A PACKET-SWITCHED MULTIPLE-ACCESS NETWORK SYSTEM WITH DISTRIBUTED FAIR PRIORITY QUEUING

摘要

A packet-switched multiple-access network system with a distributed fairpriority queuing media access control protocol that providesmultiple levels of priority of access and fair collision resolution withimproved performance is disclosed. In one embodiment, the systemprovides high-speed transport of multimedia information on a shared channel.Further, in one embodiment, MAC level side-band signalingthat is useful to other levels of the network protocol (e.g., the physicallayer) is also provided.