Object oriented specification for performance analysis of multi-layered protocols

The authors describe communication protocol layering and how the alternating bit protocol (ABP) can be used in this context as an effective, sufficiently complex, example. The goal of specification in this example is to allow reasoning about correctness and performance. Performance measures important in this example, and important in more general communication subnetworks, are discussed. The object oriented set theoretic formal description technique is then briefly introduced together with the specification of a ABP-based communication subnetwork. The emphasis of this work is upon the ability to directly use the specification itself to provide performance statistics about the protocol architecture