SHIPNET: a real-time local area network for ships

The authors have developed a real-time messaging system for token ring networks. The system is currently operational in a shipboard environment. The system conforms to the IEEE 802.2 LLC and 802.5 token-ring standards and is consistent with the Navy´s emerging SAFENET specification. The authors provide a library of `C´ routines which establish and manage sockets, transmit and receive messages, and report network status. They show a sample user interface for a basic datagram service and another for a reliable virtual circuit service. They present performance data from an implementation on PCs and PC/ATs. Using the proposed software, a single transmitting station can generate up to 1.42 Mb/s, and 100-byte messages can be processed every 4 ms