Token-ring local-area networks and their performance

The major technical concepts underlying token-ring technology are examined, and performance issues arising in the design of such local-area networks (LANs) are detailed. Following a survey of analytical queuing models to describe the basic token-ring operation, three topics are discussed in detail: (1) the IEEE 802.5 token ring and its performance; (2) the ANSI fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) token ring and its performance; and (3) architecture and performance issues arising in the interconnection of token-ring networks with regard to the various components of a multiring architecture demonstrating which congestion-control problems can arise in such a network and how they can be overcome. The author concludes with a number of open questions concerning the understanding of the quantitative behavior of token-ring-based LANs.>