A load-controlled scheduling scheme for integrated voice-data communication on high-speed LANs/MANs

A novel dynamic bandwidth-allocation (or rate-control) strategy that can be employed for integrating multimedia traffic on a class of high-speed fiber optical local and metropolitan area networks (LANs/MANs) is investigated. This scheme is based on the load-controlled-scheduling-of-traffic (LOCOST) mechanism, which employs channel feedback for proper distributed control operation. Although the mechanism is quite general for integrating diverse traffic types, the specific focus is on the integration of packet voice with data. The medium access control is simple and is fully asynchronous and distributed, which makes it easy to implement. The necessary control functions are performed locally and independently at each data station based on a single parameter called its packet allowance, while each voice station can transmit a voice packet whenever it can. A gated global queue model is formulated to analyze this system approximately, and simulation results are included to study the protocol´s performance