Real-time performance of cut-through forwarding in hybrid wired/wireless industrial networks

In this paper, the architecture and the operation of a cut-through forwarding device to be used in broadcasting, hybrid wired/wireless fieldbus systems are described. Analytical models of the delay overhead introduced due to frame forwarding are presented. It is shown that the usage of cut-through forwarding devices relaxes the bit-rate requirements in the radio segments, while it drastically improves the inherent advantages and reduces the drawbacks of hybrid transmission media architectures which are based on a single MAC domain.