Tree LANs with collision avoidance: protocol, switch architecture, and simulated performance

摘要

Packet collisions and their resolution create a performance bottleneck in random access LANs. A hardware solution to this problem is to use collision avoidance switches. These switches allow the implementation of random access protocols without the penalty of collisions among packets. We describe the designs of some tree LANs that use collision avoidance switches. The collision avoidance LANs we describe are broadcast star and CAMB tree (Collision Avoidance Multiple Broadcast tree). We next present a possible implementation of a collision avoidance switch using currently available photonic devices. Finally, we show the performance of broadcast star and CAMB tree networks using simulations.