Summary: On the Performance of Protocols
for Collecting Responses
over a Multiple­Access Channel \Lambda
Mostafa H. Ammar George N. Rouskas
GIT--CC--90/53
July 1990
Abstract
We consider a generalization of the multiple access problem where it is necessary to iden­
tify a subset of the ready users, not all. The problem is motivated by several ``response
collection'' applications that arise in distributed computing and database systems. In these
applications, a collector is interested in gathering a set of responses from a number of po­
tential respondents. The collector and respondents communicate over a shared channel.
We define three collection objectives and investigate a suite of protocols that can be used
to achieve these objectives. The protocols are based on the use of polling, TDMA, and
group testing. Using a binomial respondent model we analyze and, where applicable, op­
timize the performance of the protocols. Our concern is with cost measures that reflect
the computational load placed on the system, as well as the delay incurred for achieving a
particular objective.
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology

Source: Ammar, Mostafa - College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology

Collections: Computer Technologies and Information Sciences