Mahmoud R. El-Sakka "A Novel Protocol Under A Priority Time Constraint for Real-Time Communication Systems", M.Sc. Dissertation, Computer Science Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt, 1990.

Abstract

Computer networks have a tremendous effect on our society and economy. The influence of this effect has had a greater impact than any other major development of the past.  Local Area Networks (LANs) are a specific case of computer networks that are limited in geographic scope. They provide high bandwidth over inexpensive transmission media.

The field of multiple-access communication has developed major practical and theoretical interest within the computer communication community.  The multiple-access problems arise from the necessity of sharing a single communication channel among a community of distributed users.  The distributed algorithm used by the stations to share the channel, is known as the multiple-access protocol.

In data communication networks, there are different kinds of applications.  Some of them demand very quick response times and the requirement for meeting specific deadlines is needed. There are also other applications that are able to tolerate longer delays. In such cases, the protocols that handle the packet-base priorities and the time constraint are needed.

In this thesis, a novel protocol under a priority time constraint for a real-time communications system is suggested and evaluated.  The main goal of this protocol is to reduce the ratio of lost packets due to reaching their deadlines.