Erasure node: performance improvements for the IEEE 802.6 MAN

Proposes and analyzes a method for increasing the efficiency of a slotted multiaccess data communications network. The unique aspect of this method is that high efficiency can be achieved without much increase in latency or complexity at stations. The necessary hooks for its implementation have been incorporated into the distributed queue dual bus (DQDB) protocol, which is being standardized by the IEEE 802.6 Committee for metropolitan area networks (MANs). The proposed method, originally presented as a contribution for the MAN standards, allows slots to be reused once they reach their destination while retaining the inherent low-latency implementation and simple OR write physical interface for stations in the original scheme. The results of tests of network throughput increase as a function of traffic locality and of the number and location of erasure nodes are discussed