Utilizing bandwidth sharing in the slotted ring

A slotted-ring protocol that performs well across the full range of message length distributions is presented. The relative performance of the protocol is best at low to medium ring utilization, which is the most usual operating condition for local area computer networks. The protocol is not subject to the normal requirement for repeating source and destination addresses in each slot of a multiple-slot message. This reduced overhead feature is a main reason for the performance gains that are achieved. The protocol does not depend on any central control station for assigning slot usage to individual stations. However, it does require each ring station to keep track of the current status and source station usage of each slot on the ring. Implementation of the protocol would require significantly more complex logic circuits than are normally needed in either token rings or conventional slotted rings, and error recovery would be more difficult. Hence, its main value is that it serves as an indicator of the maximum achievable performance of the slotted format for local computer network rings operating at low to medium utilization levels under fully distributed access control