure of a telecommunications net-
work. We overview the MAC protocol operation of key LAN
and MAN systems, as defined by standards committees. We
consider currently examined MAC protocol approaches as
well as methods to be employed and investigatedfor future
implementations, when broadband-ISDN (B-ISDN) ser-
vicesare to be supported. Subsequently,wewill also review
a number of works involved in the development of math-
ematical models and analysis techniques that can be
invoked in providing for the design and performance eval-
uation of major classes of MAC protocols. In doing so, we
will not present an exhaustive list of all MAC schemes and
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
related implementation and analysis investigations (the
reader is, however, referred to a number of overview and
research papers for further details and the exposition of
other schemes and modeling approaches). Rather we will
emphasize the fundamental MAC architectures and
schemes that we believe can serve as the backbone for the
evolving high-speed LAN and MAN systems. The latter are
used as private networks or as part of the new public tele-
communications network that i s currentlychanging to sup-
port narrowband-ISDN services, and will be further evolv-
ing to be able eventually to provide B-ISDN services.
FOR HIGH-SPEED
II. FEATURESOF MAC IMPLEMENTATIONS
LAN AND MAN SYSTEMS
Typically employed LAN topologies are shown in Fig. 1
and are characterized as follows.
a) A star topology, under which each station can
directly access a single central node, i s shown in Fig. l(a).
A switching star network results when the central node pro-
vides store and forward buffering and switching functions,
while a broadcast star network involves the employment of
the central node as an unbuffered repeater which reflects
all the incoming signals into all outgoing lines.
b) A& topology, under which stations are connected
to a bus backbone channel, i s shown in Fig. l(b). Under a
(a)
U of the received signal and electronic-to-optical of the ampli-
(C)
Fig. 1. LAN topologies. (a) Star. (b) Bus. (c)Ring.
logical bus topology, each station’s message transmissions
are broadcast to all network stations. Under a physical bus
implementation, the station i s passively connected to the
bus, so that a station’s failure does not interfere with the
operation of the bus network. The station is then able to
sense and receive all transmissions that cross its interface
with the bus; however, it i s not able t o strip information off
the bus or to properly overwrite information passed along
the bus; it can transmit its own messages across the bus
when assigned to do so by the employed MAC protocol.
RUEIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
It is noted that when fiber links are used, due to the uni-
directional nature of the channel, to achieve full station-to-
station connectivity a bus network implementation neces-
sitates the use of two buses. As depicted in Fig. l(b2), the
most common approach is toemploy two separatecounter-
directional buses. Stations can then access each fiber bus
through the use of a proper read (sense) tap followed by
a write tap. Alternate approaches involve the use of a single
folded fiber bus (Fig. 20), to which a station i s connected
through sense and write taps on the upstream (outbound)
end and through a receive tapon thedownstream (inbound)
end, or the use of a doubly folded fiber bus (as shown in
Fig. 19).
c) A ring topology, under which the stations are con-
nected b y o i n t - t o - p o i n t links in typically a closed-loop
topology is shown in Fig. l(c). In a physical ring network
implementation, each station connects to the ring through
an active interface, so that transmissions across the ring pass
through and are delayed in the register of the ring interface
units (RIU’s) they traverse. To increase network reliability,
such implementations include special circuits for ensuring
a rapid elimination of afailed RIU; prevention of such afail-
ure wll reduce the chances of a prolonged overall network
failure. Due to the use of an active interface, the station is
now able to strip characters or messages it receives off the
medium, as well as overwrite onto symbols and messages
transmitted across the medium, when the latter pass its
interface.
An active interface into the medium further enables the
station to amplifythe information it passes along, thus lead-
ing to considerable reduction of the insertion loss. This is
of particular importance in interfacing afiberoptic medium:
a passsive interface causes a distinct insertion loss, thus
leading to a significant limitation in the number of stations
that can be passively connected to a fiber bus without the
incorporation of optical amplifiers.
Electrical amplification and MAC processing at the active
interface involve double conversion: optical-to-electronic
fied transmitted signal. Asa result, the station’s access burst
rate must be selected so that it i s compatible with the elec-
tronics processing rate at the station interface, ensuring that
no rate mismatch exists at the electronics/optics interfaces
between the potentially very high transmission burst rate
across the optical channel and the limited processing rate
capacity of the electronic VLSl access processor at the sta-
tion’s medium interface unit. Since the latter electrical pro-
cessing rate limit i s typically taken to be in the neighbor-
hood of 1.0-7.0 Gb/s, it i s advantageous to limit the rate of
the station’s access to an optical channel to be n o higher
than about 1.0 Gbls [4].
In considering general high-speed local and metropoli-
tan area networks, the following frame distribution topol-
ogies can be distinguished for basic implementations:
broadcast (logical bus) topology and mesh (switching)
topology.
A) Broadcast (Logical Bus) Topology
Under such a distribution method, station messages are
routed through the use of a broadcasting method. Since
each message frame (the MAC level protocol data unit) con-
169
tains addressing information, it is copied automaticallyfrom
the medium by the intended destination station or stations,
so that MAC routing i s automatically achieved. Typically
bus, ring, or broadcast star topologies are used to simplify
the characterization of the broadcasting path.
The communications link is set upas a bus (for a physical
bus implementation) or as a point-to-point link (for a phys-
ical ring implementation). The corresponding station inter-
face unit (SIU) acts as a passive or active MAC repeater. A
passive MAC node does not interfere with ongoing trans-
missions along the bus and is able to copy the messages
transmitted across the bus system.
An active MAC station interface unit operates in one of
two possible modes.
1) Repeat mode: where it performs as a repeater, serv-
ing to repeat the frame it receives;
2) Nonrepeat mode: in which the SIU is not repeating
the information it receives from the medium.
In the latter case, under a logical bus configuration, the SIU
i s also typically set to be in a “stripping mode,” stripping
from the medium the information it receives. During this
time, the SIU is able to transmit messages across the
medium, provided it gains permission to do so from the
underlying MAC protocol. Note that if the SIU is provided
with a store-and-forwardcapability, it can store all the infor-
mation it receives while being in a nonrepeat mode and
retransmit this information, if so desired, at a subsequent
time.
A logical-bus topology can also be associated with an
active interface of the station onto the fiber budbuses. This
for example, isthecase forthe IEEE802.6 DQDB(distributed
queue dual bus) [I] or Bellcore’s Metrocore [5] irnplemen-
tations. Under DQDB, the station overwrites each passing
bus bit through optical-to-electrical conversion, an elec-
trical “or” write operation and an electrical-to-optical
reconversion. The active interface of the station can also
provide it with the capacity to strip bits, and thus message
frames, off the bus.
MAC procedures for logical bus configurations can also
be characterized by the following features, which involve
both the method used for removing message frames and
theconstraints imposed upon the number of simultaneous
transmissions carried along the medium. As to the latter
feature, we differentiate between the following implemen-
tations.
7) Frame Transmission Initiations i n Relation to the
Number of Simultaneous Transmissions Along the Logical
Bus:
a) Single message frame transmission across the
medium: A single MAC-frame transmission is permitted
across the medium at any time instant; thus no more than
one station can initiate a transmission onto the medium at
any given time instant, and no other station can initiate a
transmission until this later transmission is removed from
the medium.
This i s the technique employed by the IEEE 802.5 token
ring LAN, in which a station holding the token does not
release it until it receives its own frame (following a full cir-
culation around the ring). This simplifies the operation of
the protocol and provides the station with the ability to
review its acknowledged message frame prior to releasing
170
the token, thus enabling it to immediately retransmit its
MAC message frame if the latter is determined not to have
been properly received by the destination.
The latter token ring LAN uses twisted-pair or coaxial
media at transmission rates of 1-40 Mb/s. At 10 Mb/s, the
transmission timeofa1OOO bit frame isequal tolOOps,which
is longer than the typical propagation time across the
medium when the overall LAN length is shorter than 20 km,
considering a propagation rate of about 5 ps/km.
In turn, when considering a 150-Mb/s LAN or MAN fiber-
optic based system-such as the FDDI token ring or the
DQDB reservation bus systems, which can span longer dis-
tances of around 100 km-the corresponding frame trans-
mission time and network-wide propagation delay are equal
to 6.67~sand 500ps, respectively. For a corresponding MAN
system that operates at a channel rate of 1 Gb/s, the prop-
agation delay of 500 p s is much larger than the frame trans-
mission time of 1 p s . Thus, under such high transmission
rate conditions, each message transmission occupies only
a small physical length of the logical bus network medium.
It is therefore not efficient, from the perspectiveof message
delay and channel bandwidth MAC utilization considera-
tions, to provide for only a single transmission at a time
acrossthelogical bus medium.Thefollowing modeofoper-
ation i s thus preferred.
b) Multiple simultaneous frame transmissions along
the logical bus medium: While permitting multiple-frame
transmissions across the medium, we can consider two dif-
ferent procedures as they relate to whether single or mul-
tiple simultaneous message frame transmission initiations
are allowed.
b.7) A single transmission initiation i s allowed at any
instant of time. When a fiberoptic-based token-ring MAC
scheme, such as FDDI, is used, the station releases the token
immediately following the transmission of the station’s
message, rather than waiting to fully receive its own mes-
sage prior to releasing the token. In this manner, multiple
simultaneous transmissions can take place across the bus,
allowing for a better utilization of the bus space-bandwidth
resources.
Many times, a slotted access scheme is used for logical
bus linear topologies. Under such a scheme, as illustrated
by the FASNET MAC procedure, a bus controller i s respon-
sible for generating successive time slots within recurring
time cycles. A slot propagates along the unidirectional fiber-
bus as an idle slot until captured by a busy station; the slot
is then designated as busy and is used for carrying the
inserted message segment. A busy station senses the
medium and captures an available idle slot which it then
uses to transmit its own message segment. For fairness rea-
sons, a busy station is allowed to transmit only a single seg-
ment during each time cycle. In this manner, such MAC
schemes (a number of which will be reviewed later) strive
to schedule busy station accesses onto the medium such
that one will follow the other as soon as possible, so that
a message train i s generated while efficiently utilizing the
medium bandwidth and space (length) dimensions. How-
ever, note that no more than a single station i s allowed at
any time to initiate transmissions onto the unidirectional
medium; transmission initiations occur in an order that
matches the positional location of the stations along the
fiber.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
 b.2) Multiple simultaneous frame transmission initia-
tionsareincluded in theMACprotocol. In usingsuchaMAC
scheduling feature, multiple stations are permitted to ini-
tiate frame transmissions at the same time, accessing the
medium at sufficiently distant physical locations so that
multiple transmissions can propagate time-simultaneously
along the space dimension of the shared medium. The
underlying MAC algorithm must ensure that these simul-
taneous transmissions do not cause any frame overlaps
(col1isions).
In a ring system, such a procedure can involve the proper
use of multiple tokens or ring buffer insertions at each sta-
tion's interface. In a logical bus operation, when a "slotted"
channel structure i s employed, such an operation can be
implemented through the designation of slots for use by
a proper station or group of stations, in accordance with
various system requests and interconnectivity conditions.
For example, in the DQDB MAN, stations indicate their
requests for channel slots, so that propagating idle slots
along each fiber bus can be identified with a proper station
to which they are oriented; in this manner, multiple simul-
taneous frame transmission initiations and ongoing mes-
sage propagations can take place. The same applies when
TDMA and demand-assigned circuit or packet-switched
TDMA MAC schemes are used.
Further enhancements in bandwidth and space utiliza-
tion can be achieved by incorporating in the MAC scheme
an appropriate message frame removal method, as indi-
cated in the following.
2) Frame Removal Method: When considering a logical
bus network with active SIU's, the removal of frames from
the logical bus system can be in accordance with the fol-
lowing methods.
a) Source removal: Considering loop topologies, under
a source removal method the source station is responsible
for the removal of its own transmitted frames. This is, as
noted in the preceding, the scheme employed by the IEEE
802.5 and fi ber-based FDDl token-ring systems. Such a MAC
feature permits the source station to receive immediate
acknowledgment from its destination station (which is
appended as a frame trailer) or to identify immediate no-
response when the destination station is not operative.
b) Destination removal: Under such a scheme, a sta-
tion, upon identifying a passing frame destined for itself,
removesthis framefrom themedium. Under such aremoval
policy, a frame i s not broadcast across the overall length of
medium, but just occupies a space segment of the medium
that spans the distance between the source and destination
stations. Such a method can lead to a more complex MAC
protocol and management scheme. Improvement in delay
and throughput levels can, however, be realized through
spatial re-use, particularlywhena noticeable fraction of the
system traffic flows among stations that are closely located
with respect to each other's position across the network
medium.
To apply such a scheme to a token ring system, multiple
tokens are allowed and properlydistributed across the ring.
When two closely located stations are communicating,
other tokens can be used by other stations, located away
from the occupied segment($, to initiate their own non-
overlapping communications paths. The same applies to a
token bus system with destination removal capabilities.
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
Concurrent transmissions are also attained by a buffer
insertion ring architecture, as illustrated in section V.
When such a scheme is applied to a bus system with
actively connected SIU's, which i s controlled by a slotted
access scheme, the destination station is responsible for
stripping the information contained in the slot destined to
itself from the bus, and releasingthe corresponding slot for
potential use by a downstream station [6].
c) Removal b y supervisory nodes: It can be beneficial
to employ special supervisory nodes, located across the
medium, to remove frames from the medium. In this man-
ner, the frame destination removal process can be imple-
mented in only supervisory nodes, relieving regular nodes
of this task.
Using such frame-removal supervisor nodes, the system
interconnectivity patterns can be divided (statically or
dynamically) into a number of modes. Under an extensively
divisive mode, the supervisory stations allow communi-
cations to take place only between stations that are located
between two neighboring supervisory stations. Under a less
divisive connectivity mode, the system i s divided into longer
disjoint communication segments. Under a full broadcast
mode, each frame i s broadcast to all network stations.
Dependent upon the network traffic pattern, time cycles
can be defined such that during each of which a specific
mode of operation i s invoked.
If such supervisory stations (or any station) are operated
as a store-and-forward buffered switching unit, then clearly
the distribution processesacross the medium segments can
be isolated and intersegment message frames would then
be delivered across the logical bus system in a "multiple-
hop" (multiretransmission) fashion. This i s the role played
by buffer-insertion ring architectures for the specialized
ring topologyand, in general, bythe mesh (switching)archi-
tectures discussed in the following.
B. Mesh (Switching) Topology
Under a mesh (switching) topology, the network topol-
ogy can be configured as an arbitrary mesh graph. The net-
work nodes provide bufferingand switching services. Com-
munications channels are set up as point-to-point links
interconnecting the network nodes. Messages are routed
through the network, through the use of specially devel-
oped MAC and packet (network) layered routing algo-
rithms; e.g., using source routing approaches [A, or based
upon special network and subnetwork structures (hierar-
chical grids, for example [8]),or the designation of proper
spanning routing tree graphs [A.
From a medium-access control aspect, a point-to-point
channel in a mesh network needs to be efficiently shared
among the multitude of messages and connections that are
scheduled to traverse it. In supporting an integrated circuit-
switched and packet-switched implementation, a time cycle
(timeframe) is typically defined, during which a number of
slots are allocated to the supported circuits that use this
channel, while the remainder of the cycle slots are allocated
for the transmission of the packets waiting in the buffers
feeding the channel. Frequently, priority-based disciplines
must be employed in statistically multiplexing the buffered
packets across the packet-switched portion of the shared
link, so that packets belonging to different service classes
can be guaranteed their desired grade of service as it relates
171
to their characteristic delay and throughput requirements.
For example, voice packets must subscribe to strict end-to-
end time-delay limits, while video packets induce high
throughput support requirements. Such related MAC
issues are further discussed in subsequent sections.
C. Hybrid Logical Bus and Buffered Switching Topologies
Note that many high-speed multi-gigabit communica-
tions networking architectures that cover wider areas (such
as MANSand WANs), i.e., wide area networks many times
need to combine broadcast (logical bus) and mesh (switch-
ing) architectures to yield an efficient, reliable, and respon-
sive integrated-services fiber-based network.
In considering logical-bus topologies with active SIU‘s,
we already noted that certain nodes can be designated to
act as store-and-forward processors and also serve as frame
removal supervisory nodes. Such nodes can operate as MAC
bridge gateways. These gateways serve to isolate the seg-
ments interconnecting them, each segment operating as an
independent logical bus network. These gateways act to
filter MAC frame interconnections between these seg-
ments. The individual segments can operate efficiently
when they serve a local community of stations that gen-
erates a distinct traffic throughput, noting that each seg-
ment spans a shorter distance, thus reducing the effect of
the end-to-end propagation delay on message perfor-
mance. Access priority can be given in each segment to the
intersegment packets which traverse this segment, to
ensure their timely distribution.
Service Classes and Bandwidth Requirements:
Local area and metropolitan area networks that serve as
components of an integrated services digital network
(ISDN) provide support to a large multitude of service
classes.
a) Low-speed services (0.1 kb/s-100 kb/s), including
telemetry, data, voice, and slow-motion imaging.
b) Medium-speed services (1 Mbls-IO Mbls), including
data and imaging.
c) High-speed services (50 Mb/s-I Gb/s), including TV,
high-definition lV (HDTV), data, imaging, video on
demand (VOD), multimedia messaging, teleconfer-
encing, video, database services, etc.
Such services are frequently classified into the following
categories.
a) Synchronous a n d isochronous services: These ser-
vices generate information in a steady time-synchronous
fashion, or in a nearly synchronous fashion.
In providing multiple-access support for such services
while guaranteeing acceptable grade-of-service level, it is
many times advantageous to allocate the channel to the
source in a synchronous fashion; i.e., at fixed instants of
time and for fixed durations that correspond to the syn-
chronous characteristics of the generated message streams;
or, to permit higher flexibility in implementation, to allo-
cate the channel to the source isochronously, in a nearly
time-periodic fashion, at a desired average rate. Thus an
“isochronous circuit or channel” provides for the delivery
of fixed quanta of traffic data over fixed time intervals (time-
frames or cycles), relative t o a certain time reference. The
position within the timeframe of the time-slot dedicated to
an isochronous circuit can otherwise be subjected to time
172
-~
fluctuations. Voiceand certain videoand datatraffic sources
can be categorized as synchronous or isochronous sources.
Under acceptable time-frame limits, such sources can be
supported through the allocation of synchronous or iso-
chronous circuits.
An isochronous circuit i s allocated across a multiple-
access channel by the MAC layer by invoking a circuit-
switching procedure. Thus each isochronouscircuit i s asso-
ciated with slots which are allocated, during each cycle on
a dedicated basis, to the isochronous source transmitting
across this circuit.
b) Asynchronous services: Asynchronous sources
generate information in a random fashion. Information
messages are generated at random times and may also be
of random length. This i s the typical situation with data
sources and services.
Asynchronous sources sharing a multiple-access channel
can be well supported by the employment of a packet-
switching-based MAC protocol. Virtual circuit or datagram
packet-switching services can be provided.
Examining the list of services just presented, operating
at various speed levels, we note that many high-speed LAN
and MAN systems must provide support to a heteroge-
neous mixture of asynchronous and isochronous sources.
Hence high-speed LAN and MAN networks must be able
to implement MAC schemes that provide acceptable grade-
of-service levels under such an integrated environment. For
this purpose, the following approaches can be outlined (as
a MAC procedure, as well as a network layer discipline.)
A pure (fast) circuit-switching approach i s used;
extending the technique currently used across the
public switched telephone network. However, cir-
cuits allocated to bursty data sources lead to poor
bandwidth utilization across the multiple-access
channel. When ample bandwidth can be made avail-
able to overcome this poor utilization, this drawback
can be traded against the relative simplicity of the cir-
cuit-switching MAC procedure which entails the
implementation of an efficient demand-assigned cir-
cuit allocation scheme.
A pure (fast) packet-switching technique is employed.
It i s then necessary to ensure that isochronous
sources are provided with acceptable network delay
limits. This approach requires the MAC algorithm
controlling the packet-switched-based sharing of the
mutiple-access channel to provide proper limited
delay to all packet classes, or to incorporate priority-
based schemes that can assign higher priority to iso-
chronous-service-related packets for the purpose of
ensuring their timely delivery.
The Bellcore’s switched multimegabit distribution
service (SMDS) [9] i s an example of a service that i s
based on datagram packet-switched MAN and inter-
connected MAN systems.The IBM PARIS network [IO]
i s an illustration of a pure network-wide fast packet-
switching approach.
An integrated use of circuit-switching and packet-
switching disciplines is made. Isochronous sources
are allocated isochronous circuits upon demand,
while asynchronous services are supported on a
packet-switched basis. This i s the approach currently
adopted by the FDDI-II and DQDB systems.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
~
D. Channel Timing formats
In classifying, examining, and developing MAC proce-
dures, we identify the following key channel timing for-
mats.
a) Unslottedchannel. No time slots are defined for use
by the MAC layer process. Message frames can be of vari-
able length and a station can start its transmission onto the
channel at anytime, when permitted in accordance with the
underlying MAC scheme.
The IEEE 802.3-IEEE802.5 CSMA/CD, token bus and token
ring LAN protocols, and the FDDl fiber token-ring protocol
are examples of such protocols. Other pure packet-switch-
ing architectures also involve no specified time boundaries
for the transmission of MAC level message frames.
b) Slotted Channel. Time slots are defined such that
each time slot is of fixed duration. The frame structure of
a time slot i s also defined, including an header field that can
serve to identify the type, status, and construction of the
information carried by the time slot. Several time slot types
can be identified, so that time slots of different types can
be of different lengths and can be designated for allocation
to different service classes.
Time slots can also be grouped to form superslots, in
accordance with a specified structure, with the header
(label) of the superslot identifying the designation of each
embedded slot.
Consecutivecollections of time slotscan begrouped into
cycles (or time-frames). Each cycle is also properly struc-
tured, having a header field which provides time, slot, and
cycle synchronization information as well as designation of
the specific structural composition of the underlying cycle.
CCITT has been considering a slotted channel structure,
operated in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) or a syn-
chronous transfer mode (STM). The ATM structure has been
considered by CClTT as a target solution for implementing
B-ISDN. Slots are allocated to stations in accordance with
the MAC scheme, resulting in message streams that consist
of ATDM interleaved cells (segments, slots). These streams
can be distributed over the network through the use of cell
switching procedures employing fast packet switching or
asynchronous time division switching procedures. The STM
structure is considered by CClTTas an interim arrangement
used during the evolution of the telecommunications net-
work towards attaining B-ISDN capabilities. It involves the
employment of a synchronous TDM MAC procedure in
implementing a circuit-switching-based bandwidth allo-
cation scheme.
An integrated ATM and STM approach can also be imple-
mented over a slotted channel.
The use of a slotted channel structure provides the MAC
process with avery useful facilityfor effectively sharing the
underlying multiple-access channel. Time slots can be
properly and dynamically designated for use by active iso-
chronous and asynchronous sources, invoking integrated
circuit-switching and packet-switching MAC algorithms.
One notes, however, that, due to the fixed length of the slot,
a message must be broken down into individual segments
whereby each segment (constituting the MAC message
frame) i s allocated a separate slot. This is of particular con-
cern to asynchronous service message types. A slotkeg-
ment assembly-reassembly (SAR) process must thus be
included as part of the MAC level protocol implementation.
RUBlN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
Such an ATM structure is illustrated by the DQDB system
outlined later.
c) Hyper-slotted Channel. This entails a hybrid struc-
ture, whereby cycles and hyper-slots are defined, while time
slots can also be dynamically defined so that dual opera-
tional modes can be supported. Designated time slots can
be used for a slotted operation, while the remaining period
within each hyper-slot or cycle can be used for an unslotted
MAC operation.
Such an implementation is exemplified by the FDDI-II
networkwhich providesforthedefinition of a synchronous
cycle, and the allocation of certain isochronous slots within
each such cycle, for supporting isochronous sources. In
turn, asynchronous sources use the unslotted FDDl token
ring MAC scheme, in a manner which, at the MAC su b-layer,
is independent of and transparent to the isochronous oper-
ation.
Layered Protocols and the MAC Sublayer:
In relation to the OS1 reference model, the data link layer
of LAN and MAN networks i s subdivided into the medium
access control (MAC) lower sublayer and the logical link
control (LLC) upper sublayer. Services provided bythe MAC
layer allow the local protocol entity to exchange MAC mes-
sage frames (which are the MAC sublayer protocol data
units) with remote MAC entities.
The MAC sublayer provides the following services.
MAC sublayer services are provided to the LLC sub-
layer. LLC service data units (SDU’s) are submitted to
the MAC sublayer for transmission through proper
multiple-access medium sharing. In turn, MAC pro-
tocol data units (PDU’s) received from the medium
and destined to the LLC, are transferrred to the LLC
sublayer as proper LLC-SDU’s.
The underlying LLC-SDU’s includesourceand des-
tination addresses, the data itself, and service class
and quality of service parameters.
MAC sublayer services are similarly provided to
directlyconnected isochronous and nonisochronous
channel users (CU’s), allowing a local CU entity to
exchange CU-data units with peer CU entities.
These are connection-oriented services whereby,
after an initial connection setup, the channel user i s
able to directly access the communications channel
through the proper mediation of the MAC sublayer.
The CU generates and receives its data units through
the MAC sublayer over an existing connection, on an
isochronous or nonisochronous basis. Such CU-
SDU’s contain the data itself and possibly service
quality parameters; no addressing information is
needed, since an established connection i s involved.
MAC sublayer services are provided to the local MAC
station management entity via the local MAC layer
management interface.
Examplesof theseservices includetheopening and
closing of an isochronous or nonisochronous con-
nection, its profile, features, and the physical medium
it should be transmitted on, and the establishment
and disestablishment of the binding between the
channel user and the connection end-point identi-
fier.
The MAC sublayer requires services from the phys-
ical layer for the physical transmission and reception
of information bits.
173
 os1
Reference _-----
Model
1 r-----------

Physical Physical

(Instance 1)

\ Medium2

Data Link 802.2

Layer

Physical
Layer rn (Physical (Station
Manage-
ment)

U (Physical Medium

Fig. 2. MAC layer and its interfacing layers. (a) For IEEE 802.6. (b) For FDDI.

In Fig. 2, we show the associated layers as implemented
by the IEEE 802.6 DQDB system and by the FDDI system, as
they relate to the OS! data link and physical layers.
111. CATEGORIZATION OF MEDIUM
ACCESSCONTROL
PROCEDURES
A multitude of access control procedures are used by sta-
tionsto shareagroupof multiaccesschannels, such asthose
configured in a logical bus (broadcast) topology. We pro-
vide in this section a classification of MAC schemes.
A. MAC Dimensions
The multiple-access communications medium resource
can be shared among the network stations through the allo-
cation of a number of key resource dimensions. The assign-
ment space considered i s the (T, F, C, s) = (time, frequency,
code, space) space. The allocation of access to the shared
medium is provided to stations' messages and sessionslcalls
through the assignment of slots, segments, and cells of the
time, frequency, code, and space dimensions.
1) Time Division Scheduling: Stations share a prescribed
channel frequency band by having their transmissions
scheduled to take place at different segments of time. Typ-
ically, only a single messagecan be transmitted successfully
across the designated channel at any instant of time.
2) Frequency and Wavelength Division Allocation: The
bandwidth of the communications channel i s divided into
multiple disjoint frequency bands (or wavelength channels
for an optical channel), so that a station can be allocated

174 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990

 a group, consisting of one or more frequencylwavelength
bands, for use in accessing the medium. Multiple simul-
taneous transmissions can take place across the channel,
whereby each messagetransmissionoccupies adistinct fre-
quencylwavelength channel.
3) Code Division Multiple Access: Each station’s mes-
sage i s properly encoded so that multiple messages can be
transmitted simultaneously in timeand in a successful man-
ner using a single-band shared communications channel,
so that each message transmission is correctly received by
its destined station.
Typically, orthogonal (or nearly orthogonal) pseudo-noise
sequences are used to randomly spread segments of a mes-
sage over a wide frequency band (frequency hopping
method), or to time-correlate the message bit stream (direct
sequencing method). A message can be encoded by an
address-based key sequence that is associated with the
identity of the source, the destination, or proper combi-
nation of the source and destination group association.
Awider frequency band isoccupied by such code-divided
signals. In return, a common frequency band can be used
by all network stations to successfully carry, simulta-
neously in time, multiple message transmissions.
4) Space Division Multiple Access: Communications
channelsaresharedalongtheirspacedimension.Forexam-
ple,this involvesthesharingof groupsof physicallydistinct
links, or multiple space segments located across a single
logical-bus network as described in section II.
Considering the structure of the access control proce-
dure from the dimensional allocation point of view, note
the similarity between the space division and frequency/
Fixed Assigned (FA) Demand Assignment (DA)
A
Signaling(S1G) Information
Technique Transmission
(IT) Method
A
SIG
T,F,C,S
’ F C s
Signaling Channel
Establishment
FA
Per-station Signaling
Accsss Scheme
A
PollIRespnse
Amss
I I
Polling
FA.RA.DA
Fig. 3. Categorization of medium access control procedures.
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
~~
wavelength division methods, in that they induce a ”chan-
nel selection” algorithm that provides an allocation of dis-
tinct frequency/wavelength or physical channels to a user
or a group of users. In turn, once users have been assigned
such afrequencylwavelength band, the sharingof this band
is controlled in accordance with a time division and/or code
division MAC method.
Under acombined useof thesedimensions, the medium
access control algorithm serves to schedule the transmis-
sion of a message by an active station by specifying the
selected channel (in a frequency/wavelength division or
space division manner) and subsequently specify the time
slot(s) and/or multiple-access codes to be used, in accor-
dancewith the employed time division and/or codedivision
methods.
B. MAC Categories
In Fig. 3, we show our categorization of medium access
control procedures over the preceding defined (T, F, C, S)
assignment space. Three classes of access control policies
are identified: fixed assignment (FA), demand assignment
(DA), and random access (RA). Within each class, we iden-
tify the signaling (SIG) component and the information
transmission (IT) method used. Note that within each class,
both circuit-switching (synchronous, isochronous and STM
modes) and packet-switching (asynchronous and ATM
modes) and their combined use to support integrated-ser-
vices, are possible.
Under a “fixed assignment” (FA) scheme, a station i s ded-
icated,overthe(T,F,C,S)space,toacommunicationschan-
Random-Access(RA)
IT AT
SIG
Fixed Adaptive
Channel Sensing
DA
Reservation
Rez2nment
FA,RA.DA
175
__ ~~
ne1 resource that it can permanently use for accessing the
channel. Corresponding access control procedures thus
include TDMA (time division multiple access), FDMA (fre-
quency division multiple access), WDM (wavelength divi-
sion multiplexing), CDMA (code division multiple access),
and SDMA (space division multiple access) schemes. A cor-
responding signaling procedure is implemented to ensure
that station transmission boundaries are well recognized
by the participating stations along the respective (T, F, C,
5 ) dimensions.
Medium resources (along each dimension) can be
assigned on a fixed basis to specified sessionskonnections,
to a station, or to a group of stations. When allocated to a
connectionkall, such schemes provide the basis for the
establishment of isochronous circuits and can lead to effi-
cient sharing of the medium bandwidth resources for the
support of many voice, video, high-speeddata, and real-time
session connections when a steady traffic stream of infor-
mation i s generated. Effective channel sharing can also
result when such channel resources are dedicated for
exclusive use by a station or a group of stations, provided
the latter generate steady traffic streams which can effi-
ciently utilize the dedicated resources at an acceptable
quality-of-servicelevel. This is illustrated by use of packet-
switched TDMA (PS-TDMA)and circuit-switched TDMA (CS-
TDMA) schemes, which are described and modeled in sec-
tions VI-VII.
Under a “random-access” (RA) scheme, stations contend
for access to the communications channel in accordance
with an algorithm that can lead to time-simultaneous (over-
lapping, colliding) transmissions by several stations across
the same frequency band, causing at times the retrans-
mission of certain packets.
Under fixed random-access schemes, a station transmits
its message frames across the channel at random times, in
a slotted or unslotted fashion, without coordinating its
access with other stations. A station which detects (through
channel sensing, or through nonreceipt of a positive
acknowledgement from its destination) its transmission to
collide with another transmission will retransmit its mes-
sage after a properly computed random retransmission
delay (whose duration may depend upon the estimated
channel state of congestion). Under an adaptive channel-
sensing random-access algorithm, a busy station first
senses the channel to gain certain channel state informa-
tion, and then uses this information to schedule its message
for transmission in accordance with the underlying pro-
tocol, again without undertaking full access coordination
with all other network stations. Various fixed (such as
ALOHA [I31 and group random access [14]) and adaptive
channel-sensing random-access algorithms (such as CSMA
[15], CSMAKD [16], DGRA [ I q , tree-random-access colli-
sion resolution [I81 and others [19]-[21]) can be invoked.
In general, random-access schemes are not well suited
as information transmission methods for governing the
accessof information messagesontoavery high speed fiber
communications channel, unless provisions are made to
considerably limit the extent of message overlaps due to
collisions, or to limit the use of this access technique to cer-
tain low-throughput messaging classes.
A random-access procedure i s typically employed for
supporting packet-switching services. At higher normal-
ized throughput levels, high packet delay variances can
176
occurwithout a properflowcontrol regulation toguarantee
maximum delay limits for packets associated with isochro-
nous and real-time based services. It i s shown in [22] that
a random-access scheme can be employed in a movable-
slot-TDMA arrangement to capture a slot across a channel
and then ensure that slots similarly positioned in subse-
quent time-frames are reserved for the establishment of
such an isochronous circuit. As such, the random access
scheme is used as a signaling protocol serving a reservation
MAC algorithm, as will be noted later.
Non-channel-sensing random access procedures yield
low channel utilization levels. In turn, the efficiency of a
channel-sensing random access procedure critically
depends upon the timeliness of the sensed channel occu-
pancy information, and thus upon the overhead durations
associated with sensing the channel (and affected by chan-
nel propagation delays and certain station idle detection,
turnaround, and acquisition delay times [17]). Hence, for
high-speed logical-bussystems, when channel-sensing-type
random-access schemes are used, performance degrada-
tion i s caused by the very high ratio of the channel prop-
agation delay t o the packet transmission time. Under such
a scheme, a busy station is required to obtain the channel
state prior to initiating a transmission. However, since a sta-
tion’s transmission must propagate across the total logical-
bus medium before its existence can be sensed by all net-
work stations, and since stations make uncoordinated
access decisions under a random-access scheme, these
decisions are based on incomplete channel state infor-
mation that can lead to excessive message collisions.
The degrading effects of the propagation-delay-to-mes-
sage-transmission-time ratio can be somewhat reduced by
the following approaches.
Limit the overall propagation delay by dividing the
overall network into multiple tiers as illustrated by
the double-tier LAN and MAN architecture investi-
gated in [23]. The network stations are divided into
groups. A shared backbone medium i s used to pro-
vide interconnection between groups (on a broad-
cast global basis using repeaters as gateways, or on
a store-and-forward bridged basis), using a noncon-
tention (non-random-access) based MAC algorithm.
A random-access MAC strategy can be used for con-
trolling the access of messages across the shared
group medium, which now spansa much shorter dis-
tance and thus involves considerably reduced prop-
agation delays.
While the propagation delay depends on the con-
ducting medium and i s independent of the trans-
mission speed, the packet transmission time is
reduced as the transmission speed increased. The
propagation-delay-to-message-transmission-time ra-
tio can be reduced by using FDMAIWDMA or SDMA
methods to replace the single-band high-bandwidth
medium with a group of shared multiple channels,
each of lower bandwidth [24]. Clearly this will provide
an improvement only if the underlying services can
be efficiently supported over such a reduced band-
width channel when a random-access (or other MAC)
scheme i s used.
As noted in the preceding, random-access schemes
can serve, as part of other MAC architectures, as
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
 effective procedures for transmitting signaling pack-
ets for demand-assigned schemes. Random-access
schemescan also be used in conjunction with CDMA
(code division multiple access) and SSMA (spread
spectrum multiple access) procedures, over high
speed channels [12]. Other uses of random-access
schemes over high-speed channels are outlined in
section IX.
Under a “demand assigned” (DA) scheme, a “signaling”
procedure is implemented to allow certain network entities
to be informed about the transmission and networking
needs and demands of the network stations. Once these
network entities are informed, a centralized or distributed
algorithm i s used to allocate to the demanding stations
communications resource segments over the (T, F, C, S)
assignment space.
The specific methods used in establishing the signaling
channel and i n controllingtheaccessof individual demand-
ing stations onto this channel characterize the features of
the established demand-assignment scheme.
The signaling channel can be established as an out-of-
band or in-band fixed channel to which communications
resources are dedicated, as is the case for many DAiTDMA,
DNFDMA, or DAAWDMA schemes. In turn, a moredynamic
and adaptive procedurecan be used to announce theestab-
lishment of a signalingchannel at certain appropriate times,
as i s the case for the many polling, implicit polling, slotted,
and packet-train type access methodologies [20], [21].
The schemes used to provide for the access of stations
onto the signaling channel are divided here into two cat-
egories: “pol Ii ng” and “reservation” procedures.
Under a reservation scheme, it i s up to the individual sta-
tion to generate a reservation packet and transmit it across
the signaling (reservation) channel to inform the network
about i t s needs for communications resources. The station
can identify its requirements, as they occur or in advance,
in accordance with the type of service required (isochro-
nous versus asynchronous, for example) and the prece-
dence level of its messages and sessions/connections.
Reservation and assignment messages are many times
transmitted over an in-band or out-of-band multiple-access
channel, so that a MAC procedure must be implemented
to control the access of these MAC-signaling messages.
Fixed-assigned, random-access, or demand-assigned MAC
strategies can be employed for this purpose.
Under a polling procedure, it is the responsibility of the
network system to query the network stations so that it can
find out their transmission needs, currently or in advance.
Polling and polling-response messages can be transmitted
over an in-band or out-of-band multiple-accesschannel, so
that a MAC procedure must be implemented to control the
access of these MAC-signaling messages. Fixed-assigned,
random-access,or demand-assignedMAC strategies can be
employed for this purpose.
Under an implicit polling procedure, stations are granted
access into the medium (one at a time, or in a concurrent
noninterfering fashion) when certain network state con-
ditions occur; such conditions can be deduced directly by
each station without requiring the station to receive an
explicit polling message prior to access initiation. Such
schemes are illustrated by slotted bus systems whereby the
arrival of an idle slot at a station serves as a n implicit polling
RUBlN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
message, and by buffer-insertion schemes whereby a sta-
tion is permitted toaccess the ring if its ring buffer i s empty.
Additional constraints are typically imposed on the station
in utilizing these implicit polling messages for access to the
channel t o ensure a fair allocation of communications net-
work bandwidth. Such constraints many times guarantee
that a station can transmit a quota of packets within a prop-
erly defined cycle.
A multitude of access policies can be adopted in imple-
menting integrated-services polling and reservation algo-
rithms. Note that polling techniques are used in imple-
menting the IEEE 802.4-802.5 token bus and token ring
LAN’s, the FDDl fiber LAN, and many other fiber bus and
ring network systems (see sections V and VIII). Reservation
techniques (see also sections V and VII) are employed by
the QPSX [26]-[27] and IEEE 802.6 DQDB high-speed MAN
networks (whereby a slotted positional-priority implicit
polling access procedure is used to provide access t o reser-
vation bits), AT&T Datakit [28] switch and local network,
demand-assigned TDMA, FDMA and WDM systems and
various attempt-and-defer methods for access control onto
a unidirectional fiber medium [20], and for many other mul-
tiple-access network systems. Integrated reservation and
polling schemes are used by FDDI-II [29], double-tier archi-
tectures [23], and other protocols that provide for inte-
grated-services support.
Iv. MULTILEVEL
CATEGORIZATION
AND MAC
INTERCONNECTED
OF HIGH-SPEED
CHARACTERIZATION
LANIMAN NETWORK ARCHITECTURES
In Fig. 4, we describe a multilevel categorization of the
high-speed telecommunications networking hierarchy. At
level 0, we include the user premises stations, terminals,
and local area networks. User-based bus, ring and star,
twisted-pair, radio, coaxial, or fiber-based LAN’s are typi-
cally employed. Included are the IEEE 802 local area net-
works, token bus, token ring, and CSMNCD type, oper-
ating at 4-12 Mbls, FDDl LAN’s operating at 100 Mb/s, as
well as workstations, individual or multiplexed, and packet-
radio networks operating at Kb/s ranges.
The level-I MAN-I network hierarchy provides a back-
bone for the interconnection of the level-0 user networks;
it also serves as a subscriber local access network used to
connect the level-0 networks and stations to higher level
communications networks and nodes. In a telecommuni-
cations network implementation of MAN-I, the commu-
nications channels are fiber loops currently planned for
operation at typically the 140-560 Mb/s range. Intercon-
nection nodes serve as MAC bridges or as layer-3 gateways
(routers).
In illustrating the physical layer subscriber-network
interface (SNI) for multimegabit services, as outlined by
Bellcore’s SMDS [9], an electrical DSX-3 type interface i s
considered for earlier implementations while an optical
OC-I andlor OC-3 is recommended for later implementa-
tions, when SONET (synchronous optical network) equip-
ment becomes available. An electrical DSX-3 interface
involves an asynchronous DS3 signal, operating a t a line
rateof 44.736Mbaud. Aframeformat i s used, with the frame
divided further into subframesand blocks.The information
payload net rate is approximately 44.21 Mbls. SONET i s
based on an optical signal format that i s constructed as a
177
 Level o
LAN I :;:-;
Subscriber
Local Access
I MAN Access
1 Level 3
MAN-3
Metropolitan
Trunk Networl
WAN.
Backbone Nets
Long-Distance
6 Distribution
Networks

Resldentiai
or Business CPE Remote Local
Subscribers untts Exchange

Fiber Loop Fiber Feeders MuiIi-GbpS

140-560 Mbps 0.6-2.4 Gbps Fiber Links

Fig. 4. High-speed telecommunications networking hierarchy.

progressive hierarchy of synchronously interleaved tribu-

tary signals. The lowest standard optical signal and inter-
face i s called OC-I, where the STS-1 51.84 Mb/s rate signal
i s the electrical equivalent. Synchronous byte-interleaved
multiplexing procedures are used to obtain higher rates.
The OC-N rate i s equal to 51.840 x N Mb/s. The SONET net-
work is synchronous, so that all SONET terminals must be
synchronized by timing references traceable to a stratum-
1 clock.
A number of different characteristic MAC architectures
can be considered as MAN-I networks, as shown in Figs.
5-8. In Fig. 5, we show a MAN-I architecture that employs
a bus backbone in providing access and interconnection
for traffic generated by level-0 nets and stations. Fig. 6. Level-I MAN-I architecture, using ring broadcast
Note that more than a single bus channel (implemented backbone.
as distinct different links, or by using wavelength division

Fig. 5. Level-I MAN-I architecture, using bus broadcast Fig. 7. Level-I MAN-I architecture, using mesh switching
backbone. backbone.

178 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990

-___

Fig. 8. Level-I MAN-I architecture, using star backbone.
multiplexingover oneor morefibers) aretypically involved.
These multiple channels are used to provide a network
gigabitor multigigabitcapacity,while requiringa single sta-
tion or user net interface to occur at the reduced single
channel rate, thus providing for a feasible implementation,
incorporating the maximum speed imposed by the inter-
face of the electrical processor (station's communications
processing module) with the optical link. As part of the allo-
cation of access across the assignment space (T, F, C, S), a
channel selection algorithm i s defined, in conjunction with
the underlying employed channel-medium-access algo-
rithm, to supervise, coordinate, and control the access of
user transmissions onto the backbone channels. In exam-
ining the range of such selection procedures, we note the
following elements.
a) If the number of backbone channels i s limited, it is
practical to provide for reception and transmission on each
channel by each station or user net. Each backbonegateway
node can then communicate with every other gateway node
in a properly coordinated single-hop manner.
Such an implementation requires the use at the station
of multiple transmitters and receivers andlor the employ-
ment of a certain number of agile transmitters and tunable
receivers.
See [25] for an example of a selection scheme whereby
a, station is receiving on only a single band but i s able to
transmit on any system band. Note that the maximum nor-
malized channel throughput rate, which for single-band
explicit or implicit polling MAC schemes i s typically of the
+ +
order of 1/[1 alN1 can be reduced to 1/[1 a / N 2 ] under
symmetric traffic distribution when Nbands are employed,
using a similar MAC scheme, where parameter "a"denotes
the ratio between the logical-bus propogation delay and the
message transmission time across each band. The impact
of parameter "a" can be eliminated when fixed assigned
procedures or proper reservation schemes (such as DA/
TDMAIFDMA) are used.
b) When a high number of channels i s used, such as
i s the casewhen a large degree of wavelength division mul-
tiplexing is employed (dense-WDM system), one can use a
proper combination of the following approaches, under
the imposition of practical implementation constraints that
requireeach station or level-0 net to have a relatively limited
number of associated fixed andlor tunable transmitters and
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
receivers, and thus have time-simultaneous access to only
a limited number of backbone channels.
b.1) A single-hop communications access i s pro-
vided between all or a limited number of MAN-I gateway
nodes. An appropriate combined channel selection/MAC
procedure i s developed to efficiently share the assignment
space (T, F, C, S).
b.2) A subset of the MAN-I gateway nodes can inter-
communicate through multihop transmissions across the
MAN-I backbone network. Under this setup, nodes need
to provide switching services to multihop MAC frames, so
that these frames are retransmitted across the backbone
channel until they reach their eventual gateway destination
node($. See [4] for an investigation of a class of multihop
interconnectivity routing patterns.
It isnoted thatwhilealimited numberof related selection
algorithms have been examined for various other appli-
cations (including for SSMA and satellite-switched TDMA
systems), development and investigation of combined
selection and medium-access procedures for multichannel
high-speed integrated-services networks remains.
When a single-bus backbone channel i s implemented as
a MAN-I architecture (of the type shown in Fig. 5), one needs
to consider the MAC policies indicated in the preceding,
includingvarious fixed assigned and demand-assigned pro-
cedures, and their combined implementations. For exam-
ple, Bellcore's Metrocore network experiment [5] utilizes
afiber backboneoperatingat 140 Mblswhich i s shared using
a FASNET MAC procedure (see section VIII). This backbone
i s used to interconnect terminals directly through
RS-232 interfaces, or to interconnect LAN's, such as those
of the Ethernet type, through MAC gateways. At the edges
of each bus, this implementation uses headend nodes that
provide link synchronization and certain frame generation
functions. Using multiplexers at the backbone gateway
nodes, this implementation can provide also forthe sharing
of a number of fiber links, leading to the availability of 1.7
Gb/s communications backbone bandwidth.
The IEEE 802.6 DQDB MAN network is also configured as
a bus system. It consists of dual fiber backbone links con-
figured as a logical bus (with a regenerative interface at the
station)which i s shared bythe network stationsthrough the
use of an appropriate reservation procedure (see section
V for a description). Time-frames, slots, and minislots are
defined and are allocated to user stations per their requests
in fixed segment durations. Provisions are made for mul-
tiple-priorities, integrated isochronous and asynchronous
services, and improved network survivability.
A MAN-I architecture that uses a ring broadcast back-
bone is shown in Fig. 6. The FDDI-I and I I implementations
serve as examples of such high-speed ring networks when
atoken ring MACarchitecture i s used. Buffer insertion rings
can also be considered.
In Fig. 7, we show a MAN-I architecture which employs
a mesh switching backbone. Such a backbone involves the
use of point-to-point links (as for a ring backbone) and it
incorporates store-and-forward switching functions at the
nodes. When a ring topology i s selected, buffered insertion
rings are considered, inducing a simple routing strategy
(see section V). Under mesh topologies, a routing proce-
dure needs to be invoked since, in general, messages will
not be broadcast across the mesh backbone network. Fast
179
circuit and packet switching procedures, as well as their
integrated versions, are considered.
A much simplified backbone architecture is shown in Fig.
8, where a star backbone i s used. A broadcast or switching
star can be employed. This architecture exhibits control and
topological advantages and disadvantages associated with
a central node topology; the central node may have to be
backed up to increase network survivability.
\\
As noted in Fig. 4, the level-2 MAN-2 network provides
for the interconnection of the level-I remote unit nodes,
and also serves as a MAN access network providing access
to the higher-level metropolitan area network. A MAN-2
network uses fiber feeder communications channels that
are currently planned to operate in a public telecommu-
nications network at a rate range of 0.6-2.4 Gbls, and in a
multi-gigabit/s range for future implementations.
MAN-2 network MAC architectures can be characterized
in a manner similar to that used for MAN-I networks. A
MAN-2 network can provide interconnection and access to
MAN-I networks through the use of proper gateways and
backbone networks that are configured as follows:

a) a broadcast bus (Fig. 9);

Fig. 10. Level-2 MAN-II architecture, using bus broadcast
backbone.

c) a mesh architecture using switching nodes and mesh

topology (Fig. 12).
It i s noted that a MAN-2 i s fed by message and callkession
traffic streams from i t s interconnected MAN-I networks.
Such traffic streams are thus statistically characterized as
more steady and less bursty processes, inducing access
control and switching solutions that can be very different
from those used at lower network levels. At this level, more
use can thus be made of fixed allocations, circuit dedica-
tions, and demand-assigned reservation or polling-based
procedures that provide for longerterm allocationofcircuit
and packet slots for access by MAN-I subnetworks.
As shown in Fig. 4, the level-3 MAN-3 network is a met-
ropolitan trunk network that provides for the intercon-
nection of level-2 MAN-2 network gateway nodes (such as
local exchange nodes) as well as for the access of MAN-2
messages and calls onto longer-distance and distribution-
type wide area networks (WAN'S).Multi-gigabit/s links are
used within a MAN-3 architecture. Typically, fast packet-
switching and circuit-switching mesh architectures are
employed at this level, when longer distances are involved;
however, multi-gigabit broadcast-type architectures could
be considered for regional coverage. An illustration of a
combined network architecture consisting of user LAN's,
MAN-I, MAN-2, and MAN-3 network levels is shown in Fig.
Fig. 9. Level-2 MAN-II architecture, using bus broadcast
13.
backbone.
V. EXAMPLES OF HIGH-SPEED
LOCALAND METROPOLITAN
AREANETWORKS
b) a star (see Fig. 10, where a double star configuration
In categorizing the LAN and MAN MAC architectures
i s shown, being the architecture selected for imple-
described in sections Ill-IV, we identify the following
mentation bya number of European PTT's; or see Fig.
classes of networks, when characterized by their backbone
11, where a star MAN-2 network i s used to intercon-
transmission rate.
nect a multitude of different MAN-I implementa-
tions; such a star configuration must be properly Class 1: Local area networks operating at the 1-12
backed u p by other star nodes to provide the desired Mb/s range, typically using twisted-pair and
availability and reliability features); coaxial cable media; such as the IEEE 802.3, IEEE

180 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990

Fig. 11. Level-2 MAN-II star architecture, using star backbone.
802.4, and IEEE 802.5 LAN’s that employ CSMAl
CD (random-access), token bus (polling) and
token ring (polling), respectively, as MAC
schemes.
Class 2: High-speed LAN and MAN systems operating
at a backbone rate of about 100-150 Mbls, such
as the FDDI-I, FDDI-II, IEEE 802.6 DQDB, and
the experimental METROCORE network; with
potential improvements to throughputs of 400-
800 Mb/s.
Class 3: LAN and MAN systems using a backbone rate
of 1-2 Gbls.
Class 4: LAN and MAN systems employing backbones
at rates of multi-gigabitls.
Class 5: Terabitls MAN systems.
Class 1 networks have been widely evaluated, discussed,
and analyzed. We thus outline in this section the MAC
structureof illustrativeclass 2 networks. In subsequent sec-
tions, we discuss the modeling and performance analysis
of MAC procedures employed by such networks, as well
as by other networks belonging to other classes.
Class 3 networks can be similarly implemented through
the useof a single logical bus backbone networkor by using
high-speed multiplexing of a station’s traffic into multiple
logical-bus systems. An example of such a multiplexing
arrangement employing current technology is given by the
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
~~
multi-gigabitls MAC circuit implementations described in
[5]. Gallium arsenide (CaAs) IC’s operating in the 1-2 Gb/s
range can be used to implement 8:l and 16:l multiplexers
2nd corresponding 1:8 and 1:16 demultiplexers allowing an
existing 150 Mbls silicon-based MAC IC to utilize a logical
bus backbone operating at 1.2- 2.4 Gb/s.
To resolve the optical versus electrical rate mismatch,
class 4 and class 5 networks can be implemented through
the use of multiple-channel and multiple-band configu-
rations, employing FDMAlWDMA and SDMA techniques,
where each band can be shared by using a class-2-based
MAC algorithm coupled with a selection algorithm which
is used to allocate the channelslbands. Here, a node can
operate not just as a MAC repeater across a logical bus net-
work, but also as a MAC store-and-forward switch, as
described in previous sections, leading to network seg-
mentation and multiple-hop network coverage. Integrated
logicahbus and fast-switching mesh architectures could be
effectively used for class 4 and 5 networks.
A. The IEEE 802.6 Distributed Queue Dual Bus (DQDB)
MAC Scheme
The lEEE802.6distributed queuedual bus(DQDB) system
[ I ] is a local and metropolitan area network that uses a dual
bus configuration utilizing a reservation procedure (called
a distributed queueing scheme) as the medium access con-
181
 a-
n-
Fig. 12. Level-2 MAN-II mesh architecture, using switching nodes.
trol method. This sytem is based on the QPSX system devel-
oped by Telecom Australia [26].
Each station node interfaces bus A and bus B. Each bus
has a frame generator head which i s responsible for syn-
chronizing the bus and generating slots and frames. The
busescan beconfigured in an open-bus topology, as shown
in Fig. l(b2), or in a looped-bus topology, where the buses
are looped (but not physically connected to form a closed
loop), as shown in Fig. 14, leading to the colo,cation of the
frame generators. The latter configuration contributes to
increased reliability, since a single bus disconnect can be
isolated and circumvented by closing the opening at the
current location of the default framegenerator and locating
the new frame generator at a position next to the fault dis-
connection in the bus.
Stations actively interface the unidirectional fiber bus
through a logical OR “overwrite” operation. A station can
thus strip information it receives off the bus by overwriting
it.
The layered structure of the DQDB protocols is shown
in Fig. 2(a). The MAC layer provides services to the logical
link control (LLC) sublayer, to the nonisochronous channel
user (NCU), to the isochronous channel user (ICU), and to
the station manager, as discussed in section Ill.
Time-frames (cycles) are generated across each bus by
the bus frame generator head. The MAC cycle frame con-
sists of a frame header followed by N slots, and a possibly
182
~~
U
spare number of octets (so that each cycle frame contains
an integral number of complete slots). It is passed down-
stream along the bus.
The slot serves as the basic information carrying unit. Each
slot contains a fixed number of octets. Each slot contains
an access control field (ACF) followed by a fixed size “seg-
ment.” Two types of slots are identified: queue-arbitrated
(QA) and nonarbitrated (NA). A slot-type bit in the ACF i s
marked by the frame generator to identify the type of the
slot.
The ACF field contains the bits that control access to a
slot. In particular, it contains a BUSY field (1 bit) used to
indicate whether the slot is busy or empty and a REQUEST
field (4 bits), which is used by stations to indicate a reser-
vation for a slot; a request at priority level I i s indicated by
the REQ-I bit in this field set to one, I = 0, 1, 2, 3.
QA slots are used to transfer asynchronous segments.
The BUSY bit in the ACF i s set to 0 by the frame generator
to indicate the slot is empty. A station (node) which gains
access to the QA slot to transfer its asynchronous segment
marks the slot as busy by setting i t s BUSY bit to 1, and writes
its asynchronous segment into the segment field. NA slots
are used to transfer isochronous-sample segments. They
are generated by the frame generator, which sets their BUSY
bits to 1.Variable-length LLC PDU’s are transferred through
a segmentation and reassembly (SAR) process, which pro-
vides a conversion between the LLC MAC frames and
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
Fig. 13. Overall network architecture consisting of LAN’s, MAN-l’s, MAN-11’s and MAN-
I l l network levels.

BUS A
3 DEFAULT D
FRAME BUS B
GENERATOR

-7
Fig. 14. Looped bus topology for DQDB network.

derived MAC PDU’s that fit into the fixed-length MAC seg-
ments.
The medium-access control for transfer of asynchronous
segments i s governed by a reservation scheme. The latter,
called a distributed queue procedure, controls the write
function for the queue-arbitrated access control entity. The
operation can be specified by a distributed queue state
machine (DQSM) and the request queue machine (RQM)
[I], summarized as follows.
Astation can request its segmentto be transmitted across
either bus A or B (or both), and be considered at priority
I, I = 0, 1, 2, 3, where level 3 is the highest priority level.
There are thus eight (x, I ) instances of the DQSM at each
node corresponding to each possible combination of
requested bus x and priority level 1.
The station will not process another (x, I ) request of prior-
ity I to write bus x until a previous (x, I ) segment writing to
the bus commences.

RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS 183
 Asynchronous segments for transmission on the bus are
received by the station and are placed in the local (x, I) out-
standing request queue. Request for access to bus x is sig-
naled to other nodes by an OR-write operation performed
on the REQUEsTsUbfieldof slots passing on theopposite bus,
bus y. This operation i s controlled by the RQM. The latter
sends a request (reservation)by setting the REQ-Ibit on bus
y i n the first slot in which REQ-I bit i s not set when received.
Subsequently, to provide for the access of an (x, I)seg-
ment, the station's DQSM operates as follows. The DQSM
continuously maintains a count of the requests generated
by nodesdownstream on busxthat are still outstanding (by
recording the number of such requests on bus y and
observing the number of empty slots passing itself on bus
x to satisfy these requests). An (x, I) request counter i s used
to maintain this count. When an asynchronous (x, I)seg-
ment transmit request i s generated, the DQSM moves into
a countdown state. It then transfers the current state of the
(x, I) request counter to a countdown counter (and sets the
former count state to 0).The state of the countdown counter
i s decremented by one for each empty slot that passes the
node on bus x, oriented towards stations which are down-
stream to itself and which have already sent reservations
at the same or higher priority level, or for higher priority
segments subsequently submitted for transmission and
residing in its own buffer. The countdown counter needs
to increase its count by one for each subsequent reser-
vation request it identifies on busy, or i s self-generated, for
higher priority segments. When the corresponding count
state equals zero, the DQSM is in the standby state, and
when an empty QA slot i s observed on bus x, this slot i s
marked busy and the asynchronous segment i s written into
this slot.
The nonarbitrated slot access control scheme operates
bywriting the node's isochronous sampleor samples, iden-
tified by a label and a list of one or more (octet, offset) pairs,
onto the requested bus within the appropriate busy NA slot.
The latter is identified by having the same label in the iso-
chronous-sample segment header of the slot. Then, the
node OR writes each octet in the list into the NA slot at the
specified offset.
Considering nonisochronous operation, the efficiency of
operation of the DQDB MAC procedure as a reservation
scheme for the sharing of a logical bus system is related to
the efficiency of the reservation procedure and the utili-
zation of the logical-bus medium dimensions. Transmis-
sions of information segments across the bus are coordi-
nated by adistributed queue procedure underwhich station
requests are queued and accommodated on a one-seg-
ment-per-stationat-a-time basis. This corresponds to a dis-
tributed round-robin or processor-sharing queueing model,
whereby the intended bus server provides each packet a
single-segment service-quantumper visit round. It i s noted,
however, that stations can experience unfair bandwidth
allocation related to their position along the bus. For exam-
ple, consider two widely separated, highly busy stations,
one located close to the frame generator and the other
located much further downstream. Due to propagation
delay, it takes a relatively long period of time for the reser-
vations made on the opposite bus by the distant station to
reach the closer station. In the meanwhile, the latter (being
positioned closer to the slot generator) captures available
idle slots, permitting only infrequently an idle slot for the
distant station to pass by.
184
Access to the reservation channel is provided on-a posi-
tional priority basis, whereby a node can access any empty
request field that passes itself across the unidirectional bus.
Under an earlier DQDB version, a station i s required to
transmit its reservation before it is permitted to transmit its
corresponding segment. Under a later version, this rule was
changed to allow a station to transmit i t s queued segment
upon thecaptureof an idle slot (after itscountdown counter
has reached the 0 state) and to transmit its reservation on
the opposite bus when it is able to do so.
Thus, under the earlier version, a node located closer to
the frame generator for bus ycan gain access to the request
channel on bus y in advance of other nodes which are
located downstream along the same bus. A measure of fair-
ness i s attained by not allowing a node to make another
request until its previous segment is transmitted. Such a
reservation procedure can lead to situations in which a
group of busy stations capture the bus without allowing
stations located downstream to this group (along the reser-
vation bus) access to the message bus.
Under the later reservation rule, such reservation lock-
outs and delays are typically avoided since stations are not
required to wait for the transmission of their reservation
bits prior to the transmission of their information seg-
ments. Uneven bandwidth distribution patterns can still be
exhibited. For example, downstream stations which are
widelydistant from an upstream one can generate requests
for segments that have already been transmitted, prevent-
ing this station from accessing the bus.
Possible improvements in the reservation scheme could
also be related to using batch- or connection-related reser-
vations, whereby requests are made for batches of seg-
ments or at certain session start and termination times [30]
rather than for every individual segment.
Algorithms have been developed and investigatedto pre-
vent lockout and unfair access phenomena, leading to fair
bandwidth allocationsand channel access patterns1941, [951.
In [95], such an algorithm allocates to each station a
bounded quota of segments, which it i s permitted to trans-
mit during an underlying cycle. A recently proposed mod-
ification requires a station to let an idle slot pass-by after
consecutively transmitting a specified (e.g., 8) number of
segments.
The DQDB scheme employs a broadcast strategy to route
segments. As noted before, the space and bandwidth assets
of the unidirectional fiber bus can be better utilized when
a destination removal scheme is used, whereby the des-
tination node, or a specially equipped supervisory node,
copies its received segment from the bus and releases the
slot for use as an empty slot by stations located downstream
along the bus. Such a destination release scheme can lead
to substantial improvements in bandwidth and delay per-
formance.
B. The FDDI-I and FDDI-I1MAC Schemes
The fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) i s a proposed
American National Standard for 100 Mbls token ring using
an optical fiber medium. A recent enhancement, FDDI-II,
adds a circuit-switching capability, so that the network can
integrate data with voice, video, and sensor data streams.
A maximum configuration consists of 500 stations (each sta-
tion representing two physical connections) linked by 100
km of fiber cable.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
~~
 Information is transmitted on the FDDl in frames [2], [31].
A distributed-polling medium-access control procedure i s
used. A single token exists, and only the station which has
seized the token i s permitted t o transmit across the chan-
nel. Each station removes (strips) its own transmitted MAC
frames from the ring (logical bus), and can thus receive
immediate ACK, appended by the destination as a trailer
to the frame. The transmitting station issues the token
immediately at the termination of its transmission, so that
the next busy station along the ring can seize it following
the latest transmission which crosses its interface. An idle
station repeats the token, while a busy one strips it from
the ring. Two types of tokens are defined: restricted and
unrestricted tokens.
The access of nonisochronous frames onto the medium
i s controlled by a timed token rotation (TTR) protocol. Each
station continuously records the time elapsed since it has
last received the token. An initialization procedure i s used
to select a target token rotation time (TTRT) through a bid-
ding process where each station bids for a token rotation
time (TRT) and the minimum such time i s selected. Two
classes of service are defined: synchronous, under which
a station can capture the token whenever it has synchro-
nous frames to transmit; and asynchronous, which permits
a station to capture a token only if the current TRT i s lower
than the established TTRT. To support multiple priority lev-
els for asynchronous frames, additional time thresholds are
defined for each priority level. In this manner, a message
of a certain priority level is allowed to be transmitted by its
station, when the latter captures the token, only if the dif-
ference between the time this station has already used at
this ring access (in transmitting higher priority messages)
and thetime since the token last visited this station i s higher
than the corresponding time threshold associated with the
underlying message priority level. This priority-based access
protocol is similar to the one used for the IEEE 802.4 token
bus LAN system.
Using this procedure, stations can request and establish
guaranteed bandwidth and response time for synchronous
frames. A guaranteed maximum response time is estab-
lished for the ring, since the arrival time between two suc-
cessive tokens at a station can be shown to not exceed the
value of 2 x TTRT.
As a polling scheme, the performance of FDDl is limited
by the ring walk (RW) time, which i s expressed as the ring
latency representing the time it takes the token to propa-
gate around the ring under no-load conditions. The ring
throughput i s thus proportional to 1-RWITTRT.While lower
TTRT values (such as 4-8 ms) yield lower guaranteed
response times (lower than 8-16 ms), higher TTRT values
need to be selected to provide for better bandwidth uti-
lization under higher load conditions. The ring latency var-
ies from a small value of 0.081 ms for a 50-station IO-km LAN
to a value of 0.808 ms for a 530-stations 100-km LAN. Using
a TTRT value of 50 ms for a LAN that supports 75 stations,
30 km of fiber, and has a ring latency RW = 0.25 ms, a max-
imum utilization of 99.5 percent can be achieved [30].
Under FDDI-II, a circuit-switched service i s embedded
into the token ring structure by the creation of a cycle for-
mat. A cycle master station i s assigned the responsibility to
generate the cycles, one cycle every 125 p s , using an 8-kHz
frequency reference clock. Each cycle has a cycle header
which contains an isochronous channel template consist-
ingof 16symbols, one for each potential isochronous chan-
RUBIN AND BAKER. MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
nel, marking itaseitherassigned toan isochronouschannel
or as released for use by the token channel.
In comparing the DQDB and FDDl MAC schemes, one
considers the differences in operation and performance
between reservation/processor-sharing (PS) distributed
queue-based and polling-based MAC procedures. The per-
formance of these schemes is noted in subsequent sections
to depend upon the reservation/PS delays and the polling-
cycle latency delays. At lower traffic loads, the polling
scheme induces messagedelays due to token latency, while
the reservation scheme induces relatively low reservation
delays. As the traffic load increases, the polling procedure
i s less affected by cycle latency factors, while a reservation
procedure can experience higher message delays due to
the higher load imposed upon the reservation channel,
leading to higher reservation delays. Such delay-versus-
throughput performance features havealso been noted for
the DQDB and FDDI-II models simulated in [37]. Note, how-
ever, that under the later DQDB reservation rule, segment
transmissions can occur prior to the transmission of reser-
vation bits, so that the impact of reservation delays i s
reduced. Packet delays are now primarily affected by the
distributed-queue PS system and its dependencies upon
the locations of station along the bus, particularly when a
long bus span i s involved. As noted in the preceding, unfair
bandwidth allocation patterns can occur under the DQDB
scheme, unless a proper fair-access regulation algorithm i s
incorporated.
Both schemes employ a demand-assigned reservation
procedure for circuit-switching allocation of isochronous
circuits. Under FDDI-II, the packet-switched token chan-
nels are byte-interleaved within 96 data groups, leading to
a packet mean delay which is nearly independent of the
isochronous channel arrangement.
Note that the DQDB protocol employs a slotted ATM
structure, which i s currently recommended by CClTT as a
channelization structure for support of broadband ISDN
services in conjunction with fast packet-switching archi-
tectures.
C. Buffer Insertion Rings
Buffer insertion rings have also been investigated as can-
didates for fi ber-based high-speed network architectures.
The network i s configured as a ring, so that ring interface
units (R1U’s)areconnected by point-to-point links. Each sta-
tion i s associated with two buffers: a station buffer, which
stores the station’s packets waiting for accessing the ring;
and a ring buffer, which i s inserted into the ring. In-transit
packets arriving at the station’s ring interface unit from the
ring’s incoming unidirectional link are delayed at the ring
buffer.
An illustrative access protocol to such a ring i s given by
the IBM METARING network architecture [96]. Two coun-
terdirectional rings are used, with each station connected
t o both rings. A station transmits its packets o n the ring that
provides the shortest path to its destination. Packets are
removed from the ring by their destination stations. No
token i s employed. A station having a ready packet to trans-
mit examines its ring buffer. If the latter is occupied, the
station queues itspacket,deferringaccesstothering traffic.
In turn, if the ring buffer i s empty, the station proceeds to
transmit i t s packet across the ring. A packet that arrives
across the ring at a (nondestination) station’s RIU during
185
the time this station i s engaged in the transmission of i t s
own packet, is held in the ring buffer until the latter packet
transmission terminates. In turn, such a packet arriving at
a RIU when the associated station i s not transmitting i s
immediately (after only a short delay in the buffer, as in a
token ring system) retransmitted onto the outgoing link in
a cut-through fashion.
Such an architecture can provide a significant increase
in the network throughput, approaching an average chan-
nel capacity utilization of 400 percent due to the spatial
reuse induced by the dual-ring structure and by the con-
currency of destination-removed transmissions across each
ring (which by itself yields an average of 100 percent
improvement in capacity utilization under a uniform traffic
distribution).
It is noted that in computingthe ringtransmission latency,
in comparison with a token ring architecture, it is now nec-
essary to account for the additional packet delays that can
be incurred in the ring buffers along the message path.
However, since high-speed fiber finks are involved, the lat-
ter latencies are usually dominated by the longer propa-
gation delay component of the ring traversal.time.
An implementation of a buffer insertion ring for high-
speed transmissions must incorporate a fairness control
algorithm to ensure equitable and fair access to the ring
stations. In [96] such an algorithm i s presented; it uses con-
trol signals that are embedded in unused physical-layer-
based coded signals. The latter control signals can traverse
the ring within a period of time which is close to the ring
propagation delay, independently of any current message
transmissions across the ring. Such signals are transmitted
on ring A for providing fairness control of transmissions
across the counterdirectional ring B. The signaling scheme
i s used by a station to prevent itself from being blocked
from entering the ring by a downstream station that trans-
mitsan excessive numberof packets,ensuringthatastation
is provided acess to the ring within a period of time deter-
mined by the cycle of the signaling message.
VI. MODELING OF FIXED ASSIGNED
AND ANALYSIS MAC
SCHEMES
Under a fixed assigned MAC procedure, each station is
allocated a fixed resource of the shared communications
medium, on a dedicated basis, across each dimension of
the {T, F, C, S } assignment space.
Time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequencydivi-
sion multiple access (FDMA) procedures have been most
often utilized as fixed-assignment MAC schemes. In the fol-
lowing, we outline models and performance analysis
approaches for TDMA systems; the corresponding analysis
of FDMA systems i s also noted.
A slotted channel isconsidered. Undera packet-switched
TDMA (PS-TDMA; simplified as TDMA henceforth), a sta-
tion sharing a multiple-access medium i s allocated a num-
ber of slots during each cycle (timeframe). The station uses
these slots to transmit its buffered messages across the
communications channel. Messages arriving at the station
are segmented into MAC packets (frames) so that the sta-
tion can transmit a single packet duringeach oneof itsded-
icated slots. The station can thus statistically multiplex (on
a priority basis, if desired) its packets while ordering them
for transmission across the channel. Assuming the number
186
(and position)of station slots per cycle to be fixed, the delay-
throughput performance provided to the station’s mes-
sages i s independent of the performance provided to mes-
sages of any other station. The performance of a single sta-
tion can thus be evaluated.
A number of studies have been carried out in investi-
gating the performance of TDMA systems under which the
underlying station i s allocated a single slot per cycle. For-
mulas for the generating function and moments of the
queuesize(number of messages held in the station’s buffer,
at any time in steady-state) distribution for such a TDMA
system have been derived in [39], [41], [42]. The generating
function and moments of the message delay (total time
elapsed from the instant of message arrival to the instant
that the full message is transmitted across the channel) dis-
tribution have been derived in [40], [41]. Performance anal-
yses for such TDMA systems operating under station’s
buffer capacity limitations are presented in [49] and [93].
Related models have also been studied in [45] and [46].
The latter paper studies the performance of single-packet
messages transmitted by a single station along a discrete-
time channel which is characterized by alternate available
and blocked periods of random durations.
Under a priority-based TDMA scheme, the station’s mes-
sages are queued for transmission in accordance with their
priority levels. For a single-slot-per-cycle TDMA assign-
ment, assuming messages to arrive at the system in accor-
dance with a Poisson process, message delay analysis has
been carried out in [44] for a nonpreemptive priority dis-
cipline, and in [51], [52] for preemptive-resume service pol-
icies. Message delay and system queue-size results, for a
general independent (cycle to cycle) arrival process, for a
(station allocation of a) single-slot-per-cycle priority TDMA
system using preemptive or nonpreemptive multiple prior-
ity-class service policies, have been derived in [48].
The latter analysis involves the study of priority-based
single-server discrete-time queueing systems. It thus
induces a TDMA cycle-gated service model, under which
message arrivals are recorded at the end of each cycle, so
that messages arriving during the frame are randomly
ordered for transmission while messages arriving in dif-
ferent frames are ordered in a first-come first-served basis.
Note that when message length distributions are indepen-
dent of the message priority class, the system queue-size
distribution, and thus the average message delay, i s insen-
sitive to the latter ordering, provided a work-conserving
service discipline i s employed. The results in [48] for buffer
occupancy and message delay performance thus also apply
to the analysis of slotted FDMA systems, whereby a station
i s provided adedicated time-slotted frequency band forthe
transmission of i t s buffered messages.
The following formulas describe the message delay per-
formance of a station allocated a single slot per cycle in a
TDMA system, operating as a cycle-gated service system
[40], [41]. Assume messages to arrive at the station in accor-
dance with the arrival sequence N = {N,, n 2 I } , which
consists of independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) ran-
dom variables, where N, denotes the number of messages
arriving at the station during the nth cycle. Set the gen-
erating function (z-transform) and first two moments of N,
to be given by N*(z), n, = €(N,,),n2 = UN:), respectively.
A message contains a random number of packets B , which
i s governed by a general distribution whose generating
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
function and moments are given by B*(z), = E @ ) , P2 =
€(B2), respectively. Each packet transmission time i s equal
to a single slot. A cycle (time frame) consists of M slots.
The station generates an average of p = n,P packets per
cycle while it i s allocated only a single slot per cycle. For
p < 1, the station’s throughput rate i s equal t o p (packets/
service slot). The station queue-size process then reaches
steady state. We assume henceforth that p < 1and present
steady-state performance equations.
The message waiting time (W) in the station buffer i s the
time measured from the instant the message arrives at the
station to the instant i t s transmission starts. For M = 1,when
the channel i s dedicated to the underlying station, so that
a discrete time queueing system model results which i s of
interest for multiplexing and slotted FDMA systems, the
z-transform of the steady-state message wait-time WD
(expressed in slots) i s given by
WE(Z) = { ( I - p)(z - l ) [ z - N*(B*(z))l-I)
* {I - N*(B*(z))][n,(l - B*(z))l-’}.
for IzI I1. Notethat agroupof messages may arriveduring
asinglecycle intothestation.Thefirst messageofthisgroup
of messages to be selected for service i s called the group
leader. The first term in this expression accounts for the
waiting time of the group leader [41], while the second term
represents the waiting time of the message beyond that of
the group leader. The corresponding mean message wait-
ing-time in the station’s buffer i s obtained from this equa-
tion, to be given by
+ (P/Z)[(n,/n,) - 11.
The generating function and mean of the corresponding
message delay D D (expressed in slots), which i s equal to the
sum of the message wait time and i t s transmission time, are
thus equal to
DE(Z) = W;(Z)B*(Z), f ( D D ) = €(WD) + P.
For aTDMA system with M > 1, so that the station i s allo-
cated a single slot per each cycle which consists of M slots,
the message steady-state delay D i s expressed as D = F
+
W T, where F is the message frame-latency component
expressing the period of time elapsed between the message
slot of arrival and the start of the station’s next service slot;
W is the message waiting time, measured from the latter
time to the start of the message’s first transmission slot; and
Trepresents the stations effective transmission time, which
i s equal to the total time it takes to transmit all the packets
belonging to the underlying message. As noted, assuming
station messages arriving within the same frame to be
ordered randomly (among themselves) for subsequent
transmissions, the aforementioned three delay compo-
nents are statistically independent, and the corresponding
generating function i s given by
D*(z) = F*(z) W*(z) T*(z).
For message arrival processes that induce uniform arrival
distributions across the cycle, we have, (zI < 1,
F*(z) = M - ’ ( l - zM)(l - z)-’, €(F) = (M - 1)/2.
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
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The generating function and mean of the wait-time distri-
bution are expressed in terms of the corresponding dis-
crete time system (M = 1)variables as
w*(z) = WE(zM), E(W) = Mf(WD).
The effective message transmission time statistics are given
by
T*(z) = z ’ - ~ B * ( z ~ ) , €(T) = MP + 1 - M,
noting that the intertransmission times between the first
B - 1 packets included in a message are each equal to a
cycle duration of M slots, while the last packet terminates
the message transmission after an additional single trans-
mission slot.
The preceding components are then combined t o yield
the generating function of the message delay distribution.
For the special case of a Poisson arrival process at the sta-
tion, with a station’s message arrival intensity of X [mes-
sages/slot], the station’s frame arrival generating function
i s equal to
N*(z) = exp [MX(z - I)],
yielding the following mean delay expressions:
E(D) = [(M - + ME(W,) + [MO + 1 - MI + 1/2
1)/2]
= Mp[2(1 - p)]-’(/32/P) + MP + 1 - M/2,
where p = MAP < 1. Note that since a Poisson process i s
acontinuous-time arrival point process, an additional mean
delay of 112 slot has been included to account for the aver-
age latency between the message arrival within a slot and
its discrete-time recording at the end of the slot. Also note
that the difference between the mean message delays com-
puted for corresponding TDMA and FDMA systems [40] i s
given by
E(DF) - €(DT) = (M - 1)/2.
For TDMA systems in which a station i s provided multiple
slots, say N, per cycle (consisting of M slots), the following
two cases are noted.
If the station slots are uniformly distributed overthecycle,
+ such that the ratio M/N = K i s an integer, the TDMA system
model can be reduced to that of a TDMA system, under
which the station i s dedicated a single slot per cycle by rede-
fining the system cycle to be equal to K slots.
On the other hand, consider aTDMA system in which the
station is allocated N continguous slots during each cycle,
and set M = N + L. An exact analysis for such a system is
provided in [43] for fixed-length messages, and in a recent
extension by same authors to messages which contain a
geometrically distributed random number of messages.
This study also presents simple tight upper and lower
bounds for the average station buffer queue size and mes-
sage delay. These bounds are presented in the following.
Station messages are assumed to arrive independently from
slot to slot in accordance with the i.i.d. sequence {A,, n 2
I } , where A, denotes the number of station messages arriv-
ing during the nth slot, so that N*(z) = [A*(z)lM, A*(z) =
€(zAn), a = €(A,), a2 = €(A:). The message arrival rate at the
station is thusequal t o a mess/slot. Each message i s assumed
to contain a random number of packets governed by a geo-
187
 metric distribution with parameter 9, and a mean of l I q
(packetdmessage).
Steady-state conditions are attained for (aI9) < (NIM),
noting that the throughput rate is equal t o d q (packets/slot),
while the system's per-station service rate (and throughput
capacity) is given by NIM. Exact results for the generating
function of the distribution of the system message queue-
size X (expressing the total number of messages queued at
the station buffer, at steady state) are obtained in [43], with
the mean message queue size E ( X ) shown to satisfy the fol-
lowing bounds:
Q < E(X) < Q + (N - 1)(L/M)/2
where
Q = [241 - CY) + a2]/[2(q - a)]
+ {Lq[a2 - a* + a(2 - 9)]}/[2(9 - a)(Nq - Ma)].
We note that the upper and lower bounds for the mean
queue-size differ at most by constant value of (N - 1)/2. For
N = 1, a station i s allocated a single slot per cycle and the
upper and lower bounds coincide, yielding E ( X ) = Q.
Message delay analysis for a TDMA system in which a sta-
tion i s allocated N contiguous slots per cycle i s carried out
in [43] for a number of common message arrival point pro-
cess models, yielding expressions for the generating func-
tion of the message delay distribution. The mean message
delay can be obtained using Little's formula, E(D) = E(X)a,
and is thus bounded through the use of the preceding pre-
sented bounds for E(X). For a continuous-time Poisson pro-
cess with station message arrival rate equal to A, we set €(D)
=P E ( X ) + 1I2.
In comparing system performance under the two afore-
mentioned slot allocation configurations, when the ratio
MIN is assumed to be a positive integer, under the traffic
model presented, the following result i s proved in [43]. The
steady-state station mean queue-size and mean message
delay experienced under the contiguous slot allocation
configuration is lower bounded by the corresponding per-
formance levels attained when slots are uniformly distrib-
uted across the frame.
For schemes that involve a general allocation of station
slots across the frame, the following results are available.
For such TDMA systems with Poisson arrival streams and
single-packet messages, generating functions for the
packet-size distribution are obtained in [go]. In [91], using
asimilar model, it is shown that auniform distribution yields
a mean packet delay lower bound, as already noted. In [92],
this model i s analyzed with the assumption of multipacket
messages to yield expressions for the generating functions
of the system packet size and message delays. Note that all
of these results require one to solve for the multiple roots
of a functional equation. In turn, note that the bounds pre-
sented are readily computed.
Under a circuit-switched TDMA (CS-TDMA)scheme, each
station i s also allocated N slots per cycle. A station provides
access to thechannel for i t s sessions by assigning to a ready
session one of its dedicated circuits, for the total duration
of the session. Under a blocking service, a session is blocked
if upon its arrival no available circuit can be allocated by
the station. Under a delayed service, session requests for
circuit assignments arequeued atthe station request buffer
and are satisfied on a FCFS (or priority) basis.
188
~ ~ _ _
Since the session holding time is manytimes much longer
than the cycle duration, the cycle microstructure (involving
the specific station slot configuration) is usually neglected,
and conventional blocking or delayed queueing system
models are utilized to derive system performance.
An analysis which incorporates the cycle microstructure
i s presented in [47] for a CS-TDMA scheme which employs
a delayed service. Requests are queued and served on a
FCFS basis. Each request requires the establishment of a
circuit that consists of a single slot per cycle, for the dura-
tion of the session. The station can thus accommodate N
simultaneous active circuits. Results are first obtained for
the queue-size and waiting-time distribution sfor adiscrete-
time geom'"'IgeomIN queueing system. These results are
then used to derive the generating function for the station
system size distribution under a CS-TDMA scheme. The
associated computation requires the solution of (N 1)2N +
linear equations. To derive a more computationally effec-
tive procedure, tight lower and upper bounds are obtained
for the mean queue size and mean message delay func-
tions, requiring the solution of, at most, 3 N linear equa-
tions. It i s also proved in [47] that a slot distribution con-
figuration which distributes station slots uniformlyover the
cycle yields a mean message delay lower bound.
VII. MODELINGAND ANALYSIS
OF DEMAND-ASSIGNID
RESERVATIONMAC SCHEMES
Under a demand-assigned reservation access control
scheme, an active station first generates a reservation mes-
sage which it then transmits either to a central control sta-
tion or to all stations when a distributed control scheme is
employed. The station i s then allocated a transmission cell
across the {T, F, C, S } assignment space. For the purpose
of carrying reservation messages, a reservation channel i s
established and a reservation access-control algorithm is
invoked. To assess the efficiency of such a demand-assigned
operation, one needs to evaluate the combined message
delay (or sessionkall blocking) versus system throughput
performance, involving the joint operation of the reser-
vation and information transmission schemes.
We review here a number of such demand-assigned
TDMA (DAiTDMA) schemes, which use reservation pro-
cedures to share acommunications medium on atime-divi-
sion basis. Assume a slotted channel whose timeline con-
sists of cycles (frames), each containing M slots.
Under an in-band reservation procedure, a reservation
period i s established during each cycle for transmission of
reservation packets across the main shared channel. For
example, under such a fixed reservation access control
(FRAC) scheme [41], a fixed number of slots (or minislots)
N, is allocated during each frame for stations to transmit
their reservation packets, in accordance with a specified
access control scheme, such as a fixed-assigned TDMA
(whereby each station is allocated a reservation minislot for
the transmission of its reservation packet) or such as a ran-
dom-access method. A reservation delay D,,, is incurred by
an active station in transmitting i t s reservation message.
The remainder of the period, consisting of N = M - N,
slots, i s available for information transmission of reserved-
for messages.
Transmitted reservations can be considered to wait for
service in an equivalent single queue, which is the physical
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
reservation queue at the central controller when a centrally
controlled reservation scheme is implemented, or i s a "dis-
tributed queue" whose state represents the reservation
queue state at each station when a distributed control
implementation i s employed. Then, considering message
delay or blocking performance for arbitrary messages or
sessions which have already made their reservations, a
TDMA model can be employed. For example, consider a
packet-switching DA/TDMA service (DA/PS-TDMA scheme).
The queueing delay performance of reserved messages can
then be derived from the analysis presented in section VI
for a PS-TDMA system [43] by associating the reservation
queue with a superstation, which is served in accordance
with a TDMA scheme, which provides the station N = M -
N,,, service slots during each cycle of M slots. The arrival
message stream at this station consists of the arrivals of all
message reservations. The latter arrival point process can
at times be modeled as the superposition of all message
arrival processes at the stations; in particular, this statistical
characterization applies when nearly fixed or relatively low
reservation delays are experienced. Otherwise, a more
involved characterization of the reservation output process
i s required; this may require a much more complex exact
or approximate queueing analysis. A similar approach i s
used when a circuit-switched reservation system (DA/CS-
TDMA) i s considered.
When using a circuit-switching discipline, and consid-
ering the establishment of end-to-end connections across
a network of communications links, a reservation message
fora session setup can be satisfied only if the requested link
capacity can be made available and allocated across each
one of the links belonging to the connection path. Under
a blocking service, if no such end-to-end circuit can be allo-
cated, the request i s blocked. Due to the complex statistical
dependencies which consequently exist between the states
of different links, blocking performance analyses for cir-
cuit-switched networks have been carried out by many
researchers through the use of a link congestion indepen-
dence assumption, which takes the blocking events over
different links to be statistically independent. Infinite
source models are then employed and Erlang's loss formula
is typically used to compute the blocking probability(grade-
of-service) performance for each link (see, for example, [53]-
[58] and the references therein). For the blocking perfor-
mance analysis of a single multiple-access communications
channel (such as a satellite communications channel or a
shared terrestrial trunk group) when finite source models
are used (so that each station can be engaged in, at most,
a single connection at a time), see [59]-[61].
The blocking performance of interconnected circuit-
switched MAN's (or LAN's), each represented as a multiple-
access channel whose bandwidth is shared among all local
stationsforthe purposeof establishing local aswell as long-
distance connections, i s investigated in [62]. Each pair of
MAN's i s interconnected by a multiple-access communi-
cations channel backbone. Finite-source models are
assumed, and a realistic connectivity configuration has been
specified so that each station can be assumed to statistically
communicate with stations that belong to a specified set of
target stations rather than with (potentially) all network sta-
tions. The computed blocking probability functions are
expressed as the sum of three components: the destination
blocking probability, the circuit blocking probability, and
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
__
the concurrent blocking probability (designating the prob-
ability that both the destination station i s busy and that no
sufficient capacity can be allocated for the establishment
of the requested circuit). It is noted that destination-busy
probabilities can provide a major contribution to the over-
all blocking probability under certain network conditions,
and that the circuit-blocking and destination-busy proba-
bilities are many times inversely affected by the connec-
tivity configuration and the associated sizes of the com-
mu n icating groups.
In considering demand-assigned reservation schemes,
there is considerable interest in sharing the communica-
tions medium among a multiplicity of services, including
the integration of datalvoice and data/voice/video services.
Using a demand-assigned reservation scheme, each station
can be allocated a fixed bandwidth, or a fixed number of
time slots per cycle, and then multiplex its multiple-service
packets and connections across its dedicate cell. In addi-
tion, a portion (or all) of the shared channel bandwidth can
beallocated to stations upon the receipt of their reservation
request, depending upon the requested service type. Inte-
grated-services network systems can provide flexibility and
versatility in terminal connectivity and can capitalize on the
economics of equipment commonality to yield better
resource utilization and more efficient implementations of
network operations, maintenance, and administrative
functions.
In relation to the employed switching discipline, the fol-
lowing integrated-services MAC systems are observed:
a) integrated-services packet-switching MAC systems,
b) integrated-services circuit-switching MAC systems,
c) integrated-services hybrid packet and circuit-switch-
ing MAC systems.
In a pure packet-switching MAC system, packets belong-
ing to different service classes (data, voice, video, etc.) can
be treated equally. As a result, it is necessary to ensure that
the attained performance levels (including packet delays
and loss probabilities) are acceptable for the provision of
each service. In turn, a more efficient utilization of the
shared bandwidth resources can be achieved through the
use of service-type-based packet priorities, as well as the
incorporation of flow control and congestion control
schemes to ensure that certain admitted packets (or packet
sessions/bursts) can be provided with acceptable delay and
loss probability levels.
Such considerations are essential in the design of a fast
packet-switching network. The fast packet switch itself can
be regarded as a packet-switched MAC system that must
operate under the limitations described. See [63] for an
illustration and a corresponding analysis of a packet switch
node in a real-time system environment. It is shown that
with a small number of buffers, the node (under essentially
an output buffering configuration) can provide a guaran-
teed delay bound for high-priority traffic, a low average
delay for low-priority traffic, no loss of packets at the input,
and low probability of packet loss at the output.
In a pure circuit-switching integrated-services MAC sys-
tem, the communications medium provides multiple-rate
circuit connections to a diverse mixture of service types.
Connections for different service types require different
channel bandwidth (time slot) allocations. The perfor-
mance behavior of such demand-assigned reservation cir-
189
cuit-switched MAC systems involves the computation of
the underlying blocking probability levels provided to each
service class, under a specified procedure for sharing the
channel among the different service classes. The latter pro-
cedures typically involve fully dedicated components
(whereby each class is dedicated a minimal amount of chan-
nel bandwidth) as well as partially shared components
(which provide for sharing of a certain amount of channel
bandwidth among certain service classes). For related
blocking analysis, we refer to the aforementioned papers
presenting analysis for circuit-switching networks, using
either infinite-source models (such as [55], [58]) and Erlang's
loss formula or employing finite-source models and Engset-
type equations ([60]-[62]). In [64], blocking performance
analysis i s carried out for an integrated-services circuit-
switched channel, using finite-source station models and
realistic connectivity patterns. As in [62], the behavior of
each service class is characterized in terms of the corre-
sponding blocking probability components, including the
circuit-blocking and destination-busy probabilities. It i s also
demonstrated in [64], as previously noted in [65], that when
wideband and narrowband service types are multiplexed
over a shared wideband circuit-switched communications
channel, fluctuations are observed in the blocking perfor-
mance of the narrowband service, for a fixed total traffic
load, because the fractional traffic load share of the wide-
band service type i s varied. It is also noted that, to guarantee
an acceptable grade-of-service to the wideband service class
as well as reduce the aforementioned fluctuations, it is
advantageous to dedicate an appropriate minimum num-
ber of circuits for allocation to only wideband service con-
nections; the remaining bandwidth can be effectively
shared among the various service types.
In reducing the transit delay of information along a cir-
cuit-switched multihop lightwave network, it can beadvan-
tageoustoallocatethetime slotswithin each cycle(overthe
TDM links constituting the connection path) so that no
store-and-forward (time-slot interchange) delays are
incurred within the network. In this manner, information
transmitted across the circuit i s guaranteed a transmission
slot to be available immediately upon arrival at each inter-
mediate node. As a result, optical switches can be used,
eliminating excess delays created by the slower electronic
components. Such a slot assignment procedure has been
investigated in [661.
Integrated-services MAC systems that employ a hybrid
of circuit-switched and packet-switched procedures have
been regularly employed by and planned for many high-
speed local and metropolitan area networks. We consider
in the following such systems that operate on a time-shar-
ing demand-assigned reservation (DAlTDMA) basis. To
accommodate both circuit-switched and packet-switched
services, the time cycle i s divided into two parts. The first
part i s allocated for the support of circuit-switched con-
nections while the second part i s used for the transmission
of packets belonging to carried packet-switched sessions.
In relation to the establishment of the boundary between
the cycle's circuit-switched and packet-switched parts, we
distinguish two categories of schemes: fixed boundary and
movable boundary.
Under a fixed-boundary scheme, the cycle is divided per-
manently (or for a specified period of time) into two fixed
parts. The first part, consisting of N,, slotslcycle, is used for
190
the support of circuit-switched connections while the sec-
ond part, which contains a fixed number of M - N, slots/
cycle, i s used for the transmission of packets by packet-
switched stations. Integrated voiceldata systems can thus
be accommodated through the provision of a circuit-
switched service to thevoice sessions and a packet-switched
service to the data stations. The blocking or delay analysis
of the circuit-switched component can be approximated
through the use of N, server queueing-system models, such
as the MIGlN,,lN,, model, when a blocking (blocked-call
lost) service i s provided. Such models disregard the details
of the cyclic structure (eftectively assuming call arrivals and
terminations to be recorded at the end of their correspond-
ing cycles), noting that many times the calllsession holding
times are much longer than the cycle duration. An exact
delay (or blocking) analysis which incorporates the micro-
structureof the framecan be carried out by using the results
of the DAlCS-TDMA model developed in [47l. For this pur-
pose, the superstation under investigation is assumed to
receive the totality of network reservations for circuit allo-
cations. This station is allocated N,, slots per each cycle of
M slots. The delay computed for a reservation message buff-
ered at this station thus serves to exhibit the delay expe-
rienced by a circuit-switched station.
Similarly, when considering the delays experienced by
messages transmitted during the packet-switched part of
the cycle, the results presented in [43] (as well as other anal-
yses; see previous section) for TDMA schemes can be
invoked when fixed-assigned or demand-assigned reser-
vation TDMA procedures are used by the packet-switched
stations. Thus, for example, a station which is allocated K
slots within the packet-switched part of each cycle i s expe-
riencing the same delay performance as a station supported
under a PS-TDMA schemewhich is allocated Kslots per each
cycle of M slots. A similar approach i s used when packet-
switched stations are controlled by a DAlPS-TDMA MAC
procedure during their dedicated cycle portion.
U nder a movable-bou ndary hy brid-switc h ing MAC sys-
tem,the boundaryisdynamicallydetermined for each cycle,
based upon the current demand for communications sup-
port. In an integrated CS-voicelPS-data system, priority is
often provided to voice connections, with a certain mini-
mum number of data slots reserved for PS-data transmis-
sions. In addition, each portion of the cycle not occupied
by CS-voice connections can be allocated for packet trans-
missions. In considering the performance analysis of such
aMACpolicy,wenotethefollowing. LetN,denotethe num-
ber of slots occupied by active CS connections during the
tth cycle. (For example, a slot can accommodate L voice con-
nections; e.g., in the IEEE 802.6 DQDB, L = 64, under one
of the currently stated configurations.) Then, M - N, slots
are made available within the tth cycle for the transmission
of PS packets. The blocking (or delay) performance of the
CS component i s carried out by following the approaches
noted in the preceding paragraphs since CS connections
are provided priority. This analysis can also provide the sta-
tistics of the CS connection-size process N = {N,, t 2 I}.
The performance of the PS component clearly depends
upon the statistics of N. As shown in [67], when considering
a channel multiplexing configuration, with total PS-packet
arrival rate equal to Xps (packetslslot) and packet transmis-
sion time equal to a single slot duration, the stability con-
dition for the movable-boundary multiplexor i s given by
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
 MA,, < M - E{N}
which requires the packet arrival rate to be lower than the
average available channel PS service rate. The PS queue sat-
isfying this stability condition i s said to be globally stable.
A cycle or period governed by an allocation of N, = j cir-
cuits is said to be in mode j . A period during which MA,,
> M - N, is designated as an overload period. During such
a period, the PS service rate i s lower than the PS arrival rate
and the queue is said to be locally unstable, while it may
be at the same time globally stable [34], [67]-[69].
It is particularly important for a hybrid switching system
toavoid local instabilities. Sincethe holding timeof circuits
are long (can be measured in minutes) relative to packet
transmission and interarrival times (measured many times
in milliseconds), an overload period can last for a relatively
long period of time. It is thus essential that proper flow con-
trol strategies be applied to prevent overload conditions
and local instabilities.
If local instabilities are avoided, the packet queueing per-
formance under a slowly varying service rate can be accu-
rately evaluated by using the quasi-stationary approach [34],
[67, [70]. Under this method, one first obtains the steady-
state distribution for N, deriving P { N = j } , j > 0, as com-
puted from the analysis of the CS component. Then, the PS
queueing system is analyzed for every j for which P{N =
j } > 0 by assuming it to constantly reside in mode j . The
underlying PS average performance i s subsequently com-
puted as theweighted averageof the corresponding PS per-
formance measures obtained separately for each capacity
mode. Thus the computation of the distribution of the PS
state X i s given by
P{X = i} = C P{X = i )N = j } PIN = j).
I
See also [71]-[73].
The delay analysis of a PS component which i s controlled
by aTDMA or a DA/PS-TDMA procedure can thus be carried
out as follows using a quasi-stationary approach. Under
mode j , the PS component is allocated M - j slots per cycle,
and its corresponding TDMA or DA/TDMA analysis follows
the results and techniques presented in the preceding sec-
tion and in [43]. The latter results, which incorporate the
microstructure of the cycle, are then averaged using the
P { N = j } weights indicated above.
Performance analysiswhen the packet queue can become
locally unstable i s much more complex. For such systems,
we note the following. A movable boundary analysis was
carried out in [74] assuming gated service (PS messages are
admitted only at cycle boundaries) and that the CS con-
nection sizevariables { N,} are statistically independent and
identicallydistributed. It has, however, been shown bysim-
ulations performed in [75] that the latter independence
assumption leads to a considerable reduction in PS queue
sizes. The process N i s noted to be highly correlated, so that
overload modes tend to persist for relatively long periods
of time, leading to sustained growth in the PS data backlog
during those periods. To incorporate such effects, matrix-
geometric methods combined with phase-type approxi-
mations [68]-[69], [76] or fluid approximations [70] can be
employed for performance evaluation of the PS queueing
system. To reduce computational complexities, it is
required to further develop efficient approximation tech-
niqueswhich are tailored to the specific MAC system archi-
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
~
tecture under investigation. Additional discussions and
analyses of movable-boundary systems appear in [77]-[80].
In [43] such an analysis i s carried out for the QPSX scheme,
which forms the basis of the IEEE 802.6 DQDB MAC system.
Under a July 1988 version of the IEEE 802.6 DQDB docu-
ment, label multiplexing has replaced position multiplex-
ing, so that two modes of isochronous service are possible:
1) a slot i s shared by L octets (voice samples) belonging to
L separatecircuitconnections;2)asinglecircuitconnection
consists of a whole 64-octet slot which i s transmitted every
64 cycles. Under mode-I operation, slots can be wasted by
being partially occupied by less than L circuits. This waste
can be reduced under a repacking policy which requires
reassignment of the busy isochronous octets at each ter-
mination of a circuit connection. The analysis of the result-
ing movable boundary scheme then follows through use
of the approaches presented. However, repacking proce-
dures are usually avoided due to their complexities and pro-
cessing cost. The most commonly used circuit allocation
policy i s the first-fit procedure, which assigns to a new cir-
cuit connection the first available octet (lowest octet num-
ber). Octets are not reassigned following a circuit termi-
nation so that "holes" can be created, leading to increased
waste in slot utilization. For the performance of such
schemes, see [34] and the references therein.
Many of the approaches just mentioned for the analysis
of the integrated-services packet-switched system segment
assume the offered traffic streams to be modeled by Pois-
son processes. However, it has been demonstrated that
such models can lead, in many situations, to grossly incor-
rect performance predictions (see, for example, [81]). While
for certain systems operating under low traffic intensities,
Poisson models might suffice [82], under higher traffic
intensity conditions the Poisson process model can prove
to be inadequate for predicting packet loss and delay per-
formance. A batch Poisson process model has been used
in [83] for systems operating under heavy traffic conditions.
Alternative traffic models have been employed t o char-
acterize traffic processes. Doubly stochastic Poisson pro-
cesses and, in particular, Markov modulated Poisson pro-
cess (MMPP) models have been used by many researchers
as approximations for a packet stream. Under a MMPP, the
intensityofthe Poisson processfluctuatesamonga number
of traffic activity states; a Markov process is used to model
the evolution of the traffic activity process. In [72]-[73], a
two-state MMPP model i s used to describe the evolution
of a bursty traffic process, as the latter fluctuates between
a high-intensity modeand alow-intensitymode,and tocarry
out the related queueing analysis for single-server and mul-
tichannel queueing systems. It is shown that for a globally
stable system which is locally unstable during high inten-
sity modes, the message queueing delays and queue-sizes
can significantly grow as the switching rate between the
modes decreases. For a corresponding globally stable sys-
tem that i s controlled to stay also locally stable under each
mode, it i s shown that the global message queue-size and
delay behavior is calculated through the weighted average
of the corresponding behavior results computed separately
when the system is driven by a single-mode traffic process.
See also [69], [84], and [85] for the use of the MMPP model
to describe system traffic streams, including combined
packetized voice and data streams.
Traffic streams generated by packet voice sources are
191
highly dominated by the deterministic packet interarrival
times occurring during voice activity bursts. As a result,
while Poisson-based models can provide acceptable
approximations for traffic streams when an average packet
performance i s determined, their use for the calculation of
loss and delay performance for packets belonging to a
stream generated by a single source can be highly inac-
curate [86]. Performance levels for such single-stream pack-
ets can be highly correlated during certain time periods.
More precise analyses can be carried out through the use
of models such as those presented in [84] and [87]-[89],
which use multilayered models to incorporate randomness
in the generation and termination times of calls and pack-
ets. Under such models, the active call population i s itself
random.
Multilayer traffic models need to also be used for a more
faithful description of many network admitted broadband
service streams which are flow controlled at different layers
of the OS1 model. For example, in [88], randomly arriving
calls/sessionsare flow-controlled at the session level, so that
only admitted calls can generate packets which are then
processed by the shared queueing system or, equivalently,
the MAC system. A nested set of multilayered stochastic
process models i s thus required to characterize the traffic
processes generated by sources engaged in various broad-
band services, as well as to model superimposed broad-
band-ISDN traffic streams, in terms of the underlying sta-
tistics characterizing the traffic component at the call/
session, burst, message, packet, and segment levels.
VIII. AND ANALYSIS
MODELING OF POLLING SYSTEMS
Polling schemes, like other access control protocols, are
used to share common communication resources among
agroupof stationsor users. Polling schemestaketheir name
from the following type of early application: the “polling”
of a group of terminals by a terminal controller (see Fig. 15).
The terminal controller polls each of the terminals in turn,
checking to see if the terminal has a message to transmit
to the computer. If so, the terminal i s given permission to
transmit the message. If not, the controller polls the next
terminal.
We can immediately see many variations on this basic
approach. Wecan eliminatethecontroller and havethe sta-
tions pass a polling message, or token, among themselves
(distributed control.) With some topologies, stations can
consider periodsof silenceto be implicittokenswhich indi-
cate that the station(s) ahead of them in the polling order
have nothing to transmit.
A number of access protocols for high-speed networks
have aspects of traditional polling schemes mixed with
aspectsof othertypesof protocols. Wewill distinguish poll-
ing schemes from other multiple-access protocols by con-
sideration of the following properties.
Stations do not have to request permission totransmit;
they are asked.
Stations do not receive a fixed allocation of time; if a
polled station has nothing to transmit, another station
will be granted access.
The right to transmit i s granted to, at most, one station
at a time (see previous sections for discussions of this
property).
192
Polling systems can be distinguished from each other in
a number of ways.
Buffering: In some systems, stations buffer, at most, one
message and do not generate a new message until the buff-
ered message has been transmitted. For example, if a sta-
tion isavocoder, it may not startforminganewvoice packet
until the buffer has been emptied. In other systems, a num-
ber of messages can be buffered at one time.
Type of Service:
Exhaustive service: When polled, a station continues
transmitting messages until its buffer is empty.
Gated service: When polled, a station transmits all
those messages that were present when the polling
message arrived.
Limited service: When polled, a station transmits, at
most, one (or, more generally, at most, k ) messages.
Note that there i s no difference between exhaustive,
gated, and limited service when the stations have sin-
gle message buffers. Also, the performanceof thethree
disciplines are virtually identical when the probability
of any station having more than one message when
polled is low (for example, if the system has a large
number of low usage stations).
Adaptive service: The number of messages transmitted
bya polled station isafunction of the station’scurrent
number of buffered messages and of prescribed sta-
tion and message priority parameters.
Messagepriorities: If different types of messages have
different priorities, they can be given different levels
of service by polling for low-priority messages only
when there are no high-priority messages in the sys-
tem, or by using different service rules for different
service classes.
Delay constraints: In systems where messages have
delay constraints, the length of time that a polled sta-
tion can spend transmitting during a particular poll
can be made to depend upon the length of time since
the last poll. Thus, when the system i s busy and the
length of times between consecutive polls of a station
increases, the stations are not allowed to transmit as
much. This can be used to limit the maximum cycle
time.
Polling Order:
Circular order: If there are N stations, they are polled
in the order 1, 2, . . , N, 1, 2, . . . .
1
General service order table: The stations are polled
accordingtoafixed table.Astation can begiven higher
priority by listing it more than once per cycle.
Random order: After service i s completed at one sta-
tion, the next station to be polled can be chosen ran-
domly [97].
Fig. 15. Computer example.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990
 Station 3
r;
Station N ’ Station2
Station 1
Fig. 16. Basic model.
Adaptive order: The order of stations to be polled i s
dynamically determined by the underlying system
state conditions, and possibly also by knowing the sta-
tions‘ states and priority conditions.
A. General Results
1) Mathematical Model: We will model the various poll-
ing systems with the following abstract model (see Fig. 16):
The system has N queues (stations)and a single server.
The queues can have either finite or infinite buffers.
Messages arrive to the queues at random.
, The server wal ks from queue to queue in a fixed order.
It takes the server a random amount of time to walk
from one queue to the next.
When the server reaches a queue, it transmits some
or all (depending upon the underlying type of service
employed) of the waiting messages, if any, and then
walks to the next queue. It takes the server a random
amount of time to transmit a message.
We will consider three special cases of this model.
Model I : We will use this model for evaluating the max-
imum possible throughput available with a
particular protocol.
N stations with single message queues are
cyclically polled by a single server. Exactly M
of the N stations have ready messages during
each cycle. The messages are all of fixed length,
b, (where we measure the length in required
transmission time.)Walktimesarealsoof fixed
lengths. We let r, be the walk time from station
+
itostationi 1(fNisthewalktimefrom station
N to station 1).
Model 2: We will use this model for evaluating packet
delay in systems where stations have single
packet buffers and where the packet gener-
ation time i s (at least approximately) expo-
nentially distributed.
N stations are cyclically polled by a single
server.
Each station has a single packet buffer. If sta-
tion i has a message (consisting of a single
packet) waiting for transmission, no new mes-
sage will be generated. After the message has
been transmitted, the station will remain idle
RUBlN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
for an exponentiallydistributed period of time,
with parameter A,. The messages are all of fixed
length, b. Walk times are also of fixed lengths.
We let r, be the walk time from station ito sta-
tion i + 1 (rN i s the walk time from station N
to station 1).
Model3: We will use this model for evaluating packet
delay when the stations can be modeled as
Poisson sources with large buffers (or when
there are many stations with low traffic rates,
so that buffer occupancies are not pro-
nounced).
A collection of N stations with infinite queues
are cyclically polled by a single server.
Messages arriveat station iaccordingto a Pois-
son process with rate A,. Message lengths are
governed by a general distribution (expressed
in terms of the required transmission time)
B,(.), which has first and second moments b,
and bj2).We will assume that the first and sec-
ond moments are finite. The total message
arrival rateisA = CfJ=,A,.Theofferedtrafficdue
to station i i s p , = A,b,, and the total offered
traffic i s p = c,”,~p , .
The walk times between station i and station
i + 1 are independent, identically distributed
random variables with mean r, and second
moment rj2). We will assume that the first and
second moments are finite. The mean walk
time per cycle i s R = r,. The second
moment of the walk time per cycle i s R”’.
We assume that the arrival, message length,
and walk time processes are all mutually inde-
pendent.
2) DelayAnalysis for Model2: Since all stations have sin-
gle message buffers under model 2, the system i s stable for
all traffic rates.
Mack etal. [98] calculated the steady-state distribution for
the number of transmissions per cycle for a symmetric ver-
sion of this model. Scholl and Potier [99] used Mack‘s result
forthe mean numberoftransmissions percycletocalculate
the mean message waiting time. Kaye [IOO] calculated the
distribution of message delay. Takagi [I011 reviews these
results and generalizes them in a number of directions.
Tobagi and Fine [I021 applied the results of Mack and Kaye
to the analysis of delay in Expressnet.
Consider a polling system satisfying model 2 with iden-
tical arrival rates and message lengths for all stations. That
is, suppose that for any station i, the time between the ter-
mination of a message transmission and the next message
arrival i s exponentially distributed with parameter A, the
+
walk time from station i to station i 1 is a constant r,, and
the message length i s b.
LetE[Q] bethe mean number of messagesserved in acycle
of the system. Then ([IOI, 981)
193
The mean cycle time is given by When the system i s stationary, we know that the average
number of messages which arrive at each station during a
c =R + bE[Q] cycle must equal the average number of messages trans-
and the mean message waiting time i s given by mitted by the station during a cycle. The average number
of messages arriving at station iduring a cycle i s simply h,c.
E[W] = ( N - l ) b - l l h + -.NR The average number of messages transmitted by station i
E[Q1 during a cycle is equal to the average dwell time at idivided
3) Flow Analysis for Model 3: In this section we will use by the average message length for station imessages. Set-
simple balance-of-flow arguments (see Kuehn [103]) to cal- ting these two quantities equal, we find
culate the maximum throughput, average cycle time, and
average queue sizes at server arrival instants for model 3
d, = h,cb, = p , ~ i
, = 1, . . . ,N.
under gated, exhaustive, and limited-to-one service. Substituting in (3), we have
We call a polling system “stable” if for positive message N N
lengths and finite arrival rates the average queue sizes are
bounded. Under gated and exhaustive service, the polling
c = c plc + c r,.
r=1 ,=I

system in model 3 will be stable if and only if the total traffic Solving for the average cycle time, we find
intensity, p, is less than one. We assume henceforth that p
N
< 1. t ri
For limited-to-one service, we have to impose additional R
c = i=l
7 - -- (4)
conditions o n each station. In particular, we require that 1- p ‘
each station has, on average, less than one arrival per cycle I-Cp,
i=l
(noting that the mean cycle time is given by (4) below):
Theaverage number of messagesarrivingat station iduring
hi < (1 - p)/R j = 1, 2, . . ,N. a cycle i s thus
In the following, we will assume that the system param-
h,c =
A, R
-
eters satisfy the stability conditions and that the system has
1-P
reached steady state.
Let di be the average dwell time per visit of the server at and the mean dwell time at station i i s
station i.A cycle of the system consists of the sum of the
dwell times at each of the stations plus the sum of the walk
times. The average cycle time i s thus
N N The “intervisit time” at station i i s the time between the
c = c di + c r,.
i=l i=l
(3) server leaving station iat the end of its service, and the serv-
er’s return. Since a cycle (from station i’s point of view) con-
See Fig. 17 for details. sists of the server‘s dwell time at iplus the intervisit time,

C
Fig. 17. Average dwell times and walk times.

194 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990

the mean intervisit time i s
4) Delay Analysis for Model 3:
Stochastic decompositions: Conservation laws and
decomposition principles have proven to be very useful
tools in the analysis of queueing models. Recently, a num-
ber of such powerful and useful results have been devel-
oped for polling systems. In this section we will present a
very general stochastic decomposition of the total unfin-
ished work process, in a polling system satisfying model 3,
into components which are readily calculated for several
common service disciplines.
In general, the total amount of unfinished work in a poll-
ing system at any point in time i s a complicated function
depending upon the message arrival streams, station inter-
actions, and service discipline. We will see that we can split
the total unfinished work in the system into two cornpo-
nents which respectively correspond to the amount of
unfinishedworkthatwould beobserved ifall thewalktimes
were identically zero, and to theextraamount of unfinished
work due to the non-zero walk times.
This decomposition leadsto a"pseudo-conservation law"
for a weighted sum (summed over the N stations) of the
mean message waiting times. (The "pseudo-" prefix i s due
tothefactthatthevalueoftheweighted sumdependsupon
the service discipline, so that there i s not true conserva-
tion). This pseudo-conservation law lets us calculate the
exact waiting times for symmetric systems. We can also use
it to find the exact waiting times in systems with a single
nodesendingall thetraffic (seealso [104]and [IOlIfor direct
approaches to this problem). The law also gives us an easy
way to develop or check approximate solutions for other
systems. Because the pseudo-conservation law only tells us
what theweighted sum of the mean waiting times is, in gen-
eral we cannot use it to derive exact solutions for asym-
metric systems.
For an M/G/I queue with independent server vacations,
the notion of stochastic decomposition i s quite precise. The
waiting time i s represented as the sum of two independent
random variables: one with the same distribution as the
waiting time in an M/G/I queue with the same arrival rate
and service time distribution but no server vacations, and
the other with the same distribution as the forward recurr-
ence time of the vacation time distribution ([105], [106]).
It turnsout that this notion of decomposition isveryfun-
damental. Stochastic decomposition of various types have
been shown to hold for avarietyof queueing models ([105]-
[1161).
Decompositions have been developed for various
queueingand polling modelsforwaitingtimes, the number
of customers in the system at a random point, and/or the
total amount of unfinished work in the system at an arbi-
trary point in time. For the polling systems we are con-
cerned with, the relevant decomposition is one due to
Boxma and Groenendijk [log], who show that the unfin-
ished work found in the polling system at an arbitrary point
in time equals (in distribution) the unfinished work found
in the "associated" M/G/I system (defined in the following)
at an arbitrary point in time, plus the amount of work found
in the polling system at an arbitrary pointduringawalktirne,
and that these latter two quantities are independent. This
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
~ ~-
result extends previous results of Fuhrmann [105], [I121and
Fuhrmann and Cooper [117], [113].
Define
Upto be a random variable with the same distribution
astheamountof unfinishedworkin the polling system
at an arbitrary point in time;
to be a random variable with the same distri-
bution as the amount of unfinished work in the"asso-
ciated" M/G/I queueing system at an arbitrary point
in time(the"associated"M/G/l queue isasinglequeue
serving the total of all the messages arriving to the N
stations; that is, it i s an MIGII queue with arrival rate
equal to A and message length distribution equal to
E,",, ( V A )B,(*)).
Y to be a random variable with the same distribution
as the amount of work at an arbitrary point during a
walk time.
Theorem 7: Assume that the polling system i s ergodic
and stationary. Then
UP uM/G/I +
where and Yare independent.
Pseudo-ConservationLaws: Pseudo-conservation laws for
polling systems with exhaustive or gated service were dis-
covered by Ferguson and Aminetzeh [118]. Similar laws for
limited service were first presented by Watson [119], Fuhr-
mann [105], and Fuhrmann and Cooper [112], [117]. Using
the decomposition principle given by Theorem 1, we obtain
[I091 the following.
Theorem 2: Consider an ergodic polling system with
mixed service strategies. Let
E be the group of stations which receive exhaustive ser-
vice;
G be the group of stations which receive gated service;
L be the group of stations which receive limited-to-one
service.
Then
+-I-R p c Pf.
isC,L
Note that this equation gives us information only about the
weighted "sum" of the mean message waiting times. Thus
wecannot usethis resulttosolvedirectlyforthemean mes-
sage waiting times at each station in an asymmetric system.
However, for symmetric systems we are able to calculate
the mean message waiting time, since it is the same at each
station. Also, we can use this equation to develop or eval-
uate approximate solutions for asymmetric systems.
Approximations for the Mean Delay in Asymmetric Sys-
tems: Precise delay results are available for many polling
models. Takagi [I011 provides a good exposition of many
analytic results. However, many of the results for asym-
metric systems require the solution of sets of simultaneous
equations. In this section, we present simple closed-form
195
approximations for asymmetric systems with exhaustive,
gated, or limited-to-one service.
Everitt [I201 used the pseudo-conservation lawto develop
a simple approximation for the mean waiting time in an
asymmetric polling system with exhaustive or gated ser-
vice. He uses the approximating assumption that the sec-
ond moments of the cycle time are the same for all of the
N stations (we knowthatthe first momentsare, in fact, iden-
tical.) This assumption is reasonablyvalid when the system
i s not too asymmetric or when the traffic rates are low. The
average mean waiting time at station i i s then given by
i
N \
(1 - P) ,
where " k " takes the value for gated service and ' I - "
' I + "
for exhaustive service. For an asymmetric system operating
under high traffic conditions, other approximating tech-
niques have been developed (e.g., [121]).
Boxma and Meister ([121]) developed an approximation
for limited-to-one service using the same assumptions as
those of tveritt. The following result i s then obtained:
I - P + P l , 1- P
E[W,I = ' " ' N
I1 - -p p- --X X,R
R N
(1 - P) P
+ , = 1 oo ff
I =
1 mits one message and changes the server to the high-
5) Delay Constraints a n d Priorities: Many of the planned
high-speed LAN's and MAN'Smust support real-time traffic
which has tight limits on transmission delays. Examples of
real-time traffic include digitized voice and network man-
agement and control information. Various polling schemes
have been developed which incorporate delay constraints
and different priority levelsfor different typesoftraffic. Lirn-
ited service schemes guarantee that stations receive per-
mission to transmit within a fixed period o l time. Timed-
token protocols such as the IEEE 802.4 token bus standard
[I221 and the FDDI protocol [I231 guarantee maximum
delays to stations lor various message classes by limiting
the station holdingtimesaccordingtothecurrent cycletime
and the highest priority waiting message. The IEEE 802.5
token ring standard [I241 establishes message priority
classes and allows stations to transmit only messages whose
priority level i s at least as high as the current token priority
level. The token priority is raised and lowered by having
stations place requests in the headers of the messages or
tokens as they pass by.
It i s very difficult to analyze the throughput and delay
196
- _ _
performance of such priority schemes. Results can be very
dependent upon the specific assumptions of the model
about the traffic characteristics and the buffering ability of
the stations. Also, the tractabilityof theanalysis can depend
greatly upon fine details of the protocol.
As an example, we will present results of an analysis by
Tsai and Rubin [I251 of a scheme which i s quite similar to
atoken ring.Anapproximateanalysisof asimilar model can
be found in [126]. A model which is similar to a token bus
with priorities is analyzed in [1271. A scheme using general
station priorities i s analyzed in [128], while a scheme with
HOLP station priorities and constant walk times is analyzed
in [129].
TbeMode1:We use a model where the high-priority traffic
follows model 2 while the low priority traffic follows model
3. Specifically, weconsider a symmetric polling system with
N stations and two message classes: class 1 (high priority)
and class 2 (low priority.) The walk time from one station
to the next i s aconstant r. The length of a high priority mes-
sage is a constant b l , and the length of a low priority mes-
sage i s a constantb2.Each station has asingle message buffer
-I
for high-priority messages. Following the transmission of
a high-priority message from a station, the length of time
until the next arrival of a high-priority message at the station
isexponentiallydistributed with mean l/X1. Each station also
has an infinite buffer for low-priority messages, which arrive
according to a Poisson process with rate h2.
The Protocol: The server (or token) visits the stations cy-
clicly. The server i s in either a high-priority or low-priority
state.
Suppose the server i s in the low-priority state when it
reaches a station. Then
c
I - if the station has a waiting high-priority message, it
transmits the message and changes the server to the
high-priority state; the server then walks to the next
station;
* if the station does not have a high-priority message,
but does have waiting low-priority messages, it trans-
priority state; the server then walks to the next station;
(5)
if the station has no messages waiting, the server con-
tinues on to the next station and remains in the low-
priority state.
Suppose the server i s in the high-priority state when it
reaches a station. Then
if the station has a waiting high-priority message, it
transmits the message; the server then walks to the
next station, remaining in the high-priority state;
if the station has no waiting high-priority message and
the server has visited all the stations without finding
any high-priority messages, then the server i s switched
to the low-priority state; if the station has awaiting low-
priority message, and if it has not transmitted a low-
priority message since the last time the server arrived
in a low-priority state, it can transmit a single low-prior-
ity message; the server then continues to the next sta-
tion;
otherwise, the server continues to the next station,
remaining in the high-priority state.
The Analysis: We define a high-priority busy period as that
lasting from the instant the server enters the high-priority
PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, IANUARY 1990
~ _ _ _ - ~~
state to the instant the server returns to the low-priority
state. There are two types of high-priority busy periods,
which correspond to the two times when the server can
change from the low-priority state to the high-priority state.
1) A type-I high-priority busy period begins when the
server i s in the low-priority state and it reaches a sta-
tion.
If the station has a waiting high-priority message, the
server immediately switches to the high-priority state
and transmits the station’s message. The server
remains in the high-priority state and polls the sta-
tions for high-priority messages. The server remains
in the high-priority state until on some cycle ending
with a visit to station i, none of the stations have a
waiting high-priority message. It then switches to the
low-priority state, and the type-I high-priority busy
period ends. The server can then transmit a waiting
low-priority message from station i, if there are any.
If the station does not have a waiting high-priority
message, we take the length of the high-priority busy
period to be zero.
We let GI be a random variable with the same dis-
tribution as the length of a type-I busy period.
2) A type-2 high-priority busy period begins at the end
of a low-priority message transmission (by, for exam-
ple, station i.) The server switches to high priority and
polls for high-priority messages. The server remains
in the high-priority state until on some cycle ending
with a visit to station i,none of the stations have a
waiting high-priority message. It then switches to the
low-priority state, and the type-2-high-priority busy
period ends. The server then proceeds to the next
station.
We let G2 be a random variable with the same dis-
tribution as the length of a type-2 busy period.
Rubin and Tsai [I251show that the delay for the low-prior-
ity messages i s the same as in a single-priority symmetric
polling system with limited-to-one service, walk times equal
+ +
to r G 7 ,and service times equal to b2 C2.Thus we can
use (5) to calculate the mean waiting time for class-two mes-
sages once we know the first two moments of GI and G2.
An exact solution for those moments requires the solution
of several sets of linear equations, each ~ o n t a i n i n g 2 ~ e q u a -
tions. Tsai and Rubin present approximate solutions which
reduce the problem to solving sets of N +
1 linear equa-
tions.
Straightforward consideration of the protocol shows that
the maximum waiting time for a high-priority message i s
equal to
Wyax = Nr + (N - l ) b l + b2,
The mean delay for high-prioritymessages can be derived
in a manner similar to that for low-priority messages.
B. Applications
Wewill now consider several high-speed networkswhich
use polling schemes tocontrol access. All of these networks
aredesigned to supporta mixof traffic types: digitized voice,
interactive data, and so on. For sources such as digitized
voice, we are most concerned with knowing the number
of users which can be supported by the network, and the
RUBlN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
-~
maximum message delay. For interactive data, we are most
interested in knowing the mean (and higher moments) of
the message delay as a function of the offered traffic.
If the number of voice sources changes slowly in com-
parison to the variations in asynchronous traffic, a quasi-
stationary approach can be used to analyze the delay of the
asynchronous traffic ([70], [67], and [34]). That is, a level of
synchronous traffic is fixed, and the resulting delay of the
asynchronous traffic i s calculated (a constant level of syn-
chronous traffic can simply be included in the overhead,
as far as the asynchronous traffic i s concerned). The results
for various levels of synchronous traffic are combined by
weighting them by the probability distribution for the syn-
chronous traffic.
I) FDDI:
TheProtoco1:The FDDl i s a proposed standard for a 100
Mbls token ring using fiber optic cabling [123], [130]. The
stations are arranged in a ring and they control access to
the channel by passing a token around the ring. The station
holding the token may transmit messages in accordance
with the token-holding rules discussed in the following.
Oncea station has finished transmitting messages, it imme-
diately sends the token to the next station. (See also section
V.)
When the ring is initialized, the stations negotiate a target
token rotation time (TTRT). The protocol guarantees that
theaveragetoken rotation time(cycle time)will be less than
TTRTand that the maximum token rotation time will be less
than 2.TTRT. Thus stations with tight delay constraints will
request a small TTRT. The smallest requested TTRT is
selected and is used by all of the stations. We will see in the
proceeding that the choice of TTRT greatly affects the uti-
lization of the ring.
The FDDI protocol defines two categories of traffic: syn-
chronous and asynchronous. Synchronous traffic has very
tight time constraints. Whenever a station receives a token,
it i s allowed to transmit any queued synchronous traffic.
Higher levels of the protocol grant permission to transmit
synchronous messages. However, in any cycle, the total
amount of time that i s devoted to synchronous messages
must be less than TTRT
Asynchronous traffic i s transmitted as time permits. Each
station has atoken-rotation timer and a token-holding timer;
theseareused tocontrol theamount of timethat thestation
is allowed to transmit asynchronous messages. The token-
rotation timer i s used to measure the time between suc-
cessive receptions of the token. When a station receives the
token, it checks its token-rotation timer. If the time elapsed
exceeds the TTRT, the station is not allowed to transmit any
asynchronous traffic. Otherwise, the token-holding timer
i s loaded with the value of the token-rotation timer, and the
station begins transmitting asynchronous messages. After
each transmission, it checks to see whether the token-hold-
ing time threshold has been crossed. Once it has been, the
token is passed to the next station. Up to eight message
priority levels can be established by using different thresh-
old values for different message types. The maximum
threshold value is TTRT [130].
Maximum throughput: We will now consider the max-
imum ring utilization as a function of the TTRT and token-
holding thresholds.
First, suppose that all the traffic i s from a single asyn-
197
chronous priority level. Then the maximum utilization i s The stations at the head and tail of the buses perform spe-
bounded above by [130]: cial functions. The two buses operate independently(except
for piggybacking control information, as described in the
TTRT - R
following), so we can focus upon one bus. Consider the bus
TRT
with station 1 at the head end and station N at the tail. Sta-
where R is the total walk time per cycle (ring latency.) tion 1 generates message frames. Each message frame con-
Now suppose that there are m priority levels of asyn- sists of a header and a fixed-length data field. The stations
chronous traffic, and that exactly NI stations have priority all generate corresponding fixed-length messages. The
level i messages ready to transmit during each cycle. Let PI header contains addressing fields plus a bit to indicate
be the token holding threshold for priority level i. whether the frame is in use, a bit to indicate whether a par-
It can be shown [I301 that the lowest priority message that ticular frame starts a new cycle, and a bit which is used to
will ever be transmitted under these conditions belongs to start new cycles on the other bus.
the class "low," which is the lowest priority level satisfying The frames are organized into cycles. Stations are allowed
rn to transmit, at most, one message per cycle. Only stations
(N - NIow + 1) PI - C
low + 1
[NI . PI] - R > 0 which have a message ready at the beginning of a cycle are
allowed to transmit during the cycle; newly arriving mes-
where N = NI is the total number of stations trans- sages have to wait until the next cycle.
mitting. At the completion of one cycle (see the preceding) the
Dykeman and Bux [I301 show that the normalized head station starts a new cycle by setting the "start cycle"
throughput of priority i messages i s given by bit in the header of the next outgoing frame. Stations that
have a ready message when they see the start cycle bit are
allowed to put their message into the first empty frame they
rn
see. They mark the frame as busy so that no downstream
( N + I ) * R + c
/ = low
yl station will overwrite their message. Once an empty slot
reaches the tail station (station N ) , all eligible stations have
where transmitted and it i s time to start a new cycle. Note that sta-
tion N i s the head station on theother bus. In the next frame
(N - NI,, + 1) . PI that it generates on the other bus, it sets the bit to indicate
that the cycle on this bus has ended. When the frame
reaches station 1, station 1 starts a new cycle.
low + 1 Maximum throughput: The overhead for the Fasnet
scheme consists of the frame headers for slots containing
message transmissions, plus the idle slots at the end of each
cycle. We normalize parameters so that the transmission
time for a slot equals 1. Let a be the normalized end-to-end
propagation delay, and let h be the normalized length of
(- C/ = low yl + PI - R I i = low + 1, , m. a message header. There are an integral number of slots
between the end of one cycle and the start of the next, and
Delay:As we just stated, the maximum cycle time in the on average, the normalized length of this period i s [I391
FDDl ring is2. TRT. Becauseofthecomplexityofthetimed r2al + I.
token protocol, studies of the average delay performance
of FDDl for asychronous traffic have used simulation rather The maximum throughput (per bus) for Fasnet i s thus
than an analytical approach [131]-[134]. A model such as the approximately [I391
one presented in section VIII-A1 could be used to approx-
1
imate the performance of FDDI.
2) Fasnet: Fasnet was proposed by Limb and Flores [135], I +h + ( r 2 a l + I)/N'
[136]. It has been incorporated in the METROCORETM[137], Delay:The maximum message delay i s two cycles [139]:
[I381 metropolitan area network design.
The Protocol: Fasnet i s designed for a system with two ( 2 -~ I)(I + h) + r2al + I.
unidirectional broadcast buses which connect the stations
Tobagi and Fine [I401 analyze the delay characteristics of
in opposite directions (see Fig. 18). Stations wishing to
Fasnet for asynchronous traffic under the message stream
transmit messages choose the bus that places them
assumptionsof model 2. They considerthe numberof back-
upstream of the message destination.
logged users at the start of each round, which forms an
embedded Markov chain. To calculate the mean waiting
Channel A times, they derive the transition matrix for the embedded
chain and then use it to calculate the stationary distribution
of the number of stations with ready messages at the start
of a round, call it

n = (To, .. * ,TN).
Channel B Letting s be the expected throughput and wthe expected
Fig. 18. Fasnet topology. waiting time of an arbitrary packet,

198 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 78, NO. 1, JANUARY 1990

 N ing with the upstream traffic). It repeats the preceding
c
i=l
i7rj
s = N ,
C
i=O
+
T , ( ~ ( I h) + r2al + I)
and
N I
w = - - - - (Ith)
S A
3) Expressnet:
The Protocol: The Expressnet protocol [102], [I401 is
designed for a single unidirectional broadcast bus. The
topologyof Expressnet i s shown in Fig. 19. Stations transmit
Fig. 19. Expressnet topology.
on the lower channel and receiveon the upper channel. We
see that any message transmission will pass the transmit
taps of the downstream stations and the receive taps of all
of the stations.
Stations can sense any transmissions due to upstream
users that reach their transmit tap.
The protocol i s an implicit token-passing scheme. On
each cycle, the most upstream station has the first oppor-
tunity to transmit. Suppose that it transmits a message. The
message will propagate past the transmit taps of all the other
stations, and then past the receive taps of all the stations.
As the end of the first station’s message passes the transmit
tap of the second station, the station i s allowed to begin
transmittinga message. If thesecond stationsdoes not have
a message, the third station will be allowed to start trans-
mitting when the end of station one’s message passes its
transmit tap. The messages which are transmitted form a
“train.”As thetrain of messages passes each station‘s trans-
mit tap, the station is allowed to append a message to the
train. Finally, the train reaches the transmit tap of the most
downstream station, and then begins to pass the receive
taps of the stations, in the same order as before. As the end
of thetrain passesthe receive tapof each station, the station
knows that the train is finished and a new cycle has begun.
From the station‘s point of view, the protocol works as
follows [140].
A station with a ready message waits until it hears either
the end of a message passing its transmit tap or the end
of a train passing its receive tap.
The station then begins transmitting the message. It
also monitors the channel for any messages coming
from upstream (e.g., if station 3, say, detects the end
of a message from station 1 passing its transmit tap,
it may start transmitting before detecting that station
2 has appended a message to the train. A similar sit-
- uation arises when a new train i s started).
If the station detects a messagecomingfrom upstream,
it aborts i t s transmission and defers to the upstream
station (the protocol assumes that the station will
always detect any upstream traffic, and will be able to
abort i t s transmission quickly enough to avoid collid-
RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
steps.
The resulting pattern of transmissions fits the standard
polling scheme exactly, and standard polling results can be
used to analyze the performance of Expressnet.
Maximum throughput: Tobagi, Borgonovo, and Fratta
[IO21 show that when N stations are always busy, the chan-
nel throughput i s given by
1
1 + 2a/N
wherea is the ratio of the propagation delay to the message
length.
Delay: If messages are of fixed length (normalized here
to 1,) the maximum cycle time for Expressnet is [I391
N(l + w + 26) + 2a + 6,
wherew i s the normalized length of the message preamble,
and 6 i s the normalized carrier detection time.
Whichever of the polling models best fits the station mes-
sage arrival processes, buffering capabilities, and trans-
mission limits of a particular implementation can be used
to analyze the delay performance of Expressnet.Tobagi and
Fine [I401 use model 2 to analyze Expressnet and compare
it to Fasnet.
IX. THE MODELING OF RANDOM ACCESS
AND ANALYSIS
SCHEMES
The performance of traditional random access schemes
is limited by the ratio of the end-to-end propagation delay
to the average message length (denoted a). In a high-speed
network, a can be very large, thus making such schemes
very inefficient. Recently, Maxemchuk [I411 and Muhkh-
erjee and Meditch [142], [I431 have proposed random access
schemes for unidirectional broadcast buses which are not
limited by a.
Maxemchuk considers a group of N stations arranged in
a D-net configuration (see Fig. 20). (The access schemes are
also applicable to other configurations.) Stations transmit
messages through their transmit tap on the lower curve of
the “D” and receive transmissions through their receive
taps on the upper curve of the “D.” The taps can be either
active or passive. He discusses versions of ALOHA, CSMA,
and CSMA-CD for the network.
The stations can implement an ALOHA scheme by trans-
mitting whenever they have a ready message. By checking
the signal which reaches its receive tap after propagating
around the loop, a transmitting station can tell whether its
transmission was successful, without explicit acknowledg-
ments. Stations retransmit collided messages after random
delays. The channel can be either slotted or unslotted.
A CSMA scheme that uses only information available at
the transmit tap can be implemented as follows. Before
transmitting, a station checks whether any messages from
Fig. 20. D-net topology.
199
~~
upstream stations are passing its transmit tap. If so, it defers,
giving preference to the upstream station. Otherwise, the
station transmits its message. If the stations use passive taps,
messages from upstream stations whose transmissions
reach the station after it starts transmittingwill collide with
it. Furthermore, the message will collide with those of
downstream stations which are in the middle of a trans-
mission when it reaches their transmit tap. If the message
collides with another, it i s retransmitted after a random
delay. Various persistence strategies can be used for mes-
sages which are delayed because of ongoing upstream
transmissions.
If the stations use active taps, messages from upstream
stations will be shifted off the channel, and the transmis-
sion of the most downstream station will succeed. When
active taps are used, the priority given to upstream stations
in starting transmissions balances with the priority given to
downstream stations in collisions, and results in a fair pro-
tocol. A I-persistent retry strategy for delayed messageswill
result in the most downstream sourcewith a ready message
succeeding.
A CSMA-CD scheme can be implemented by having sta-
tions also listen to the signal that reaches their transmit taps
from upstream while they are transmitting. A station does
not transmit if an upstream station is transmitting, and stops
transmitting if an upstream station starts. When a l-per-
sistent retry strategy i s used trains of packets are formed,
much as in Expressnet, but there i s no cyclic structure. Max-
emchuk analyzes the delay-throughput characteristics of
these schemes. We refer the reader to his paper [I411 for
the analysis.
Mukherjee and Meditch [142], [I431 consider an access
scheme that could be implemented for any of the topol-
ogies shown in Figs. 18-20. O n a single unidirectional bus
(or on each bus of a dual-bus system) the head station gen-
erates empty slots. When an empty slot reaches a station-
say i,which has a ready message-with probability p , , the
station transmits its packet in the slot. With probability 1
- p , , the station waits until the next empty slot and repeats
the procedure. The authors investigate the question of how
tochoose thep,‘s toachievefairness; they alsocalculate the
system throughput and delay.
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RUBIN AND BAKER: MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL FOR HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
lzhak Rubin (Fellow, IEEE)received the B.Sc.
and M.Sc. degreesfrom theTechnion-Israel
InstituteofTechnology, Haifa, Israel, in1964
and 1968, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree
from Princeton University, Princeton, NJ,in
1970, all in electrical engineering.
During 1964-1967, he served as a Com-
munications Engineer and Officer in the
Israeli Signal Corps. In 1967-1968, he
worked as an Electronics and C3Engineer
in the Israel Aircraft Industries. Since 1970
he has been on the faculty of the UCLA School of Engineering and
Applied Science, where he i s currently a Professor in the Electrical
Engineering Department. He has had extensive research, publi-
cations, consulting, and industrial experience in the design and
analysis of commercial and military telecommunications systems
and networks, computer communications networks; local, met-
ropolitan, and satellite communications networks; queueing and
multiple-access schemes; information processing and stochastic
processbased models; and C3systems. During 1979-1980, he served
as acting Chief Scientist of the Xerox Telecommunications Net-
work(XTEN). At UCLA, he i s leadinga large research group. Healso
serves as President of I R I Corporation, a leading team of telecom-
munications, computer communications, and C3experts that pro-
vides consulting, analysis, design, and seminar services.
Dr. Rubin served as Cochairman of the 1981 IEEE International
Symposium on Information Theory, as Program Chairman of the
1984 NSF-UCLA Workshop on Personal Communications, and as
Program Chairman of the1987 IEEE INFOCOM Conference. He also
serves as ah Editor of the ~EEETRANSACTIONSON COMMUNICATIONS. He
i s a member of Eta Kappa Nu.
JosephE. Baker (Member, IEEE) received the
B.S. degree in economics/system science,
the M.S. degree in communications and
telecommunications engineering, and the
Ph.D. degree in electrical engineeringfrom
the Universityof California, Los Angeles, in
1982, 1983, and 1986, respectively.
During 1986-1988, he worked as a Con-
sultant on telecommunication and com-
puter communication systems for IRI Cor-
poration and was also a Lecturer and
Research Engineer at UCLA. Since 1988, he has been a member of
the technical staff of the Rockwell International Science Center,
Thousand Oaks, CA. His research interests include the perfor-
manceanalysis of communication protocols,and thedesignofeffi-
cient techniques for analyzing large systems.
203