An approximate analysis of gate service in token-ring LANs

The waiting time in a token-ring local area network (LAN) with gated service discipline is investigated. An analytical approximation is given for a network with an arbitrary number of stations, nonidentical Poisson arrival streams and general service time distributions at each station, and nonzero switchover between adjacent stations. This approximation method is an alternative to the relatively complicated numerical evaluation of the waiting time that is currently available. Extensive simulation results with different parameters are presented to show the degree of accuracy of the approximation, which is generally good for a practical range of parameters