A new approach for enhancing the throughput capability of a synchronous bus LAN

Abstract

An original media access protocol called CAST (counting access to synchronous time slots) is proposed. This protocol can be implemented over a synchronous bus local area network (LAN). CAST uses a simple algorithm by which each station can recognize its turn of access by counting either the number of data packets or the number of idle pulses sent from all preceding stations. The throughput versus transfer time performance of a CAST LAN is better than that of other LANs, and it can be verified by performance analysis. Other useful features are an integrated voice and data capability, a high-connection portability, and reliability. A hardware model is also discussed.<>