Protocols for buffer-space allocation in CSMA Broadcast Networks with intelligent interfaces
The inclusion of intelligence in the interface between host and network is a recent development in CSMA Broadcast Networks. A number of factors motivated this development. Two of the most important are the desirability of insulating the host from housekeeping functions associated with the Network, and matching the speed of the host with the speed of the broadcast facility. These factors also motivated equipping the intelligent interface with buffer storage for the intermediate staging of messages. One design decision the implementer of a CSMA Broadcast Network must make is how this buffer space is to be managed. The reservation of the total buffer memory of both the source and destination interfaces while a data-transfer transaction is taking place is one possibility. However, early studies indicate that this can introduce undesirable interference between the low-level protocol used for data delivery and the protocols necessary to implement the buffer reservation. Also, the messages required to effect a source/destination reservation create extra trunk traffic, which contributes to a degradation of transaction throughput, particularly for small message sizes. This paper explores several alternative protocols that do not require the reservation of both source and destination interfaces. These protocols allow more than one simultaneous conversation to be open between two interfaces by using buffer-space negotiation. Some preliminary results from a simulation study that compare one of the alternative protocols with the interface-reservation approach are presented. 7 figures.
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6795895
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-81687
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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