The dynamic three-tier protocol: an access remedial scheme for DQDB Metropolitan Area Networks
L.N. Kumar, Christos Douligeris · Computer Communications · 1998
This paper addresses the unfairness problems of a DQDB network through a structured access remedial scheme, namely the Dynamic Three-Tier protocol. At low load domains, it retains the original 802.6 (no Bandwidth Balancing Mechanism, (BWB) protocol performance. At heavy loads, it activates a dynamic bandwidth control mechanism, called the Alpha Tuning Mechanism. With the right choice of the α parameter, the match of the service pattern (rendered by the proposed protocol) and the actual demand (or traffic) pattern in the network is achieved. Between these domains, at normal loads, it uses an anticipatory demand function (Δ) to address latency-related unfairness. The proposed protocol's performance is investigated over different load types and load values, with single- and multiple-packet-sized messages. In each scenario, the proposed protocol is capable of delivering better performance over the current 802.6 (with BWB) standard. Its effectiveness and dynamic capabilities are very impressive.