Communication requirements of a distributed computer control system

The paper gives a tutorial exposition and discussion of the requirements that a distributed computer control system imposes on its internal communication system, and of the various ways in which this requirement can be met. The subject is considered under the following main headings: informationtransfer requirements, performance, reliability, environmental and safety considerations, physical configuration, and communication-system management. In a concluding Section the requirements of these communication systems and other serial communication systems are compared.