A novel dynamic bandwidth-allocation (or rate-control) strategythat can be employed for integrating multimedia traffic on a class ofhigh-speed fiber optical local and metropolitan area networks(LANs/MANs) is investigated. This scheme is based on theload-controlled-scheduling-of-traffic (LOCOST) mechanism, which employschannel feedback for proper distributed control operation. Although themechanism is quite general for integrating diverse traffic types, thespecific focus is on the integration of packet voice with data. Themedium access control is simple and is fully asynchronous anddistributed, which makes it easy to implement. The necessary controlfunctions are performed locally and independently at each data stationbased on a single parameter called its packet allowance, while eachvoice station can transmit a voice packet whenever it can. A gatedglobal queue model is formulated to analyze this system approximately,and simulation results are included to study the protocol's performance
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